+ inload: Bloodsong quick Q&A and notes +

+ New frontiers +

+ Titanicus wargaming with xenos +

+ Getting the gang back together – from left to right, Ork Great Gargant; Imperial Warlord Titan, Eldar Phantom Titan. + 

+ I've held off a bit on posting pics of the various Titans, mainly because I haven't got any painting done for weeks and weeks; hobby time being taken up elsewhere. Nevertheless, with Bloodsong out in the wild [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], and some feedback coming in already, I though the pic above gave a good indication of my take on things. +

+ This inload will look at the plan for Bloodsong, and address some early playtesting feedback. +

+++

+ The plan, early feedback and FAQs +

First off, thanks for everyone who's downloaded, read and given Bloodsong a go so far – please do let me know how you're getting on with it, and any feedback – positive or negative – is very welcome!

'Wombo combos' are exactly what I'd like to see you playtest to pressure test the rules; the playtesting so far has explicitly been Open Play and aimed at making sure the rules work mechanically, so seeing the live playtest results of more competitive players will be very helpful indeed. 

However, please do try 'em out 'in the round', as it were – there's lots that I was concerned was overtuned, but seems to work fine in our (admittedly rather soft!) games. Feel free to pop your findings in a message to me (I'm not thin-skinned, so don't worry about hurting my feelings!), or better yet, in a comment on the PDF, so they're all collected together.

The plan is for three months of playtest feedback to pin down the Terminals, Maniple equivalents and Weapons. (And gather artwork and model pics). Those are the core that anyone using the rules will have to engage with. After that, adding in the Legio equivalents, new weapons and new units (the Mekboy Gargant/Supa-Stompa) will be relatively easy.

… and August is therefore the plan for release of an updated version, which I hope will be a 64 or 80pp one, containing the lore and missions for a mini-campaign alongside the rest.

+ Playtesting +

Bloodsong is all, of course, unofficial, and I'd emphasise that your game is yours, whoever's rules you're using as a kicking-off point. If you're lucky enough to have someone willing to play unofficial rules, I imagine both you and they are already open-minded and creative enough to make some tweaks to better fit your take on things.

With that said, a common set of rules is necessary to make meaningful tweaks and adjustments, so when playtesting and providing feedback, I'd please ask you to give things a try as they're presented – or please let me know what changes you've made, so I can take into account.

When providing feedback, the 'big questions' I want to answer are:

• ‘Did they feel like Eldar/Orks?’
• ‘Were they fun to play with?’

and most importantly,

• ‘Were they fun to play against?’

After that, please feel free to get as granular and detailed as you like. Think a particular weapon stinks? Think the pricing's off? Want to know why X Y or Z was done? Let us know. 

There's a thread on the + Death of a Rubricist + Facebook group for discussion, or you can send me a message through the comments and contact details here, if you prefer.

+ Early feedback and FAQs +

Some quick response answers to unclear areas:

Orks

I read it as all sizes of Gargant need to have a belly gun and two arm guns but the Mega-Gargant's towers and kustom job are optional, is that correct?

Yes, that’s right.

Gargants can use weapon cards from their size or smaller, so a Great or Mega Gargant could use either the Great Gargant sized Gut Buster or the Gargant sized (half the points for the same weapon but less armoured), correct?

Typo here! Great Gargant version should be S10 and Blast (5in); hence the heftier price. This is flagged on the PDF for change. 

If you have 2 dice of krew in the weirdboy tower, is the strength determined by adding the 2 values together?

Yes, add the values together… although this is one of those bits that I’m very keen to hear feedback on. If you’re finding it oppressive, please let me know.

Are there any plans on the works for Stompas?

Knights and equivalent are beyond the scope of this project for the moment at least, but the Mekboy Gargant is definitely on the drawing board – currently occupying a specialist supporting role somewhat like the Imperial Dire Wolf or Warbringer Nemesis. Their weapon cards will be akin to (and  possibly interchangeable with) the Mega Gargants' Kustom Job cards. This unit will be included in the updated version, with a more 'normal' weapon option allowing you to field it as a Supa-Stompa.

[As an aside on terminology, the Mekboy Gargant, present in Epic: Space Marine 2nd edition and Titan Legions as the Mekboy Gargant, disappeared after Epic: 40,000, and was replaced by the Supa-stompa in Epic: Armageddon. Confusingly, the current 40k-scale Stompa is (in-universe) about this size – so you can see why I've got a bit tied in knots about whether Stompas are in or not!]

This unit will be great to proxy with your old Epic Gargant or Steam Gargant models.

