Firebase Issue 04

RISING LIKE A PHOENIX
FROM THE FLAMES,

FIREBASE RETURNS!

2 GREAT BATTLE REPORTS!
THE IMPERIAL GUARD STEP INTO THE BREACH!
ADAMS CHAOS EVOLUTION!
FIREBASE GOES EPIC!
100% HOBBY CONTENT
WERE BACK!!
FREE
July 2007 ISSUE 04
www.warseer.com/frebasemag
Editor: Ashley Curtis
PR and Advertising: Brandon Vallee
Graphic Designer: Steve Gagne
Cover Artist: Igor Kieryluk
Proong: Gabriel Schrock
Artists: Nicolas Giacondino, Brian Lexington
Solomon, Juddski, Pazshadow, Zazz,
Toby Alderton, and Andrew Chang.
Writers: Adam Smith, Light of The Emperor, Phil
& Neil from FLAMEON, Matt Stevens, Patrick
M. Cullen, Robert Reynolds, Matt Bowden,
Christopher Turco, Peter Sanlon, Franklin
Ginn, Linus Widner, Fredrik Landelius, Johan
Westlund, Hena, and Rob Orangesm Holland
FIREBASE ispublished every three months courtesy of
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its views are not the views of any company mentioned
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No part of this magazine may be reproduced without
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FIREBASE can accept no responsibility for inaccuracies
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This fanzine is completely unofcial and in no way
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FIREBASE Editorial
The King Is Dead!
Long Live The King!
When I couldnt continue to produce FIREBASE, the fate
of the wargaming world rested on one mans shoulders.
Unfortunately, he was unavailable. And so, with no heir
to the FIREBASE throne, the magazine came to a close and
there was great sorrow.
Many eons passed (a few days) and a new magazine
arose to fll the void. But then a series of epic events
followed, leaving Ash, the chosen heir to the Firebase
throne, in charge and with a dream to continue the tale
of FIREBASEs glory. The one mag to rule them all!
With Adam, his former mentor, shackled to a desk
and forced to produce article after article for the next
eternity, Ash ascended to the rank of Head Monkey (or
Editor if you prefer) to rule FIREBASE with an iron fst and
a shiny new modeling knife!
Adam
Thanks Adam! FIREBASE still has the same creative team, right down to the same
layout manager and templates; Adam is no longer editor but will still be making article
contributions and is someone I can always turn to for advice.
Now, on to some changes! With a new editor, some new ideas have been brought to
the fore. Instead of the themed issues FIREBASE previously followed, from now on we are
blown open wide for anything and everything you hobbyists want to throw at us. If its
Warhammer 40,000 related, were interested!
Not too much has changed overall; everybody should expect the same great magazine
with all the stuff you love, provided for you, and by you, the hobbyists!
Over and Out,
Ash
Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Angel & the Aquila . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Addicted to chaos
Adam continues to expand his army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The Kymrian Final Stand
Lost And The Damned vs. Nids Battle Report
Which Horde will triumph? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Back by Popular Demand
Matt gives some tips about painting Eldar . . . . . . . . . 24
Heavy Armour
Patrick gives advice on using armoured Guard . . . . . . 28
Blitzkrieg!
Rob talks about his love for tanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Imperial Guard Air Cavalry
Matt tell us how to use fyers for the Guard . . . . . . . . 35
The Chase
Sister of battle short story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
On the Wings of an Angel
We show off Leons great army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Epic Basic Training
Robert gives some tactical strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
The Purgin of Cervium II
Epic battle report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Engines of Destruction
Modelling big machines for Epic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
London Doubles Tournament 2007
Peter reports from the tournament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
A Clash on Ylvair
A confict between Night Lords and Tau . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Next Issue Teaser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Contents
4
Firebase issue 4 July 2007
story
The
Angel
&

the
Aquila
Another day casts its mark into the annals of time, but it is one
that would rather be forgotten, left to linger amongst hundreds of
thousands of other days. It is the 41st millennium. The galaxy lies
stricken in an abyss of night and eternal darkness, the shadows only
breaking to allow the warm spread of light from neighboring stars.
Much like light itself, hope is scarce, a vague reference that is unknown
to billions. There is war in the galaxy, an age of strife and bloodshed,
the soil of planets turning red with spilt life to mimic the tones of the
burning suns. Billions die every minute, every day, yet the balance
on which the galaxy sits does not even feel the tremors of death and
decay. Amid the seas of rolling ethereal tides lies Terra, the seat of
mankind and throne to their God.
This rotating ecosystem spawned forth the race of man, releasing
them on their everlasting crusade to conquer the stars. It is also the
origin of the Emperor. Intertwined in earths endless layers of hive
cities and the living fesh that inhabits them, lies the Imperial Palace, a
complex that reaches kilometers into the atmosphere and that covers
entire continents. Its fying buttresses and dark, dusted halls refect
eons long forgotten. The palace is a symbol that mirrors the struggle
of humanity refecting the scars of war and violence. At its center lies
a massive, domed chamber displaying row upon row of standards. The
weathered banners waft in the stale air, displaying the accounts of
victorious armies now long gone. Among the relics and artifacts lies an
even older being; the living corpse of the God-Emperor.
Like a pantheon constructed in honor of ancient gods, the Emperor
is encased in a Golden Throne, the epitome of human technology,
capable of maintaining life so that he will never die.In this immortal
casing of metal and sorcery lies the personifcation of hope, hope that
everyone worships, but have never seen. The Emperor is venerated
upon a million worlds and given reverence to by legions. Bound by
which they obey, regiment after regiment of the Imperial Guard march
forth to war that is now so commonplace, the mighty Adeptus Astartes
lending their fghting strength to those too weak and the oratories
of the Ecclesiarchy drown out entire worlds. All serve the Emperor,
united in their cause, united in survival. The delicate thread with which
mankind is held together is the Emperor, his life force extending to
the furthest reaches of the galaxy in the form of the Astronomican.
A thousand psykers echo their death throes every waking second as
they are mentally bound to the Emperor, the ritual casting their souls
into the darkness. This beacon of light pierces the galaxy, uniting all to
the Imperial Creed.
The Emperor, immortal in age, continues his eternal vigilance amongst
the stars under a double headed golden Aquila, the Cherubium angels
futtering overhead, swinging censers that spread forth their soothing
faith.
modelling
ADDICTED
TO
CHAOS
A
dam Smith chronicles the development of his chaos
rabble into a competitive force to be reckoned with.
Last issue you may recall my chaos army consisting of nothing but
the fnest Space Crusade chaos miniatures, led by a lord of disrepute.
Well, it may have only been a few months, but much has changed since
then. Mighty warriors have risen and fallen, powerful lords have been
sacrifced, swapped, and more often than not sold on eBay for vast
sums of cash!
THE TALE OF EVI L TYCHO (THE HANDSOME)
Pretty though it may have been, with three chaos marine squads,
three dreadnoughts, three obliterators, some havoc-like chosen and a
kai gun armed lord, the initial chaos army must have been one of the
dullest, most regimented forces ever constructed.
The army sat, it shot, and then the dreadnoughts went crazy. While
it was funny watching them blood frenzy and kick a carnifex to death,
more often than not when
the dreadnoughts were
in trouble, the whole
army was in trouble.
Close combat was not
something they enjoyed
like good, honest chaos
marines. Evil Tycho, evil
and awesome as he may
have looked, was about
as offensive as a wet
hanky.
THE TALE OF LORD SUAVI US (THE COWARD)
The frst changes began to
occur under the new leadership
of sissy and all-round nancy-boy
Lord Suavius Mojo, armed with a
dark blade and daemonic speed
as a cheap and effective fghter.
Those crazy dreadnoughts
were given close combat weapons
in place of their missile launchers
and became more infuriated than
ever, but that was okay, because
now close combat was something
to be enjoyed. A brand spanking
new defler was added to the mix,
designed to rain death down upon
my doomed foes.
Each chaos marine
squad was given a
mighty champion
to lead them with
powerfst and bolt
pistol into glorious,
bloody, combat.
The real let down
was Lord Suavius
himself. My friends
soon coined the
phrase daemonic
slow whenever I
rolled for my extra
movement, especially when
he encountered terrain and
tripped a mere 2 with regular
hilarity. In fact, the only time
5
modelling
ADDICTED
TO
CHAOS
A
dam Smith chronicles the development of his chaos
rabble into a competitive force to be reckoned with.
Last issue you may recall my chaos army consisting of nothing but
the fnest Space Crusade chaos miniatures, led by a lord of disrepute.
Well, it may have only been a few months, but much has changed since
then. Mighty warriors have risen and fallen, powerful lords have been
sacrifced, swapped, and more often than not sold on eBay for vast
sums of cash!
THE TALE OF EVI L TYCHO (THE HANDSOME)
Pretty though it may have been, with three chaos marine squads,
three dreadnoughts, three obliterators, some havoc-like chosen and a
kai gun armed lord, the initial chaos army must have been one of the
dullest, most regimented forces ever constructed.
The army sat, it shot, and then the dreadnoughts went crazy. While
it was funny watching them blood frenzy and kick a carnifex to death,
more often than not when
the dreadnoughts were
in trouble, the whole
army was in trouble.
Close combat was not
something they enjoyed
like good, honest chaos
marines. Evil Tycho, evil
and awesome as he may
have looked, was about
as offensive as a wet
hanky.
THE TALE OF LORD SUAVI US (THE COWARD)
The frst changes began to
occur under the new leadership
of sissy and all-round nancy-boy
Lord Suavius Mojo, armed with a
dark blade and daemonic speed
as a cheap and effective fghter.
Those crazy dreadnoughts
were given close combat weapons
in place of their missile launchers
and became more infuriated than
ever, but that was okay, because
now close combat was something
to be enjoyed. A brand spanking
new defler was added to the mix,
designed to rain death down upon
my doomed foes.
Each chaos marine
squad was given a
mighty champion
to lead them with
powerfst and bolt
pistol into glorious,
bloody, combat.
The real let down
was Lord Suavius
himself. My friends
soon coined the
phrase daemonic
slow whenever I
rolled for my extra
movement, especially when
he encountered terrain and
tripped a mere 2 with regular
hilarity. In fact, the only time
6
he did run fast was when a tzeentchian sorcerer was lobbing bolts
of change his way shortly before he was gobbled up by a summoned
Christmas turkey.
THE COMI NG OF CARNAGE
The Carnage tournament
was coming up and after all
my important units were blown
apart by railguns against Lukes
Tau army, I was setting my
sights on the highly coveted
wooden spoon.
A week before the tournament
(why do epiphanies always come
at the last minute?) I decided I
would take a winged daemon
prince with a dread axe, boosted
strength, and boosted toughness.
I chose Belakor of course! I
always liked the model and
prefer his sleek daemonliness
over some bloated chaos marine
daemon prince any day. How
Lord Suavius was elevated to
daemonhood for such cowardice
one can only guess, but the
chaos gods are very fckle.
I also dropped one of
my three obliterators
and swapped another
dreadnought for a
more stable heavy
support choice
in the form of a
classic predator with
autocannon turret and
lascannon sponsons.
Woefully ineffective
I was told, but what
the hell.
HERES MY FINAL ARMY FOR CARNAGE:
Daemon Prince Suavius:
Dread axe, close combat weapon, mark of chaos
undivided, daemonic stature, daemonic fight, daemonic
aura, daemonic resilience, daemonic strength
9 Chaos Androids (Chosen):
6 with bolters, 3 with autocannons, tank hunter skill
2 Stalker Class Dreadnoughts (Obliterators):
Obliterator weapons and powerfsts (X3)
8 Chaos Space Marines:
Including a champion with bolt pistol and powerfst. The rest of the
squad is armed with bolters, 1 plasma gun, and 1 missile launcher
Predator MKI:
Autocannon turret, lascannon sponsons,
extra armour, smoke launchers
Abomination Class Dreadnought:
Twin-linked lascannon. ancient STC design
(counts as mutated hull), extra armour
Stalker Class Defler:
Havoc launcher, indirect fre
7
AND HERES HOW I T WENT:
GAME 1
DIRE AVENGER THEMED ELDAR
We shot at each other until the game devolved into a massive combat
in the centre of the board. The battlefeld was strewn with bodies and
wrecked vehicles. His army was a bloody mass, while I had only lost
my daemon prince and one chaos marine unit.
17-3
GAME 2
ALL INFILTRATING CHAOS MARINES AND LOTS OF DAEMONS.
It all started beautifully with me drowning him in superior frepower,
even wiping out his obliterators on the frst turn; then all three of his
daemon units charged in, attacking one chaos marine squad near the
centre. My whole army screamed Get em! and joined the combat,
wiping out the daemons, then fnishing off the rest of his guys with
superior numbers and great rolls from the daemon prince in combat.
20-0
GAME 3
VERY FAST TYRANID ARMY
The scenario was escalation and it was clear from the start I
didnt have enough frepower to put him down or enough mobility to
get away and keep shooting. It didnt help that there was so much
terrain, so there was nowhere to hole up and hose him down as he
advanced. There was some fne lascannon shooting that nearly
killed his fying hive tyrant before a dreadnought fnished him off in
combat (even after being penetrated!). I just couldnt cope with his
numbers and once he got the warriors and raveners in combat, it
was all over. I really needed some bikers with famers in this one.
0-20
GAME 4
CHAOS MARINES
Our armies were quite similar, though he had a pumped up lord on a
bike and some tank hunting terminators ready to summon bloodletters.
I lost this one on a lack of mobility. In the last few turns I ended up
running towards his deployment zone as he ran towards mine. I got
a dreadnought in, while he got his terminators and bloodletters in,
earning him a massive amount of points. There wasnt much I could do
in this one because of his lord keeping the daemon prince away from
where he was needed most (which was killing terminators and blood
letters).
3-17
GAME 5
THOUSAND SONS
I got to choose the
mission and I chose cleanse
simply because I hadnt
played it, I decided to set
up a nice frebase because
my opponent had no blast
weaponsapart from wind of
8
chaos on his prince. I regularly play against a Thousand Sons army, so
I knew how to hit him where it hurts! I bought him a pint afterwards.
20-0
Total score: 60/100
I was very pleased with how my army performed. My daemon prince
did me proud in every game, as did the predator which was constantly
overlooked due to its odd armament.until an enemy vehicle became
a smoking heap of wreckage! I was concerned about having three
eight-man chaos marine squads, but their numbers let them soak up
a lot of damage. You can get by on just missile launchers, although
lascannons would have been preferred against tyranid zoanthropes
and chaos obliterators. One squad always seemed to be too far away
from the action, or out of range, or just unable to get involved more. I
think a unit of bikes with a powerfst and two famers would be an ideal
replacement, especially against those dire avengers, tyranids, and for
general objective grabbing.
EXPANDI NG THE ARMY
Weve got a campaign coming up in my little gaming group, so having
2,000pts to feld could become a necessity and opens up opportunities
for those cool looking units that dont really do that much apart from
eating up lots of points and dying in droves -terminators and possessed
of course!
I also purchased a couple of chaos spawn because theyre cute,
great at catching krak missiles and saving precious chaos marines
from being splattered. Ive also ordered some bikers for those much
needed famers and several daemon horrors simply because I like the
look of them.
THE PATH TO RUI N
Im sure you know that its not long
now until the release of the new Chaos
Space Marines codex. So with a carry
case packed with full size squads and a
variety of well equipped units, I can say
Im sitting very comfortably. Veteran
skills may go, daemon weapons may
be toned down and youll probably
need ten-man squads to gain access
to heavy weapons, but if you have
a balanced and well rounded force,
theres nothing to really worry about.
Judging by the new point costs in the
Dark Angels codex, I predict that my
1,500pts army list will look something
like this:
9
Daemon Prince
Suavius:
Daemon weapon,
mark of chaos
undivided, daemonic
stature, daemonic
fight, daemonic aura,
daemonic strength,
daemonic resilience.
Abomination Class
Dreadnought:
Twin-linked lascannon,
smoke launchers
10 Chaos Space
Marines:
Including a champion
with bolt pistol
and powerfst. The
rest of the squad
is armed with
bolters,1 plasma gun, and 1 missile launcher
10 Chaos Space Marines:
Including a champion with bolt pistol and
powerfst. The rest of the squad is armed with
bolters,1 plasma gun, and 1 missile launcher
5 Chaos Space Marine Bikes:
Including a champion with a powerfst.
The squad carries two famers.
Predator MKI:
Autocannon turret, lascannon sponsons, smoke launchers
10 Chaos Androids (Havocs):
6 with bolters, 4 with autocannons
3 Stalker Dreadnoughts (obliterators):
Choice of obliterator weapons and powerfsts
Overall, not much change. Ive lost the defler, gained an
obliterator and some extra men in my chaos marine squads. I chose
to take a squad of bikers instead of ten more marines, but I could
easily take them instead. The loss of extra armour is a bit of a blow, as
is mutated hull on the dreadnought. Removal of the tank hunter skill
from the havocs is rather worrying if I ever face an armour 14 vehicle,
but my lascannons should be able to deal with that. Its not all bad; I
did get an extra autocannon! The best news of course is that everyone
comes with a bolter, bolt pistol, and chainsword as standard; this is
perfect for when the whole army needs to bundle into close combat
and overwhelm the foe with sheer numbers.
Im really proud of my chaos space marine army. Weve had our
good times, mowing down hapless imperial guardsmen, and our bad
times, like having our heads torn off by tyranids, but every game has
been awesome and I cant wait for what the new codex has in store!
In the meantime, Ive only flled half of my mighty carry case. I
wonder what Ill fll the other half with?
- ADAM SMITH
10
11
12
battle report

