Into the Nightmare #2: Daemons vs Tau

[Redrivertears]

Deep Space
Location: Imperial Cruiser Interdictus, warp-travelling, Segmentum Obscurus
Local Time: 10.11am

His captains had gathered in the docking hangar, rather then in one of the assigned briefing rooms. Here, they could talk freely, without the risk of being recorded by any of the automated eavesdropping devices that each tactical cell held.

Colonel Jared Xanthus’ expression was grave as he walked towards the small group of Imperial Officers. All of them men had fought besides him for many a battle. His XO, Simon Vohl, was the first to speak. He recognizing the look on Jared’s face all too easily.

“That bad huh?” Vohl said. There was no need to stand on rank. They were all friends here.

Jared reached the small group and nodded: “Worse.” He said.

“Worse how?” Captain Jonathan Grey asked. He was a tall, athletic man, who radiated command and self-confidence. Yet Jared knew the man to have a cynical and sometimes pessimistic streak to him.

“The kind you don’t come back from.” The Colonel said at length. There was no point in lying to these men, nor in withholding any information from them. They could each judge themselves what to tell the men they commanded.

“Lets hear it.” Vohl said before any more questions could be asked.

“Seven days ago, we lost an Armoured Depot on the planet of Kilthain.” Jared began, instantly commanding everyone’s total attention. “There were but a few survivors. They spoke of a totally unexpected attack, not from any external threat, but from within. Their testimony speaks of creatures not of this plane of existance, of monsters, daemons, and worse.”

The Colonel looked around, letting the words sink in. He wanted everyone to know exactly what they would soon be up again. “There was no warning to the attack. No reason. No logic. But it was brutal and savage. More importantly, it was but one of several.”

“There have been others?” Captain Yves Bevoir, a renowned tank-commander waiting for his next promotion, asked. He was physically the smallest of the bunch. Apart from Xanthus himself, he was also the most decorated.

“Indeed.” Jared said. “What I am about to tell you has been classified by the Inquisition, surpressed and tagged highly confidential. I trust that you all know what that means. But yes, there’ve been others. The Inquisition has named it a daemonic plague. It can spring up at any time, anywhere in the sector, and usually ends in massive havoc and damage, sometimes even death.” Jared pulled out a data-slate and passed it around. “This is another such occurance. A search and destroy of Tau guerilla forces turned into something completely different as our Imperial forces were overcome to the last man by the daemonic plague. They were transformed into putrid, foul creatures spreading disease and pestilence. Fortunately, it appeared the Tau were as surprised as we were. They did battle with the daemonic tide as well.”

Jared paused a moment, letting the assembled men read the report.


……..


In this 1500 point battle, my Daemons tangled with the Tau. It had been some time since I faced this Xenos shooting army and I knew my opponent made competitive lists with lots of firepower. So I was quite looking forward to the match up. We rolled the mission and deployment randomly and got “Seize and Control”, with four objectives spread across no man’s land. Three of those were placed in craters. One was set in a building on the left flank. Deployment was to be done according to the “Dawn of War” rules.

The table was set to resemble a ruined city scape, with a killing ground of craters inbetween two sides of buildings facing each other. This created a defensible stronghold for the Tau to cower in.

I won the roll to start and decided to let the Tau go first.


FORCES AND DEPLOYMENT

My opponent had brought a huge number of suits, lots of vehicles, but a surprisingly low number of firewarriors. Instead, he had opted to go for two kroot units as troops, with a few hounds and a krootox thrown in for good measure.

- 1 Crisis Suit Commander with Plasmarifle and twin-linked Missile Pod
- 2 Crisis Suits Plasmarifles and twin-linked Missile Pods
- 2 Crisis Suits with twin-linked Flamers and twin-linked Missile Pods
- 2 Crisis Suits with twin-linked Flamers and twin-linked Missile Pods
- 6 Firewarriors
- 10 Kroot and 1 Krootox
- 10 Kroot and 3 Kroot Hounds
- Piranah with Fusion Gun and Drones
- Piranah with Fusion Gun and Drones
- 6 Pathfinders with Markerlights
- Devilfish with Burst Cannon and Drones
- 2 Broadsides with twin-linked Railguns and Smart Missile System, including Shield Drone
- Hammerhead with Railgun and Burst Cannons
- Hammerhead with Railgun and Burst Cannons

Being allowed to deploy up to two troop choices and one HQ choice, my opponent set his Kroot with Krootox in a central building in his deployment zone, on the second floor. He placed the six firewarriors above them, on the third floor. The commander took position in a building to the right of the troops, holding on the top floor overlooking the battlefield.