What's the reasoning behind Gargants being on round bases?

We tried them on both, and found round bases gives more of a solid, unwieldy ‘feel’ in-game that helps to distinguish the orks from the other factions, and makes the model appear chunkier.

Round bases also opened up some interesting little tactical bits and bobs – since the gun decks can fire in the side arcs, it allows Gargants to protect themselves from flanking knights or help an ally strip shields without turning. They can also fire slightly behind themselves, which gives a nice ‘navy battle cruiser’ feel. 

With that said, there’s not a huge amount in it, so feel free to adapt and use oval bases if you wish, or they better frame your models – these are, after all, homemade rules, so adapt them as you like.

Eldar

Can Revenants use their jump jets jump over titans?

No; cinematic as the visual is, I think that causes mechanical and gameplay problems. Feel free to playtest, but my instinct is that Revenants are already had enough to draw a bead on! 

Imageine a Warhound squadron attacks a Revenant.  The first shot from the first weapon hits the shield vanes, so the attacking Warhound finishes the rest of its attacks with no holofield active. When the second Warhound attacks, are the holofields active, or do they stay down until all squadron attacks are completed?

I’d suggest the shields are back in place for the second and subsequent Warhounds, as it’s a different unit. The mechanic is intended to encourage focussed fire from individual Titans, and since the holofields are the only defence the Revenant has, it seems harsh to allow an entire squadron to benefit (particularly once various Legio/Maniple bonuses are factored in). 

Some of the critical damage effects have names that are not defined in the booklet.  Do we assume they are analogous to what's in the main rulebook? e.g. Spiritmesh disturbed does not have a reference in the rulebook I can see; Steersman wounded, and Soulstone compromised are not defined in the rulebook, but I think its a safe assumption that they are analogous to MIU feedback, etc? 

Yes, the critical damage results started as ‘fluffy’ equivalents, with no mechanical difference – while some are now different, assume the others are as you’ve outlined. I’ll clarify this in the next update.

+++

+ How big's a [+INSERT TITAN HERE+]? +

Scale and size (particularly base size) have an impact on the game; from interactions with terrain to line of sight issues and arcs of fire, so the supplement contains a few notes that allude to it. However, I didn't want to bog down what's meant to be a practical gaming supplement with endless screeds of conversion suggestions – that's what this noospheric node is for!

On model size, you'll see that the fluid lines between Gargants and Great Gargants is mentioned a few times in Bloodsong, and that's to help when converting. With no official figures, you'll be forced to convert, find third-party sculpts, or scratch build – and that's complicated by the fact that there are lots of different interpretations of the various units; both officially and in fan-made material. 

+ This looks 'right' to me, weaned as I was on the original Adeptus Titanicus – but there's a decent argument that the modern Phantom, for example, should be nearer Reaver in size. +

I've tried to provide some structure in Bloodsong but leave lots of wiggle room – the last thing I want to do is tell someone they can't use their cool model because it doesn't match the letter of these rules. As long as it's clear to both you and the other player(s) what's what, than I think you can go a long way by being generous with line of sight etc. If you're converting or scaling things, I'd aim for the following height from base to top of head:

• Gargant between 9–12cm (3½–5in)
• Great Gargant between 12.5 and 15cm (5–6in)
• Phantom Spectre 15cm (6in) and larger
• Phantom Shade 12.5cm (5in) and smaller
• Revenant 9–10cm (3½–4in)

These are the assumed sizes used in Bloodsong, based partially on the background; on comparisons of the old Epic models to the new Titanicus models; on comparisons of the 28mm Eldar Forgeworld Titans to the 28mm Imperial Forgeworld Titans, and a hefty dollop of practicality – which models I found myself able to source. 

I really want Bloodsong to be accessible, so you'll note that the sizes suggested mean that you can essentially 'demote' the old Epic Phantom and Great Gargant to stand in as Revenants and (standard) Gargants respectively. These are relatively easy to find second-hand, and all the various generations of the official sculpts will be in the right ballpark.

+ Taller and more gracile, and shorter but stockier – you could use the Phantom Shade rules for one and the Phantom Spectre for the other; but equally you might just treat them as different styles of the same type. +

Part of the reason for the Shade/Spectre versions of the Phantom is to allow different interpretations to better match people’s models and conversions – but again, if you dislike the idea of having different types of Phantom, then by all means just pick one and stick with it. If you're converting your own, I’d suggest the Wraithlord is small but in the right ballpark for the Phantom. 