The
Kymrian
Final Stand
SCENARIO
The self-styled Liche Priests of Kymri have in mind to create a legion
of zombie-Tyranids to join the mighty hoard of the Desert of Undeath.
To this end, the Tomb Kings have commanded them to raise countless
corpses of long-dead Astartes to attack the aliens. Hive feet Bonbon
has sensed powerful warp energies in the desert of Kymri and is
swarming onto its scorching sands to investigate. Each army is trying
to take out the leaders who control the mindless minions of the enemy
hoard.
To refect the background for the battle (and to make the game
as fun as possible!) Phil and Neil came up with the following special
rules:
Tyranids: Termagaunts beneft from the Sustained Assault rule.
Chaos: At end of each turn, Aspiring Champions may attempt to
resurrect D6 fallen skeletons in their unit by passing a psychic test.
Victory points are awarded for models destroyed, plus double
points for destroying living chaos models (i.e. the Aspiring Champions)
and Tyranid synapse creatures.
ARMY LISTS
THE HOARD OF KYMRI, DESERT OF UNDEATH
(THE LOST AND THE DAMNED, PHI L)
HQ:
Sekhment, Tomb King of Kymri Aspiring Champion
Mark of Khorne, rage of Khorne, daemonic mutation,
daemonic talons, daemonic visage, spiky bits, frag
grenades (leads the yellow unit of plague zombies)
Osiris, Tomb King of Kymri Aspiring Champion
Mark of Khorne, axe of Khorne, banner or rage, daemonic
strength, daemonic visage, bolt pistol, frag grenades,
meltabombs (leads the red unit of plague zombies)
Nephthys, Liche Priest of Kymri Aspiring Champion
Mark of Tzeentch, bolt of change, four thrall wizards, eye of
Tzeentch, warp talisman, daemonic strength, power weapon, bolt
pistol, meltabombs
(leads the black
unit of plague
zombies)
Anubis, Liche Priest
of Kymri Aspiring
Champion
Mark of Tzeentch,
gift of chaos, four
thrall wizards,
warp talisman,
warp focus,
powerfst, bolt
pistol, teleport
homer (leads
the blue unit of
plague zombies)
[The Lost and
the Damned
can take up to
three Aspiring
Champions per HQ
slot to lead units of
mutants (zombies)
or traitors. The
marks of the chaos
powers are less
powerful than
those available
in Codex: Chaos
Space Marines.]
13
TROOPS:
15 Plague zombies
Close combat weapons, frag grenades
15 Plague zombies
15 Plague zombies
15 Plague zombies
10 Gibbering hoards
10 Gibbering hoards
ELITES:
5 Rubric terminators of the Thousand Sons
Mark of Tzeentch, combi-bolters, power weapons
Isis, aspiring champion of Tzeentch with combi-
melta, chainfst, wind of chaos
FAST ATTACK:
6 Chaos hounds
6 Chaos hounds
HEAVY SUPPORT:
Defler
Mutated hull, indirect fre, smokes, searchlight
[1749 points, 110 models]
HI VE FLEET BONBON
(TYRANI DS, NEI L)
HQ:
Brood Lord
Extended Carapace, Toxin Sacs, Flesh hooks
+ Genestealer Bodyguard
8 Genestealers, Extended Carapace
TROOPS:
16 Hormaguants
Toxin Sacs
16 Hormaguants
Toxin Sacs
16 Hormaguants
Toxin Sacs
15 Termaguants
Fleshborers
15 Termaguants
Fleshborers
15 Termaguants
Fleshborers
ELITES:
4 Tyranid Warriors
Extended
Carapace, Leaping,
Scything Talons,
Rending Claws
4 Tyranid Warriors
Extended
Carapace, Leaping,
Scything Talons,
Rending Claws
2 Lictors
14
FAST ATTACK:
Ravener
Scything Talons, Rending Claws
Ravener
Scything Talons, Rending Claws
HEAVY SUPPORT:
2 Zoanthropes
Warp blast, Synapse
[1749 points, 116 models]
SET UP
Phil and Neil had agreed to deploy their hoards down the opposite
long table edges, 24 apart, mainly because it was the easiest way to
get 226 models on the table!
Phil deployed his defler, Thoth the Unseen, behind a rock pillar on his
far right fank. The four units of skeletons (plague zombies) with their
Aspiring Champions lined up behind the two snake swarms (gibbering
hoards) with the skeletal horses (chaos hounds) protecting each fank.
The allied Thousand Sons rubric terminators waited in the warp, ready
to deep strike.
Neil Deployed his horde on mass, a front line of
termaguants spaced in three units across the board, each
with a hormaguant brood behind. His zoanthropes both took
station on his far left while both warrior broods deployed
in the centre. Finally the broodlord and genestealer retinue
infltrated on Neils far right, on the board edge and just over 18
away from Phils
far fank.
Maybe it was
just because
they were pink,
but there did
seem to be
an awful lot
of Tyranids
ready to charge
across the
desert, and the
teeming undead
of Kymri are
15
unaccustomed to being outnumbered. Neil and Phil readied their
colour-coordinated dice (thats devotion to an army theme for you) and
prepared for the clash of the two hoards. Only one thing was certain
this was going to be carnage!
TURN 1
PHIL (CHAOS)
Phil won the roll for frst turn and took it. The undead hoard started
shambling across the shimmering sands. Plague zombies always move
as if in diffcult terrain, but they were obviously keen to get stuck in
today as Phil rolled three 5s and a 6 for their movement. The skeletal
horses on the left fank headed towards to infltrating genestealers,
hoping to tempt them into range of the skeletal hoard.
The defler spat a shell high into the air from its
battle cannon, blasting apart a Tyranid warrior, some
termagaunts and a hormagaunt. Nephthys, the
Aspiring Champion with the bolt of change psychic
power, hurled crackling warp lightning across the
desert to wound a zoanthrope. Eager to fnish off
one of the synapse creatures so early in the battle,
he started sacrifcing thrall wizards to cast more
bolts of change. But Nephthys was too bold with his dabbling in the
immaterium and despite the protection of a warp talisman his mind
was obliterated by a nameless terror of the warp!
KILL COUNT: Tyranids 1, Chaos 6
NEIL (TYRANIDS)
The pink hoard
surged forward. Neil
sent the genestealers
ahead to assault the
skeletal horses. The two
that survived turned
and galloped into the
desert. Also on the
Tyranid right fank, the
hormagaunts ploughed
into the snake swarm
shielding the yellow
and blue-armoured
skeletons, ate their way through part of it and engaged the yellow
skeletons behind. Things had not got off to a great start for Phil!
16
TURN 2
PHIL (CHAOS)
Again the skeletons showed zeal for battle when Phil rolled 6s for
the movement of both the blue and red units. But the black unit, now
leaderless, only staggered forward 2. The deflers battle cannon killed
one more warrior, eliminating another of the aliens connections with
the Hive Mind. Meanwhile, Anubis laid into the hormagaunts with his
gift of chaos power. Unbelievably, at the end of the psychic carnage,
four gaunts had been transformed into statuesque spawns of chaos
at the expense of all four thrall wizards and the sorcerer himself! The
Kymrians had lost both their pyskers to the perils of the warp by the
middle of turn two!
On the right fank the second skeletal
horse unit slowly advanced towards
the Tyranid line and charged head long
into the termagaunt brood screening
the zoanthropes. Unfortunately for
Phil the termaguants suffered minimal
casualties, and in return chased down
and wiped out the entire skeletal horse
unit in an orgy of strength 3 death.
In the combat on the chaos left fank,
the Tyranids sliced up two swarms of
snakes and two skeletons. The skeletons
and their champion answered by killing
four gaunts. The chaos spawns rolled a
massive 20 attacks but even after forcing
Neil to take 13 armour saves, only fve
Tyranids died because of the limit of the
spawns kill zone. After combat resolution
however, the fearless hormagaunts had
been wiped out. The yellow skeleton unit
consolidated backwards and Sekhment
succeeded in resurrecting both casualties.
The blue skeletons (including the newly
created spawns) prepared to face the
genestealers.
NEIL (TYRANIDS)
Suddenly, genestealers
werent the blue skeletons
only concern as a lictor
appeared on the rock stack
behind them! Meanwhile
the pink hoard continued to
surge forward. Determined
to silence the deflers battle
cannon, the zoanthropes
opened fre with their
warp blasts. They were,
however, no match for the
scorpion-robots armour. The
17
termagaunts feshborers
killed four bases of the
snakes on Neils left and all
but one base on his right,
largely thanks to Phils
appalling instability rolls!
To the left of Neils line, the skeletons in black were assaulted by
warriors, gaunts and raveners, while termagaunts made short work
of the remaining swarm base. On the Tyranids right, three spawn and
no less than 11 skeletons were cut down by the combined charge of
genestealers, warriors, lictor and termagaunts! The minions of undeath
took no lives in return and even more of the pink aliens piled in! Things
were not looking good for the forces of chaos some help from their
allies would be appreciated!
TURN 3
PHIL (CHAOS)
Right on time,
the Thousand Sons
terminators appeared
out of the warp.
The teleport homer
carried by Anubis
hadnt lasted to turn
three, but the rubrics
arrived safely next
to the zoanthropes
on Phils beleaguered
right fank. Meanwhile
at the other end of
the battlefeld, the
yellow and (as yet
18
undamaged) red
skeletons prepared
to charge in from
the left and centre
of the battle line
respectively. The
defler moved
forward and
dropped another
shell on the
termagaunts in
front of it, and
the terminators
squeezed the
triggers of their
c o mb i - b o l t e r s
even as they stepped onto
the sand. Their champion
Isis also unleashed his wind
of chaos to fell a zoanthrope
and some more gaunts.
The remaining snake swarm
slithered into combat with
the termagaunts near the
centre of the battlefeld. Both
red and yellow-armoured
skeletons threw themselves
into the fray on Phils left.
The reds achieved remarkably
little despite vast numbers
of attacks, but the yellow
skeletons led by Sekhment
avenged their fallen comrades
by slaying seven genestealers.
The snakes and termagaunts
held each other in a deadlock,
but the blue skeletons were
dwindling, and the black
ones were overwhelmed
by the combined attacks
of the warriors, gaunts and
raveners.
NEIL (TYRANIDS)
Neils second lictor appeared
from the rock formation on
the left fank of the defler,
while the terminators quickly
found themselves surrounded
by a sea of chittering pink.
The zoanthropes warp blast
scored a glancing hit on the
defler but the mighty Thoth
shrugged off the damage.
The termagaunts unleashed
their feshborers on the
terminators who passed
eight armour saves to remain
undamaged.
The victorious warriors
headed off towards the red-
armoured skeletons engaged
in the massive melee on their
right. They charged in with
a scream, but Osiris and the
red skeletons blood was now
up and 12 Tyranids (including three warriors) fell. 15 skeletons were
shattered in return but six were later resurrected.
19
The newly-revealed
lictor charged the
defler and immobilised
it, but received a wound
for its trouble and
sneakily jumped back
10 to its rocky hiding
place. The raveners
and termagaunts
charged the
terminators unleashing
an unbelievable 85
attacks! But Thousand
Sons terminators
are almost
indestructible and
only one fell! In
return they slew
a ravener and two
termagaunts.
Meanwhile the
snakes broke the
deadlock against
the termagaunts
causing 10 wounds
from their 15
attacks one snake
base died in exchange for seven gaunts. Frantic combat ensued across
the desert with almost every model fghting for its (un)life and Phil
started to hope that things might be looking up for the chaos hoard.
TURN 4
PHIL (CHAOS)
All of Phils units were now engaged in combat (or immobilised or
dead!). The defler wounded the remaining zoanthrope with its reaper
autocannon, so as not to risk hitting the terminators with a battle
cannon blast. The rubrics themselves killed three termagaunts,
suffering only a single wound themselves as the aliens rending claws
failed to fnd the chinks in their ancient tactical dreadnought armour.
The mass of combat in the centre of the board continued with three
Tyranid warriors falling to the victorious red skeletons. The aliens
were rapidly running out of synapse creatures! The snakes fnished
off the termagaunts, but seven yellow skeletons fell (one to be raised
again) while only one gaunt died and the lictor jumped back out of
combat to safety.
NEIL (TYRANIDS)
A fresh unit of termagaunts appeared on Neils table edge courtesy
of the Sustained Assault rules. One lictor re-charged the yellow
skeletons, and the other re-charged the defler. This time the daemon
engines armour was penetrated and Thoth the Unseen exploded in a
shower of dust and smoke.
20
The zoanthrope joined in the combat with the terminators, hindering
their efforts with its Toxic Miasma. Two of the rubrics died, and
Isiss chainfst fnished off the last zoanthrope even as the Aspiring
Champion of Tzeentch was fnally torn apart by the aliens claws. The
fearless remaining rubric was overwhelmed and wiped out by combat
resolution, but there were now no synapse creatures left alive on Neils
left fank!
On his right fank, the last genestealer fnally killed the last spawn,
while the broodlord brought down four yellow-armoured skeletons.
The hormagaunts killed another two and only two gaunts fell in return.
The Tyranids were fghting well, but the fearless minions of undeath
were soaking up a lot of punishment and the broodlord was now the
only synapse creature left alive.
TURN 5
PHIL (CHAOS)
In Phils turn all that was left was combat. The remaining snakes
assaulted and killed the lictor. In a furry of attacks, Osiris the Red
dispatched the broodlord, the Tyranids last synapse creature! The only
Tyranid left in that combat was the last genestealer and, bereft of its
link to the hive mind, it fed. A tactical withdraw would now have been
the sensible move, but in the spirit of having-fun-is-more-important-
than-winning, the remnants of the chaos hoard consolidated towards
the newly-arrived gaunts and resurrected some of their casualties.
NEIL (TYRANIDS)
Neil was now faced with a dilemma: With no synapse creatures,
he had to decide whether to leave his remaining models lurking
ineffectually on his left fank, or risk taking leaderships tests which
would allow him to move if he passed, but make him fee if he failed.
With Phil still having three units and two living models surviving, the
Tyranids were by no means victorious yet, so Neil gritted his teeth and
picked up his dice
21
He then proceeded to pass
two Leadership 5 tests and
move his gaunts 24 and 30
(after rolling 6s on both their
feet of claw rolls!!!!!) across
table to engage both the
snakes and the remaining red
skeletons! The skeletons were
completely taken by surprise
and 32 attacks wiped them out.
The snakes managed to kill one
termagaunt but lost fve wounds.
Only moments before, it had
looked like the Lost and the
Damned might have snatched
victory from the slavering jaws
of defeat, but the swiftness
of the Great Devourer should
never be underestimated!
KILL COUNT: Tyranids 123,
Chaos 79
TURN 6
PHIL (CHAOS)
Sekhment led the last of the yellow-
armoured skeletons in a fnal charge against
the hormagaunts but lost the combat. The
snakes and termagaunts drew, causing one
wound each.
NEIL (TYRANIDS)
Finally, the ravener arrived, jumping in
and fnishing the snakes off. The remaining
skeletons were surrounded and pulled down
into the dust from whence they had come.
The hoard of Kymri was wiped out, but there was only a handful of
leaderless Tyranids left on the battlefeld.
22
RESULT
Tyranids: 2158 victory points
Chaos: 1906 victory points
236 Dead Models!
Solid victory to Hive Fleet Bonbon [R]
PHIL (LOST AND THE DAMNED)
Unlike in some publications, in FIREBASE the featured army doesnt
have to win the battle report (you see I was just loosing to making
a point, honest)! I think I could have held Neil to a draw by getting
out of range of his forces in turn fve, but where would be the fun in
that? Neil is a great guy to play against, and I knew Id have my work
cut out facing his tournament army with my background-driven one
but then I had beaten them last time! But results aside, this was a
fantastic, epic battle. For me, the best thing in this hobby is to play
with two well-painted armies on a nice-looking board. And with over
two hundred models being felded, it certainly was quite a spectacle!
I pretty much used my standard tactics against the pink hoard, and
last time I played Neil theyd served me very well. So what went wrong
this time? Well, Im not a great tactician, but on refection I dont think
I should have taken frst turn. Because Im used to being shot at, I
automatically grab frst turn given the chance, so that I can try and get
to grips with the enemy a bit quicker. If Id made Neil go frst, I think
Id probably have got more charges in and those extra attacks would
have been a great help against the pink hoard.
Another mistake I made was to bunch my army up too closely so that
Neil was able to fght through my frst wave and engage the second
before they got a chance to charge in. Im not used to an enemy having
enough attacks to plough through my snakes so quickly. Also, when
you have to take diffcult terrain tests all the time, it goes against the
grain not to move the full allowance, so the skeletons speediness in
turns one and two wasnt so helpful this time! The skeletons durability
(toughness 4, 4+ save and fearless) is always a pleasure to watch (and
its much better when they die in combat than to rapid fring bolters!)
although I have seen them do more damage.
Losing both my sorcerers to Perils of the Warp attacks was gutting,
but very funny too! The warp talismans give them a chance to re-roll
one psychic test each per game, but it wasnt enough. (Maybe I should
go easy on the thrall wizards, but I think its well worth the risk, if only
to see the panic on your opponents face when you unleash fve bolts
of change in one shooting phase!) Its safe to say this was their worst
ever performance and this time they were giving away double victory
points! In a game like this, loosing two combat monsters before they
stood toe to talon with the enemy wasnt terribly helpful! Having said
that, they both went with a bang, showing some of their worth and
providing great entertainment for those watching!
I dont often feld Chaos Space Marine allies with this army but it was
fun to have another, highly elite element in the force. And Thousand
Sons terminators are just so rugged! Not only do they have the
standard 2+ armour save or 5+ invulnerable save, but theyve got 2
wounds each and theyre fearless! I was amazed at how many Tyranids
it took to bring them down. Maybe its time to get my Thousand Sons
army out again, and their sorcerers dont have to take psychic tests
NEIL (TYRANIDS)
Munch, munch, munch, mmm plenty of calcium for the Hive Fleet
tonight! That I have to say was probably the most bloody game of 40k
I have ever played, if not just for sheer amount of kills (and I have
played a fair number of guard hordes as well), 236 dead models! Thats
more than both armies started with (due to Phils resurrection and my
sustained assault).
Tactics wise, I dont feel there is much I really did wrong, I have
played with this army for several years now and even came close to
23
winning the 40k GT with it, so its safe to say I know it inside out.
What did worry me though were Phils skeletons. Last time we
played I underestimated their resilience (T4 and a 4+ save is a good
as my Warriors), which coupled with the large amount of attacks
they generate meant they ploughed straight through my force. I
was determined not to let this happen again so I concentrated my
opening charges into single skeleton units with nearly half my army
to each unit respectively! This meant I hammered both units so hard
that only initiative denial in combat by Phil (removing casualties so
that units lower down on the initiative step are no longer in base-
to-base so therefore cannot attack) stopped them been completely
annihilated by the charge.
One big factor in this game had to be the resurrection rule for
Phil. It meant that despite the horrifc casualties he initially suffered,
he slowly began to claw back in the war of attrition that the game
became and took the lead once he fnally brought down all my
synapse creatures. Without this it would have been very one-sided
and dull I believe, which is why we included it and GOD DAMN
(sorry Phil!) it nearly cost me the game!
Also, a special mention has to go to Phils terminators, truly the
unit of the battle. They took 84 attacks (10 of which where rending)
on my initial charge and didnt loose a single model! They then
proceeded to hold an entire fank single-handedly for three turns
until fnally their armour failed them; truly the stuff of legends, and
testament to why terminators are among the best troops in the
game.
But Karma balances everything out and in this case it was my turn
5: Faced with no synapse I had a simple choice, lurk and conserve
the victory points of my three remaining broods (1 hormaguant and
2 termagaunt) and force a draw, or risk trying to pass leadership
tests and be able to move them towards Phils remaining cluster
of skeletons. I chose to go balls out (a Flame On term) and went
for the Ld test (who wants to play for a draw when you can try and
win?). I managed to pass two out of three of them despite testing
on Ld 5! Then my near-mythical luck came into play and I rolled
sixes for both feet of claw tests (I am known for my uncanny ability
to roll sixes when really needed) allowing the hormagaunts and
termagaunts to charge up to 30 across the board and engage the
remainder of Phils army. Needless to say without this happening it
would have all been over.
The fnal result as you know was a win to me. It just goes to show
that you should never give up hope no matter how badly things end
up going, and just like the SAS say: He who dares, wins.
24
modelling
Back
by

