Wolfpack Pounces
Overlord Pistikov led a force against space wolves trying to dominate the Thaggian Sector of Astorbicran IX. He commanded ten warriors himself deployed on the right and a cryptek led a similar force occupying ruins containing an objective on the left. Six Triarch Praetorians were centre left, the Monolith NNV Defiance and the Doom Scythe NNV Winged Avenger completed his battle group of 1000 points.
Pistikov seized the initiative and got a few long range shots off against the wolf riders facing our right. Three more marine squads occupied buildings containing three objectives spread evenly across the front. The enemy however dropped out of the sky with a drop pod landing between the praetorians and left hand warriors and wiped out the cryptek and his squad with flamers, aided by some long range fire from the marines in the rear.
The Praetorians immediately assaulted the new arrivals and the advancing wolves took heavy losses mainly from the Overlord’s advancing troops although overhead the Winged Avenger also engaged the wolves with its destructor and death ray. Deep striking behind the enemy right, the Defiance appeared and engaged two enemy units, its portal of exile in particular inflicting losses.
The enemy responded by shooting down the Winged Avenger, taking advantage of psychic powers and skyfire abilities conveyed by the central objective. Ironically two enemy held objectives actually inflicted losses on their defenders, exploding several times during the battle.
The praetorians were wearing down the wolfguard slowly but taking losses themselves in a contest that at times seemed evenly matched. Pistikov was taking long range fire and advanced slowly on the right, having decided against awaiting attack trying to hold the right hand objective. Meanwhile the Defiance resisted melta attacks from two squads and continued to inflict losses, losing one flux arc as it did so.
The praetorians finally fell, leaving the surviving wolf to hold the central objective in our deployment zone. The enemy continued to make good use of psychic powers though the tornado one generated had no effect and jaws of the werewolf eliminated only one of Pistikov’s warriors. The rune priest on the right did suffer one psychic failure with the result that he was already wounded when hit by gauss fire and gave his life for his rotting corpse emperor.
By then though the Defiance had finally been wrecked by the enemy marines and after a long engagement only Pistikov and two of his squad were left to be extracted, a loss rate approaching 90%. Enemy losses were estimated at only a third with two squads of marines depleted, one of two rune priests killed, 60% of the elite wolfguard and about 75% of the wolf cavalry unit.
The enemy held four of the six objectives available, Pistikov had failed to get close enough to assault the weakest remaining unit on our right to even contest one objective. A disastrous outing therefore though the Monolith did well. The Winged Avenger did nothing, brought down by skyfire that the marines should not have possessed.
The devastating attack of the drop pod had put us on the back foot from the beginning; the praetorians did quite well but could only tie up the two enemy units, lacking the power to defeat them. Rods of covenant may have been better weapon choices with hindsight.
9.3.13
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