+++

+ inload: Bloodsong goes public +

+ Bloodsong complete + 

+ Free Adeptus Titanicus expansion with rules for Eldar Titans and Ork Gargants +

+ No time to waste? Just need the Google Drive link? +
+ Manifold access, my Princeps: [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] +

+ Command new forces; engage new enemies! +

+++

+ Changes and updates +

... and now that everyone who just wants the free Bloodsong expansion has blithely closed this noospheric node, those that remain suckling on the datafeed can enjoy the inner secrets of the project.

Way back in 2018, shortly after the release of the new Adeptus Titanicus, I (rather fatefully) wrote:

I'll preface this by saying that these rules are only intended to tide players over until we get some official rules.

Well, seven years have passed, and not so much as a squeak from Games Workshop on any official rules for Eldar and Orks, so since 2023 I've been tinkering away on creating a full print-ready expansion for the game so xenos enthusiasts and those looking for a new Open Play challenge can get involved. 

The result is Bloodsong, which has gone through nine 'alpha' iterations, being playtested and tweaked in a small pool in various back rooms and on the + Death of a Rubricist + Facebook group (thanks for all feedback thus far!). It's now complete to the point that it's ready for more broad distribution, with everything from custom Command Terminals and Weapon Cards to instructions for how to print the 50pp booklet to the right size. Perhaps most importantly, it explains how to use the supplement with the official rules to create all-Eldar or all-Ork forces.

For anyone who's already been using the supplement, this new public version includes the following improvements:

• Practical additions: 8 Maniple equivalents – 4 each for Eldar and Orks.
• Extensive improvement and refinement of the Ork section, polishing it to match the Eldar. Clarification of suggested base sizes and conversion ideas for Gargants.
• Mega Gargant rules clarifications.
• Useability improvements: a table of contents, 'How to use this book' and development notes throughout.
• Single page formatting (view it on Acrobat in two-page view with cover page)
• Terminology tweaks – the Wraithtension table had started to annoy me, so it's now the Wraith Matrix table, which feels a bit more 'Eldar' to me.

+++

+ Find new enemies and allies for your Imperial and Traitor Titans for Open Play Titanicus! +

+ What's next? +

Next, I hope, is for the supplement to get more feedback from other gaming groups, which will help to tweak and adjust the points values to make for more fun and exciting games, and highlight any glaring clangers I've made.

Besides the nuts and bolts of the mechanics, my next priority is improving the look of the layout by adding some artwork and more background material: example Titan/Gargant pictures for the maniple equivalents, nicely styled in-action battle pictures, and some design flourishes to make it as professional as possible – I've been aiming to make it as user-friendly, polished and attractive as I can.

If you can help – either by supplying pictures of your own models, or suggesting artists I can ask, please do let me know in the comments, either here on the blog, or on the Facebook group – or through the Google Drive link:

[+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]

+++

+ Tell me more! +

Glutton for punishment, eh? Want to know more about the process and past development? By using the [+insphere contentsieve+] at the top right of the page, you can search for Titanicus and read through all the various changes and designer's notes – here's a good start, if you fancy looking at the philosophy and process behind the project [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+].

+++

+ inload: 8th Squad, 2nd Company +

+ Squad Greon; 8th of the 2nd Company +

+ Another inload that's been lurking ready to polish off. I can't quite believe that, apparently, I finished these in 2023(!). I guess in between other projects and painting their Epic-scale counterparts, it has been a while. +

+ This inload has remained embargoed in this noospheric node because it was orginally intended as a series – but rather than sit on it forever, I thought you might like to have a grand sweep! +

+ Below, then, is the extent of my finished Salamanders – though there are more on the way. After all, what reinvigorates interest in a project more than taking a look back over the finished ones? +

+++

Unlike the others, his measure of patience had run dry some time ago. Another breakdown. Another pause. Volkaeus Orurr breathed out testily.

Looking for a distraction, he reached for the rail and clambered up to the Rhino's roof one-handed, his boltgun in the other. Magnificence was not the fastest transport in terms of raw speed, but unlike the convoy vehicles, he mused darkly, it could keep going. 

The transporters were not vehicles intended for service in hostile environments like the Dune Seas. With a regularity that struck Orurr as perversely ill-fitting to their mechanical reliability, every few hundred klicks one or another of the tankers or luggers would slew to a halt as filters clogged, tyres slumped, or the over-stimmed and under-rested hiveborn crew passed out in the unaccustomed heat. The convoy would pause, on edge and nervy, as the errant vehicle was coaxed back into life, winched back onto the track, or otherwise repaired. 