Popular
Demand
Matt takes us through his new addiction and how he feeds it!
H
i, my names Matt Stevens and I managed to go straight
for 3 years. I lived a normal life. I didnt touch any
solvents, glue anything, I was totally clean. My wife and I
had a normal relationship, we talked and sometimes I even
listened. But then, it all started to go wrong. I made the
mistake of popping into a Games Workshop Id happened to
walk past. I thought I could handle it. I thought I was strong
enough. I was wrong
At some point in our lives we all give up the hobby for a bit. Its just
a fact. It doesnt matter how long we give it up for be it a week or a
number of years, the end result is the same: we all come crawling back
in the end. And so it was that two years ago I came stumbling back
into the hobby and once again money began to drain out of my bank
faster than I could earn it.
The range which lured me back into the hobby was the Eldar. At
the time, they were not a popular army to use; they were a veterans
army. With the revision of the codex theyve become a lot more popular
thanks largely to some shiny new miniatures and some tasty new rules.
I knew that Id want to tailor the army depending on what army I was
fghting. Some people call this cheesy; to be honest I call it common
sense. As a result every weapon mount in the army is magnetized,
and I have fve or six of each Eldar weapon designation all of which are
interchangeable. The beauty of magnetized weapons was that (under
the old codex rules at least) I could be a total starcannon chump whilst
claiming I had simply optimized the weapons for the task. Of course
thats now all changed, heaven forbid there should be an army which is
capable of utterly destroying humanities fnest. Im now a scatterlaser
chump instead.
Magnetizing your weapons ft is much
easier than it sounds, and has many
advantages including saving you money
(because you dont have to buy more than
one or two of each model). It also means
you get the most out of the new plastic
kits which come with a variety of weapon
fts. I used 4x3mm rare earth (sometimes
called neodymium) magnets, drilling holes
in the main fuselage of the grav tanks, and
using the magnet as the raised mount for
the weapon. These magnets are readily
available on Ebay and cheaper in bulk so
get your friends in on the deal and split the
costs. In hindsight I thin it would have been
better to use thinner magnets and these
days I use either 4x1mm or 3x1mm both
of which are more than strong enough to
mount plastic and metal weapons. I got a
bit carried away and also magnetized the
cockpit windows, Vyper chairs and grav tank
25
turrets. Magnetizing also makes
your army easier to transport, as
many of the bits which stick out are
easily removable for transport.
Some of my favourite models
in the army are the warlocks. The
inspiration for the poses comes
from the late David Gemmells
Rigante series of books. If you
have not read them you really
should. In these books there is
an army general called Jarasey
who, even under enemy attack,
directs his troops with his hands
behind his back as if out for an
afternoon stroll. I really wanted to
embody this attitude in my army,
that whatever happened on the
battlefeld the army would fght
with calm and dignity. If only I
was able to always play 40k with
calm and dignity.
Another of my favourite
models is the Banshee Exarch. I
love the master of blades mini,
and thought his was perfect for
the exarch role. At puny str3
however he defnitely needs
the strength upgrade bestowed
by his executioner, so a simple
arm twist conversion and voila,
hes armed with a Klingon
Batleth. The rangers were a later
addition, purely because I loved
the models. As with many later
army additions you can probably
see the difference in the painting
standard. I really like how they
turned out, particularly the two
bare headed chaps.
With so many different models in the army, I felt it was important to
tie them together. One of my favourite ways of doing this is not through
colour selection but through the bases. I came up with this idea of
making each model a unique, greenstuff base which could look like
wraithbone. I fgured that fuff-wise it could represent them defending
their craftworld. It also complements the dark reds and blues Ive used
elsewhere in the army. The result is that even from a distance the
army draws the eye and Im really happy with them.
The army has taught me a few key lessons. Firstly, if you manage to
give up this hobby successfully, then do not under any circumstances
ever stray into a games-workshop. They have far too many shiny toys
on display and youll never get out alive. Secondly it taught me that
advanced techniques (they were advanced to me anyway) get much
easier with practice sometimes you just need to dive in. Sculpting,
Non-metallic metals and magnetization are all within your grasp. The
important thing is to take the plunge, and then just keep plugging
away until youre satisfed with the results. You can do it!
After looking at some of the wonderful models Rev has put together
and painted I persuaded him to let us in on some of his painting secrets
- Ed
26
REVS VYPER RECI PE:
I found the Eldar vehicles tested my painting skills the most. I am
by no means a professional painter; Im merely a keen gamer whose
painting has improved over time. The large fat surfaces on the Vypers,
Falcons and Serpents are far more punishing than say a guardians
armour. That said, Im pleased with how they have turned out, and
heres how I did it:
1) 2 light black undercoats of Chaos Black. I know people moan
about GW sprays but used properly Ive yet to fnd a better primer. Any
past poor undercoats have been my fault, not shaking enough, rushing
the job or doing it in the freezing cold or blistering heat.
2) As always Dry-brushing is your frst port of call, as it makes a
horrendous mess. I wanted to use the technique as little as possible
(to push me to try more advanced methods) and as a result only a
small portion of the underside was dry-brushed to pick out the ribbing
on the chassis.
3) The real painting started with the armour base
coat. The main body of the Vyper was a 75/25 mixture
of Vallejo Scar Red (its slightly less purple than its GW
counterpart Scab Red) and Chaos Black. As always the
complex equation; Big brushes = fewer brushstrokes
visible + more time for TV worked a treat.
4) I used a slightly different recipe for the Eldar
vehicles than the infantry, due to the aforementioned
punishing large fat areas. Where at this stage with the
infantry I used a 100% Vallejo Scar Red highlight (albeit
thinned slightly with water) I added a stage, and made
the frst highlight 95% Scar Red and 5% Chaos Black.
This was mainly because I was petrifed of the vehicle
looking terrible (and lets face it with the current prices
you have to get them right frst time!) so I decided to
add the layer to smooth the highlight. I pushed it from
the edges 2mm inside the edge, being careful to get it
smooth (but not always managing!)
5) Next was the standard 100% Scar Red highlight,
which was around the entire extent of the edges of the
armour plates. I followed this with a 50/50 Scar Red /
Citadel Blood Red mix around the corners and extreme
edges. If there were any really extreme points (like the
fns on the vipers) I did a tiny
100% Blood Red highlight but there Were
not many points I used it.
6) With the main body of the armour
done I moved onto the wraithbone areas
(actually, although Im going through one
colour at a time I prefer to block out all
my colours to begin with as I like to watch
the vehicle taking shape.) My method for
wraithbone is fairly simple, Its a 100%
Citadel Bleached Bone base (my Bleached
Bone is from the old Citadel hexagonal pots
though).
7) The highlights for the wraithbone
are simply a case of adding a little white
each time until you get to nearly pure Skull
White. I used roughly 5 levels of colour on
the vyper bone sections (less on infantry)
including the base coats. So Id start 100/0
Bleached Bone; 75/25 Bleached Bone, Skull
27
White; 50/50, 25/50, and then 0/100 again on only the extreme points.
Ive found that Bleached Bone and Skull White are some of the easiest
colours to learn how to wet blend with. They react well to water thinning
and hide many errors.
8) Perhaps the most challenging
part of the Eldar fyers are the
glass canopies. I cannot stand
clear canopies, and really wanted
to paint them. The trouble was,
the level of skill needed to attempt
an SENMM fnish was more than I
had (and more than I have now!) I
took ages and many attempts, but
Im happy with how they turned
out. From a Chaos black undercoat
I started with GW Regal Blue all
over. While it was still wet I mixed
a little black into the top corners of
the window, much like you would
when painting gems.
9) On this dark basecoat I took a pencil and drew the horizon line
along the bottom and sides of the glass canopy. I now had the task
of blending up to the pencil line, from dark to a lighter blue. With my
trusty ceramic tile palette I began the task of steadily layering Regal
Blue up to and through Citadel Enchanted Blue mixed with a little Skull
White. It was time consuming, and I had to go back time and again
to repaint sections Id gone wrong with or had rushed. Thats the sky
portion of the refection done.
10) Same again, but along
the bottom sections using Citadel
Scorched Brown nearly up to Bleached
Bone. This bit was a real pain, as its
a much thinner section to try and
layer colours from light to dark, I
had to use some pretty big leaps but
got there eventually. The fnal stage
was to paint a thin nearly black line
(Scorched Brown / Chaos Black)
between the sky / earth divide for
defnition. A little white line for the
light refection and there you have it.
The canopies are possibly the most
advanced technique Ive tried, but it just goes to show if you have faith
in yourself you can do anything!
11) Thats about it I think. The gems were pretty standard, save for
a coat of gloss varnish at the end to bring out the shine. I also tried
some OSL on the pilots within the fyers Im still not totally happy
with them but they look ok for a frst try! I also made all my bare faced
Eldar albinos with red eyes which makes them look pretty xenos scary
on the feld. The whole army is painted in a similar way.
Id really encourage painters to step out of their comfort zones and
try some new techniques, I did and its boosted my confdence a lot!
By Matt Stevens
28
Tactica
HEAVY
ARMOUR
S
teady there, Soldier! Te next 3 articles take us knee-deep
into Imperial Guard territory and how to use 3 of the
most dicult army builds; those of the Carapace armoured,
Blitzkrieg, and ying variety!
THE ADVANTAGES OF IMPROVED ARMOUR
Carapace armour has a bad reputation amongst many guard players,
and understandably so. It adds 20 points to the cost of every infantry
unit in an army, and cuts down not only on the number of troops you
can feld, but the number of vehicles too. It is most likely that your
carapace armoured guard will have few, if any, tanks in support, so
you will have to rely on your infantry to do the job. This is not a bad
or impossible thing the leman russ, while useful, will die to one well
placed shot. The infantry platoon will not even notice the loss of one
man.
So why take it, if it reduces your numbers? Simple, it increases
survivability. With carapace armour, there is no longer a basic
weapon in the game that will ignore your armour. Flak armour
is ignored by bolters, pulse rifes, gauss fayers, and others
besides. Now your infantrymen will shrug off bolt shells,
ignore the green crackle of necron technosorcery, and laugh
at the Taus feeble xenos weapons. In terms of percentages,
your basic chance to save has leapt from 20% to 50% an
impressive increase in durability, I think you will agree.
In a nutshell, that is why you should take carapace armour. It
massively increases the longevity of your infantry, and more than
makes up for their lack of armour support and comparatively small
numbers.
THE USE OF COVER
While your troops are better protected than normal guardsmen, it is
still imperative to make the best use of cover. This not only increases
the survivability of your squads, but means that the heavier weapons
which punch through your armour with ease (such as heavy bolters
or rail rifes) are now less dangerous. In turn, your own squads can
29
fre at full effect for longer, and your own heavy weapons can have a
better chance of silencing the enemy guns. Buildings, woods, walls,
bunkers, trenches if its cover and you can deploy in it or move to it,
do so. Obvious, perhaps, but the temptation to walk through the open
and rely on your carapace armour is very strong; resist it at all costs.
Guardsmen, even ones in carapace, are not space marines. Finally,
cover gives you a distinct advantage when the enemy fnally makes it
through your frepower and into combat with you.
CLOSE ASSAULT
At some point in the game the enemy will close with you and begin
hitting your troops about the head with a wide variety of sharp or blunt
instruments. Here, you suddenly have an advantage yes, even over
dedicated assault units. This advantage is partly down to your armour,
which will keep your squads in the fght longer (barring an abundance
of power weapons, of course) and partly because the ten guardsmen
whove just been attacked have 25 others in striking distance, and its
your turn next. If you think you can, dont be afraid to fx bayonets
and charge into a combat. Your superior numbers and decent armour
save are often enough to tip the balance in your favour particularly
if youve been assaulted in cover.
If youre very lucky, you may even get to assault the enemy. Usually
this is madness for basic guardsmen, but with the addition of a famer
to a few of your squads, and the support of an offcer with a power
weapon, you can give thanks to The God-Emperor and get some xenos
blood on your bayonets. Again, your best assets are your numbers and
your armour. Coupled with a famer and a burst of fre from some other
assault weapons before you pile in (pistols on sergeants and most
special weapons), you should have enough impetus to punch through
into their lines. However, its best not to win the combat until your next
turn this prevents the enemy from shooting you to death.
THE MARK I V NECROMUNDAN PATTERN LASRI FLE, OR MUSKETRY
The majority of your army has one of the most maligned weapons
in the game. The humble lasrifes statline is not much to write home
about, and on its own it has few things going for it. Have a look at
your army, however. Count the number of models with a lasgun. If it is
anything like my 1,500 point list, youll have somewhere in the region
of 60-70 lasguns. Thats a lot of frepower, and at higher point levels it
gets even sillier a 3,000 point guard list has the potential, even with
carapace armour, to feld upwards of 150 lasrifes alone, never mind
the heavy weapons!
Now, the key to using the lasgun effectively is to concentrate your
fre on a particular target and kill it until it is dead. Your carapace
armour will ensure that more of your men will survive a basic weapons
duel than the enemy yes, even against space marines or terminators
if you concentrate your fre. Ten space marines in a frefght against
30 or more guardsmen are doomed to lose. Not only do the guardsmen
pump out over three times the shots, they dont die to bolt shells
thanks to the carapace.
If youre shooting at a target, shoot at it squad by squad until its
no more. Designate two or three squads (whatever you think will be
needed I usually assume that it will take one platoon of 35 guardsmen
to kill a single squad of space marines) and as soon as its destroyed,
move onto the next. If you have assumed that it will take four squads
worth of fre to kill a unit, and it takes only three, add the fourth
squads fre to the next target. Overkill is a good tactic when it comes
to planning, but dont actually fre your entire platoon at once. Not only
does it result in a sudden shortage of dice as few wargamers have
over 100 d6 at their disposal but it may prevent you from killing your
next target.
So, take advantage of the extra durability given to your men by
their armour, concentrate your fre by platoons, and chuckle as you
out-shoot everyone else. To borrow from the great Schlock Mercenary,
there is no such thing as overkill, only open fre and reload. Winning
frefghts with the imperial guard boils down to putting more hot lead
30
Tactica
Blitzkrieg!
R
ob talks all things big, dirty and
metallic in this tactica on how
to use a blitzkrieg force to full eect
with the Imperial Guard.
Ive been credited with creating the
blitzkrieg style of imperial guard army,
however, Im sure its probably been done
before; at least I can lay claim to its name!
The inception of the blitzkrieg army started
as a bit of fun. Ive always been interested in
military history and studied it at university.
I also have an obsession for writing army
lists (countless forests have died to feed my
habit!) and it struck me as a good idea to
try and create an imperial guard army based
on the German Second World War blitzkrieg
doctrine.
In very simple terms, the blitzkrieg strategy
called for a short but intense artillery and
aerial bombardment of enemy positions.
Paratroops would drop behind enemy lines
to capture important strategic locations and
disrupt enemy lines of communication and
supply. Armoured forces accompanied by
mechanized infantry would break through
the enemys front line and drive deep into
the rear, linking up with the paratroopers
and other armoured spearheads to enclose
enemy forces in what the Germans termed
cauldrons. Infantry divisions would then
reduce the cauldrons, annihilating all opposing
enemy forces. Surrounded and cut off from
supplies and reinforcements, the forces
inside the cauldrons would quickly crumble.
The process would then be repeated time
and again. It was this strategy that led to the
outstanding German success between 1939
and 1942.
It would be impossible to represent all these
different strategic facets in a 1,500 point game
of Warhammer 40,000, but I could effectively
represent the armoured spearheads
(leman russ, demolishers, hellhounds) the
mechanized infantry (grenadiers in chimeras)
and the paratroopers (drop troops).
This is the army I came up with (1496pts).
Doctrines:
Veterans
Drop Troops
Grenadiers
Special Weapon Squads
HQ:
Junior Offcer, 4 x plasma gun
Special Weapons Squad , 3 x plasma gun
Elite:
Hardened Veteran squad, veteran
sergeant, 4 x veterans, 3 x plasma gun
Elite:
Elite:
Troop:
5 x Grenadiers, 2 x plasma gun
- Chimera Transport, turret multilaser,
hull heavy bolter, extra armour, smoke
Troop:
5 x Grenadiers, 2 x melta gun
- Chimera Transport, turret heavy bolter,
Fast Attack:
Hellhound, extra armour, smoke
Fast Attack:
Heavy Support:
Leman Russ Battletank, hull
lascannon, sponson heavy
bolters, extra armour, smoke
Heavy Support:
Heavy Support:
Demolisher, hull lascannon, sponson
plasma cannons, extra armour, smoke
Ive always loved tanks and I thought if
nothing else the list would be a lot of fun to
play with. With so much mobility compared to
static guard armies and with a lot of combined
arms tactics to be developed, the list proved
to be exactly that.
Much to my surprise, in the armys frst
outing I managed to infict a massive defeat
on my good friend and long time opponents
mechanized eldar army I had previously
failed to beat with all my other imperial guard
lists!
Being a staunch tournament player, it
was obvious the blitzkrieg army had a lot
of potential; I adopted it as my new army,
playtested as much as possible and developed
the concept further.
Here are some of the tactics and tips Ive
accumulated from lots of bloody experience
with the army. Of course I cant possibly cover
everything, there are always exceptions to the
rules and many tactics are enemy specifc,
but its a good general guide to playing well
with a blitzkrieg army.
and energy beams into the enemy in a shorter time period than they
can return fre.
WI NNI NG THE FI REFIGHT AND LOSI NG THE BATTLE
This occurs when you kill things in the wrong order. If youre facing
a tyranid horde and you waste all your fre trying to kill the synapse
creature moving at 6 a turn while the hormagaunts sprint up the
board and eat your face, youre doing the wrong thing. Prioritise your
targets! You have the ability to kill them thanks to your lasrifes;
now you just need to work out what order to kill them in. Are they
immediately dangerous in the next turn? Are they a close combat unit
like hormagaunts which needs to be destroyed, or are they a unit
that can be ignored for the time being?
Once youve worked out what needs to die, kill it. Concentrate your
fre on it, and move onto your next most important target as soon as
its dead. It sounds simple, it is simple; Ive lost count of the number
of times Ive forgotten and lost games as a result.
THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE
Keep the objective in sight! I cant stress this enough. Carapace
armoured guard are not the fastest of armies, and the temptation to
dig in and blast the enemy from the board is often overwhelming. Fight
it. You can win the game with just a single squad left if youve achieved
the mission objective. Conversely, you can have decimated the enemy
yet lose the game if they achieve the objective. Move from cover to
cover to close in on objectives, support the advance of one platoon
with covering fre from another and your heavy weapons. Above all,
dont be afraid to footslog towards an objective and dont forget what
the objective is. Your armour will protect you while you move between
cover, and when you get to the objective you can sweep the enemy off
it in a storm of fre. Rapid fre is very handy for this job it will blast
the enemy from the objective and enable you to move onto it in your
next turn.
COMPLI MENTARY DOCTRI NES
There are a lot of doctrines to choose from in the basic codex, and
even more if you include the chapter approved ones from White Dwarfs
past. My own army, the XV Kataphraktoi, uses hardened fghters, iron
discipline, rogue (sanctioned) psykers and sharpshooters in addition
to their carapace armour. If you are taking an all-infantry army with
carapace armour, it is important to make the most of what you have
thus, I recommend sharpshooters and iron discipline above all else.
Rough riders will add some much needed close assault punch (and
have the advantage that you dont need to give them carapace armour
if you want to save some points), while veterans will give you a strong
frebase or assault spearhead, depending on how you equip them.
Personally, I use doctrines to add background favour and to suggest
something about the world the guardsmen come from. Others use
doctrines interchangeably and will happily alter doctrines between
games. Both are equally valid ways of assigning doctrines to your army,
and with such a wide variety to choose from it is best to experiment
until you fnd a combination which matches your style of play.
AND FI NALLY
While the majority of what I have said is quite general, primarily as
a result of the huge variety possible with doctrines, I hope that it has
been of use. Many of the tactics and tips are applicable to all armies,
not just carapace armoured ones. In the end, though, no matter what
I say, the best way to learn to win with your army is to play with
it. Carapace armoured guard, and all-infantry guard, are armies that
have a steep learning curve because even their all-comers lists are
specialised. Be prepared to lose a few games, have faith in The God-
Emperor (or the Four True Gods in the case of the Kataphraktoi) and
eventually you will be unstoppable.
Patrick M. Cullen (a.k.a. Gen.Steiner)
31
Tactica
Blitzkrieg!
R
ob talks all things big, dirty and
metallic in this tactica on how
to use a blitzkrieg force to full eect
with the Imperial Guard.
Ive been credited with creating the
blitzkrieg style of imperial guard army,
however, Im sure its probably been done
before; at least I can lay claim to its name!
The inception of the blitzkrieg army started
as a bit of fun. Ive always been interested in
military history and studied it at university.
I also have an obsession for writing army
lists (countless forests have died to feed my
habit!) and it struck me as a good idea to
try and create an imperial guard army based
on the German Second World War blitzkrieg
doctrine.
In very simple terms, the blitzkrieg strategy
called for a short but intense artillery and
aerial bombardment of enemy positions.
Paratroops would drop behind enemy lines
to capture important strategic locations and
disrupt enemy lines of communication and
supply. Armoured forces accompanied by
mechanized infantry would break through
the enemys front line and drive deep into
the rear, linking up with the paratroopers
and other armoured spearheads to enclose
enemy forces in what the Germans termed
cauldrons. Infantry divisions would then
reduce the cauldrons, annihilating all opposing
enemy forces. Surrounded and cut off from
supplies and reinforcements, the forces
inside the cauldrons would quickly crumble.
The process would then be repeated time
and again. It was this strategy that led to the
outstanding German success between 1939
and 1942.
It would be impossible to represent all these
different strategic facets in a 1,500 point game
of Warhammer 40,000, but I could effectively
represent the armoured spearheads
(leman russ, demolishers, hellhounds) the
mechanized infantry (grenadiers in chimeras)
and the paratroopers (drop troops).
This is the army I came up with (1496pts).
Doctrines:
Veterans
Drop Troops
Grenadiers
Special Weapon Squads
HQ:
Junior Offcer, 4 x plasma gun
Special Weapons Squad , 3 x plasma gun
Elite:
Elite:
Elite:
Troop:
5 x Grenadiers, 2 x plasma gun
- Chimera Transport, turret multilaser,
Troop:
5 x Grenadiers, 2 x melta gun
- Chimera Transport, turret heavy bolter,
Fast Attack:
Fast Attack:
Heavy Support:
Heavy Support:
Heavy Support:
Demolisher, hull lascannon, sponson
plasma cannons, extra armour, smoke
Ive always loved tanks and I thought if
nothing else the list would be a lot of fun to
play with. With so much mobility compared to
static guard armies and with a lot of combined
arms tactics to be developed, the list proved
to be exactly that.
Much to my surprise, in the armys frst
outing I managed to infict a massive defeat
on my good friend and long time opponents
mechanized eldar army I had previously
failed to beat with all my other imperial guard
lists!
Being a staunch tournament player, it
was obvious the blitzkrieg army had a lot
of potential; I adopted it as my new army,
playtested as much as possible and developed
the concept further.
Here are some of the tactics and tips Ive
accumulated from lots of bloody experience
with the army. Of course I cant possibly cover
everything, there are always exceptions to the
rules and many tactics are enemy specifc,
but its a good general guide to playing well
with a blitzkrieg army.
32
DEPLOYMENT
In omega level missions deployment isnt much of an issue, as
nothing starts on the board! Sometimes this can be a disadvantage.
Often you can receive the reinforcements you dont want before those
you do, not only that, but often arriving piecemeal against certain
opponents can be a recipe for disaster!
However, having nothing on the board can often be a major advantage.
The enemy doesnt know where or when you will be appearing. This
means their deployment must be generalized and gives you an element
vital to the success of the real blitzkrieg strategy surprise!
Knowing the enemys deployment before any of your units arrive can
give you a great tactical advantage. You can bring your units to focus
on a decisive point and gain overwhelming superiority on a portion of
their forces, destroy them, and then move on to the next.
In gamma level games everything but the drop troopers will be
deployed. The frst and most important thing to always remember
is your tanks are not invulnerable! Sure leman russ and demolishers
have excellent forward armour and the hellhound and chimeras frontal
armour is nothing to be sniffed at either, but most armies usually have
at least some long range anti-tank capability, which will more often than
not cut through that armour with ease. Therefore it is best not to give the
enemy the opportunity;
hide your tanks! With a
lack of suitable terrain
this might not be possible
for all the vehicles in a
blitzkrieg army but it is
infnitely better to try
and obscure a tank on a
piece of terrain (or even
another tank!) and have
a chance of downgrading
a penetrating hit than
leaving it entirely exposed
in the open.
Obviously common
sense dictates you
should always protect the
vulnerable rear and side
armour of the tanks as
much as possible.
GENERAL TACTICS
Whether your units are in reserve or not, the best tactic for a
blitzkrieg army is to keep the vehicles away from line of sight for the
frst few turns. If you can get line of sight to an isolated unit that cant
hit you back its worth going for it, otherwise, keep the tanks safe.
This gives you time to allow the drop troops to arrive and do their
work. The primary job of the drop troopers is to engage valuable
enemy units and/or those that pose the greatest threat to the tanks.
Deepstriking plasma guns is the most versatile outft, especially on
higher ballistic skill veterans! Just about any unit is going to suffer from
a torrent of rapid plasma fre, plus, drop troops can target the weak
rear and side armour of enemy vehicles. The only target deepstriking
plasma or melta guns make little impact on are large, cheap units, like
termagaunt hordes; this is what the tanks excel at killing!
When deepstriking, make a target priority list and stick to it. If your
frst unit scatters off target put the next one down in exactly the same
place. You will get a perfect drop sooner or later.
Bad scatter can ruin any drop troopers day but you should always
try and position them within range of two or three choice targets so
33
that no matter where they scatter theyre likely to be in range of one of
them! I always place plasma deepstrikers around 10 away from their
target and meltagunners around 6.
Obviously its not desirable to drop into particularly crowded areas,
as scattering into enemy units is the quickest way to lose your
deepstrikers, but sometimes the risk is worth it against a high-priority
target. Always remember that your drop troopers will most likely die
on the enemys turn after they arrive. Theyre expendable, and your
main concern is to infict maximum damage before they die!
The drop troops pave the way for the rest of your army by weakening
or destroying units that pose a threat to your tanks. This is also the
ideal time to unleash the tanks on the enemy. Your opponents primary
anti-tank units should be destroyed or seriously weakened; they will
also have several units of drop troops to kill, therefore reducing the
amount of fre directed at your tanks!
I always fnd it best to keep your tanks together or in combined
arms groups. A leman russ, hellhound, and chimera with grenadiers
is a well balanced battle group that can effectively counter just about
anything they come up against.
Play cautiously with your tanks, dont rush them over open ground in
full view of the enemy army, attempt to limit the number of anti-tank
weapons that can target them, protect your rear and side armour at all
times, and use cover to gain the chance of an obscured result. Always
try and overwhelm sections of the enemys army before moving onto
the next. With its impressive mobility, the blitzkrieg army is ideally
suited to grabbing objectives, and with so many tanks, is tough enough
to hold them!
Ironically, its not always the enemys lascannons or railguns that pose
the greatest threat to your tanks. Often it is high strength, high rate of
fre weapons mounted on fast vehicles or units that can move around
your tanks to hit the weak rear and side armour that pose the greatest
threat. I often target such units with deepstrikers before other units.
Barring that, the best tactic is to engage them frst with your tanks.
If push comes to shove you can always form a wagon circle with the
rear armour pointing inwards and the side armour covered as much as
possible. Otherwise its close your eyes and cross your fngers time!
The best tactic against close combat tank killers is to move 12! It
sounds simple, but it is the best way to limit the amount of damage you
take because the enemy then needs 6s to hit! It is also highly effective
if you scatter your tanks in all different directions away from the close
combat unit threatening them. They then have to decide which tank to
pursue, which takes them away from your other vehicles. Whether the
vehicle they do chase is destroyed or not, they have been lured away
from your other vehicles which can now turn around and shoot them!
In a really tight spot you can always put the rear of your vehicles to a
table edge to prevent rear shots and you can always pop smoke!
All tanks should always have smoke. This is invaluable when moving
through open ground, when you jump on an objective, or are moving
away from danger.
VEHICLE ROLES
The leman russ is your primary anti-meq killer with the battlecannon,
but the hull lascannon makes it versatile enough to engage enemy
armour and elite +2 save infantry. The heavy bolters are also an excellent
weapon against enemy
hordes and even light
vehicles. It is often better
to fre the lascannon and
heavy bolters at enemy
targets as they are
far more reliable than
the battlecannon shot,
which has a tendency
to scatter! However,
the battlecannon is a
great weapon and with
such long range you
can effectively outrange
the enemys anti-tank
frepower! The leman russ
is also one of the primary
objective grabbers in the
army.
The demolisher is much
akin to the leman russ,
but it excels at engaging
and killing elite enemy
infantry, daemon princes,
wraithlords, obliterators,
vehicles, and the like.
The demolisher cannon
is short ranged but it has
superior side and rear
34
tactica
Imperial Guard
Air Cavalry
I
n the Pipe, 5 By 5! Listen up soldier, Matt takes us on
an in-depth tour on the inner workings of the Imperial
Guard yers from forgeworld, and how to get the best use
out of them in your games of 40k!
Forgeworld has introduced many new things to the game of 40k,
including superheavy tank platoons, two foot tall Titans and eye-
wateringly expensive Imperial Guard regiments, but possibly the most
interesting development has been the appearance of their range of
Flyers which have introduced a (literally) whole new dimension to war
gaming in the 41st millennium. Perhaps most exciting of all is the
Imperial Guard range of close support aircraft, the Valkyrie Assault
Transport and Vulture Gunship.
Suddenly it has become possible for Guard fanatics with deep pockets
or itchy conversion fngers to indulge in their deepest, darkest Vietnam
and Black Hawk Down airmobile warfare fantasies. With rumours of a
plastic Valkyrie kit to be released this summer, this unique style of play
could well become a lot more accessible to the average gamer. Ladies
and Gentlemen, man the triple A and keep a watchful eye on the skies
- we are living in the age of the Imperial Guard Air Cavalry Regiment!
VARI ATIONS ON THE THEME
Before looking at your available units in detail, its worth briefy
considering the different ways in which airmobile elements can be
incorporated into an army. If you take the Drop Troop doctrine, then
any Guard Infantry unit may take a Valkyrie as a transport instead of
deep striking. This makes an entirely air mobile army possible, but the
great cost of the fyers make this variation rather expensive to feld (in
terms of both points and money). More common, is mounting only a
few units in Valkyries and deep striking the rest. Another alternative
is a variation on the mechadiers army list, where Storm troopers
and Grenadiers are chosen instead of basic infantry and are mounted
in Valkyries or optionally deep strike if chosen as an elite choice. The
high cost of Flyers tends to limit air cavalry to high point games, but
it is entirely possible to create effective Grenadier based armies in the
1000-1500 point range. Also worth considering is a hybrid of these
approaches, where Grenadiers in Valkyries occupy the troop slots with
support from veterans, heavy weapons squads and perhaps an infantry
platoon. Finally, it is entirely possible to feld an air-mobile element
alongside a conventional ground force. My own XVII Phyressian
Rangers regiment consists of several units of air-mobile Grenadiers
and Vulture Gun ships used alongside a core of elite light infantry. For
the purposes of this article, however, I shall concentrate on armies
that air either wholly or primarily airborne.
THE AI RCRAFT
The heart and soul of any Air Cavalry army is the Valkyrie troop
transport. Valkyries can always be taken as a transport option for
Storm troopers or Grenadiers and in an Army with the Drop troops
doctrine they can also be bought for any Guard Infantry unit as defned
by the codex, so as such it is theoretically possible to take an army
completely mounted in them. The restriction on Valkyries becomes
apparent rather quickly, however. A basic Valkyrie costs as much as a
Leman Russ, and once you have piled on the equipment they quickly
start reaching towards Land Raider territory you may fnd your self
running out of limbs with which to pay for them rather fast. On the
bright side, whilst they may be a transport option, Valkyries are also
highly credible gun ships in their own right. Theyre equipped with
a Multilaser and two heavy bolters as standard but can replace the
Multilaser with a Lascannon and be upgraded to carry two Hellstrike
Missiles or with Multiple Missile pods which enable it to put out effectively
four frag missiles a turn, albeit only with a 24 range. By then it
may cost you about 200 points but thats a pretty impressive array of
frepower whatever way you slice it. Even so, in my opinion there are
really only two sensible ways of equipping a Valkyrie either stripped
down to their basic weapons to save points or packing a Multilaser and
Multiple Rocket Pods for the anti-infantry role. There is the option of
taking a Lascannon and Hellstrike Missiles to turn the gunship into
a tank hunter, but I fnd this long ranged load out conficts with the
desire to get your troops into position - and besides, the Vulture makes
a better tank hunter, as do your infantry squads.
Speaking of Vultures, these are the other essential element of
your fying steel. If the Valkyrie functions like a Blackhawk, then the
Vulture is your Apache. They come with a dizzying array of possible
armour. Such is the fear of the demolisher it
can often be a bullet magnet as your opponent
desperately tries to destroy it, reducing the
amount of fre directed at the rest of your
tanks. The demolisher also excels at taking and
holding objectives.
Hellhounds are pure infantry killers. The
inferno cannon has proven time and again to be
one of the best weapons available to the imperial
guard. With special rules to hit, strength 6, and
ignoring cover, the inferno cannon is the bane of
any lightly armoured enemy and is also equally
as daunting for meqs. Inferno cannon shots are
capable of wiping out entire enemy units, but
even when they dont, its always a great feeling
to then add insult to injury by fring the hull
heavy bolter as well! As soon as someone knows
what helhounds can do, they often target them
before the demolisher! Hellhounds also count
as scoring units; this makes them ideal to aid
the leman russ and demolishers in capturing objectives.
The chimera borne grenadiers are the rapid reaction force of the
army. Use the mobility of the chimeras to respond to any threats that
get close to the tanks, or speed off from the main column to ambush
isolated enemy units. The chimera is an excellent anti-infantry platform
and the multilaser also gives it the versatility to engage enemy light
vehicles. The grenadiers ballistic skill is also highly reliable.
You should always remember however that the chimeras side
armour is very weak!
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
The blitzkrieg army is highly mobile allowing you to outmaneuver
the enemy, attack when and where you want, and create uneven
engagements where the balance is frmly in your favour. With all
that armour, the army is also tough and packs a lot of frepower! The
biggest advantage by far is that an opponents anti-infantry frepower
is all but useless against the tanks. Enemy close combat capabilities
are also largely nullifed, as there arent many infantry to kill! If played
correctly, you can quite often lead to a situation where the blitzkrieg
vehicles are all but immune to the enemy!
But the blitzkrieg army is certainly
not one for the novice or the faint
hearted! Facing seven tanks is an
imposing proposition and a serious test
for any armys anti-tank capabilities,
but as anyone who has ever played will
know, all it takes is one lucky glancing
hit and your very expensive tank is a
smoking wreck.
Further more, with only thirty-
fve infantry, twenty-fve of whom
deepstrike, there is little room for error
in a blitzkrieg army. You cant afford to
be rash with your units. However, by
the same token, you also need to know
the right time to take risks in order to
carry the day.
Compared to other imperial guard
armies, which are by and large blunt
instruments with which to bludgeon the enemy to death, the blitzkrieg
army is a scalpel, capable of swiftly cutting the heart out of the
enemy.
If the blitzkrieg army were the pinnacle of imperial guard army
design wed all be playing it! Unfortunately it is not. The army does
have serious weaknesses. Against certain opponents such as iron
warriors whom can feld obscene numbers of anti-tank weapons (for
the time being at least!) or necrons with the gauss rule, the blitzkrieg
army can really suffer. In competitive games, by using deepstrikers,
you are immediately handing the enemy 460+ victory points and all it
takes is a few bad scatter rolls or a bit of bad luck and youre fghting
an uphill battle from the very start! Even when a game seems to be
going your way, the blitzkrieg army can quickly fall apart due to a few
unlucky immobilization rolls.
But the blitzkrieg army is also massively enjoyable to play with and
against. It is a unique variant of imperial guard and about as far away
from the standard static army as you can get. If played well, it can also
be highly competitive, pose a serious challenge to the generalship of
the controlling player, and also brings to the fore mobile and combined
arms tactics rarely seen in other armies. And if that doesnt persuade
you to give it a go, try felding seven or more tanks at once!
Robert Reynolds
35
tactica
Imperial Guard
Air Cavalry
I
n the Pipe, 5 By 5! Listen up soldier, Matt takes us on
an in-depth tour on the inner workings of the Imperial
Guard yers from forgeworld, and how to get the best use
out of them in your games of 40k!
Forgeworld has introduced many new things to the game of 40k,
including superheavy tank platoons, two foot tall Titans and eye-
wateringly expensive Imperial Guard regiments, but possibly the most
interesting development has been the appearance of their range of
Flyers which have introduced a (literally) whole new dimension to war
gaming in the 41st millennium. Perhaps most exciting of all is the
Imperial Guard range of close support aircraft, the Valkyrie Assault
Transport and Vulture Gunship.
Suddenly it has become possible for Guard fanatics with deep pockets
or itchy conversion fngers to indulge in their deepest, darkest Vietnam
and Black Hawk Down airmobile warfare fantasies. With rumours of a
plastic Valkyrie kit to be released this summer, this unique style of play
could well become a lot more accessible to the average gamer. Ladies
and Gentlemen, man the triple A and keep a watchful eye on the skies
- we are living in the age of the Imperial Guard Air Cavalry Regiment!
VARI ATIONS ON THE THEME
Before looking at your available units in detail, its worth briefy
considering the different ways in which airmobile elements can be
incorporated into an army. If you take the Drop Troop doctrine, then
any Guard Infantry unit may take a Valkyrie as a transport instead of
deep striking. This makes an entirely air mobile army possible, but the
great cost of the fyers make this variation rather expensive to feld (in
terms of both points and money). More common, is mounting only a
few units in Valkyries and deep striking the rest. Another alternative
is a variation on the mechadiers army list, where Storm troopers
and Grenadiers are chosen instead of basic infantry and are mounted
in Valkyries or optionally deep strike if chosen as an elite choice. The
high cost of Flyers tends to limit air cavalry to high point games, but
it is entirely possible to create effective Grenadier based armies in the
1000-1500 point range. Also worth considering is a hybrid of these
approaches, where Grenadiers in Valkyries occupy the troop slots with
support from veterans, heavy weapons squads and perhaps an infantry
platoon. Finally, it is entirely possible to feld an air-mobile element
alongside a conventional ground force. My own XVII Phyressian
Rangers regiment consists of several units of air-mobile Grenadiers
and Vulture Gun ships used alongside a core of elite light infantry. For
the purposes of this article, however, I shall concentrate on armies
that air either wholly or primarily airborne.
THE AI RCRAFT
The heart and soul of any Air Cavalry army is the Valkyrie troop
transport. Valkyries can always be taken as a transport option for
Storm troopers or Grenadiers and in an Army with the Drop troops
doctrine they can also be bought for any Guard Infantry unit as defned
by the codex, so as such it is theoretically possible to take an army
completely mounted in them. The restriction on Valkyries becomes
apparent rather quickly, however. A basic Valkyrie costs as much as a
Leman Russ, and once you have piled on the equipment they quickly
start reaching towards Land Raider territory you may fnd your self
running out of limbs with which to pay for them rather fast. On the
bright side, whilst they may be a transport option, Valkyries are also
highly credible gun ships in their own right. Theyre equipped with
a Multilaser and two heavy bolters as standard but can replace the
Multilaser with a Lascannon and be upgraded to carry two Hellstrike
Missiles or with Multiple Missile pods which enable it to put out effectively
four frag missiles a turn, albeit only with a 24 range. By then it
may cost you about 200 points but thats a pretty impressive array of
frepower whatever way you slice it. Even so, in my opinion there are
really only two sensible ways of equipping a Valkyrie either stripped
down to their basic weapons to save points or packing a Multilaser and
Multiple Rocket Pods for the anti-infantry role. There is the option of
taking a Lascannon and Hellstrike Missiles to turn the gunship into
a tank hunter, but I fnd this long ranged load out conficts with the
desire to get your troops into position - and besides, the Vulture makes
a better tank hunter, as do your infantry squads.
Speaking of Vultures, these are the other essential element of
your fying steel. If the Valkyrie functions like a Blackhawk, then the
Vulture is your Apache. They come with a dizzying array of possible
36
weapons confgurations and can be optimised to perform just about
any role you want. Tank hunter? No problem, take the Twin linked
Lascannon and six Hunter Killer Missiles. Need to trim a Horde down
to size? How does four Multiple Rocket Pods sound? Or what about
six Heavy Bombs and a twin linked Multilaser for tackling that pesky
Kult of Speed? In theory you can get a Vulture for very few points but
in practice they too will end up being a pretty expensive investment
so its well worth thinking carefully about what you want them to do.
Personally I use my Vultures more or less solely for Tank hunting and
leave the anti-infantry work to my Valkyries. With that in mind I equip
them with Twin Linked Lascannon and six Hunter Killer missiles in the
event that they need to lend their fre support elsewhere they still have
a Heavy bolter mounted as standard in their chin turret. That said, if
you are facing anything other than Land Raiders and Monoliths there
is a lot to be said for twin linked Autocannons or Multilasers in place
of the Lascannons. You can always try for the enemys rear armour if
youre feeling bold, and they are somewhat cheaper and more reliable
against modest armour values as well as giving you a slightly greater
volume of fre.
According the Imperial Armour books, a Vulture would normally be
assigned to each fight of three Valkyries, and thats fne in principle, but
I think youre better of thinking in terms of 2 Valkyries to each Vulture
or even a 3:2 ratio. The more fyers you have the less vulnerable
they become individually and Valkyries always cost more thanks to the
squad they must carry.
At this point I feel I should make mention of the Aquila Lander. At
frst glace it probably seems a good choice for a Command squad, but
ultimately I have serious reservations about its usefulness. If one
looks at the Aquilas stat line, we will see that a basic Aquila armed
with a Heavy Bolter costs 110 points. By contrast, a Valkyrie armed
with two Heavy Bolters and a Multilaser and identical in nearly every
other way costs only 140 points. So, for about 25% more points, you
get 200% more frepower What an Aquila can do is put characters
into the air that do not fall into the Guard Infantry category, the main
way I anticipate using one is as a way to ship around my Imperial
Guard High Command when they make an appearance in Mega-
battles.
There are, however, a few additional air support options in the
guise of the Imperial Navy fghters and bombers. Of the options
available, the Thunderbolt is a very solid ground attack option
and relatively cheap for the amount of frepower it packs, and
the Lightning is cheaper still, although it tools around with rather
fewer guns. What both these aircraft lack, however, is halfway
decent armour. The Valkyrie, Vulture and Aquila all enjoy armour
11 on their front and sides which makes them immune to small
arms fre and relative safe from strength 5 and 6 weapons. The
Lightning and Thunderbolt, on the other hand, are very much at
risk from any decent multi-shot weapon and have to be handled
with according caution.
Before I move on, I will fnally turn to the Imperial Navy upgrade
options available to you. There are a number of interesting pieces
of war gear that you can apply to your fyers but two of them
are so absolutely essential I would never leave home without
them. They are the Armoured Cockpit and Chaff/Flare launcher.
The frst allows you to ignore shaken and stunned results on a
roll of a 4+ and is well worth its rather hefty cost as it can
enable your expensive gun ships to still get their shots off after
enduring the hell storm of anti aircraft fre their appearance will
inevitably provoke. Meanwhile, the Chaff/fare launcher is a very
inexpensive piece of equipment that enables you to force a re-
roll of an immobilised result on the damage table once per game.
Personally, my opponents always seem to roll another fve or six, but
for only fve points a Chaff/Flare launcher can prevent the catastrophic
37
complete loss of a 200 point fyer and the troops inside it. Sold to the
man in the camoufaged jumpsuit
Also available are a couple of night Fighting upgrades, both of which are
pretty neat, but of which Infrared targeting (re-roll spotting distance) is
better than Illum fares (a fying searchlight without the disadvantage)
and neither are of any use in daylight. The Distinctive paint scheme
upgrade is kinda handy for the points, plus it actively encourages you
to paint sharks mouths and scantily clad ladies on the noses of your
aircraft so that gets a general thumbs up, leaving only Ejector Seats for
consideration. Ejector Seats work rather like the escape mechanisms
that used to be available to Guard tanks and can currently be taken by
Tau battle suits. If the aircraft is destroyed then some of the crew may
escape the crash, in which case the aircraft only counts as damaged
for victory point purposes so long as the crew survive the battle. For
only ten points its potentially a game winner, as aircraft cost an awful
lot of points and only surrendering 100 victory points or so when
they are destroyed makes a world of difference. However, theres
no guarantee that
the crew will even survive to crash, much less the battle, so buyer
beware
THE POOR BLOODY INFANTRY
When composing your army, the frst thing you need to consider is
who to ship around in your Valkyries. If you are not using the drop
troops doctrine your decision is simple here Storm troopers, taken
either as elites or troops using the Grenadiers doctrine are your only
choices but once you can get Guard Infantry units into Valkyries
you get a lot more options. At this point you have to ask yourself
what advantage does using a Valkyrie offer over deep striking? In
short a Valkyrie can position a squad with much more precision than
deep striking and potentially with the ability to shoot heavy weapons
or assault if you disembark them instead of shooting during your
opponents turn. The cost of this is the risk of being shot down and
loosing the squad completely as you make an attack run. Therefore I
prefer not to put very expensive units like heavily equipped Hardened
Veterans into aircraft. Why give up the versatility of a unit that can
both deep strike and infltrate? Instead I get my Veterans into play
as quickly as I can and have them take out the most pressing anti-
aircraft threats on the table. I also prefer not to deploy units like
special weapons teams that have to operate really close to the enemy
by Valkyrie. Flying a Valkyrie within twelve inches of the enemy in the
opening turns of the game is asking to loose it to concentrated ground
fre. Id much prefer to risk loosing a cheap special weapons squad to
a bad scatter than risk loosing one of my expensive aircraft to deliver
them with precision.
Ironically, the unit that benefts most from trucking around in a
Valkyrie is the humble Guard Platoon. A command squad, two infantry
squads and an armoured fst squad (who, being Guard Infantry, can
take a Valkyrie in place of a Chimera as their transport option) armed
with a grab bag of plasma and missile launchers in fully equipped
Valkyries will set you back about 1250 points in total, will satisfy your
compulsory troop choices and give you a fexible core of fre power that
can be pin point positioned once the Veterans and Special Weapons
teams have broken up the enemy formation by deep striking. The
basic Imperial Guard infantry platoon is a powerful and fexible force
when co-ordinated properly and you can deposit the entire platoon into
position to either apply fre support or push and for the fnal assault in
a moment with great precision if theyre air mobile.
Another neat trick you can do with Valkyries is to drop a Heavy
weapon team into position during your opponents turn and have
Special Weapons Squads are
great for pinpoint attacks
38
them ready to fre in your next shooting phase. The possibilities for
rapidly deploying a frebase in an unexpected position are certainly
interesting
Returning briefy to the subject of Storm troopers, I fnd them to
be a generally excellent choice regardless of what manner of army
youre trying to play. Theyre reasonably tough, well equipped and can
be armed to do most jobs pretty well. They are also about the only
option for smaller Air Cavalry armies, as you dont need to take nearly
as many units as you do when using an Infantry platoon. In fact, it is
entirely possible to cram two full Storm trooper squads in Valkyries,
a Vulture and cheap HQ squad into 1000 points if you feel that way
inclined
One fnal unit that is all but essential, although not strictly infantry,
is the humble sentinel squadron. Sentinels are vital as they can carry
the all-important Improved Comms sets, which enable you to control
the arrival of your units. I generally feel you should take about one
improved comms set for every two units you expect to be bringing out
of reserves. Less
than that and you
trust a bit too much to luck. More than that gives you the advantage
of redundancy, but Improved Comms sets are expensive so you have
to draw the line somewhere on cost grounds if nothing else.
Sentinels are also worthwhile as they give you - in effect - mobile
heavy weapon squads which can position themselves for the perfect
frst turn kill shot with their Forward Scout move, or shoot on the turn
they arrive in play by deep strike. However, you need to pay attention
to keeping your comms set alive early in the game, and extra armour
and can help greatly by keeping you mobile if you get hit - smoke is
always a good upgrade for Sentinels too. As to weapons, I like to give
my Sentinels Autocannons and Lascannons as that way they can hang
back a bit from the worst of the frefght. Most of you enemies longest
ranged weapons will be tied up trying to take down your fyers, so you
should be able to snipe away without attracting too much return fre.
Additionally, Autocannons and Lascannons are the sort of weapons I
dont imagine being thrown out the back of a plane, so it sort of makes
sense to mount my allocation of them on Sentinels
TACTICS
Air cavalry doesnt play much like any
other Guard army. Instead of having
hordes of basic infantry armed with heavy
weapons backed up by rock hard tanks,
you have to work with relatively limited
numbers of fragile troopers and highly
mobile vehicles which are good at evading
fre but otherwise lack survivability. In
many respects its rather like playing
Eldar.
The trick is to concentrate ruthlessly
on the objective. Air Cavalry armies are
well nigh unstoppable when required to
take out objectives as in a take and hold,
Bunker Assault or Sabotage. Few armies
can concentrate their forces so effectively,
so you can go hell for leather for the
objectives and hit the enemy like a ton of
bricks at the critical point, then mop
up rest in the endgame. Of course,
when youre playing a game like
rescue or secure and control which
force your army to spread out youll
fnd yourself at a disadvantage
Taking the concept of concentration of force a step further, you
should always strive to get all you fyers into play at the same time.
Few armies can concentrate re like Air Cavalry
39
Painful experience tells me that a single fyer is not too much of a
challenge to shoot down if you let your opponent concentrate fre upon
it, and if you allow your army to enter play in dribs and drabs it may
well get shot down piecemeal. However, three or four or more fyers
entering play all at the same time will overwhelm the enemies ability
to tackle them, especially if you present you opponent with a number
of credible threats simultaneously. If youre playing with an airmobile
Infantry platoon, I would attempt to bring them in from reserves frst
as it will bring at least three fyers into play on a single dice roll. If it
fails to show up do not be afraid to use your re-rolls to hold back the
rest of your aircraft. Further to this point, it is absolutely imperative
that you eliminate as many signifcant Anti-aircraft threats as possible
before your fyers come into play. For this reason alone Infltrating
Hardened Veterans are worth their weight in gold.
You need to watch out for weapons that combine range, strength and
rate of fre and get rid of them as quickly as possible. Autocannons,
especially twin linked ones, are the most threatening thing youre likely
to encounter. Their excellent combination of range and hitting power
make them hard to evade and punishing if they can reach you. Chaos
Havoc squads armed with four of them and the Tank Hunter skill are
especially dangerous. Even more of a threat is the Tau Ion Cannon,
which has even greater reach and an extra shot, but in practice they
are much less common. Single shot weapons like lascannons are less
of a threat, although not to the extent that you ignore them. Its only
the shorter ranged guns like Heavy Bolters and Assault cannons, which
you can hang back from, that you can ignore in the opening stages of
the game. Fortunately, most of the best anti-aircraft platforms are
vehicles, so its not too diffcult to stop them shooting by applying
suffcient frepower to them. When you are facing many anti-aircraft
threats, as a rule I would rather shake them all than concentrate fre
and destroy just the one, so prioritise your targets and work your way
through them as many of them as possible. Where the threat comes
from infantry your best bet is to try and hit them hard then tie them up
in assault with an expendable unit like a special weapons squad.
You should do a couple of Strang runs to soften up the enemys rebase
40
Once your Aircraft arrive from reserves, it is usually best to do a
couple of attack runs strafng the enemys heavy weapons at frst. It
is only really safe to enter the VTOL mode once you have suppressed
all your opponents heavy frepower, as you will become much more
vulnerable to shooting in that critical moment when you transition from
fight to hovering. Despite all their advantages, all fyers are fragile
units when exposed to concentrated fre and fyers in VTOL doubly so.
Therefore, as with all things, when you decide to do this go all out.
Present your opponent with half a dozen tempting targets and dilute
his frepower rather than encouraging him to concentrate his frepower
on your fyers one at a time.
Some armies present more of a threat to you in the shooting phase
than others. Chaos and Imperial Guard, with their easy access to
Autocannons, are probably the most dangerous. Space Marines, who
tend to rely on single shot weapons and have their superior BS negated
by Flyer special rules, are probably the least. Dont underestimate the
Orks, their shooting phase is designed around quantity making up for
quality so theyll hit you a lot more than you expect. Fortunately,
heavy shooters struggle to beat Valkyrie armour, but if they hit you
enough youll be in real trouble. Tyranids will struggle to shoot you
down as most of their guns are short ranged but they have access to
some dead nasty fying critters who can claw your fyers out of the
air, so watch out where you park your shiny hovering death-machine.
The other thing to be careful of is very mobile armies. Once you
put boot to soil your guardsmen are back to being plodding ground-
pounders again and your VTOLS can only turn on the spot without
leaving the table. While it is possible to remount your aircraft and
reposition, its quite time consuming as you have to loose a turn while
your fyer regains speed and altitude before making another attack
run. Unless you pin them down good and proper a Mechanised Eldar
or Tau player will simply waltz away from you, leaving you stuck out
on a limb unless, of course, you had the presence of mind to land on
the objective
A SAMPLE ARMY LIST
The following army list is themed strongly around its fyers - bringing
no less than seven to the table which are backed up by a handful of
pathfnder units that can start the game in play.
DOCTRINES:
Drop Troops, Iron Discipline, Die Hards, Special Weapon Squads,
Veterans
HQ:
Command Platoon: Heroic senior offcer with plasma pistol,
power weapon and iron discipline.
Standard bearer with laspistol and close combat weapon,
medic with laspistol and close combat weapon,
trooper with master vox, laspistol and close combat
weapon and trooper with plasma gun
Transport: Valkyrie with lascannon, two heavy bolters, two
hellstrike missiles, armoured cockpit and chaff launcher
Special Weapons Squad:
Six troopers with Die Hards, demolition charge, two famers,
frag grenades and laspistols and close combat weapons
Special Weapons Squad:
Six troopers with Die Hards, demolition charge, two famers,
frag grenades and laspistols and close combat weapons
ELITES:
Hardened Veterans:
Veteran Sergeant with plasma pistol and power fst.
Nine troopers with Die Hards, missile launcher, three
melta guns, vox, frag grenades and shotguns
Hardened Veterans:
Veteran Sergeant with stormbolter, power weapon and
Honorifca Imperialis. Nine troopers with Die Hards, missile
launcher, three melta guns, vox, frag grenades and shotguns
TROOPS:
Infantry Platoon HQ: Junior Offcer with bolter and Iron
Discipline, medic with bolter. Three Troopers with Plasma Guns
Transport: Valkyrie with lascannon, two heavy bolters, two
hellstrike missiles, armoured cockpit and chaff launcher
Infantry Squad: Veteran Sergeant with stormbolter. Nine
troopers with missile launcher, plasma gun and vox
41
Transport: Valkyrie with multilaser, two heavy bolters, two
multiple rocket pods, armoured cockpit and chaff launcher
Infantry Squad: Veteran Sergeant with stormbolter. Nine
troopers with missile launcher, plasma gun and vox
Armoured Fist Squad: Veteran Sergeant with stormbolter.
Nine troopers with missile launcher, plasma gun and vox
FAST ATTACK:
Sentinel Squadron: Three Cadian Pattern Sentinels
with Extra Armour and Improved Comms
Sentinel Squadron: Three Cadian Pattern Sentinels
with Extra Armour and Improved Comms
HEAVY SUPPORT:
Vulture Gunship: With heavy bolter, twin linked
lascannon, six hunter killer missiles, armoured cockpit,
chaff launcher and distinctive paint job
Vulture Gunship: With heavy bolter, twin linked lascannon,
six hunter killer missiles, armoured cockpit and chaff launcher
3000 PTS
The Sentinels and Veterans make up the Vanguard of this army.
Both can begin the game in play and Scout or Infltrate into good fring
positions in order to take out the enemies anti-aircraft threats and
both units can also Deep strike if you prefer. The Sentinels are well
weighed down with Improved Comms, which will give you more than
enough re-rolls to control your armys arrival, even if you suffer some
losses. The Special Weapons Squads should be dropped on the most
pressing infantry threats as soon as possible and then, once you have
neutralised as much of the enemies frebase as possible, you can bring
in set down the rest of the Infantry to claim the ground. Three of
the Valkyries have been equipped for anti-infantry work, whereas the
Vultures are set up for tank hunting. The Command squads Valkyries
are armed so that they can perform either role at a
pinch. Although defnitely light in Infantry by Guard
st andards, you still have seventy-two men under
y o u r command, plus your six Sentinels and
s e v e n aircraft. You should endeavour to
p r e s e n t as many targets at the same time as
pos s i bl e, holding back aircraft with your re-
rolls if need be, then the enemys a n t i -
aircraft fre should be overwhelmed b y
the number of targets, and you have
suffcient redundancy in your force
that you can cope with the loss of
an aircraft or two without loosing
too much of your force.
Matt Bowden
You should watch out for Mobile
units with good repower
42
story
The Chase
Oblivion was a comfort.
A vast, borderless nothing that made no demand of identity, space
or time, it surrounded Canoness Alsatia Du Prillon of the Adepta
Sororitas in an unconscious void that released any burden of thought
or recognition from her inert mind.
But such peace was not to last. Not on the dying husk of the world
once known as Medusa V. The warp storm was close now, very close,
but the denizens of that chaotic whirlwind would need little effort to
fnish off the doomed world. The work of murdering the planet had
fallen squarely upon the many armies that swarmed over the corpse
of this once great planet, armored maggots chewing each other apart
with the same violent hunger that consumed the cities and plains
around them.
The warp storm was just a formality, a fashing fnal curtain of
destructive energy that was no more relevant to the planets cause of
death now than cremation was for the average corpse.
These thoughts returned to Alsatias mind in unrelated images and
fragments, a dreamy knowing of things that pushed through the gauze
of her comfortable oblivion to gnaw her quieted mind awake. Image
followed image, sound followed sound, and the detritus of a sleeping
mind was cast aside for those things she knew shed known from fesh
and blood experience.
The fgure of a tall, aging Inquisitor, feverishly urging the forces of
the Inquisition to attack imperial and xeno armies alike if the former
was found guilty of making truce or cooperative plans with the latter.
A Tau deception in the darkened hell of Sybilla Primus fickered past
her minds eye. The Ultramarines were goaded into assaulting the
Sisters of Battle for a time a time that cost lives on both sides, before
a truce was struck and the combined wrath of the Ultramarines and
Sisters was turned on their Xeno tormentors. That proud Inquisitor,
cut down trying to defend her against a jump-pack equipped Chaplain,
had found his body destroyed but cybernetically rebuilt to continue his
holy mission.
An asteroid guided to Ice Station Alpha by the Tau in a further
attempt to defle an imperial world; the plan hatched by her Inquisitor
Lord and herself to repay the Tau in blood by sending prisoners of war
there to await the impact of the rock.
Every thought raised her consciousness further from nothing and
quickened it towards full consciousness. The momentum of her identity
was gaining speed now, pushing through the weight of blackness to
rise from beneath it, a bubble of awareness foating to the surface to
burst into full realization.
When the bubble burst, Alsatia was wide awake, adrenalin pumping,
armored hand clutching the white and gold bolter that had never
left her fngers, sitting upright without regard to the wound that had
pierced her side through the power armor she wore.
She was in the back of a feeing Sisters of Battle rhino.
The warp storm was closing in fast. A general retreat had been
sounded.
The rescue ships had already left their zones amidst an enemy
counterattack that would have cost more lives than it saved if the
ships had remained.
And the only way off the planet now was a ship a few miles away,
through a decimated cityscape crawling with Tyranids, and their time
was very, very short.
Du Prillon swept aside the blonde hair that had sweat-matted against
her face and ignored the wound that had knocked her down. She
didnt feel the head wound that had rendered her unconscious, and
the sister Hospitaller nearby backed away in the cramped confnes of
the rhino, knowing her services werent needed now. Two armored
sisters leaned out the top hatch of the rhino, one sweeping her famer
in broad arcs, the other fring a heavy bolter here and there, shell
casings lost in the displaced air of the speeding vehicle.
Whats our situation? she asked a nearby sister, who was reloading
her bolter. How long was I out?
Only a couple of minutes, my lady. Shining fngers locked the
ammo clip in position and cocked the weapon. Weve lost one rhino.
Four remain.
Du Prillon smashed her metal fst into the hull of the rhino, leaving
the curved imprint of four fngers behind. Five sisters remained alive
43
in this Rhino, not counting herself, and the Inquisitor Lords sister
Hospitaller.
Wheres Kurlin? Alsatia asked.
Flanking rhino, fring at whatever he can.
She shook her head. The Emperor be praised, but how much longer
can we last?
She hoped the answer that came wasnt an omen. A shower of blood
and torn metal rained from the hatch, and Sister Idwina collapsed, her
heavy bolter going silent. It would be little use to her anyway, given
the remainder of her head.
Du Prillon jumped to the hatch before any other sister could react,
bolter steady, leaning out to meet the oncoming hoard.
Sister Galda kept her famer sweeping the pursuing masses while
the rhino jinked side to side to avoid leaping bugs. The hormagaunts
kept pace with the tank effortlessly, but their leaping attacks were
having little success against the occupants save for the occasional
lucky slice.
Du Prillon leaned beside Galda and swept her bolter fre through the
mass of pursuing Tyranids. They jumped aside nimbly, leaping over
ruined cars, shattered rock and warriors slain in prior battles. What
her bolter missed, the famer caught, but they occasionally focused on
a single gaunt that got too close for its own good.
How much do you have left? Du Prillon picked off a gaunt that
had leapt onto a cars dented roof and sent it splattering against the
sidewalk behind it.
Not much. Another sixty seconds worth. Galda burned four gaunts
that ran hissing alongside the rhino, pre-empting the leaping attack
they braced to make.
Alsatia swept her bolter over three more on the other fank. She
called down to the others, Istra! Take that heavy bolter load out and
get it up here now!
The rhino lurched sideways then, throwing both womens aim off. A
carnifex burst through the side of a building nearby, oblivious to the
falling concrete. It screamed and sliced outward with its two sets of
scything talons, a glowing burst of green energy rocketing out of its
throat.
The refexive jink of the driver had saved them at the last moment.
The bio-plasma missed wide, and the scything blades caught only the
top half of sister Galda.
The Canoness grabbed the famer as it fell and turned both weapons
on the approaching hoard, the thundering carnifex lost in the crowd of
gaunts that followed. A blur of black snapped into her armor; the living
ammunition of the termagant snipers on the third foor of a passing
building had failed to cleave through her blessed armor.
Were running out of options, way too fast. She glanced around
quickly, triggering another famer/bolter burst into the oncoming
hoard. The other rhinos were nowhere to be seen, but the staccato
echo of bolter fre from nearby city blocks told her they were at least
speeding along to her, parallel on the other streets.
The famer was going dry. One burst of orange went pale blue and
parted into nothing but air. She threw it aside and fred the last of her
bolter clip.
The deep purr of a heavy bolter next to her disintegrated a
hormagaunt leaping at her head. She ducked down into the hatch as
sister Istra and sister Hangl used paired heavy bolters to hose down
the feeing bugs.
Why wasnt that second heavy bolter up there before? she asked
the Hospitaller as she ducked down.
Jammed ammo feed. Weve been pressed for time and those two
sisters arent familiar with those heavy weapons.
Du Prillon nodded once and opened the metal hatch to the drivers
compartment. Distance to objective?
Not close enough. Weve lost a rhino on the left fank. The carnifex
wiped it out before it came for us.
No survivors, she told herself. Not with that tidal wave of gaunts
right behind us.
Alsatia closed the door and checked the computer terminal near the
doorway. Green blips marked the rhinos over the next two blocks,
swerving and speeding through the urban hell theyd found themselves
in. The Tyranids were coded purple and closing in from all angles now;
the desperate rhinos speeding toward any break in the enemy lines
they could exploit to get away.
44
Her eyes ficked up at the nav point that arced back and forth at
the top of the round radar screen, repositioning with every desperate
maneuver.
Which rhino is Kurlin in? she asked.
The one to our immediate right, the Hospitaller answered.
The radar screen showed the gaunts falling back now, a long stretch
of open road giving them valuable distance.
Du Prillon slid on a headset and hailed the nearby rhino. This is
Canoness Du Prillon calling for Inquisitor Kurlin, she said calmly.
A burst of static crossed the channel, before the Inquisitors low and
gravelly voice came back. Status, Alsatia.
Were only barely outrunning the Tyranids here. Ive got casualties.
She knew better than to report her exact strength over the com.
Pull alongside my rhino at the intersection ahead. Well combine
efforts.
Understood. She passed the order to her driver.
An open intersection yawned wide, with toppled statues and
overturned benches the only real obstacles. The surviving rhinos sped
together towards the center, then shifted trajectory down the four lane
freeway that led the spaceport where the shuttles awaited to carry
them home.
Exit the freeway as soon as possible, Kurlin ordered her. Well
shortcut through the countryside.
The rhinos formed a column with Kurlins in the center, jetting onto
the exit ramp and bursting through the concrete barriers that kept
them from the open dirt plains beyond the road.
The rhino kicked once and landed hard. The heavy bolter sisters
stayed at their posts. Gargoyles coming in, one of them calmly
reported. Alsatia and the Hospitaller reloaded the heavy bolters with
the last remaining rounds in the transport. Alsatia picked up two
bolters and loaded them full, sliding extra clips into her belt pouches.
She rose through the hatch and watched a cloud of moving blackness
coasting towards them from above at an alarming rate. Theyre fast.
Very fast.
A heavy bolter braced against the top of the rhino. Kurlin rose
majestically from the transport nearest her.
He had been gravely wounded in the battle with the Ultramarines;
his body mostly bionics and armor plate now. His right arm had
been replaced by a large, sleek weapon that combined a bolter with
a meltagun. His infamous red bloodcord whipped against his chest
with the pressing wind that surrounded them both, his metallic face
replacements passive, unexpressive.
Prepare for contact, he said through his commline, and the wind
distortion did little to conceal his resolve.
The heavy bolter opened up frst. Specks of black fell from the cloud
and spiraled into the dirt below. Another few moments and the bolters
of the collected rhinos opened up. A toll of butchered gargoyles fell
ungracefully from the swarm, awash in blood and mangle entrails.
Fleshborers fred from above. Thankfully among the weakest of the
Tyranid arsenal, the weapons were thwarted with thick armor plate
and clever evasion of the transports.
A crackle of energy snapped out of Kurlins outstretched left hand.
Five gargoyles cooked in mid air. He alternated between his elegant
weapon arm and the Inquisitorial power known as the Scourge,
accounting for more than the famer equipped sister beside him, he
covered the retreat of the vehicles with wide arcs of fre.
Were almost there! her driver called through the comline. The
starport was in the distance now.
So were three carnifexes, thundering towards their position between
the rhinos and fnal safety.
Inquisitor! Du Prillon called. Three marks ahead!
The gargoyles were parting into two clouds now, racing to outfank
the rhinos.
Circle them, keep them at range, Kurlin ordered. We dare not let
them follow us to the landing pad.
The rhinos split off from each other, each facing a carnifex. Two
were screamer-killer genus, and boasted two sets of scything talons
each. The third carried a barbed strangler and venom cannon. So
far its deadly shots missed the rhinos, the barbed strangler wiping
45
out huge chunks of terrain with short-lived tentacles that
whipped spastically about before withering.
Kurlins rhino barreled straight toward the shooting
carnifex. The third rhino and Alsatias pulled wide of the
screamer killer escorts, bio-plasma screeching out of the
behemoths but fnding no mark.
The sisters were no luckier, their bolters ricocheting
harmlessly off the overgrown chitin.
Kurlins rhino spun meters away from the gun carrying
carnifex. It reared up and swung at the zooming pest of a
transport, denting the side and sending it careening on one
tread for a moment. Kurlin held fast to the hull with one
metal hand clenching the armor, fring his meltagun into the
carnifex. It burned deep into the breast of the animal. It
roared but fell back enough for another shot. The venom
cannons missed, the barbed strangler defecting off the hull
to explode in the distance.
Alsatias rhino zipped towards the third rhino. The two
passed each other within a couple feet, each fring violently
to bring down a carnifex. The carnifex Alsatia and her crew
circled was wounded now, heavy bolters chewing up tender
spots of its body, purple ichors leaking thickly from the
wounds. The third carnifex was untouched and closed ranks
with its gunner, teaming up against Kurlin as gunfre erupted
harmlessly across its back.
Moments remained as the gargoyles swooped in from two
sides to fnish the crew. The third rhino past in close to douse
the wounded carnifex with a famer. The carnifex lurched
forward with deceptive speed and tore into the hull with
four violating talons, fipping the rhino over and tearing it
apart. Its burning bulk cut, stomped and bit the passengers
to death before it collapsed from the fames that consumed
it.
The other screamer-killer staggered and collapsed from
the last of the heavy bolter rounds. Spent, the two sisters
ducked into the hatch. Alsatia rose up and began to fre
everything she had into the gargoyle swarms that swooped
down now. The storm bolter turret coughed its own death
into the masses, but a wave of gargoyles was cutting in
towards Kurlin totally unchallenged.
46
The gunner carnifex fred and struck home with the venom cannon
shot, the blast piercing the front of the rhino that carried Kurlin and
slowing it to a halt.
Kurlin jumped down from the hatch of the rhino as two sisters popped
up from inside, and began hosing down the swooping gargoyles. The
carnifex stormed towards Kurlin as the gargoyles descended with tooth
and claw.
Kurlin spun on one foot, fring his bolter in a wide arc into the
assaulting gargoyles. Their claws glanced his armor but cut no wounds
for their effort. He grabbed a gargoyle in his metal hand, crushed
the neck, and used it as a fail against the others that swirled near
him. The carnifex charged him, and Kurlin sidestepped easily, fring
his bolter into the monsters side as he swung the dead gargoyle club
to shield against more attacks.
The remaining sisters had exited the wounded rhino and joined the
fray, bolters fring, chainswords slashing. The turret mounted storm
bolter twitched left and right to track varied targets while a chain of
fashing light erupted from Kurlin to scourge a handful of gargoyles
from the sky.
Alsatias rhino sped straight towards the gunning carnifex, shooting
it from behind. Her twin bolters stitched all over the back while the
storm bolter freely roamed the creature in search of a weakness. The
monster turned with a roar and positioned to fre its venom cannon.
Kurlin fred his bolter up under the carnifexs chin as it fred, and
the shot few far off the mark. Flesh tore from the carnifex and purple
blood leaked from a dozen wounds.
The gargoyles pulled back to regroup their number. Dead sisters and
gargoyles alike littered the ground. Kurlin himself had been wounded
twice, the red slick against two ugly rents in his armor assuring his
human vulnerability.
But the Inquisitor still stood. The carnifex turned towards him,
swinging its weapon arms in a blow that could cut a man in half
effortlessly. Alsatias rhino pulled away at the last moment as Kurlin
discharged a powerful burst of the scourge into the wicked beast.
Energy carved into the creature and seared fesh all the way
down to its pulsing brain. The animal cut off from the hive mind as
cerebral meat popped and melted. Its eyes burst as electrical currents
played between its teeth. It hissed and collapsed, barely missing the
Inquisitor.
Kurlin fell to one knee, dropping his makeshift club as Alsatia pulled
up beside him. The Hospitaller charged out from the rear hatch of
the rhino to bring the spent Inquisitor Lord to safety. One wounded
sister limped toward the rhino with a hand to her side, staggered, and
collapsed into the dirt. The pool of slick blood growing beneath her
refected the fashing wrath of the warp storm as it crept closer to
Medusa V in the night sky.
The gargoyles were coming again. Du Prillon and Kurlin braced inside
the hatch of the surviving Rhino. Even if the rhino was impervious to
the gargoyles best attacks, leading the winged terrors to the landing
pad could still complicate the rescue of other, unarmored personnel.
Their worries were pushed aside with the arrival of three squads of
seraphim. Jet packs blasted their gleaming armor into the gargoyle
swarm, famers fring, bolt pistols kicking, swords cutting down the
fying monsters.
Get to the ships! the seraphim called. They made no attempt
to join the feeing rhino, fghting with grace and agility, their faith
sustaining them through the whirlwind of tooth, claw and feshborer,
their last stand taking ten times their number from the gargoyles
around them.
Alsatias rhino launched up the ramp of the nearest armored
transport. Sisters inside immediately locked it down whilst the medical
teams rushed in to tend to the wounded.
A heavy toll on our numbers today, Kurlin said to her quietly. Gloved
hands and medical instruments surrounded them both in parody of the
probing aliens that had swarmed them before. The name of every
sister that fell to get us here will be remembered, I promise you.
They sit with the God Emperor now. She felt unconsciousness
returning for her, her body suddenly heavier than the armor she
wore.
The purge will continue, Canoness.
Alsatia nodded once and felt her mind fall backward through the
trapdoor of her own failing consciousness, once again drowned in the
shadows of her own void-like sleep.
by Christopher Turco
47
48
interview
ON THE
WINGS

