Another Unholy Alliance
On Hydroghast Overlord Arkenardin was called in to meet an unexpected alliance of tyrannids and Blood Angels threatening to sever communications between the main Necron battlegroup clearing Imperial encroachment around the planet’s southern pole and the Command Station code named Megalith.
He led a unit of eight tesla carbine equipped immortals holding an objective with two squads of gauss blaster armed immortals to his left. Behind the left hand gun lines he deployed four wraiths and behind him he had the twin big guns of a gauss exterminator sentry pylon battery.
On the left, the tyrannids arrived, two huge mother creatures each with attendant termagants, between the two half a dozen fearsome looking warriors and some nasty looking characters with heavy weapons of some sort. On the right, three squads of blood angels with flamers and priests in attendance, led by a librarian.
Weather conditions were terrible as the action opened and neither side could initially advance in the torrential rain that only added to the waterlogged landscape. Early ranging shots from the tyrannid gunners did little and the pylons wounded the closer more central mother creature. Both beasts birthed further squads of termagants more than doubling the number of enemy troops menacing that flank.
A more direct threat was the organic pod that dropped close to our front; however, our interceptor pylon battery shot it down. Sadly its passenger emerged uninjured and inflicted immediate losses on Arkenardin’s squad. The whole enemy front advanced, but the marines on the right were hampered by the difficult conditions, losing a man to them early.
The termagants, advancing across rocky ground took losses from our advancing immortals and our wraiths assaulted the brain sucking beast on our right, effortlessly crossing one of the pools of water scattered across our position. Arkenardin’s squad also poured fire in to it, even as they fell back from its psychic attacks.
From our left meanwhile, two thirds of our reserves appeared in the shape of the Doom Scythe NNV Triple Threat and the Night Scythe NNV Ultimatum. The Triple Threat’s death ray and tesla destructor attack took out three of the hive guard and together with the Ultimatum did severe damage to the termagants and gunners, though another final additional squad had birthed on the left so their numbers probably increased overall again.
The tyrannids charged against our left, the hive guard getting amongst our left hand immortals but the Triple Threat successfully destroyed the heavy weapons team in the centre. The wraiths continued to struggle with the brain sucker whilst the marines continued their painfully slow advance against our right flank.
One termagant squad was wiped out in the centre and the Ultimatum dropped its nine deathmarks and a cryptek close to the marine right, inflicting heavy casualties, as the Triple Threat’s death ray swept through more marines, but the marines then assaulted and began eliminating the deathmarks. The enemy now brought in a moorlock in the centre which was targeted by our guns and wraiths, the sterile central mother creature having fallen to our heavy guns after suffering two wounds through failed psychic feats.
The hive guard destroyed the immortals on the left and headed on to destroy the pylons too, however our second Night Scythe the NNV Ever Vigilant arrived and dropped its cryptek and deathmarks behind the guard and wiped them out. Our immortals in the centre meanwhile were locked in combat with termagants, gradually whittling them away.
Our other flyers were now reaching the right and engaging the marines there inflicting losses whilst another squad of termagants assaulted Arkenardin. Our troop units were doing well against the termagants and our flyers were wreaking general havoc, but Arkenardin’s termagants were joined by the few marines from the leading marine squad that got through the aerial bombardment.
In the centre termagants broke and ran pursued by our immortals. When they eventually rallied and counter attacked, they were wiped out by our overwatch. Our deathmarks fell but their cryptek leader reanimated and continued the fight. The other deathmark squad attempted a deep strike using their cryptek’s veil of darkness, but mis-happed and were forced into ongoing reserve.
The moorlock fell to the wraiths but only three were left, all wounded. Arkenardin’s immortals fell to the marine reinforced termagants, but he reanimated and the deathmarks returning from reserve wiped out the few marines left and the wraiths and overlord finished the termagants. Our gallant cryptek after holding out alone fell at last whilst the Ultimatum and Triple Threat inflicted heavy losses on the reserve termagants on the left.
The Ever Vigilant, immortals and deathmarks fired on the enemy librarian and his two bodyguards as they approached our centre and the wraiths assaulted, however, the librarian survived and slew all three wraiths in what proved to be the final action of an unusually long encounter.
We had destroyed nine units of tyrannids and two units of marines, picking up first blood along the way. We had lost two squads of immortals, one of deathmarks including their cryptek, the pylon battery and wraiths. The tyrannids with one sterile mother creature and half a squad of termagants left held one objective for three points and their warlord had linebreaker, so the final score was twelve to nine in our favour.
The marines had just their warlord and three assault marines from their original strength of 1000, a loss rate estimated at over 80%. The tyrannids losses were probably similar although they had committed forces estimated at 1150 plus.
Our total rallied strength from the 1900 original was 797, a loss rate of 58% with one unit of deathmarks entirely intact, six of twenty six immortals remaining and for our fliers, just on hull point damage reported by the Triple Threat. Arkenardin himself was unwounded having reanimated after his squad was wiped out in assault and with all wounds restored by his phylactery. After the battle, he celebrated the dominant Necron position with a local cocoa bean and coconut delicacy.*
*Yes it was bounties of Hydroghast all round.
Orphean Victory Points Awarded:
Necrons 3
Blood Angels 0
Tyranids 0
Score after 2 engagements: Imperials 0
Necrons 6
Tyranids 0
Campaign Score: Imperials 13
Necrons 9
Footnote
Five wins in a row including three in the Orphean campaign (Space wolves & Blood Angels, Chaos Marines, Imperial Guard, Blood Angels, Blood Angels & Tyranids) – An extension of our best ever winning streak. Both this and our best unbeaten run were against four different players. The campaign is delicately balanced at five wins each and two draws. Arkenardin with his roving commission is now our most successful warlord having two victories out of four deployments.
24.11.13
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