The worst were the failures that billowed thick, oily smoke – as potent a signal as any the orks might hope for. Easy pickings here, the coiling smoke suggested.

Not for the first time, the Salamander cursed the name of Herman von Strab. According to Captain Mir'san, it was largely owing to the Imperial Commander's arrogance and mismanagement that these intra-hive transports were all that was available for the backline armies. Hurriedly fitted with bulky external breathers and heat shielding before being filled with vital water, fuel and materiel, the vehicles were slow and unreliable – and thus the convoys were perfect targets for the roving greenskins.

The cream of Armageddon's armies had been lost in the early conflict, and the replacements far from confident. Upon his arrival, Chapter Master Tu'Shan had been appraised of the situation by Captain Galenus of the Ultramarines' 4th, and had immediately taken it upon the Salamanders' broad shoulders to ensure the world could fight; that its vital roads and arteries would be protected from roving marauders. Clapping his cousin on the shoulder in gratitude, Calgar had made his gratitude clear that the Ultramarines would be freed to prosecute the offensive. 

+++

The ever-present chemical tang was acerbic; but the height afforded by the Rhino gave him a moment's relief. The vehicle crews needed rebreathers in the hot, dry air, but the Space Marine's genewrought might made the air merely unpleasant. He wrinkled his nose in distaste and looked about him.

Armageddon's sun was low in the sky, red and ominous. Dark spots across it marked orbital defences – or more likely the wreckage of the same. The ground was seemingly an endless sea of yellow-grey dunes; the road all but hidden. Orurr's belted helm knocked against his leg as he straightened up. 

Nothing for five hundred miles in any direction. No landmarks save the distant hive – and that had long been swallowed by the dust. Not even Astartes' vision could penetrate that.

+++

+ V'reth Tardisdemi +

Previously known as Man'Ekes Kenndh, he adopted the name V'reth Tarsidemi following his tempering. Noted as 'Melancholy of aspect and pensive by nature', Tarsidemi appeared to regard his promotion to the Battle Companies as part of a great cycle; an inevitable result of his forebear's consumption in the pyres of warfare, rather than as a result of any exceptionalism on his part.

Regarded as over-analytical and tiresome by his previous squadmates in the 6th Company, he was an uneasy fit amongst the Flamehammers. He found a more fitting place within the Defenders of Nocturne, where both his asceticism and his appreciation for aesthetics came to be regarded as strengths.

+++

+ Cassax Fo'ken +

Bastards. That was what they always were. Fo'ken had fought seven different species of Xeno bastard, and been involved in wars on seventeen different campaigns involving human bastards. Oh, they varied – different weapons or tactics or heights, novel spines or scales or ululations – but all that mattered, to Cassax Fo'ken, was that they were bastards that he had to kill.

The orks were no different. Not for him the Salamanders' ritual term – the gurm kenndh, or 'Old Enemy'. No, to him, the greenskins were simply bastards. Small bastards, big bastards, bastards with big guns... It mattered little to him.

In truth, he was an outlier. The first to be assigned to Greon's squad, Fo'ken was as dependable as any of his brethren – though few sought him out for comradeship.

+ Typhak Numatone +

Unequivocal and single-minded from an early age – 'from the cradle,' joked his parents – the boy who was to become Brother Typhak Numatone had the given name of Br'Tra, which meant 'supremacy' in his city's tongue. Whether through destiny, a sense of filial duty, or simple nominative determinism, Br'Tra doggedly purused Ascension, believing it to be the only way to do honour to his family. Such ambition is not infrequent on Nocturne, but Numatone was able to moderate raw drive to avoid pride and become a considered – if impulse-driven – addition to the 2nd Company.

 

The reinforcing studs on his left greave are an example of the customisation that Salamanders are wont to practise on their armour. Famously, every Salamander creates his own armour – and while this is broadly true in terms, it remains the purview (and responsibility) of those inducted into the Cult Mechanicus to truly render it into Power Armour. 

 

+++

+ On Armour +

During their time in the Seventh company, each Scout will work under the auspices of a Techmarine to forge the external plates of what will become their suit of armour. Not all will prove of battlefield quality, and Scouts are encouraged to retain the items they have forged – thus a talented individual will be proudly 'bare-celled'.

 

The pattern of armour a Scout will undertake to create will be suggested after consultation with the Techmarine, Officers of the Seventh, and (usually) a representative of the Promethean Cult. Thus a Scout may begin to manufacture a suit of any STC-approved mark – and in exceptional cicrumstances, even beyond these. By far the most common in the centuries approaching the Badab and Armageddon campaigns was Mark VII plate, vulgarly known as 'Aquila Armour' on account of its prominent eagle-headed breastplate.