OF
ANGELS
W
ith the recent release of the new codex, FIREBASE
takes a chance to showcase Leons wonderful Dark
Angel Force.
FIREBASE: How long have you been in to 40k Leon?
Leon: Well I got started near the end of 2nd edition, so thats quite
a long time ago, though I did go on a hiatus for about four years and
got back into it about three years ago
FB:What was it that got you in to the game in the frst place, and
what brought you back?
Leon: What got me into is was the cool models. I saw some at a
friends house and immediately fell in love, then I discovered a whole
universe behind that cool model and was hooked!
FB: And what was the model that sealed the deal for you?
Leon: That was the Great Unclean One, and the reason I got back
into the hobby was that I was bored one afternoon and decided to take
my army back to my local GW store and have a game
FB: So, from the Great
Unclean One, when and how
did the Dark Angels grab
your attention?
Leon: That must have
been around two years ago. I
had just fnished my IG army
and was looking for a new
challenge. I had always liked
the Dark Angels background
(dark and brooding heroes
instead of goody two-shoes),
and the new Space Marine
Codex made me want to use
all the shiny new rules they
got. So collecting a Dark
Angel army seemed a logical
decision.
FB: How do you approach building a new army; are you a list builder,
or do you jump in to modelling and worry about a list later?
Leon: Initially, I tend to go for what I think looks good, using units
that appeal to me background-wise and/or model-wise. I tend to tweak
my army lists as I have more games with my new army though, but
the coolness factor remains ever important. If its not cool, Im not
using it no matter how killy it may be.
FB: Thats a good way to play; what are your opinions on the new
Dark Angel Codex; it seemed to divide the community somewhat!
Leon: Well I love it! It is (in my opinion) the fuffest marine codex
GW has ever produced. It forces you to make a list that fts with the
background. Marines operate in tactical squads of 10, not 6 man las/plas
squads. Also, the codex is very clear rules-wise and
it strikes me as very balanced. My tournament list
for example is quite fuffy (if I may say so myself)
but still packs a punch. If that kind of balance
between background and in-game effectiveness is
how GW will be producing their rules in the future,
Ill be very happy.
FB: I wholeheartedly agree; going back to the
army you have now, is this a brand new force using
a lot of the new plastics, or is there much conversion
work and use of older models?
49
50
Leon: Well the initial force (created with
the release of Codex: Space Marines) used a
lot of the older metal Dark Angel models and
bits. The entire army uses metal shoulder
pads for example. The new Dark Angel
models were too good not to use though so
I got a couple of boxes of them when they
came out and replaced some models with the
new plastics.
The sergeants (with the robes) are all
new Dark Angel plastics for example. I still
used the older metal shoulder pads though,
because I like how they look and I wanted the
new models to blend in with the older ones.
FB: Nice; we can see here that you have
begun an expansion in to the Deathwing; is
that a grand plan, and do you also plan a
Ravenwing force?
Leon: Well the Deathwing are actually a
fnished army, made to be used with the old
Dark Angel codex and Codex: Space Marines.
I started work on them as soon as my regular DAs were
fnished. I will go back in the near future and make them
game legal with the new codex so I use them again.
A Ravenwing force is something that I do want to do
someday. But I have some other projects that got put on hold
by the release of the new Dark Angels, so the Ravenwing will
have to wait.
FB: I do love the idea of a grand dark angels force; do you
have any tips on painting and modelling dark angels?
Leon: Not really Dark Angel specifc, but there are a
couple of rules I apply when I build an army. The frst is
to select a limited palette of colours and stick to it. Also,
base your models the same way across your entire army.
This way, your army will look like an actual army instead of
a collection of units.
51
FB: And any tips on the using the Dark Angels on the battlefeld?
Leon: With the new codex, its important to know when to use
combat squads and when to use full squads. Combat squads offer a lot
of fexibility but theyre quite small and will be destroyed easily if youre
not careful. Another cool feature in the new codex is the addition of
pistols and grenades for everyone. Remember that and itll pay off.
FB: Great stuff. As a fnal question, if you could have a wish granted
in 40k or with Games Workshop in general, what would it be?
Leon: Tough question, that. Actually I wish theyd continue making
models like they do now, and continue making army books like the
most recent ones. If they do that Ill be a very happy man.
FB: Thanks for the interview and showing your wonderful models
Leon, I wish you all the best in fnding redemption by hunting down
your fallen brethren!
Leon: Thanks for giving me the opportunity to show them off!
(more picture on the next pages)
52
53
54
tactica
EPIC
BASIC TRAINING
W
ith FIREBASE turning its eyes upon the EPIC this
issue, Robert takes the rookies through the basics of
getting started.
Ever thought that 40k does not meet the grandeur of the background?
That Space Marines do not seem to play as an elite but light force?
That Eldar are not the fragile, but hard hitting force that they should
be? That your Imperial Guard should have more tanks? That you do not
have enough Orks on the table? Ever thought to try Epic?
While Epic may not be the mainstream game that 40k is, in the
opinion of its players it is the best representation of ground warfare
in the 41st millennium. Thunderhawk Air Assaulting Space Marine
forces, massive Ork hordes backed by Stompas, Gargants, and Fighta-
Bombas, vast Imperial Guard armies with Infantry, Tank, and Artillery
Companies are styles that ft into the 2700 or 3000 point tournament
armies. In Epic, armies play far differently to how they play in 40k;
they play more like the background suggests they should.
But it is not a simple matter of playing 40k with smaller minis. The
rules are very different and more abstract than 40k. Instead of a total
IGOUGO kind of action, with the move, fre and assault phases, Epic
goes by Detachments. Each detachment consists of a number of units.
A detachment is given an order to do one of a variety of actions, from
sustaining fre to marching to rallying. Shooting is much simpler with
a single roll to hit and wound with the opposing unit possibly getting
a save. Normally following your unit fnishing its action, the initiative
passes to the other player. This your formation, my formation back
and forth continues until all the formations have been activated and
then victory conditions are checked to see who has won.
Oh great another rules set to learn! Fortunately these rules are not
hard to learn and understand. How does one go about learning the
rules? Read the rules once through and play a few games. The rules
are free for download at www.specialist-games.com as well as a set
proxy counters (under player aids) for those who do not want to make
any initial investment in miniatures.
For now download the 1.0 Epic Game Rules and the proxy counters
to get right into the rules and playing a few games. These are the
basic rules and it provides you with 5 training scenarios to learn those
rules and uses the proxy counters (you will need to print 2 sheets at
Tatical squad formation
55
least). The training scenarios are Space Marines on Space Marines,
live fre exercises if you will.
The frst scenario uses all the tactical squads you have available, 2
formations of 6 stands each - that is 60 Marines per side. Also in the
center of the table is the objective, your mission is to hold it and it will
be until Scenario 5. The second scenario makes the simple addition
of Rhinos, increasing your tactical options and introducing armor In
the third scenario, it is a tank battle with 2 formations of 4 Predators
per side
The fourth scenario is no
longer a mirrored game.
Each side has the same 2 formations of Tactical Marines with Rhinos
it did in Scenario 2, but now one player has a formation of Assault
Marines and the other a formation of Devastators. The two forces thus
play differently and will require each player to play differently, worth
playing twice and switching sides.
The ffth scenario brings it all together, adds Whirlwinds and Predator
formations to the forces in the fourth scenario. Also the number of
objectives increases to 3 and your goal is to hold 2 of the 3 for a full
turn. Like Scenario 4, this one may be worth playing a second time
switching forces and get a better handle on the rules.
Once these core scenarios have been played through you should
at least understand Epic and can decide whether or not you like the
game. Hopefully you liked it and are interested in playing some more
games of Epic. You have very little excuse not to at least try it out.
So what if you want to play the Training Scenarios with minis? What
will you need to get and what will it cost?
A single Epic Space Marine Battle Company ($20/12) gets you
all the infantry you need. Two packs of Epic Space
Marine Rhinos ($22/10), 4 packs of Epic Space Marine
Predators ($20/9) (note that this makes 2 Destructors and
2 Annihilators), and 2 packs of Epic Space Marine Whirlwinds
and Hunters ($20/9) completes the minis for all the Training
missions. The total for this all is $184 or 86. This also
gives more than the beginnings of two Space Marine
Armies. But that is also less than the cost of a
single 40k army. However for the new
player Space Marines have a steep learning
curve. Unless you really want to play Space
Marines, it is probably best to just keep to the proxy
counters. Once you have a handle on the rules, the
best starter armies are Orks or Imperial Guard which
you will see more of in Epic: Beyond Training.
Battle tank formation
56
Next time I hope to bring you Epic: Advanced Training, which will
cover the follow-on scenarios that are found in sections 2, 3, and 4
of the rules. Section 2 covers Specialist, Section 3 Warmachines, and
Section 4 Aerospace rules and 4 more training scenarios between
them. Following that I hope to do an article Epic: Beyond Training,
covering sectional army construction, growing from basic 1500 forces,
to 2000, then 3000 points and getting more complex and using more
of the rules.
If you cannot wait for the next article and must know more about Epic
you can post questions in the Specialist-Games sub forum on Warseer or
go to Tactical Command Forums http://www.tacticalwargames.net/cgi-
bin/forum/ikonboard.cgi (A thank you to Tactical Command Forum for
reviewing the article and giving input!) and see the latest development
of your favorite army. Yes, the game is now player developed. Also
there is nothing stopping you from having a go at the 4 additional
training scenarios, just at the moment there are no proxies for it. So
have fun and play a few games of Epic and see how war in the 41st
Millennium really is.
Robert
epic battle report
THE
PURGING
OF

