Death Dealt To Darkness
Necron forces on Baltiani IX Alpha had been skirmishing for two weeks with Tau forces trying to test Necron resolve to maintain forces there supporting fleets massing to launch an invasion against Tau Colonies in sector 98563.
Dark Eldar raiders were attracted to the conflict and a strike group moved to attack Overlord T’Bryakh and the 47th Tactical support Squadron engaged in search and destroy operations against the Tau south of the main Necron staging post in the southern hemisphere.
The Overlord led a unit of nine immortals armed with tesla carbines on our right flank supported by the Annihilation Barge NNV Driving Force. To his left, five wraiths with whip coils and in the centre the Doomsday Ark Queen of Destruction.
On the left flank, the Annihilation Barge NNV Acid Test, with two smaller units of gauss blaster armed immortals holding our command post. In every immortal unit, a cryptek from T’Bryakh’s court, two armed with eldritch lances, the last with a voltaic staff and lightning field.
The Necron forces amounted to 1323 with a further reserve of 675, three squads of deathmarks, one ready to deep strike and two more aboard the Night Scythes NNV Twilight Marauder and NNV Extreme Prejudice.
Enemy forces comprised a squad of warriors holding their command post which was located on the far side of ruins to the north west of our control centre. On the enemy right, half a dozen raider jet bikes and a similar number of Hellions. Ten winged scourge had the centre. The force strength was probably less than 800 but more were no doubt lurking ready to strike.
The enemy advanced all their units bar the warriors, using the ruins for cover. The Driving Force took a hit from the haywire weaponry of the scourge and a couple of immortals fell, the enemy jetbikes dropping back into cover after firing.
Our forces opened fire, both barges moving up on the flanks, but the results were disappointing: Most fire hit the enemy jetbikes, half of them falling, but this took the efforts of the Acid Test, Queen of Terror, immortals and crypteks. The Driving Force also failed to damage the scourge unit.
Our wraiths moved up to assault the scourge but two fell to accurate concentrated overwatch fire and only two scourge were harmed by the assault though the wraith whip coils locked on.
Now the expected reserves appeared: Two raiders bearing more warriors no doubt, a Ravager with triple disintegrator cannons, all deep striking against our right flank, and a Razorwing fighter appearing from the west but also aimed against our right. All in all another 500 + points value perhaps.
Disaster though for our dark enemy: The first raider to deep strike drifted into our right hand immortal squad – catastrophic mishap!* The other Raider and Ravager however successfully boxed our immortals. The raider opened fire and destroyed the Driving Force with multiple hits. The jet bikes screamed through our left inflicting losses as they passed through the immortals there. Our right hand immortals took losses from the Razorwing and ravager though some reanimations were successful.
*First blood surely but apparently not as not caused by us?
Meanwhile the wraiths continued the fight against the scourge and successfully killed four, reducing the already depleted squad to that same number. Unable to harm the wraiths in return, the scourge broke and fled. Our wraiths dropped back, intent on avenging the wrecked Driving Force.
We continued to attack on the left, the Acid Test inflicting losses on the Hellions which were recoiling from their original attack course. The Queen of Terror opened fire on both the Hellions and the jetbikes which had passed behind our forces. Although it fired its gauss blaster batteries both port and starboard, it inexplicably failed to fire on the rear shields of the enemy raider.
However, the eldritch staff from one of our left hand immortal units resolved that issue, a lucky shot exploding the enemy transport which proved to be empty. The other immortals on the left took out the surviving pair of jetbikes. The Overlord and his unit attacked the Ravager in assault, damaging it only slightly.
Meanwhile, we had done a little deep striking of our own,* five deathmarks appearing within rapid fire range of the warriors. They were deathmarked and went to ground but lost a third of their number to the first volley.
* Not entirely sure that the enemy warlord trait was used legally at this point – our reserve attempts were penalised despite the fact that the enemy warlord was not yet on the field
The enemy now brought on another ravager behind our right,* targeting our warlord and his immortals. The Hellions were fleeing North West looking to support the warriors holding the command post and the Razorwing headed towards our centre. Our warlord was wounded and his squad reduced to just two immortals and a cryptek by the fire directed from the two ravagers. Fortunately the Razorwing’s fire was ineffective.
*This one containing the afore mentioned warlord together with more troops another possible 300+ points
The scourge had now rallied and headed for cover close to our objective whilst the warriors holding it fired snapshots at the deathmarks, dropping two, but one reanimated. The NNV Twilight Marauder arrived at speed on our right and shot down the enemy razor wing with its tesla destructor system.
The deathmarks took out another swathe of warriors who again went to ground, meanwhile the Hellions dodged fire from the Acid Test. The Overlord and his depleted unit assaulted and wrecked the Ravager despite its venom protection, whilst the Queen of Terror failed to penetrate the shields of its newly arrived companion, its cannon less effective as the ark had been forced to change position.
Our wraiths assaulted the scourge, this time their overwatch was ineffective and the assault wiped out all four of the winged beasts. Now the last surviving Ravager wiped out our overlord and his surviving squad members giving a full set of secondary objectives to the enemy. The Hellions despite being fleet failed to assault or deathmarks.
The NNV Extreme Prejudice arrived at last and failed in an attempt to destroy the ravager, although it scored two hits the telling shot was negated by the flicker field and the Queen of Terror could not fire. The Twilight Marauder dropped its deathmarks close to the enemy command post and it only needed their cryptek’s abyssal staff to blast the last three warriors out of existence. The hellions were also destroyed by fire from the other deathmarks, the Twilight Marauder and Acid Test.
With just the Ravager left in the North east quadrant the enemy commander had two options: To attack either the Queen of Terror, the Extreme Prejudice or our command post, guarded by two units of immortals and their two crypteks, or flee. If attacking, whatever survived of the four units mentioned plus possibly the Acid Test and Twilight Marauder and the Extreme Prejudice’s deathmarks would likely be in range to counter attack and or assault.
Not good odds. The cowardly enemy commander Duke Sliscus chose retreat. With us holding one objective plus three units in the enemy deployment zone, the tactical score was Four Three in our favour. Enemy casualties were estimated at 85%. We had lost the Driving force, one of five Crypteks, our warlord, two of five wraiths, one of twenty five deathmarks and half our twenty four immortals. Ten deathmarks had not even deployed, twenty had not fired a shot. Our rallied strength was 1390, a loss rate of just over 30%.
3.5.14
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