 

When the time comes for a Scout to advance to a Reserve Company, they will present their plate to one of the three Masters of the Forge for inspection and sanctification. The Forgelords will assign an underling – usually a Techmarine, but occasionally an adept and sanctioned Battle Brother who has chosen to sponsor the Scout – to convert the suit of inert plate into functioning Power Armour.

 

The newly-ascended Reservist will then use the armour going forward. Most Salamanders will continue to refine their craft, expanding their skills in the forge by creating additional plates or even full suits. Some focus on aesthetic changes such as lizard-scale trimming or patterning visible only to those with Firesight. Others favour practical augmentation of their existing suit, adding sub-surface reinforcement or back-ups to keep their armour functioning under stress. 

 

A few petition the Techmarines to allow them to attempt other patterns of armour, seeking the challenge of inviting the notoriously fickle 'ruh' (machine spirit) of ancient patterns into their creations – this accounts for the relatively high number of seemingly ancient armour patterns in a Chapter that practices ritual destruction of grave goods. Of course, since a warrior will wear only one suit of armour, other surviving suits may remain as relics – and as with other Chapters, it is relatively common for such relic suits to be used for honorifics, either in whole or in part.

+++

+ Yaptan Greon +

+ Adrak Ush'en +

He had filtered out the rattling creak of the tracks, the ever-present squeaks and groans of Magnificence, and Sepor's private murmured mantra. It was harder to ignore the bucking as Magnificence's suspension made heavy work of this rutted, ill-maintained section of road. The Marine opposite, Numek, hammered a gauntlet on the internal door after a particularly rough jolt.

"Zer Nazan, Ka – much more of your driving and we won't need the gurm to kill us."

The driver yelled back an expletive.

 

Ushen grinned. He could have connected his autosenses to the Rhino's slaved pictcapters, but – jolts and knocks notwithstanding – preferred using his own eyes to peer through the vision slits. 

The war was visible. Immanent. Explosions within the smoke lit the low, disturbed clouds. The horizon seemed to smoulder. Ushen's eyes –as yet still dark by nature – glittered as though kindled. 

Even at this distance, the greasy shimmer of the hives' void shields were visible. They illuminated the dust storms around them, each hive a dim and eerie beacon to the invading gurm kenndh. He wondered, idly, if the convoy drivers could see them.

Ushen was under no illusions that the distance from the primary hives protected him or the others from attack – but he was equanimous about this. The Promethean Cult had long since taught him to anneal resignation or fatigue into stoicism and self-reliance. His faith was firm, deep-set; and built on the sturdy framework of childhood tales that had proven very real. The mythic cycles of the stormlizards; the galactic presence of the dusk wraiths; and – of course – the intrinsic evil of the gurm kenndh: humanity's old enemy.

It was as elemental as the dust or the ground. If he were to meet his end here, it would make no odds to his faith.

+++

+ Illor Hak'phast +

+ Mulbaku Numek +

+ On Geneseed+

Those invested with the geneseed of Vulkan demonstrate measurable physiological superiority to transhuman norms in relation to cellular repair. While making them no more resistant to direct damage than any other Space Marine, they have a baseline advantage in overall resilience – in short, making them fractionally harder to put down and swifter to return to battle than other Astartes.

For the Salamanders long history, this has repeatedly proven a critical boon. Most recently, during the mournful Badab War, the veterans of the Second Company were treacherously attacked during a parley. It was partially owing to their unexpected resilience that they were able to survive the attack.

On Armgeddon, their extreme temperature tolerance and radiological resistance – again markedly superior to those of other Astartes – made them well-suited to the hostile chem-and atomic-spoiled environments in which they found themselves embroiled. They are remembered in song on Armageddon for being those Space Marine most closely associated with the populace. While the noble Blood Angels and courageous Ultramarines took the war to Ghazghkull and his horde, spearheading numberless assaults and thwarting key ork advances, the Salamanders under Tu'Shan and his Captains instead turned to the numberless petty battles that raged across the continent.

Fragmented and frequently isolated, the geneseed gifts of their Primarch sire – along with mental resilience cultivated by their peculiar practises – allowed them to operate at peak efficiency. That they are so fondly remembered by the people of Armageddon is particularly notable when one considers the other aspect of Vulkan's gift: their inhuman appearance. 