CERVIUM II
S
hasO Asaura looked down on the ground as she saw
movement. A small beetle was scuttling around in the
light grass. Asaura followed it with her eyes for a while and
then brought her heavy boot down, squashing the bug. I
hate bugs she thought. Figures that it must be me who got
assigned to this planet -- a planet thats being assaulted by
tyranids. Why doesnt the Greater Good require me to go to
planet where I could deal with humans or orks?
The planet -- a formerly Imperial world known as Cervium II by the
humans was attacked by Tyranids some time after it joined the Tau
Empire. The Tau managed to destroy the splinter feet that attacked it,
but the Tyranids managed to drop some ground forces on the surface.
The battles rage on as Tau troops assisted by human militia try to
eradicate the Tyranid organisms. Asaura was concerned with a sector
which included the Human city of Ericda. The entire western continent
was still heavily under the infuence of Tyranids and most Tau colonists
and human inhabitants had already been pulled out. Ericda was one
of the few places still inhabited and its evacuation was scheduled to
happen in 3 days. Before that it needed protection.
Suddenly the comm beebs informed the ShasO of an incoming
message. Her pathfnders had noticed a Tyranid force moving
relentlessly towards the outskirts of Ericda. Smiling grimly Asaura
went inside the comm building and gave orders to prepare the troops
to move out. Why does this happen when all the Orcas and most of
our Devilfsh are out for reft and repair. Perhaps that
Guevesa saying about Murphys law rings true, she thought.
Within minutes the Firewarriors and Kroot under Asauras command
had assembled, while a human company was still prepping their
weapons and gear. The Crisis suited warriors were standing a little off
from the rest as they were waiting for the ShasO to join them. Drone
squadrons were hovering behind the crisis teams. On a clearing to the
front, the Armoured Mobile Hunter cadres railcannon Hammerhead
tanks and the supplementary Stingray missile gunships were warming
up their engines.
Asaura walked out in her own Crisis suit, looking at the assembled
troops.
- We have learnt that a larger Tyranid force is moving towards the
Ericda. If they reach the city, the inhabitants will not survive. We
will stop the Tyranids without waiting for our transport. Our Sissi
Pathfnders are currently tracking the enemy and we estimate that
they will reach the city by tomorrow noon.
- We will intercept them just outside the city limits. We should reach
the city by marching before nightfall. We shall rest at the southern side
of the city and prepare to stop the enemy there.
- Luckily we just got reinforced with multiple Drone squadrons and
we shall take all of them with us.
- We will move out in 30 Min. Normal marching order, 16th Guevesa
company will lead, I will be with the second Cadre. Stay in contact with
your fank guard at all times.
- For the Greater Good!
RULES BIT
RULES USED
Since the army lists have not been fnalised, this game uses a
modifed version of Malefactors, Haruspexes and Hierophant. The units
have following stats. Also all experimental rules stated in Specialist
Games site are being used.
Haruspex
Speed Save Close combat Firefght
20cm 4+ 3+ 5+
Weapons Range Firepower Notes
Large Claws Close Combat + 2 Extra Attacks, Macroweapon
(base contact)
Notes: Reinforced Armours, Walker
57
epic battle report
THE
PURGING
OF

