+ inload: The Compliance of Ix +
The 14th Expeditionary Fleet translated into the Ix system with the smoothness characteristic of Navigator-Prime Vin Dien. Almost immediately, the ships were hailed by guttural declarations of war.
Captain Orar sighed. Orks.
Wherever the Great Crusade had explored, the greenskins were always there to meet them. The Ultramarines of the 14th Expedition had grown accustomed to fighting fierce ork warriors; but there was something unusual about this group.
Orar listened more closely to the broad-spectrum inloads being broadcasted by the orks for a few more seconds until it struck him. Aside from the occasional pop or crackle, the transmissions were as clear as Imperial shipping. His eyes narrowed. The orks of Ix clearly had a precociously high technology level...
+++
A long time coming, this game is the first large-scale one I've played using Forge World's Horus Heresy list. Regular opponent Bob Hunk kindly provided a 2000pt list to fight against, giving him a chance to try out the new ork Codex. It's only our second game of 7th, so lots to take in!
+++
Mission:
Contact Lost
Warlord traits: Gashbag is a Prophet of the Waaagh; Orar is a Hero of Terra.
Terrain:
Deployment:
Orks deploy and go first:
Ultramarine mission: Take and Hold (Objective 6)
Da Teknorkracy have no intention of letting them stay!
Ork mission: Take and Hold (Objective 1)
Warlord Gashbag leads the advance from his personal battlewagon.
Hordes of boyz stream forward.
... and are met by the full might of the Ultramarines.
Both sides achieve their objectives, staking a claim on the town. The Lootas occupy objective 1, a targetting relay; and put fire down on the Contemptor Talon, scoring damaging hits.
Da Lootas struggle to reload, only getting a single rattling burst off each.
The Contemptor's powerful armour holds off the worst of the damage and the Ultramarines advance into the teeth of ork firepower.
The Contemptors advance into range and a single shot of the multimelta reduces the battlewagon to slag. Gashbag and his meganob bodyguard are reduced to walking.
The two sides continue to advance, trading fire in the darkness to little effect.
After a brief trade of heavy blows, the sergeant stands victorious.
Even as his bodyguard is brought down by massed firepower from the Ultramarines, Gashbag slams into the Contemptor, his overcharged kustom suit [mega-armour and Da Lucky Stick representing the boss Mek's orky-knowwotz] allowing him to swiftly overwhelm the iron giant. He bellows in victory!
On the left flank, the marines are met by orks rushing forward faster than they could have expected. Disciplined overwatch fire brings down nearly half a dozen before the Ultramarines draw their combat blades to meet the orks' axes.
The melee begins to go the Ultramarines' way, with the minor advantage of numbers not sufficient to outweigh power armour and combat training.
Ork personalities prevent the loss turning into a rout, the dok's fighting juice and mek's kustom force field keeping the boyz in line and itching for a punch-up.
Gashbag faces the fury of the Legion; but the only wounds come from his overwhelmed suit as the kustom armour struggles to adapt. [The lucky stick prevented eighty shots from casuing any wounds; though only at the cost of losing one to three failed rerolls over the turn].
As the Waaagh dissipates, it becomes clear the Ultramarines have held the line. An outflanking Deffkopta squadron has killed two marines, but their return fire blows four form the sky. The survivor flees for friendly lines, trailing oily smoke (well, more than usual).
The Ork dreadnoughts and killa kans, left stranded by the foot-troopers' charge, angrily shoot at the marines on the ridge. Their armour mostly holds, and their survival is ensured by minor ministrations from the Apothecary.
The surviving Terminators drive off the orks on the right flank and start to advance. The gretchin, huddling on the objective nearby break and flee under a burst of fire from the Terminators as they advance into visual range.
Fresh from securing an objective, Techmarine Arius joins the wavering fight on the left flank, even as yet more orks pour in.
Captain Orar joins the fray, finally tipping the balance. With the Honour Guard, remaining Legion Tactical marines and techmarine all hammering fraying ork morale, it finally snaps and the survivors of the original assault retreat.
With just the supporting orks in combat, more advance to take their place, eager for blood. They look up to find Gashbag – can he provide the leadership to keep them fighting?
All too aware of the importance of the Warboss – even if he was an over-ambitious Mekboy in this case – the experienced Tactical Legionnaires continue to fight him. Eventually, the numbers tell. Despite tearing down half-a-dozen heroes of the Legion, Gahsbag's armour frays and fails, trapping him in its steaming grip and dragging him immobile to the floor. Roaring in dismay, he bellows futile threats as his boyz turn and slip away, leaving orktown in Imperial hands.
Objective overview:
Orks: 4VP
- Secure objective 1 – achieved turn 2
- Secure objective 5 – achieved turn 3
- Recon – achived turn 2
- More Speed Go Fasta! – Not achieved
- Kingslayer – Not achieved
- Secure objective 2 – achieved turn 3
Ultramarines: 6VP
- Secure objective 6 – achieved turn 1
- Hungry for Glory – Not achieved
- First Blood – achieved turn 1 (battlewagon)
- Psychological warfare – achieved turn 1
- Hold the Line – achieved game end
- Secure objective 6 – achieved turn 3(?)
- Slay the Warlord – achieved turn 3
Victory to the Ultramarines
1 comment:
Great stuff, I like the table and scenery very much.
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