The Primarch Vulkan is usually pictured as a coal-skinned giant with glowing red eyes. Whatever the truth of the matter – and ten thousand years separates the modern Imperium from the days of gods and monsters – the bulk of his descendants certainly demonstrate similar physical differences. These emerge gradually, and with varying speed. 

+ Nomix Nor'jargan +

+ Dakad Ka +

+++

Apropos of nothing, it's been quite fun sorting out the markings and thinking about the not-quite-Codex organisation of the Salamanders. I keep having to remind myself that the squad system doesn't work like the Ultramarines. Minor stuff, but it's in such details that we can find diversion and enjoyment.

+ inload: 40k battle report – The Battle of Alecto +

+  Battle of Alecto +

+ A Warhammer 40,000 10th Edition battle report +

The habitual frown which marred the Blood Angels Sergeant's otherworldly features was deeply etched. Alecto Township no longer belonged to the orks – but neither did it belong to the Imperial forces any more. At least, not yet.

Armageddon, it seemed, cared little of who claimed ownership. The ever-present wind seemed as ceaseless and coarse as the greenskins, driving an eternal low-lying sheet of dust ahead of it. Already, the streets were obscured in chem-laden sand, the burning rubble extinguished. 

If the town was not recaptured, Paulo mused, it would be gone in a decade or two, buried beneath the uncaring sands.

Even this early in the morning, the air was hot, and dry, and laced with contaminants. Paulo's enhancements and autosenses might, had he so wished, have been able to distinguish which originated from the chemical run-off and pollutants that dirtied the earth, and those that came from the alien stench of orkborne sweat and burning fuel. 

He did not so wish. 

Paulo continued his patrol, eyes glancing suspiciously left and right. The Steel Legion's artillery had lacked the means to truly level the settlement the orks had occupied, and there were far too many blind alleys and low walls remaining. As a result, the Guardsmen simply couldn't retake Alecto Town, and the Blood Angels had been called in to clear this staging post once and for all.

Greenskins overrun the shattered defenders; a demoralised and exhausted scratch Company of the 7th Armageddon Imperial Guard.

+++

Rotskab belly-crawled up the side of the dune, his shoota strapped securely to his back. Cautiously, he raised his head to see over the crest. If the scattered Goff corpses, already bleaching in the sun, were any indicator, he hadn't been the first ork to look – but he suspected he was the first to do so with any measure of subtlety. 

He might be no Blood Axe, Rotskab thought, but Ghazghkull's got the right sort of kunnin' to send us in 'ere. Never send a Goff to do a proppa job.

Seeing and hearing nothing, he reached round to his belt, unclipping his farscope and cautiously bringing it up. Tweaking a dial, it popped into life. All the while, his small, deep-set eyes never left the town's perimeter. 

At last, he wrinkled his snout and looked down at the read-ee-screen. The orange-on-black was hard for the kommando to make out in the dusty air, and he brought it closer. 

'Oomies are still there, boss,' he murmured into the radio mic – and then he paused. More excitedly, he carried on. ''Ang on – I spy... yeah! Boss, I see beakies! – Send in da boyz!

+++

+ The combatants +

+ Defenders  Blood Axe Steal Legion – Bob Hunk +

Da Steal Leejun Ladz
@chrisbuxey

Bob Hunk's awesome orks need little introduction – though since we're a long way from Antona Australis (the PCRC's little corner of the galaxy), his greenskins are standing in for part of Waa-Ghazghkull on Armageddon. 

@chrisbuxey

What beats a Kommissar like ol' Bale Eye? An even BIGGA Kommissar! Stands to reason, don't it?

– Wisdom of Waa-Ghazghkull

Unless you've created an incredibly involved theme to your force, I'm a big believer in letting armies have a second life by swapping out the personalities at the top. Orks are ideal here, and these Blood Axe models serve just as well under Kommissar Yarrork as they do under Nuzzgrond!

Bob Hunk created this model for a Dust of Armageddon painting challenge, and it seemed fitting to use him to command this force.

'Dun't yoo muck it up, ya zogger – I'm watchin' yoo!' – various incarnations of Bob Hunk's Warboss Nuzzgrond have led the army through the years – time for Yarrork to lead them into the fray.

The rest of the army consisted of three large mobs of boyz, a mob of grots and a battlewagon – a lovely classic ork force that was built to match the size of my entire Blood Angels collection.