CERVIUM II
S
hasO Asaura looked down on the ground as she saw
movement. A small beetle was scuttling around in the
light grass. Asaura followed it with her eyes for a while and
then brought her heavy boot down, squashing the bug. I
hate bugs she thought. Figures that it must be me who got
assigned to this planet -- a planet thats being assaulted by
tyranids. Why doesnt the Greater Good require me to go to
planet where I could deal with humans or orks?
The planet -- a formerly Imperial world known as Cervium II by the
humans was attacked by Tyranids some time after it joined the Tau
Empire. The Tau managed to destroy the splinter feet that attacked it,
but the Tyranids managed to drop some ground forces on the surface.
The battles rage on as Tau troops assisted by human militia try to
eradicate the Tyranid organisms. Asaura was concerned with a sector
which included the Human city of Ericda. The entire western continent
was still heavily under the infuence of Tyranids and most Tau colonists
and human inhabitants had already been pulled out. Ericda was one
of the few places still inhabited and its evacuation was scheduled to
happen in 3 days. Before that it needed protection.
Suddenly the comm beebs informed the ShasO of an incoming
message. Her pathfnders had noticed a Tyranid force moving
relentlessly towards the outskirts of Ericda. Smiling grimly Asaura
went inside the comm building and gave orders to prepare the troops
to move out. Why does this happen when all the Orcas and most of
our Devilfsh are out for reft and repair. Perhaps that
Guevesa saying about Murphys law rings true, she thought.
Within minutes the Firewarriors and Kroot under Asauras command
had assembled, while a human company was still prepping their
weapons and gear. The Crisis suited warriors were standing a little off
from the rest as they were waiting for the ShasO to join them. Drone
squadrons were hovering behind the crisis teams. On a clearing to the
front, the Armoured Mobile Hunter cadres railcannon Hammerhead
tanks and the supplementary Stingray missile gunships were warming
up their engines.
Asaura walked out in her own Crisis suit, looking at the assembled
troops.
- We have learnt that a larger Tyranid force is moving towards the
Ericda. If they reach the city, the inhabitants will not survive. We
will stop the Tyranids without waiting for our transport. Our Sissi
Pathfnders are currently tracking the enemy and we estimate that
they will reach the city by tomorrow noon.
- We will intercept them just outside the city limits. We should reach
the city by marching before nightfall. We shall rest at the southern side
of the city and prepare to stop the enemy there.
- Luckily we just got reinforced with multiple Drone squadrons and
we shall take all of them with us.
- We will move out in 30 Min. Normal marching order, 16th Guevesa
company will lead, I will be with the second Cadre. Stay in contact with
your fank guard at all times.
- For the Greater Good!
RULES BIT
RULES USED
Since the army lists have not been fnalised, this game uses a
modifed version of Malefactors, Haruspexes and Hierophant. The units
have following stats. Also all experimental rules stated in Specialist
Games site are being used.
Haruspex
20cm 4+ 3+ 5+
Large Claws Close Combat + 2 Extra Attacks, Macroweapon
(base contact)
Notes: Reinforced Armours, Walker
58
Malefactor
20cm 4+ 4+ 4+
Spine Banks 20cm 2x AP4+
AND (15cm)
Small Arms +2 Extra Attacks
Notes: Reinforced Armour, Walker
Hierophant
25c, 4+ 3+ 5+
Huge Scything Close combat +2 Extra Attacks, Titan Killer (1)
Talons (base contact)
Additionally, the Hierophant must select two weapons biomorphs
from the Bio-Titans biomorphs list.
Bio-Titan weapons biomorphs:
Bio Cannon 45cm 2x AP3+/AT4+ I gnore Cover
Ripper Close d3+2 Extra Attacks
Tentacles Combat
(base contact)
Monstrous Close +1 Extra Attacks, Titan Killer (d3)
Claws Combat
(base contact)
Pyro-Acidic Template AP4+/AT5+ Ignores
Cover
Spray
THE GAME USES PRE-MEASURING.
ARMIES
TYRANID CONSUMPTION SWARM (HENA)
Hive Tyrant 1 (attack swarm)
2 Haruspex, 2 Malefactor, 1 Screamer Killer,
2 Venomfex and Zoanthrope
Hive Tyrant 2 (support swarm)
4 Dactylis and Zoanthrope
Tyranid Warriors (assault swarm 1)
13 Termagants and 9 Hormagaunts
12 Termagants, 8 Hormagaunts and 2 Gargoyles
6 Termagants, 6 Hormagaunts and 7 Gargoyles
Greater Synapse Node
2 x Lesser Synapse Node
Genestealer swarm
8 Genestealers
Hierophant
+ Ripper Tentacles, Pyro-Acidic Spray
4 Mycetic Spores
Army description
Synapse: 825 points, 27.5%
Independent: 450, 15%
Common Brood: 990, 33%
Uncommon Brood: 735, 24.5%
59
My tyranid lists usually have a swarm for support and 2 larger
common brood swarms. I decided to take my default support swarm
with one Zoanthrope for AA fre. In addition to this I was thinking
my default to take the two larger infantry swarms. However this time
I decided to take three common brood swarms which were a little
smaller and one with more gargoyles as well. Just want to fnd out how
much that 6+ save (as well as 30cm move) would help. After looking
the total amounts of common brood the large numbers with them is
very enjoyable.
In addition to this I took my usual looking AV swarm. It has Haruspexes
and Malefactors as main assault troop as they are a bit faster than
Carnifexes. But few fexes does allow more shield to Hive Tyrant. One
Zonthrope is to give them some protection against aircrafts. This also
allows me to test some of those modifcations.
Then I went for the Independent. Never leave home without
genestealers, I say. I like em even if they tend to die rather fast. Also
one bio titan is added to test it out. I was thinking about trading in one
of the common brood swarms to get another, but as Hydraphant isnt
painted yet, I decided not to.
Lastly I took several synapse nodes. I need to try the Greater
Node against Tau, even though I fear that it wont survive if there is
Tigershark AX-1-0. 2DC war engine alone with AVs and infantry doesnt
usually survive very long. As I found out against IG or more precise
Shadowsword.
This gave me quite nice look in army. 103 units
ready to rip the enemy apart :)
TAU SECTOR PROTECTION FORCE (ASAURA)
Cadres
2 x Firewarrior Cadre
Battle Suit Cadre
+ ShasO and Drones
Armoured Mobile Hunter Cadre
Railcannon variants
Contingents
2 x Pathfnder Contingents
2 x Stingray Contingents
3 x Gun Drone Squadron
Alien Auxiliary
2 x Guevesa Auxiliary Company
Kroot Kindred
Air Caste
Hero-class Cruiser
+ Gravitic Tracer Salvo
I decided to experiment with an entirely ground-based Tau army. I
generally use at least two Orcas, but this time the only Air caste stuff
I used was the Lahna cruiser. I never leave home without it and its 2
pin-point attacks -- to deal with any heavy stuff I might encounter.
The other choices were pretty much dictated with the models I
had available. I could have used Hammerheads instead of the second
Stingray contingent, but I couldnt resist the lure of Ignore Cover
guided missiles. In hindsight, Stingrays were the right choice.
Ive grown quite fond of the auxilia. I always use at least three
groups. They are dead cheap.
This time I used quite a bit of independent drones. I knew Id be
facing the
Tyranids and wanted to try out a drone shield to slow them down on
turn 2. This worked pretty well on the left Tau fank.
60
Once assembled, I had a quite big army, unit-wise. I may have had
a numerical parity with the nids -- or close, at least.
Hena thinks I should use the big Tau toys, like the A-X-10, Morays,
Scorpionfsh and Manta. I think they dont ft my style of play. I want
many activations and dont care if they are cheap and not all that
shooty.
GAME STARTS
DEPLOYMENT
The Tau put the blitz behind a forest in eastern side of the table.
Tyranid put the blitz on western side behind a forest as well. Other
objectives were on Tau end within ruins in east and just before a hill
on west. Tyranid side had them near the centre little over 30cm from
each other.
Tau frst garrisoned the frst Guevesa company in forest near the
centreline.
Tyranids responded by garrisoning the support swarm into a forest
near blitz.
Then Tau garrisoned the other Guevesa company within the ruins
on east and
Tyranid response was putting Genestealers
near the frst Guevesa company within forest.
First one of the Firewarrior cadres near Guevesa
that were close to genestealers on overwatch in
open. As the Tyranids declined to put anything
else the rest of garrisons are all Taus. Second
Firewarrior cadre was put behind a hill on
overwatch as well. And the last garrison was
Kroot Kindred behind the Guevesa in west going
from objective to buildings.
Rest of the deployment on Tau side put Crisis
suits as well as one Pathfnder and Stingray
contingent on east. With one Drone Squadron
fanking them. Then was
Hammerheads and second Pathfnder and
Stingray contingents in the centre. With last two
Drone Squadrons in west.
Tyranids put assault swarm 1 to west. Assault
swarm 2 to east and 3 to the centre of the board.
Behind a hill between assaults 2 and 3 was
attack swarm and Hierophant.
61
TURN 1
LONG RANGE SHOTS
Tau wins the initiative.
The battle starts with Cruiser Lahna dropping to low orbit and
targeting the Hierophant with both tracer missiles and laser fre. The
pin point attacks both hit but cause only 3DC damage to the beast.
Then tracers are rolled of which 3 hits. However the Hierophant seems
to have thin armour as all missiles penetrate and the mighty bio
construct is blasted apart by the spacecraft. The Tau then retain with
Hammerheads advancing them from behind the hill. The railcannons
are aimed at the support swarm in forest, but it offers no protection
as all six railcannons hit. Tyranids show the lack of armour as all the
Dactylises saves fail and only Hive Tyrant and a Zoanthrope is left
alive. Battle isnt starting well for Tyranids.
But the Hive Mind feels the sweet taste of revenge as the Genestealers
are ordered to engage the hapless Guevesa in the forest. Genestealers
leap into action quickly covering the ground between them and the
human troops. But the Firewarriors are ready in overwatch and fre
as the Genestealers are entering into forest. Showing that Fire caste
trains fring 4 of the shots hit home.
Still forgetting armour all the 4 saves fail and stealers are killed.
Remaining 4 units then assault the humans, but only 2 hits from which
one saves doesnt give quite the effect that Tyranids was hoping for.
The worst come to pass when Hammerheads give supporting fre and
all hit. None of the stealers survive the fght with only 1 Guevesa
stand dead...
During this the Guevesa company in the east goes on
overwatch peering out of ruins.
Then the attack swarm goes into action and marches to the
centre of the battlefeld. This causes the Tau to sends Drone
Squadron 1 to screen the tyranid armoured vehicles and they
double next to them.
In Tyranid end the Hive Tyrant and Zoanthrope move out of
the forest to hide behind it. The though Railcannon are not nice
wonders around the Hive Mind. On west the Drone Squadron 2
moves to west near midline of the board. Tyranids reply with
moving the assault swarm 1 right next to them. This causes
Tau to do coordinated fre. First the Pathfnders double ahead to
shoot the warriors with rail rifes killing one of the synapse units. Then
the Stingrays open fre with their missiles at the just marked targets,
causing 5 Termagant and a single Hormagaunt units to be blasted
apart.
On east the assault swarm 3 marches to a hill in the eastern edge.
Which prompts the third Drone squadron to move in front of the
forming the last screen. Then, as the Tyranid have activated everything,
remaining activations belong to Tau.
First Guevesa on west
doubles to another forest
in west of assault swarm 1
and fres into it, killing one
Termagant and Hormagaunt
unit. Then Kroot engage
with the Drones and Humans
supporting. However this time
the battle doesnt go that
well for Tau. While Tyranids
manage to kill 5 Kroot units,
Tau manages only to kill 3
62
Termagants and 3 Hormagaunt units. A resolution is +1 to Tyranids
(due to twice more units) and resolution kills the rest of the Kroot. Then
Stingray contingent 2 should then advance. However comm frequencies
have interference and they dont get the orders until Asaura uses the
command net and gives it personally. So the tanks advances to front of
other Stingray contingent and opens fre at assault swarm 1. However
only 3 Termagant and 2 Hormagaunt stands are killed.
Next is crisis suits and they double to east in to ruins and fre at the
assault swarm 2. They manage to kill one Termagant and Hormagaunt
stand. On east the second Pathfnders double southwest into forest and
fre at the warriors of assault swarm 3, but miss. Lastly the Firewarriors
on east try to advance but hold moving eastward.
END PHASE
All Tau formations remove BMs.
Assault 1 spawns 2 Hormagaunts and Termagant stands (with
spore).
Assault 3 spawns 3 Hormagaunts.

Assault 2 spawns 1 Hormagaunt and 2 Termagant stands.
Support swarm fails to spawn.
Attack spawns 1 Hormagaunt and a Termagant stand.
TURN 2
FIRST WAVE
The attack swarm frst hands off just spawned common brood to
assault swarm 3.
Also assault swarm 3 hands off 5 Hormagaunt, Gargoyle and
Termagant units to assault swarm 2. After this the assault swarm 2
became usable formation once more to the groan of Tau commander.
Next the Greater Synapse Node teleports to control both of Tyranid
side Take and Hold objectives while Lesser Node teleports to Tau
Blitz.
63
TAU WINS THE INITIATIVE.
Turn starts with Pathfnders 1 (eastern one) coordinating fre
with Drone squadron 2 in front of assault swarm 2 and Guevesa
company 1. The Pathfnders and Guevesa sustain while Drones
advance. Drones goes frst to out fank the Tyranids moving behind
the target swarm and fre killing a single Gargoyle stand. Then the
human company fres a devastating volley killing 2 Termagant, 4
Hormagaunt and a Tyranid Warrior stands that were caught in the
crossfre from Drones. Lastly the Pathfnders shoot fring at the
warriors, but both saves as there is no crossfre. Drones advanced
too little as humans wiped the western end of the swarm. Retaining
the Pathfnder 2 also coordinates fre with Hammerheads and Drone
squadron 1 in front of assault swarm 3 targeting it. The Pathfnders and
Hammerheads advance while the Drones sustain fres. First pathfnders
move forwards a bit and fre missing completely, however one of the
Devilfshes kills nearby Termagant unit with burst cannons. Drones hit
twice, but Gargoyles save. Lastly the AMHC moves a bit forwards and
railcannons fre killing a Gargoyle, a Hormagaunt and 2 Termagant
stands. Not nearly enough to stop the swarm from assaulting.
Then its Tyranids turn. The very damaged assault swarm 1
decides to act before they are blasted apart and engages the Drone
squadron 1 in front of assault swarn 3. Fighting is quick as the swarm
overwhelms the Drones. One Hormagaunt stand is lost while all the
Drones are wrecked. Tau formations around the fght (Pathfnders and
Hammerheads) get a BM. Consolidate sees the gaunts moving around
the last Tyranid Warrior unit creating a wall of fesh between it and
Stingrays.
Then its Tau and Stingray missile gunships. First the Stingray 1
sustains at the assault swarm 3. Missiles arc over the hill and once
again the Pathfnders earn their keep by lighting targets like christmas
trees. 3 Gargoyles, 2 Hormagaunts and a Termagant units are killed in
the blasts. Retaining the second Stingray contingent also fres at the
same target. The swarm is flled with more blasts, but the Warriors
and Gargoyles make saves and only a Hormagaunt and a Gargoyle
unit dies.
On west the assault 2 decides to wreck more Drones and engages
squadron 3 head on. Confdent they pour over and bring Crisis as well
64
as one Firewarrior unit into support fre range as well (Guevesa was
already within range). However now its once more Tyranids side to
suffer. From 9 Hormagaunts (4+ to hit) 2 hits. From 18 other FF units
(5+ to hit) another 2 are scored! 4 hits from which Tau
save 2! To add to the insult almost all humans hit causing total 3
Hormagaunts, 5 Termagants and Gargoyle to die in the ensuing melee
and withdrawal. Hive Mind reels from this remembering old engage
against whirlwinds, which it also lost. Some curses are given to dices.
In east the Firewarriors double ahead and shoot at the exposed
Warriors in the assault swarm 3, killing both. Looking for revenge the
attack swarm engages the Hammerheads. This time the Tyranids do
what they do best. 4 Hammerheads fall in the engage while all the
Tyranid beasts are unharmed. Firewarriors support fre isnt enough
to damage either. With resolution strongly on Tyranid side the last
two Hammerheads are wrecked while they try to fall back from the
combat. Tyranid consolidate towards Firewarriors.
Again in west the Firewarriors advance to the hill top and fre into
assault swarm 2. But only two hits and 2 Termagant units die. In blitz
the Lesser Synapse Node goes to overwatch. Guevesa company 2 also
tries to fry the assault 2 and using sustained fre they manage to kill 2
Hormagaunt and single Termagant units.
In east the remains of assault 3 ponders what they want to do and
decide to die in battle. They engage the pathfnders. This means that
even if they manage to win, they still are removed as they dont have
synapse with them. Total of 7 hits is caused (by support fre as well as
assault 3), but Tau saves 6 of these with 5+. Return fre sees 3 units
lost from Tyranids. However the resolution is tied and another round is
fought. Tyranids manage to kill another unit. In return the remains of
the swarm are killed leaving 2 BMs to Pathfnders.
Finally the Crisis suits fall back towards the Tau blitz on double, but
miss the Node there.
END PHASE
Drones in west rally.
All Tau formations removes BMs (but one remains on the Pathfnders
in front).
Support swarm manages to spawn 1 Dactylis with spore (as well as

being over 30cm from enemy).
Greater Node spawns Gargoyle and Hormagaunt stands.
Attack spawns 2 Gargoyles stands.
Assault 1 spawns 2 Gargoyle and 3 Hormagaunt units with spore.
Assault 2 spawns 2 Hormagaunts.
Lesser Node spawns 2 Hormagaunts.
TURN 3
SECOND WAVE
Again the brood are given away. The Greater Synapse Node gives the
2 units to assault swarm 2. And attack gives of spawned Hormagaunts
to assault 1. The second Lesser Node teleports to Tau blitz.
65
TYRANIDS WIN THE INITIATIVE.
Sensing some softer prey near, the attack swarm engages the
intermingled Pathfnders both and Firewarriors. Again the attack
swarm does what Tyranids do best and rip the Tau apart. The entire
Firewarrior Cadre dies in the assault while rout wipes the Pathfnder
contingent 2 and one unit from Pathfnder contingent 1. Tyranids lose 1
Haruspex in the process. The surviving Pathfnders fall back to buildings
in north eastern corner and Tyranids consolidate towards the neaby
objective. Then there is some pondering on what to do with assault
swarm 2. It most likely is goner when those Stingrays fre. In the end
the support swarm retains for sustain fre at the Firewarriors on hill,
but Hive Tyrant is sulking and the swarm holds shuffing about.
The just mentioned Firewarriors near the centre decide to try the
fring routine again and sustain fres at the assault swarm 2. This time
the accuracy is there and brood is cut down like wheat. A Gargoyle, 3
Hormagaunts, 4 Termagants and a Tyranid Warrior units are killed by
the pulse rifes and carbines. Retaining the Stingray 1 tries to sustain,
but fail. And they use hold to fre at the assault swarm 2. Missiles
streak and only one Tyranid Warrior unit is left alive.
In the east the assault swarm 1 ponders what to do. The most
important target would be the Drone squadron 1 (which prevents They
Shall Not Pass victory condition). Unfortunately they have Tau Jump
Pack (which allows 10cm move before engage move) and that puts them
too far for most units in the swarm. Only 4 units would reach them. So
they decide to engage the humans hiding in the forest instead. Once
more the Hormagaunts bound to fll available close combat slots with
bodies. And once more they fail to do their thing. Not only that but
the Guevesa certainly have the hard helmets on as most of 5+ cover
saves work and only 2 human units are killed. In return the Tyranids
are beaten back and lose total of 7 Hormagaunt units. They fall back
towards another the forest. In retaliation the Guevesa hesitate a bit
but with Asaura words of bravery they sustain fre at assault 1. This
kills 2 more Hormagaunt units as well as Termagant unit. The feld is
littered with dead Tyranids. Once more the Hive Mind is frowning at
the table.
66
In west the lone Tyranid Warrior of the assault swarm 2 decide that
the killing zone isnt a fun place to be and double back to take cover
behind another hill. However the Stingray contingent 2 decide not to let
the aforementioned Tyranid Warrior unit to survive and advance after
the warriors. Once more the missiles fy and the last of the assault
swarm 2 is spread into the hill side.
In Tau end the second Lesser Node take overwatch. After which the
Crisis suits decide to do un-Tau like thing and engages both Nodes.
Hive Mind damns itself for the idiocy of putting them within 5cm of
each other. The effciency however of Crisis suits is noticeable and both
spawned Hormagaunts die to fusion fre. In the resolution, both Nodes
are killed. So much for them. As all Tyranid swarms have activated the
Tau again can do rest at their own leisure. Which is basically two Drone
Squadrons.
First Drone squadron 3 in the east marshall and move to the Tau
blitz. Then Drone squadron 1 in west double ahead to buildings in the
south eastern corner.
END PHASE
Pathfnders fail to rally and move to midboard into the
woods. Stingray 2 fails to remove BMs but rest do so.
Greater Synapse Node uses last spore and spawns a
Dactylis.
The last assault swarm spawns a Hormagaunt unit.
Attack swarm is still enjoying the engage and fails to
spawn anything.
Support swarm (which hasnt even fred) spawns 2
Gargoyle units.
The victory conditions are checked and the situation is
1 - 1. With Tau having
Break Their Spirit and Tyranids Defend the Flag. So
the game continues to turn 4.
TURN 4
END GAME
TYRANIDS WIN INITIATIVE.
The Hive Mind ponders a bit on what to do now. In the end as the
attack swarms Malefactor is just within range of engage to Stingray 2,
they decide to engage. With Stingrays having a BM and attack swarm
having double the amount it should be suffcient to win the assault by
that alone. However one of the Tau gunships is damaged by the spines
and wrecks itself on the hill. Since the malefactor saves the hit it got the
assault is pretty clear and after the resolution dice roll the contingent
is wiped out. Attack swarm then consolidates a bit towards the second
Stingray formation. After some more worrying about initiative modifer
for retaining, Hive Mind comes to conclusion that Guevesa company
needs to die before acting. And thus the assault swarm retains and
engages the humans. This time the hard helmets are off and the Humans
arent saved. 5 units as well as commanders unit are killed while the
rest run behind the broken Pathfnders. Tyranids lose a Gargoyle and
Hormagaunt stands. Consolidate move makes another wall of fesh
between remaining Stingrays and the last Warrior stand.
67
Continuing on west the Drone squadron 1 double out of the buildings
and contest the blitz while fring ineffectively at the Hive Tyrants swarm
there. Not wanting the constesting to stay the Tyrant engages the
Drones with his swarm. Gargoyle and Tyrant goes into close combat
while rest stay to fre fght. The assault is one sided and all Drones are
destroyed without any damage to swarm. The Tyrant then consolidates
to keep the blitz.
In centre and west the Guevesa company were ordered to spread
out and they doubled to form a cordon between objective on Tau end
and Tyranid end. Some shots were fred at the Tyranid beast, but
they all missed. After quick checking the Hive Mind concluded that
the Dactylises single blast template could not break the humans and
sustain fred at the Firewarriors on the hill top. 3 Firewarriors die but
the cadre doesnt break (1BM too little). This was the last action left for
Tyranids so Tau is once more free to act.
First the Firewarriors double down from the hills to contest the other
Take and Hold objective, fring more at the Dactylis but missing
as well. Now if the Greater Node dies the Tau will get Take and
Hold victory condition. This means that the Tau will win as they
have Break Their Spirit already. But there is nothing that Hive
Mind can do at this point other than watch. Next the Crisis suits
double to Firewarriors and manage to blast away the Dactylis.
Then comes the last activation. The remaining Stingray
contingent. Best way to remove the Node is engage, even if the
Node is fearless. So Stingrays engage (another completely new
thing) the Greater Synapse Node. First the volley between Node
and the Stingray cause two hits on Node, which are saved. Then
the supporting fre. Firewarriors hit several times, but the Crisis
suits all miss. More saves is done for Node and it holds. Hive
Mind is rejoicing. Then the resolution roll ... equal! This time
the Tau commander rejoices as the new round is done and he
has a chance to kill the Node still. Again the Node misses the
Stingrays while the Stingrays cause one hit, saved. Then support
fre, Firewarriors hit several times and Crisis suits score one hit.
Firewarriors cause 1 damage! But the crisis is saved. Then roll
for critical ... no critical. Again it goes to the resolving roll and
Tau win! And the turn ends with Greater Node surviving by being
fearless. Hive Mind gives out a big puuh.
END PHASE
Both Tau formation fail to rally (even with supreme re-roll).
Support swarm spawns Dactylis.
Assault swarm spawns 2 Gargoyle and one Termagant units.

