Angelic Destruction
Overlord M’Blex led the 284th Decurion of the 71st Combined Assault Echelon on Dakacha Superior. Wraiths from the 94th Support squadron were detailed to assist him and the Night Scythe transport NNV Immediate Readiness was bringing up seven praetorians armed with rods of covenant and accompanied by a cryptek bearing the fabled gauntlet of conflagration.
The Overlord accompanied by his seven lychguard took position close to the right flank with just a unit of warriors to the right. Ahead to his left, eight war scythe armed lychguard with a cryptek were holding objective 874. On the far side of the high ground beyond it lay objective 395, to the left in the centre, our four whip coil equipped wraiths were close to the objective coded 211.
Deep on the left in our deployment zone, another ten warriors held the objective designated 22. Ahead of them in no man’s land, objective 73. The final objective was also deep opposite the centre, this one coded 006. Six tomb blades were on the left flank, half armed with gauss blasters and half with tesla carbines. All had nebuloscopes and shield vanes. A full squad of gauss blaster armed immortals were also centre left. Total force strength was 1785.
The enemy strike force comprised three squads of assault marines with priests at the back of each unit, plus on the extreme left a squad of terminators. The squads moved in close formation against our right.
The tomb blades and immortals moved to the right to reinforce the threatened flank and the wraiths moved around the high ground to the left. Two warriors on our right fell in the first exchange of fire, but all three assault squads failed to follow up with a melee action.
At the end of the first round we had secured a victory point for holding objective 211. The Immediate Readiness arrived from reserve on our right flank and we brought fire from three units to bear on the three assault marine squads. The first marines fell but it was our wraiths that did real damage taking out half of the centre squad which broke and fled.
Sadly the marines immediately rallied and counter attacked, the four enemy squads all assaulting successfully and a second terminator squad deep struck on our left- almost on top of our warriors holding the objective there that the enemy were clearly targeting. Half the warriors on our right fell under the first assault, the terminators and centre squad attacked the wraiths and both sides took casualties. The right hand unit assaulted the tomb blades taking out one.
No score that round and our flayed ones now arrived on the left taking objective 22 which scored for us this turn. The unexpected reinforcement brought total Necron strength to 1850. The Immediate Readiness meanwhile arced left across the field and dropped her praetorians in front of the terminators there. Fire from the transport, praetorians and especially the cryptek’s one use gauntlet destroyed the terminators for first blood.
The immortals moved to aid the tomb blades assaulting the marines there and the Overlord and his lychguard joined the warriors fighting the marines on our right. The war scythe equipped lychguard could not reach the wraith fight as they were hampered by terrain. The Overlord was wounded in challenge with the enemy captain but initially we held.
The wraiths were down to two but marines were going down too. But in the centre, the tomb blades broke and fled deserting the immortals who held. Now though the enemy reserves finally arrived in strength, yet a third squad of terminators and the dreaded sanguinary guard arriving behind our right.
But disaster then struck in rapid succession for us: The warriors and lychguard both broke our warlord, down to one wound from his challenge was mopped up with the lychguard. The two warriors left took to their heels and never looked like stopping.
The wraiths finally fell, only the immortals held with a deadlock result in the centre. With slay the warlord worth an extra point to the Angels the tactical score moved to three two. The tomb blades down to four had not fled far and rallied, firing on the newly arrived terminators. Sadly for them their armour blessings had obviously been badly mishandled as all three shots that hit resulted in statistically improbable kills.
This turn the tomb blades, flayed ones and warriors on the left all held objectives which scored us two victory points. We also destroyed the central marines as the praetorians joined the assault, only the priest escaping to join the terminators. The lychguard on the hill were meanwhile engaged by the remnants of the two remaining assault marine squads and their priests.
The praetorians, flushed with success moved to assault the terminators who had destroyed the wraiths and lost heavily, their cryptek declining a challenge. The immortals were engaged by the pair of terminators who had suffered so badly at the hands of the tomb blades and managed to reduce them to one.
Our left hand warriors meanwhile took another objective we needed giving us two victory points as this was the last identified. A marine unit and their priest fell on the hilltop on the right where our lychguards fought on for another score, but then the sanguinary guard arrived and despite losing one to dangerous terrain decisively wiped them out with disconcerting ease. Our praetorians were reduced to just one plus the cryptek and the action broke off.
We scored a point for survival of the cryptek and the marines had linebreaker, final tactical score was 9-5 in our favour. The enemy had nine sanguinary guard remaining, two priests, a couple of terminators and a wounded librarian, two or three marines and their captain. Estimated losses two thirds by value.
We had done well on territorial objectives – six of our points, plus one secondary objective, killing of a priest and survival of the key cryptek. The enemy had scored three points for secondary objectives and just two territorial, their terminators failing to take the left hand objective before being wiped out on the left.
As far as complete units were concerned, we had lost both lychguard units, the wraiths, warlord and one unit of warriors, whereas the enemy had lost two marine units and one terminator unit, though admittedly three of their four remaining units were crippled and one of the two priests and the librarian were wounded. By contrast, we boasted three undamaged units, one of warriors, the five flayed ones and the Immediate Response. This brought our rallied strength to 680, one cryptek, one praetorian, seven immortals and four tomb blades. Our loss rate just over 63%.
15.8.15
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