+++

+ Attackers  Blood Angels 3rd Company – apologist +

Faction  Adeptus Astartes – Gladius Task Force
Army rule  Oath of Moment
Detachment rule  Combat Doctrines

• Captain Erasmus Tycho – 80pts 
• Enhancement: Artificer Armour – 10pts
• Warlord
• Epistolary Ureolo (Librarian) – 65pts
• Chaplain Savonarola – 60pts
• Enhancement: The Honour Vehement – 15pts
• Medic Sansavino (Apothecary) – 50pts
• Techmarine Haynes Mirandola – 55pts
• Tactical Squad Raphael – 160pts
• Combat Squad Raphael
• Combat Squad Mephisto
• Tactical Squad Lazarus – 160pts
• Combat Squad Lazarus
• Combat Squad Cleon
• Devastator Squad Castigarius (10) – 200pts
• Combat Squad Paulo
• Combat Squad Michelino
• Terminator Squad Redemptor (5) – 185pt
• Thudd Gun (Firestrike servo-turret) – 75pts
• Rhino – 75pts
• Land Speeder (Storm Speeder Hammerstrike) – 150pts
• Lieutenant – (part of the Land Speeder)

Total 1,340pts

Just what you'd expect to see in an Armageddon-themed Blood Angels army... this is a 10th edition spin on the Rogue Trader-era Blood Angels from the GW studio in the 90s. Interesting to see how the points have dropped from the original – this would have been ~1,850pts in Rogue Trader.

It was a treat to lay out the board I've painted for the Ashes of Armageddon project, and field an army themed to the setting, too!

+++

+ Terrain, mission and deployment +

Game type  Incursion

Deployment map  Dawn of War (long edges)

Primary mission  Purge the Foe

The terrain was set out to evoke the missions from the Battle for Armageddon booklet in the 2nd edition box, with a fairly even mix of scattered ruins across the middle, and leaving the deployment zones more open to encourage movement.

The bulk of the Blood Axe forces – a subsidiary warband that Ghazghkull himself had attached to support the Goff  Stormboy Mobz – massed on the hill, with Warboss Yarrork out to the west and a battlewagon on the east, stuffed to the gills with boyz.

Facing them, the Blood Angels plumped for a split deployment, with a Tactical Squad on each flank, and the rest of the army in the centre. With the objectives split evenly across the board, I was hoping to draw the mass of orks down the centre while the flanks closed in, Cannae-style.

Unlike the Carthaginians, however, the orks had tanks! A battlewagon stuffed full of angry boyz was set to roar across the board on the east flank.

Squad Redemptor were my ace up the sleeve – kept in reserve with a plan to capture a backline objective and complete the encirclement of the foe.

+ Battle lines drawn +

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+ Turn 1 +

With the stage set, the orks began to roar across the board towards the Blood Angels' lines.

Orks in 10th edition are terrifying – they're all T5, which meant my heavy weapons would be struggling to hurt them, let along boltguns (I'd perhaps foolishly opted for 'proper' Tactical Marines rather than counting them as Intercessors)! 

The boyz surged forward, leaving just the gretchin to hold the rear objective. Perhaps my plan would work?

Forcing the orks to charge all the way across the field seemed unsporting (not to mention that I'd be abandoning the central objectives, so the Blood Angels moved up with the aim to contest the objectives in turn 2 and stop the orks' momentum.

... alas, history repeated itself, and in an otherwise ineffective shooting phase, the orks' weirdboy managed to kill Tycho in one go with a psychic attack!

+ Grooooaaaaan +

+++

+ Turn 2 +

Things did not improve from there for the boys in red, as – true to form – the Marines' fire singularly failed to cause much of a dent. Only a handful of boyz were removed as casualties, and the trade in fire was poor for the Marines, who lost nearly as many figures as the Orks... not great for a supposedly elite force!

Buoyed by their success and the seeming inability of the Blood Angels to deal with them, this mob of sluggas captured the central objective, right out in the open.

The news was a little better on the east flank, where the Tactical squad, aided by their Rhino, had managed to capture their objective – though the battlewagon-mounted mob was having clearly unimpressed, racing up and preparing to deploy.

+++

+ Turn 3 +

This turn saw combat joined in earnest, with the Blood Angels in the west coming off badly to Yarrork and his mega-armoured bodyguard – though the Librarian did manage to gut one of the huge orks before being smashed to the floor alongside the rest of his squad.

With that objective lost, and any thoughts of flanking there out of the window, the Blood Angels frantically scrambled to claim and defend the centre. Here, a bright spot in shooting emerged, with the central mob being badly mauled. The resurgent Blood Angels charged in even as the shootas massed under Yarrork's triumphant (and laser-enhanced) gaze.