Greater Synapse Node spawns 4 Hormagaunts.
Attack swarm spawns Haruspex.
Then check for victory conditions. 1 - 0 for Tau with Break Their
Spirit.
Lastly roll if the 5th Turn is played, no. The 5th turn requires both
players to roll same number with a d6. So the game ends. Now starts
the frantic counting of victory points. Numbers are counted, re-counted,
checked, found errors, re-checked and recounted, made mess of and
counted again. End result is 1870 for Tau and 1626 for Tyranids. In the
tournaments that weve had the draw is 250 points or less difference.
So this game was declared as draw.
68
END FLUFF
Asaura fred some more plasma rife shots towards the Greater
Synapse Node.
It had started so well. she thought.
- First Lahna had blasted the bio titan to bits and then the AMHC
had dealt with the artillery beasts.
- Damn those things that had erupted from below the ground!
The smaller burrowers were easy, but the larger -- it had withstood so
much fre.
- At least the bug advance had been brought to halt. Hopefully the
Air Caste can get some Tigersharks to destroy the remaining thing
before it attracts too many forces.
Luckily some of the Devilfsh have been repaired
and supply lines will be established to the city. She
switched to command net
- All units prepare to fall back to picket line KelTa.
- Shasla will stay behind to mark any enemy that
could try to harass the deployment and the remaining
Stingray contingent will give covering fre if needed.
Protect the Guevesa while they carry the wounded
back.
- Guevesa. Help the wounded and carry them with
you. Firewarriors will cover you. Fall out to the city and
take position there. Alert level red, but be prepared to
stay in there for several days. We have supply coming
in later tonight.
- I have ordered Gun Drones to work as a tripwire
during the night.
- We have done well. The enemy has been halted for
now and this will buy time for emergency evacuation.
Lahna will be orbiting nearby to scan the area for any
new enemy build up and make low orbit passes to
destroy targets of opportunity.
- Carry on.
Asaura shrugged. The Tau losses were great. But the Greater Good
lay in protecting the evacuation. She turned to join the others.
END BRIEFING TYRANIDS
I had a terrible start in the game. First the Hero shoots my Hierophant
before it even moves. Then due to mistake of deployment (should have
had the Dactylises behind the forest) the Hammerheads manage to
kill the support beasts. Usually the forest is a good idea as it protects
from planes. But as Asaura didnt have aircraft I should have kept
them behind the forest. That support swarm played the weirdest game
so far. It fred only once furing 4 turns and had one assault which it
won. Then there was the genestealers charge into forest only to get
butchered. I lost 750 points in three activations from which one was
mine. That gave me a very bad feeling. Luckily I didnt give up. Just
needed to bite it down and get on with the game.
69
The break came with the Kroot failing to assault me. There I had
luck. Asaura failed to hit properly and I scored several times. That and
good roll in resolution gave me nice taste for victory to continue with.
The 2nd turn came with the nasty part of Tau. Coordinated fre. It
allows up to 3 formation to fre against one target within one activation.
That removed most of my 1st assault swarm. Luckily the retaining
coord wasnt that bad. I was enjoying the fact that Stingrays couldnt
join that fun. They are very nasty against Tyranids. The second coord
also game me a fat target for attack swarm as the Hammerheads
advance forwards. I would have thought that they would have
advanced backwards away from the attack swarm. But I paid for that
with the massive failure in eastern side with assault swarm 2. That got
decimated by the Tau support fre. I got too careless as I wanted to
give BM to those formations. I should have just taken it carefully and
not run too far. 3rd Turn gave some help as well as I won the initiative.
This allowed my attack swarm to press on and break the Taus western
fank. If only the assault swarm 1 had not failed in its assault. Then I
would have been able to use that fank breaking. As it was it was too
late to take any advantage of it. And since I used the frst activation
to break that I sacrifced my assault swarm 2 to Stingrays. Although it
was Firewarriors that made the biggest hole. I had planned to fre the
Dactylises template there, but retain works only on 3+ so ... The need
for supreme commander is evident if I want to retain. Too bad its very
expensive for Tyranids. Also the third bigger mistake that I made was
teleportation of 2nd Lesser Node. I should have put outside of that
5cm range to prevent intermingling. I dont know what I was thinking
(or most likely I wasnt).
In the end it came down to survival ability of Greater Node. If it had
been killed (as I really expected it to with those MW Crisis suits there)
I would have lost 0 - 2. Man these cliffhangers are tough.
Another thing that is good to remember with Tyranids, is the
importance of 1BM. In all 3 assaults with attack swarm, I got +2 to
resolution with that 1 BM. One was from support fre BM (Hammerheads).
Other was from sacrifce of assault swarm 3s remains (Pathfnders).
And last was from hold (Stingrays). Those are very important to have.
I usually use the Dactylises for that ... but not this time.
The game was a blast though. That is what a good game should be.
Teetering from back and forth between victory and defeat. There were
several moments of where the game felt ended and yet it always came
back with a feeling that Hey I might still win this.
END BRIEFING TAU
Once again, my precious fshmen were saved by the expendable
auxiliaries. Both Human formations fought brilliantly. In retrospect,
the Kroot assault on Turn 1 was too risky and wouldnt have achieved
all that much even if Id have won it. Id have been in better shape on
Turn 2 if I had kept the Kroot in reserve until that.
My method of placing the Pathfnders, the western Fire Warriors and
the Hammerheads up front on turns 1 and 2 so that they could fre with
max effect was high-stakes gambling, but I hoped good initiative rolls
would save me. It worked until turn 3, when I fnally lost the initiative
roll. Chalk it up as a statistical loss -- most games against Tyranids I
should win on turns 2 and 3. I gave up maintaining real intermingling
discipline, since the Pathfnders are so damn hard to position with their
10 cm intermingling range.
I got a shot at ending the game on turn 4 in a 2-0 victory due to
some blunders by Hena. First, he teleported both the lesser nodes so
close to each other that I could assault them both at the same time to
clear my Blitz objective. Second, he diverted the centrally positioned
brood to the west on turn 4. Had he moved toward the eastern T&H
objectives, I would not have had a chance to capture them in the fnal
assault. My assault failed, but it did have a chance.
As always seems to happen when I play Hena, the game
ended up being close, even after all the good luck I had i n
the early game.
70
modelling
Engines
of

Destruction
G
rimtu is our resident Epic Lost and the Damned
player, and has kindly agreed to talk us through
some of his more crazy conversions. He also conrmed my
suspicions that anything can be made chaotic by turning it
upside down.
One of the main gripes about Specialist Games is the lack of
miniatures. For Epic, this is mainly down to the fact that many of them
are simply out of production, this means the average Epic player has
to spend time converting and modelling these units. For some this
is a royal pain in the backside, due to needing to fnd the relevant
components and the possibility of the dreaded greenstuffng. So with
this article I will give you the lowdown on how to make two of the
legions of Chaos most dreaded War Engines.
But me, I like converting, to paraphrase one Phil Kelly, I do get a
strange thrill out of welding parts from several models that have no
right to be together, that and just to say Thats unique. Nobody else in
the world probably has a fgure like this. Hopefully, after reading this
article, that second statement will hopefully be false.
On with the miniatures.
PLAGUE TOWERS
This conversion was not planned in any way; it was just a case of
seeing what ftted where. Then suddenly having that fash of inspiration
complete with cartoon light bulb and ding sound when I turned the
Ork Dreadnought body upside down (yes there is one in there!)
PARTS NEEDED:
1 Ork Dreadnought front and
back
1 Ork Power Plant
2 Ork Warbike Cat. Tracks
(though any like this will do)
1 Man o War Black Ark
prow. (this piece is OOP, but
any skull will do)
1 Ork Dreadnought Leg
Plastic Tubing
Warhammer Castle walls
(once again, any stone bits
will do, I just had these lying
around)
Green Stuff
71
STAGE 1
Glue the Ork Dreadnought
body together and attach
the Caterpillar tracks to the
shoulder part just above the
arms. Then cut out some rough
square shapes from the Castle
walls and stick around the parts
where the Dreads legs would
go, dont worry about being too
neat, as you can cover it up with
Green Stuff.
STAGE 2
Glue the power pant onto the
back (the ft may a little tight as
it is designed to go the other way
around) and put the Black Ark
skull on the front (it shouldnt
be fush, try and make
it so the bottom juts out
a little.) fnally put the
Ork Dreadnought Leg in
the middle of the castle
section, you may have
to create a small base
for it depending on how
big you built the tower.
STAGE 3
Cut some small
lengths of Plastic Tubing
and place one on the
forehead of the MOW
Skull and the other level
with the vision slit of
the Ork Dread. You will
also have to cut a small ring to go around the ankle part of the Leg to
complete the Mortar.
STAGE 4
Finally add bits of Green Stuff here and there, making it look like
lesions, rents of Daemonic fesh or just general disgustingness, add a
light sprinkling of modelling sand to these areas and youre done!
LORDS OF BATTLE:
More random acquisitions, more war Engines needed. Ill probably
say this many times, but most conversion inspiration comes from just
holding a piece in a way it is not normal for it to be, in this case, the
Juggernaut body.
72
PARTS NEEDED:
1 Juggernaut Body
2 Juggernaut back legs
2 Ork Dreadnought arms
1 Ork Dreadnought power claw
1 Stompa body (for the chain blade, though any will do)
1 old, old Ork Battlewagons (I think these came from the original
Space Marine set)
1 Warmaster Skellie Bolt thrower
2 Void Viridian Interdict Marine shoulder pads
1 Assault Cannon esq. looking weapon (the ones on these models
actually came off a toy)
STAGE 1
Take the turrets off the Battlewagons and put them somewhere
safe (youll need them later) then cut the feet off the Juggernaut
legs leaving just the shoulder pad like part with the Chaos star on
them. Attach these to the Battlewagons, and then to the

Juggernaught body (youll need to get rid of the neck
joint) in the slot where the front legs go, obviously they
were not intended to go there, so youll have to fudge
it a little.
STAGE 2
Cut the Ork Dreadnought arms so there is only
one elbow joint on them and attach the claw and gun
to the part that would normally be the shoulder (i.e.
the arm is upside down) Then add the Stompas Chain
blade to the claw. Glue the arms into the holes where the
Juggernauts back legs go.
STAGE 3
Cut off the front from the Warmaster Bolt Thrower
then bend the horns to shape, glue the back of the same
Bolt Thrower into the Saddle part of the Juggernaut body
and add a little Green Stuff done as Daemonic fesh.
STAGE 4
Finally, add the
Void shoulder pads
to the top of the Ork
Dreadnought arms (a
little Green Stuff will be
needed to make them
ft) and add the turrets
to the shoulders of the
beast and we have one
Lord of Battle!
Hopefully well be
including more of
Grimtuffs armies
in a future issue of
Firebase!
on field report
London Doubles
Tournament
2007
P
eter Sanlon & Franklin Ginn command Te Dark
Guard on doubles tournament weekend.
Azrael, supreme commander of the dark angels launched a mighty
attack at Alexandria Palace, London Doubles Tournament, on the third
of June 2007. His force was composed of space marines and imperial
guard. The tactical reports on the following three engagements are
recorded for your enjoyment.
AZRAELS FORCE: THE DARK GUARD
The idea behind the force was to utilise Azraels skill of conferring an
invulnerable 4+ save on any squad he leads, by letting him command
a squad of 50 conscripts!
The full army list is as follows:
Type Squad Wargear
HQ Azrael See Dark Angels codex
Fast Speeder Assault Cannon, H. Bolter
Troops 10 Marines 1 Missile launcher
HQ Commissar
Troops Conscripts x50
Troops Command Junior Offcer
Infantry Missile launcher
Infantry Plasma Gun
This army list aims to intimidate with the sheer weight of numbers
in the army; 98 models in total, with a heavy bolter, assault cannon,
plasma gun and 3 missile launchers. The huge block of conscripts with
a 4+ invulnerable save would challenge opponents to make a diffcult
decision ignore it or try and shoot up a hoard of models that cost
only 4 points each, but have a terrifc save? The frst person to set up
his army looked nervous, and was greatly relieved to be told by staff
to move to a different table. The psychology was working before the
competition began, but could the army win on the table?
GAME ONE
VERSUS WITCH HUNTERS AND SPACE MARINES
MISSION: SEEK AND DESTROY
This was a formidable opponent; a well-balanced army with two
exorcist tanks which took commanding positions on each wing of the
army. They then proceeded to roll excellently every turn. As a result
each tank managed to pour
fve or six rounds of shooting
per turn into our forces. The
hail of bullets caused us to fear
for the safety of our fragile
speeder. We foolishly gave in
to fear and kept the speeder
hiding the whole game. The
speeder survived but killed
nothing. Lesson learned; have
more faith and courage!
The conscripts and Azrael
performed well for the frst three
turns. They did exactly what
we hoped; caused confusion
and fear. The opponent was
unsure whether to waste shots
on them. As the conscripts
advanced closer, our opponent
began to panic and turned guns
on them. Frustration ensued
as the 4+ saves reduced the
effectiveness of the shooting
dramatically.
Our opponents then staged
an admirable ploy. A squad of fve space marine scouts had deployed in
the middle of the board, armed with a power fst. This squad engaged
the conscripts in close combat and effectively delayed the conscripts
from reaching other enemies. Meanwhile, seraphim sisters swooped in
73
on field report
London Doubles
Tournament
2007
P
eter Sanlon & Franklin Ginn command Te Dark
Guard on doubles tournament weekend.
Azrael, supreme commander of the dark angels launched a mighty
attack at Alexandria Palace, London Doubles Tournament, on the third
of June 2007. His force was composed of space marines and imperial
guard. The tactical reports on the following three engagements are
recorded for your enjoyment.
AZRAELS FORCE: THE DARK GUARD
The idea behind the force was to utilise Azraels skill of conferring an
invulnerable 4+ save on any squad he leads, by letting him command
a squad of 50 conscripts!
The full army list is as follows:
Type Squad Wargear
HQ Azrael See Dark Angels codex
Fast Speeder Assault Cannon, H. Bolter
Troops 10 Marines 1 Missile launcher
HQ Commissar
Troops Conscripts x50
Troops Command Junior Offcer
Infantry Plasma Gun
This army list aims to intimidate with the sheer weight of numbers
in the army; 98 models in total, with a heavy bolter, assault cannon,
plasma gun and 3 missile launchers. The huge block of conscripts with
a 4+ invulnerable save would challenge opponents to make a diffcult
decision ignore it or try and shoot up a hoard of models that cost
only 4 points each, but have a terrifc save? The frst person to set up
his army looked nervous, and was greatly relieved to be told by staff
to move to a different table. The psychology was working before the
competition began, but could the army win on the table?
GAME ONE
VERSUS WITCH HUNTERS AND SPACE MARINES
MISSION: SEEK AND DESTROY
This was a formidable opponent; a well-balanced army with two
exorcist tanks which took commanding positions on each wing of the
army. They then proceeded to roll excellently every turn. As a result
each tank managed to pour
fve or six rounds of shooting
per turn into our forces. The
hail of bullets caused us to fear
for the safety of our fragile
speeder. We foolishly gave in
to fear and kept the speeder
hiding the whole game. The
speeder survived but killed
nothing. Lesson learned; have
more faith and courage!
The conscripts and Azrael
performed well for the frst three
turns. They did exactly what
we hoped; caused confusion
and fear. The opponent was
unsure whether to waste shots
on them. As the conscripts
advanced closer, our opponent
began to panic and turned guns
on them. Frustration ensued
as the 4+ saves reduced the
effectiveness of the shooting
dramatically.
Our opponents then staged
an admirable ploy. A squad of fve space marine scouts had deployed in
the middle of the board, armed with a power fst. This squad engaged
the conscripts in close combat and effectively delayed the conscripts
from reaching other enemies. Meanwhile, seraphim sisters swooped in
74
to launch hit and run attacks. The marine commander powered up his
jump pack and in turn four engaged Azrael in close combat. A mighty
battle between commanders followed a few pathetic saving rolls later
and Azrael was dead. Before feeing off the board, a conscript avenged
his leader by stabbing the weakened enemy commander through with
a bayonet. With the centre-piece of our army dead, our plans were
shattered and we accepted that the Dark Guard had been defeated in
game one. We retired to lick our wounds and consider what we had
learned from defeat.
The highlight of the frst match was when an imperial guard missile
launcher immobilised the enemy venerable dreadnought, tooled up
with a twin-linked las-cannon and extra armour. Such an upgraded
veteran was worth a good few points!
GAME TWO
VERSUS SPACE MARINES & IMPERIAL GUARD
MISSION: RECON
The enemy space marine army consisted of several ten men squads
and a chaplain on bike with cohort brandishing a power fst. Fast close
combat attack death!
This opponent tried shooting the conscripts with as much arms as
they could muster. As a result they fnished the game just under half
strength giving away 100 victory points. From our point of view, an
acceptable price to pay for absorbing a huge amount of frepower that
could have been used to destroy our missile launcher squads.
The enemy made the error of lining their troops along one wing
of the board. We ignored the guard and shot the more valuable
marines to pieces with missile launchers and plasma gun. Meanwhile,
our speeder used line of sight to ensure that when he shot his heavy
bolter at the bike squad, the only model he could see was the chaplain.
This resulted in one dead chaplain and a very unhappy opponent. The
Emperor continued to bless our battle. When the bike squad attacked
our guard squad, the guard fought frst (due to being in cover). One
guardsmen commander rolled sixes to hit and wound; the bike marine
rolled double one to save! It was a great relief to see him removed
from play; the event was so against the odds that it made us feel
guilty. Only a small bit though!
As the previous battle raged on, the conscripts marched up the centre
of the board in a huge block, absorbing fre and looking intimidating.
75
The game ended in victory for us, and was a model of how we hoped
the tournament games to go. The conscripts in the centre of the board
causing confusion and intimidation; the rest of our forces advancing
on the wings. We realised that the defeat of the bike squad was lucky,
but they had been softened up through strategic use of line of sight by
the speeders gunner.
GAME THREE
VERSUS IMPERIAL GUARD AND DAEMONHUNTERS
MISSION: TAKE AND HOLD
Our opponent
felded a beautifully
painted imperial
guard army with
daemonhunt er s.
Unfortunately for
them, they placed
too much faith in their
tanks. On the left
fank they advanced
a rhino with their
d a e mo n h u n t e r
command in it; in
the centre a squad
of storm troopers
advanced in a
chimera. By the end
of the frst turn
both tanks were
destroyed by our
three missile launchers. The troops stumbled out to a harsh battlefeld.
Our speeder sat exactly 36 inches away from the storm troopers, and
began to mow them down with the heavy bolter. Out of range, or
hidden from the rest of the enemy weapons, the speeder had a good
two rounds of shooting. The storm troopers fell to the withering hail
of fre.
Our conscripts were advancing en masse to the objective in the
table centre. Enemy troops were engulfed in close combat, overcome
by weight of numbers. The game looked all but over then in turn
three a bound daemon screamed from the warp and began munching
through our marines! Ten of The Emperors fnest had fallen before the
speeder could move to draw line of sight with an assault cannon. Even
then it took two rounds of shooting to send the warp entity back where
it belongs. Thus the fnal game of the day ended in victory to the Dark
Guard, but they resolved in their next outing to be wary of daemons!
CONCLUDI NG REFLECTIONS:
The linchpin of our game plan had been to cause confusion and
fear with the huge squad of conscripts led by Azrael. In the two
games we won, this had indeed been a success. Indeed it had worked
for several turns of the frst game also. Enemy commanders were
undecided whether to pour frepower into the conscripts or to ignore
them. Those who tried to ignore them were shocked to fnd their
troops absorbed into a huge close combat melee. There was indecision
and confusion caused by the 425 point block of conscripts and super-
marine commander! It is good practice to give your opponent diffcult
decisions to make. If this can be done in a surprising or intimidating
way so much the better!
However, there is no foolproof plan. In the frst game Azrael was
killed, and our entire force collapsed. We had put all our eggs in one
basket it was an intimidating basket but when broken it was all
over. We were pleased to see the team that killed Azrael fnished in the
top four rankings. Due to the imbalance of our army list, when we lost
a game we had barely a model left on the table, when we won games
however, the opponent had hardly any models left.
The core skills of range and line of sight stood frmly our minds by the
end of the day. In both the second and third game, the speeder made
crucial kills by positioning itself precisely, picking off a commander in
game two and to shoot safely from the limit of its fre range in game
three. In the heat of battle it is too easy to forget the value of range
and line of sight. Commanders who want to win should drill their forces
so that they know exactly when the enemy will be in range.
Finally, it has to be emphasised that tournaments like this are huge
amounts of fun. This year was better organised than last year there
was enough time to complete a game, as only three were played (as
opposed to four the previous year). Playing against people who enjoy
the game, know the rules, and want to fght for victory it is tough
to beat the adrenalin rush of strategy provided in dice, ranged fre,
models and the forces of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Peter Sanlon
76
battle report
A
Clash