The Terminators appeared with a crack of thunder and warp-displacement mist, and all but exterminated the grots with a particularly successful round of shooting. After a shaky start, perhaps this battle wasn't beyond saving after all.

In the east, the Marines were holding out against a mob of orks, but the numbers were quickly dwindling. The Rhino erupted with a dull thump, leaving just a scattered few surviving marines at the top of the hill. Bravely they stood their ground, the terrain and their presence stopping the orks from getting enough figures close enough to contest the objective.

+++

+ Turn 4 +

A mass melee erupted around the central objective, with the shootas joining the remnants of the sluggas to fight off the two combat squads and characters who'd joined them.

The presence of the apothecary and sergeants made all the difference to keeping the Blood Angels in the fight, and though the casualties were higher on the orks' side, the Marines were dwindling fast, whereas the orks could afford the losses.

In the west, the embattled Tactical Squad finally succumbed... and the orks cackled triumphantly as they claimed the objective – only to realise that they'd lost their own home objective to the Terminators and Land Speeder. The mobs raced back towards their own lines.

The Terminators faced the approaching boyz, undaunted. Their firepower proved successful, taking out a good chunk of the angry orks.

In a reversal of the western objective earlier in the battle, in the centre the placement of the stubborn ork survivors were preventing the Marines from wresting the objective from their foe.

At the end of the turn, the bloodbath in the centre petered out, with both sides all but annihilated. The Devastator sergeant – now the ranking officer on the battlefield! – led his men and the wounded techmarine to capture the objective... even as Yarrork and his bodyguard approached to seal the deal.

+++

+ Turn 5 +

With the end of the engagement looming, both forces moved to consolidate. The Land Speeder moved to claim the other central objective, the Terminators stood their ground on the orks's home objective, and the surviving orks reluctantly retreated to the western objective – realising that the Blood Angels were within striking distance of a win.

The Devastators hoped for a miracle. If they could prevent the warboss and his mob from capturing the objective, the Blood Angels would snatch a victory – in strategic terms, at least, for almost the entire Company had been butchered!

For a moment, it looked like the hail-Mary miracle might be on the cards as first one, then the other surviving member of the ork bodyguard were laid low by the surviving Devastators and Techmarine...

...Yarrork, however, had other ideas. No beekee was going to prevent him from reporting anything but unqualified success to Ghazghkull – and after he'd got stuck in personally, the result was predictably one-sided and brutal: the warboss himself stood victorious, knee-deep in the dead.

+++

+ Turn 6 +

A last ditch effort saw the Land Speeder race forward to contest the objective – but it was too little, too late. 

Of the 120-odd models that had started the battle, barely any survived. The Blood Angels, defeated, retreated from the field with just five Space Marines remaining; while Yarrork's Steal Legion had been thinned down to just one mid-sized mob and the warboss himself.

Victory to the orks!

+++

+ Conclusion +

Firstly, my thanks to Bob Hunk, as ever the gracious victor, for indulging me in playing in the Armageddon setting. It was a treat to play on a themed board with themed models.

Perhaps the key takeaway here is that 10th edition is brutal. Despite taking pretty 'soft' lists, we were removing huge models in handfuls. This seemed counter-intuitive to us, as orks have got tougher – both through stat changes and various stratagems; and even Tactical Marines now sport two wounds. The result of this, however, simply meant that small arms proved largely pointless – the casualties came from special/heavy weapons or simply in combat.

Overall a fun game, though losing Tycho (again!) to a psychic attack (again!) early on in the game (again!) was dispiriting – albeit very funny! I wonder how the combat in the centre would have gone if he'd been available? 

On balance, I think my plan suffered from two main problems: firstly, my Blood Angels lacked both the speed and the punch to successfully outflank and encircle the orks. Secondly, I divided my forces badly – the flanking forces were not distant enough to draw the orks away from the centre successfully, but equally weren't close enough for the central forces to support them. 

I think my plan with the Terminators worked well – though they were perhaps wasted on the hopelessly outclassed runts – but I think the Land Speeder would have been better placed centrally or to support the Librarian's squad on the western flank. Grabbing that objective early might have drawn the orks that way.

The numbers and resilience of the orks meant that Yarrork's plan – sweep forward and overwhelm the Marines with target saturation – worked very well, and Bob Hunk cannily kept his eyes on the objectives throughout.

Congratulations to the orks, and commiserations to the Blood Angels, who will have to go home to lick their wounds and rethink their strategies.

+++

So much for the marines – looks like it's down to the Imperial Guard to save their world...