on
Ylvair
O
n the deserted Maiden World of Ylvair, a host of Night
Lords batte with the Tau for possession of the planet.
Who will claim the alien treasures which may lie beneath the
planets surface?
We had decided to play a standard Swedish Tournament scenario,
using normal Tournament armies. The Swedish tournament climate is
rather different from some. Most of all, youll see competative, but not
min-maxed units on the tables.
The players: Linus Widner (Serpent) is playing his Night Lords, and
Fredrik Landelius is using his much-feared Tau army. Fredrik is a well-
known tournament player in Sweden, and has placed himself in the top
three in Swedens biggest 40K tournament, GothCon, for two years
in a row (and before that as well, just not with Tau...). Linus may not
be a top tournament player, but do OK in tournaments. He is also
responsible for the idea for the Eldar table, built for GothCon 2006.
INTRODUCTION
FREDRIK - TAU
My name is Fredrik Landelius and I am the 40K champion of the
world. At least that is what my girlfriend assures me when she tucks
me in at night. Anyway, I have played 40K for most of my life, 16 years
or four editions of the rules to be more precise. Not sure whether
I should be proud or see a doctor but one thing is certain, 40K is a
hobby that have brought me more good times than I can count. I have
never once regretted, as a twelve year old, spending all my savings on
the Rogue Trader book. The one thing that has been missing though, is
writing a battle report. I remember a time when the White Dwarf battle
reports were actually worth reading, when they were the highlight of
the month. So when Linus asked me to do a report with him for the
magazine that has brought back the spirit of the hobby to a written
form, I was thrilled. So, one good old battle report coming up!
LINUS NIGHT LORDS
Who am I? My name is Linus Widner, and although not the Champion
of the World, as mr. Modest above, I know how to fnd my way around
a 40K table. In the real world, Im a Drama teacher. I began playing
GW games in WH40K 2nd Edition, although it was Blood Bowl which
frst snared me into the gaming universe. Ive always enjoyed the
Battle Reports of old times (there are some which can be read over
and over), and I was very happy to be allowed to do this Battle Report
for Firebase. From the very start I wanted to use our newest table, the
Eldar-themed one. Lets hope this battle will be something enjoyable
for everyone.
A much-needed thanks to Johan Westlund (Bulonicus), who was kind
enough to be our battle-recorder and photographer, even though he
really didnt have time to do it (we managed to persuade him in the
end, though). Johan is also responsible for the special-effects on the
photos. Thanks, Johan. I owe you.
THE MISSION
GOTHCONIAN CLEANSE
GothConian Cleanse is a variant of the standard Cleanse Scenario.
Special Rules: Infltrate, Deep Strike, Concealment, Victory
Points.
Deployment: Long table edges, 12 deployment, 24 away from
any enemy unit.
Objective: Capture table quarters. Each table quarter is worth 425
Victory Points. To claim the quarter you have to be entirely inside it.
Straggling units are rolled for to see which quarter they occupy.
NIGHT LORDS
Choosing the army
77
Linus: Choosing the army was fairly easy. I refuse to tailor my list
to counter my opponent, and therefore used the tournament list Ive
played for a bit more than six months. This also has the advantage of
not having to paint up a whole new squad to a deadline (although it
would have been tasty to get those converted plastic Raptors done)
and, more importantly, it is an army that Im familiar with and know
how to play.
Note: Most of my units dont have a Mark of Chaos. Ive done this
because of background reasons, with Night Lords being egoistic and
not very fond of deities. Three units are Marked, so that I can actually
get my Furies in. (Also, Night Lords get Night Vision for free, so no,
theres hopefully no rules broken in the list.)
First up is my Daemon Prince, Kharbetsnahmn. Big and scary, and
perhaps a bit on the expensive side, but still my HQ of choice. In this
game I hoped to fnd some cosy forest to hide behind and then try to
slam him head-frst into anything that didnt have time to get out of
the way.
The Troops section is a bit small, but is there to provide frepower.
Two six-man squads with a heavy weapon each for tankbusting and a
larger Infltrating squad with an Aspiring Champion and an Icon. Their
Autocannon have also proved deadly in previous games.
On to my Heavy Support. As a Night Lords player, Im only allowed one
choice from this section. Sticking to my idea of warm bodies over tanks,
Ive got eight Havocs, armed
with two Missile Launchers
and two Autocannons. Tank
Hunter and Stealth Adept
would keep them standing,
hopefully.
As my only Elite choice,
I took a single Obliterator.
With his large array of
weapons, hell be able to
take down both tanks and
infantry. I also like the
model, having replaced all
the metal weapons and
spikes with plastics. Not as
easy to chip the paint.
And fnally, my Fast
Attack section. As a Night
Lord, heres where the heavy points land, and with two large Raptor
Squads and two packs of furies, it sums up to a massive 895 points!
The Raptors have a specifc role, with one being anti-infantry, with a
Flamer and a Lightning Claw-armed Aspiring Champion, and one for
taking out tanks, coming with a Meltagun and an Aspiring champion
with a Power Fist.
HQ:
Daemon Prince Kharbetsnahmn
Daemonic Flight, Daemonic Stature, Daemonic Strength, Daemonic
Visage, Daemonic Aura, Daemonic Essence, Daemonic Resilience,
2 Close Combat Weapons, Spiky Bits, Frag Grenades, Night Vision
ELITES:
Squad Tyrini; 1 Obliterator
TROOPS:
Squad Harbets
6 Chaos Marines, Stealth Adept, Night Vision, Missile Launcher.
Squad Kyusan
6 Chaos Marines, Stealth Adept, Night Vision, Lascannon.
Squad Talorek
8 Chaos Marines, Mark
of Chaos Undivided,
Infltrate, Night Vision, 5
Marines w. Bolt Pistol &
CCW, 1 w. Autocannon, 1
w. Plasma gun, Aspiring
Champion Talorek w. Power
Fist and Bolt Pistol.
FAST ATTACK:
Squad Charnan
8 Raptors, Mark of Chaos
Undivided, Furious Charge,
Night Vision, 1 Flamer,
Aspiring Champion
Charnan w. Master-Crafted
Lightning Claws, Daemonic
Strength & Meltabombs.
78
Squad Anothis
8 Raptors, Mark of Chaos Undivided, Furious Charge, Night
Vision, 1 Meltagun, Aspiring Champion Anothis w. Bolt Pistol,
Master-Crafted Power Fist, Bionics & Daemonic Strength.
Daemon Pack Trakhan (red streaks in the hair)
8 Furies.
Daemon Pack Sicivies (blue streaks in the hair)
8 Furies.
HEAVY SUPPORT:
Havoc Squad Durnis
8 Havocs, 2 Autocannons, 2 Missile Launchers,
Stealth Adept, Night Vision, TankHunters.
TAU
CHOOSING THE ARMY
Fredrik: Facing Night Lords, an army with a lot of fast-moving and
hard-hitting close combat units, is not a Tau commanders idea of a
walk in the park. I have never been one to choose my army to counter
an opponents army though, meaning that I will try to put together a
well balanced army to counter anything my opponent throws at me.
Starting at the top I never do battle without my ShasO, Commander
LandO and his trusty bodyguards. That is a unit with loads of weapons
and potential for devastating fre. A unit I can trust to decimate any
target I choose for them.
All commanders needs troops to order around and I prefer to have a
core of Fire Warriors in every game a play, today that core will consist
of four units of ten Fire Warriors each. To complement them I took a
big unit of Kroots with a Shaper and some Kroot Hounds. Hopefully
they will have the numbers to take a beating and still be able to strike
back with a decent amount of attacks. To fll my last Troops slot I took
a Forge World Sensor Turret, basicly just a markerlight but cheap and
many opponents overlook it.
The Elite slots were quickly flled up with a two-man Crisis Team,
a single Crisis Suit and four Stealth Suits. As big guns I chose a
Hammerhead with an Ioncannon, two Broadsides and two Sniper
Drone Teams. The Hammerhead and Snipers will be invaluable against
lots of power armoured lunatics while the Broadsides will hunt down
any Daemon Princes trying to close with my troops. The last points
were spent on a Forge World Tetra, another small markerlight-toting
vehicle.
HQ:
Commander LandO:
Plasma rife, Missile pod, Cyclic Ion Blaster, H-W multi-
tracker, H-W Drone controller, 1 x Shield drone.
Bodyguard (2):
#1: Plasma rife, Missile pod, Targeting
array, H-W Multi-tracker.
#2: Twin missile pod, Target lock.
ELITES:
Stealth (4):
4 x Burst cannons.
Crisis (1):
#1: Twin missile pod, Blacksun flter.
Crisis (2):
#1: Plasma rife, Fusion blaster, Multi-
tracker, leader, targeting array.
#2: Twin missile pod, Target lock.
79
TROOPS:
Fire Warriors (10): Pulse rifes.
Sensor Turret:
Kroot (19+1+6): 1 x Shaper, 6 x Kroot Hounds.
FAST:
Tetra (1):
Markerlight, Targeting array, Disruption pod.
HEAVY:
2 x Sniper Drone Teams
Hammerhead:
2x Burst cannons, Multi-tracker,
Decoy launchers, Target lock.
Broadsides (2):
Twin Railguns, Smart missile system,
Advanced stabilization system, Team leader,
HW Drone Controller, 2 x Shield drones.
1748p
DEPLOYMENT
TAU
I got to choose sides and started with deploying
my Broadsides behind some woods where they
will have a good view of most of the battlefeld.
The Sniper Drones ended up in the center, close
to the table edge to get the most out of their
stealth feld generators. The Hammerhead was
deployed on the right fank, out of sight from Linus
Havocs. My Troops were deployed to cover most
of the board, although the impassible Titans wreck make them seem
to lean a little towards the left fank. My Crisis Suits and HQ deployed
on the right side of the battlefeld with a plan to quickly overcome
that fank and trap my opponent in some sort of pincer-maneuver. My
Tetra deployed on the left fank with the intension to scout ahead and
markerlight one of the Raptor squads for my Broadsides. Finally my
Stealth Suits set up to counter Linus infltrators in the river while the
Kroots sneaked up on the far left fank to bolster the defense against
the Raptors.
NIGHT LORDS
I wanted to box the Tau in, and keep them away from the centre
of the table. The Havocs ended up in the forest in the middle of my
deployment zone, with their support units on either fank. I then placed
my my Prince on my left, far away from the Broadsides, and then
my fast-moving choices on my right fank. Hopefully, the Prince could
advance together with the Infltrating squad, which I placed in the river
to be able to get in a shot or two at the Ionhead. The assault units
would then wait for the cavalry (well, Furies) to arrive, and assault the
Tau battle line.
80
TURN 1.
TAU
I won the roll for the frst turn and chose to take it myself for three
reasons, to get my Hammerhead moving, to get an extra turn without
daemons and to try and wipe out the infltrating squad on the right fank
and thereby removing the only icon on that fank. On the left fank I held
back both the Kroots and the Fire Warriors behind the Webway portal.
No point in giving the Raptors an opportunity to charge me during the
frst turn. The Fire Warriors in the woods also stayed concealed while
the two remaining units of Fire Warriors moved forward to apply some
pressure on the infltrators and the Raptors in the center. The Tetra
moved forward to a position between the Raptor squads and tried to
markerlight the Raptors in the center for the beneft of the advancing
Broadsides. However the Tetras crew was obviously spooked by the
wicked Marines and missed, leaving the Broadsides unable to spot
their intended target.
On the right fank all
my Suits jumped forward
with intent to annihilate
that threatening icon
bearer in the river. A
devastating volley of
fre from the Crisis
Team, Stealth Suits and
Hammerhead cleared
the river of every single
infltrating Night Lord.
That exceptional result
left my HQ with a clear
shot at the Daemon
Prince, which resulted
in two wounds. The right fank was turning out just as good as the left
was turning out bad. During the assault phase all my Suits jumped
back to their original positions.
NIGHT LORDS
I am unable to roll armour saves. At least that what it seemed like
after the frst turn. With my infltrators dead and my Prince severely
wounded I decided to concentrate on my right fank. I therefore moved
the Prince towards the centre, knowing that he would probably face
two Railgun shots, but decided to take my chances there instead of
just storming head frst into Tau rapid fre range. Both Raptor squads
few forward, although Squad Charnan only moved aproximately 5,
in order to coax the Kroots out. I had to hope my armour saves got
better, but at least I wouldnt be assaulted by the Kroot. Squad Anothis
jumped forward to take cover behind the small forest in the centre, in
order to summon the daemons in turn 2.
In my shooting phase, the
Lascannon of Squad Kyusan
missed the Ionhead, but
my Obliterator managed to
stun the skimmer. On the
right fank, both my Raptor
units fred at the Tetra, but
only managing to stun it. My
Havocs, having nothing else to
shoot at, targeted the Sensor
Turret and, unsurprisingly,
blew it up. The missile squad
hit their chosen target, the
advancing Fire Warriors, but
not a single Tau fell, thanks
to combination of bad rolls to
wound and good rolls to save
from Fredrik.
81
TURN 2.
TAU
With very little real
damage done to my
units during the frst
turn, this looked like it
could be a really nice
battle after all. My main
concerns where still
to clear the right fank
and to deal with the
now very threatening
Raptors and their
potential of delivering
daemons straight into
my lines. With that in
mind I spread out my
Fire Warriors in the
center to prevent the
Raptors from jumping over them into the juicier targets behind them.
They had to be sacrifced for the Greater Good. On the far left I took a
chance and tried to have the Kroots climb the Webway portal and rapid
fre on the Raptors hiding behind. I should have known that Kroots
only could climb trees, no damage was done by the few Kroots who
actually got to shoot.
The Fire Warriors behind the Kroots had a clear shot at the Raptors
in the center but the four outmost Warriors thought that the unit of
Raptors only they could see
was more frightening and
decided to shoot at them
instead. Fortunately they
managed to take one of them
down. My unit of Fire Warriors
in the woods shot at the same
unit and managed to do a
single wound, which was of
course saved. My last unit of
Fire Warriors was supposed
to target the Lascannon
wielding squad aiming at my
Hammerhead but they too
found an odd Raptor to target.
Again fortunate, they brought
one of them down. The Broadsides found themselves with a prime
target and sent two solid slugs smashing into the Daemon Princes
chest. One of them was made of paper but the second one went
through unsaved and I watched with relief when the Prince was taken
off the board.
On the right fank things did not improve much, although my HQ took
out three marines I still had a Lascannon and an Obliterator facing my
stunned Hammerhead. Luckily the Lascannon-armed squad fed of the
table and I moved my Suits forward behind the fallen titan, presenting
the lone Obliterator with a lot of different targets, hoping to save the
Hammerhead. I really want to keep that Ioncannon. Unfortunately
my commander couldnt swim and took a wound from landing in the
river.
Even though my shooting didnt do much damage I was still in a
good position. Except for the Obliterator, I owned the right side of the
board and now all I have to do was to wait for the charge on the left
fank.
NIGHT LORDS
Alright, thats the end of
my left fank. With the Prince
predictably gone, and Squad
Kyusan being a bunch of swift-
footed cowards (12 fallback
move, thanks guys...), it now
fell to my Obliterator to take
on the entire Tau forces on
my left. But frst, Daemons!
Both Daemon packs arrived
promptly, and I put
my frst pack in the
centre, where they
would have a pretty
good chance of
getting into combat
anwhere, even if
they scattered. They
didnt scatter at
all, and I therefore
chose to place the
second pack with
my rightmost Raptor
Squad, so that I would
82
not risk losing parts of the pack. This pack scattred 12 backwards to
the left, but after their frst move, it was evident that the Fire Warrior
Squad in the midle would be in for some hurt. The left pack moved
up to engage the single Crisis Suit, but I had to land two of the Furies
in the wood in order to keep them 1 away from the Fire Warriors.
With the words: Two 1s, I rolled the dice, and both Furies speared
themselves on some treebranch. This wasnt all bad, as it meant that I
would assault the Suit without having to take a Diffcult Terrain test.
Squad Anothis stayed put, as involving them would just make sure
the Fire Warriors were wiped out, and my expensive squads left out
in the open in front of a Tau gunline. Squad Charnan had a very good
target, and surged forward towards the Kroot.
The Obliterator managed to
even out the score a bit on my
left fank by destroying the
Ionhead, catching a single Fire
Warrior in the explosion. On the
right fank, the Tetra was blown
out of the sky by Squad Anothis
but exploded with a 6 radius,
catching the Daemons of Pack
Sicivies. A few Daemon saves
later, only one Daemon had been
killed. The Havocs shot down a
few Kroots and the Raptors killed
a whopping ten Kroots with their
Bolt Pistols and the Flamer. Thankfully, the Kroots held, giving my
Raptors something to charge.
In the assault phase,
both Daemon packs and
Squad Charnan crashed
into the Tau and Kroot
line. Pack Trakhan struck
a wound on the suit,
after some great saves
by Fredrik. The suit then
kicked a Daemon back
to the warp, leaving the
combat tied. Just as I
wanted it. Squad Sicivies
mangled their target
with fve kills, but the
remaining few Tau stayed
put. The Raptors took fve
wounds from the Kroots, but I managed to save everyone (my saves
were defnitely getting better!). In return, seven Kroots were killed,
leaving the Raptors unable to catch them as they fed. Squad Charnan
consolidated back behind the Webway Portal in order to shield them
from most of the return fre.
TURN 3.
TAU
Things are not looking good on the left fank. I have two units locked
in close combat in the middle of my battle line and my Kroots are falling
back. That calls for drastic measures. The Fire Warriors in the woods
had to move forward to counter charge the Furies in combat with their
fellow Warriors, hoping to keep them locked there another turn.
On far left the Fire warriors once again aimed at the center Raptors.
This time there is no distractions and they took one down. The two-
man Crisis team also targeted the Raptors but did no damage. The
Broadsides used their Smart missile systems to target the same unit
of Raptors and although inficting six wounds only one fell. The Sniper
Drones, which I thought would be real killers in this game, accounted
83
for their meager second
kill by taking out a single
Havoc. Another Havoc fell
to Burst cannon fre from
the Stealth Suits and the
Obliterator was laid low by
my HQ, leaving my HQ,
Crisis team and Stealth Suit
behind the titans wreck in
complete possession of the
right fank.
On to some very important
close combat fghting. I
charged the Fire Warriors
into the existing melee and I naturally lost the combat but both my
units held their ground against the Furies. My lone Suit miraculously
drew his fght with the other unit of Furies, for the second time! I
didnt do very much damage this turn either but a least the two units
of Furies are not free to assault new units, which hopefully gives me
one more chance to decimate them with concentrated fre. If I have
enough units left to shoot with, that is.
NIGHT LORDS
Time to get something done. I couldnt trust in my armour saves to
get me victory, even though they werent as bad as usual. With my
Obliterator gone (two 1s out of three for armour saves - sounds about
normal), I only had my Havocs to control the left fank. This was not
going to work. What the heck, over to the fank where stuff were going
my way.
My Daemons of Pack Sicivies looked like they could hold their
own, but I took a chance that I might be able to consolidate into the
Broadsides if I rolled well enough. Squad Charnan had the exact same
idea, moving up to the Fire Warriors on my right fank, and hoping to
consolidate into the feeing Kroot, saving the expensive Raptors from
return fre.
Both my remaining frepower units fred at the Fire Warriors on my
left fank. With Squad Harbet missing again, and the Havocs managing
to kill only a single one with their autocannons and missiles, things
werent going exactly as planned. The Raptors of Squad Charnan killed
a few Tau with their famer and Bolt Pistols before charging into the
squad.
In the assault phase, my Daemons fnally realised their purpose
(a little late, methinks), and killed the lone Crisis Suit, just to fnd
themselves standing in front of two Sniper Drone teams. I tried to
consolidate out of harms way, but only managed to get out of sight
from most of the left Tau forces. On the right fank, things went a bit too
well. The Furies and Raptors predictably killed one entire Fire Warrior
squad. With the other one running off, this left my Raptors and Furies
standing in the open, looking a bit nervous. In order to get Fredrik
to fre at my cheaper Daemons (whore also better at facing low-AP
fre than my Raptors), I moved Pack Sicivies towards the Broadsides.
Perhaps they would manage to spook him...
Squad Charnan
killed the remaining
Fire Warriors and
caught the Kroots in
their fight. The Kroots
managed to rally, and
at least everything
was going to plan in
one place...
84
TURN 4.
TAU
Time to clear out those
daemons. My remaining unit
of Fire Warriors advanced
towards the closest Furies,
not so much to fre at them
as to keep the inevitable close
combat as far away from
my Suits behind the titan as
possible. A few of them were
in range and their fre sent
one Fury back to the warp.
My Snipers and Broadsides
are now doomed, at least
they get one last chance to
redeem themselves. The
Broadsides moved towards the Furies, preparing to assault them if
that is what it takes to bring them down.
The snipers fred their markerlights at the right unit of Furies but
aimed their Rail rifes at the left unit. One markerlight hit and one
causality is the disappointing result of the two teams combined fre.
But boosted by markerlights the Broadsides Smart missile systems
wiped out the other squad of Furies, with a little help from my remaining
Crisis team though. My HQ took out three Havocs and thereby reduced
them to below half starting strength. That is at least one less scoring
unit.
In the assault phase, my Suits once again jumped back behind the
fallen titan. Lastly, my Kroots fnally did some good and brought two
Raptors with them to the grave.
NIGHT LORDS
Well, it almost worked. The Daemons of Pack Sicivies had done their
job, and now it was time for my Raptors to fnish everything off. Squad
Charnan jumped in between the Sniper Team and the Broadsides on
my right and Squad Anothis few closer to the Broadsides. My plan
was to kill off the Snipers with Squad Charnan and then consolidate
them into the Broadsides. I had to keep my other unit alive as well,
and therefore decided to play it safe and assault the Broadsides with
Squad Anothis as well. If it worked out, I could always hit n run them
towards the other Tau units afterwards.
With only three remaining squad members, my Havocs had to make
a run for it. It seems like the word run was a bit much to demand,
as they only managed to move 2 in the wood, leaving two inside it,
and woefully in sight of the Tau killer-HQ. With my remaining three
Daemons, I decided that combat was the safest place for them, and
therefore few towards the Fire Warriors on my left.
Squad Harbet fred at the Broadsides, but Fredriks 2+ save was solid.
No other units even wanted to shoot (had they had the chance).
My assault on the Sniper Team went swimmingly. The Sniper Drones
were cut down to the last little gadget, and the victorious Raptors swept
into the Broadsides. Unfortunately, they would not have everything
their way. Even though Aspiring Champion Anothis decided to use his
Bolt Pistol to bludgeon the Broadsides instead of his Power Fist, he
and his squad managed to score a wound on the massive suits. The
Broadsides did nothing in return, and were run down. Now, my Raptors
were out in the open again. Curses.
The Daemons ripped into the Fire Warriors. Well, patted is a more
accurate description. Only two Tau were killed, and they dragged down
a Daemon in return. I chose to remove the one furthest away from me,
which later proved to be a very bad move. The Tau fed, got caught
by the Furies and my following consolidation roll would have taken my
Daemons into the Sniper Drones, had I removed another model as
casualty. A decision I didnt think would have an impact proved to be
very decisive (at least for the poor Daemons).
85
TURN 5.
TAU
My last few units better make themselves count this turn. My HQ
gunned down the two Havocs still inside the woods, hoping that the
last one would miss his morale test. The Stealth Suits blasted the last
of the Furies to shreds. My Crisis Team succeeded in taking out one of
the few Raptors in sight. With my last Sniper Team I tried to decimate
the Raptor unit furthest away from my own units to prevent them from
hiding for the last turns and thereby securing a quarter. However, I
failed my target priority test and had to fre at the nearest Raptors.
With a change of luck all three shots were kill shots and that unit was
suddenly below half strength instead. Not a perfect result, because
now that unit can assault my lines without any thought of objectives
but still not all that bad. Although there was no close combat, the
assault phase spelled disaster for my chances of coming out on top
when I realized that I could no longer reach the two left quarters of the
board. A minor loss of focus on the objective last turn when I backed
my HQ back behind the titan instead of moving up towards the Havocs
would cost me over 400 VPs.
NIGHT LORDS
Not much left to do but hold on to whatever I had left. Thankfully,
the last member of Squad Durnis passed his All Alone-test (on a result
of nine, no big margins in this game). Squad Anothis were too far
away from any cover to be safe, unless I charged the Sniper Drones.
Charnan led his men into safety behind the big forest on my right,
claiming the quarter.
Then, I realised something. When positioning his Crisis team on my
left, Fredrik had perhaps made a mistake. I could draw line of sight to
it with my Missile Launcher in Squad Harbet. If I could kill one, perhaps
the other one would fee? Well, you can guess what happened. A miss,
of course. Darn.
Squad Anothis crashed into the Sniper drones, killed three and ran
down the last one, luckily. (Fredrik has a nasty surprise in his sleeve
with his Sniper Drones. If the Controller is removed, the Drones are
removed in the end of the phase, which means that they can effectively
take away your chance of consolidation. The remaining Drone or Drones
become locked in combat, is then removed and your guys sit and
wait for the Tau execution detail to arrive...) Unfortunately, they only
manage to consolidate 2, leaving the Champion out in the open...
TURN 6.
TAU
Time to tie up any loose ends.
First the Stealth Suits backed
away to secure that quarter of
the board. My HQ jumped as
far forward as they could and
two of them could draw line
of sight to one of the last two
raptors, the aspiring champion.
Three wounds, two unsaved
but miraculously both shots hit
some bionic part and bounced
off. Curses. My last Crisis Team
tried to play a gamble and
jumped into the woods, hoping
to catch a glimpse of the raptors
on the other side. Unfortunately they couldnt
see far enough through the woods, a quarter
of an inch further into the woods and things
would have been brighter. To really rub it
in, one of them bumped his head on a tree
and took a wound from landing in diffcult
terrain.
86
During the assault phase the Stealth Suits and HQ hid and secured
their respective quarter, while the Crisis Team stayed in cover to at
least be able to strike back at all in the coming close combat.
NIGHT LORDS
Oh, thank you, dices! Thats the frst time in six months that my
Bionics have worked!
The dice continued to behave, as my lone Havoc once again passed
his All Alone-test (on a result of nine again, thank you). My small, but
deadly, unit of Raptors sped towards the Crisis team in the woods.
This could be it. If I could take out the Crisis team, things would look
brighter. As we both controlled two quarters each, I was after some
more points (and payback, more importantly). The shots against the
Crisis Team failed to make any damage, however.
My Raptors managed to get into combat with the Crisis suits. I
chose to use the Fist on the Champion to really be able to kill off the
entire team. My other Raptor managed to score a wound on one of the
suits with his attacks, removing one suit. Fredriks suits then struck
back (well, at the same time, really) and scored three hits, which then
became two wounds. I prayed my dice would behave.
They didnt. Two 1s out of three, and this time the Bionics wouldnt
work. It was over, and my fnal gamble didnt pay off. Now, we had to
be separated by points...
RESULT
Tau: 1204 points. 2 quarters.
Chaos: 1302 points. 2 quarters.
Difference: 98 points.
Result: Draw!
CONCLUSION:
TAU
That was a close fought game. Less than 100 VPs separated the two
sides when it was all over. That is pretty close considering that one
could get a maximum of 3500 VPs. It was also a mighty entertaining
game with a lot of ups and downs, heroic performances countered
by utterly crappy ones and an uncertain outcome. I tried to hold the
left fank as long as possible while being more offensive on the right
fank. Unfortunately that didnt work fawlessly and I ended up being
too defensive on the right fank while my left fank fell to easily. My
HQ was probably my best performing unit, always doing its job to an
outstanding degree. The highlight of the game was defnitely the Raptor
champions two bionic saves followed by being beaten in close combat
by my Crisis Team. A great game and I am really looking forward to
a rematch. The Night Lords has to be shown the true strength of the
Greater Good.
NIGHT LORDS
What a close one! With only 98 points in between, this is my closest
game with Fredrik ever. As my sixth turn began, I honestly thought I
was well behind on points, much because I really have no idea what
Tau units cost. And Im used to losing to Fredrik. This might be subject
to change..?
In hindsight, perhaps I should have placed my Havocs better. In the
whole game, all they took out was some infantry and a sensory turret.
Their disadvantage is that theyre not a mobile unit at all, and that they
will almost always be the frst unit I place in deployment, leaving me
guessing where the opponent will end up. Also, the infltrating Squad
Talorek has had better days. Also, the Prince could have been used
much better. Had I rolled a bit better armour saves in the frst turn,
87
he might have been able to do something. On the other hand,
his death meant that the Broadsides didnt shoot at my Raptors,
which could have proved fatal.
What went right? Well, my idea of getting the Tau gunline tied
up in close combat worked, even though it wasnt without fault. I
managed to bounce between the Tau units with one of my Raptor
squads, and that probably saved it from a lot of causalties. I also
managed to get my fanking manouvre to work properly.
My man of the match is most certainly Anothis. Too bad he
bit the dust in the fnal turn...
Summing up, it was a close-fought game, hanging on key
decisions and dice rolling. And a game like that is always
enjoyable!
A Battle Report by Linus Widner, Fredrik Landelius and Johan
Westlund.
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RISING LIKE A PHOENIX

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