Everything else but for the second unit of kroot would come onto the table at turn one. The Kroot were held in reserves to arrive later, via their own table edge.

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/5589/battle001.jpg


For my Daemons, I had chosen to go with an unorthodox mix of Nurgle and Tzeentch daemons, vying for the honour of getting the most xenos kills. I selected five big daemons to form the hard hitting core of the army, and added four packs of plaguebearers to grab objectives and tie up enemy units.

- Qweckelqwami, Lord of Change with Boon of Mutation and Master of Sorcery
- Obolos, Great Unclean One with Cloud of Flies
- 7 Plaguebearers
- 7 Plaguebearers
- 7 Plaguebearers
- 7 Plaguebearers
- Vuloveich, Tzeentch Daemon Prince with Wings, Bolt of Tzeentch and Instrument of Chaos
- Skasharri, Tzeentch Daemon Prince with Wings, Bolt of Tzeentch and Instrument of Chaos
- Tsu’lotch, Nurgle Daemon Prince with Wings, Iron Hide, Noxious Touch and Cloud of Flies



Battleplan: When fighting the Tau, the plan is usually simple: assault, assault, and assault. I was fairly confident my big daemons would be able to smash through everything they met in close combat without much trouble. Still, I would have to catch them first. In order to try and reduce the Tau’s mobility, I wanted my Tzeentch Daemons on the field first. Their bolts would hopefully destroy one or two of the enemy tanks, making the entire army less able to manouver and reducing the firepower aimed at me at the same time. The Nurgle daemns would come later, to reinforce their rivals and grab the objectives.


TURN 1 Tau

With no enemies on the board yet, the Tau forces simply took to the field. They spread their deployment over the width of their deployment zone, covering all angles.

The two Piranah’s raced ahead of the main force. The two Hammerheads concentrated on the left flank. Two Crisis suits joined the heavy tanks in taking cover behind the ruin. The group of pathfinders ran past the tanks and the suits, to take shelter in the lower level of the building;

The commander in the building more to the right was reinforced by four more crisis suits, as well as a two broadsides, who took position inbetween the two buildings. The devilfish arrived on the right flank, finishing the Tau deployment.

All set, the Tau readied their guns and awaited the daemonic assault.

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/2111/battle002.jpg


TURN 1 Daemons

As per my battleplan, I selected the three Tzeentch daemons and a unit of Plaguebearers to spearhead my assault. The god of decay and pestilence decided differently though. Nurgle felt strongly that the honor of leading the assault should go to his chosen children. So instead, Obolos, Tsu’lotch and three packs of Plaguebearers became available for me to start the game with.

The Great Unclean One deep struck on the left flank, scattering a few inches away from his original position. He ran back to where he came from, to end up just on the doorstep of the building housing the tau infantry, threatening with an assault next turn.

Attempting to appear behind his master, the Daemon Prince of Nurgle found himself entering the material world almost ten inches backwards from his chosen position. Still, with a good run move he found himself in assault range for next turn, thanks to his bronze wings.

The three packs of Plaguebearers stepped out of the warp in front of the two Tau held buildings, two packs on the right, one on the left. They all ended up more or less where they had wanted to go. With a run move, they finished in position to assault as well.

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/4668/battle003.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/1575/battle004.jpg


Satisfied, I ended my turn. Although I had failed to get my chosen wave, I now had five tough and resilient threats all in assault range of the enemy. The Tau would be hard pressed indeed to stop them all.


TURN 2 Tau

Faced with the tide of disease and pestilence approaching their location, the Tau selected the left most Plaguebearer pack as its primary threat and prepared to gun them down. Before they do so, the Kroot with their hounds arrived from reserves. They ran into the commander’s building while the rest of the xenos forces took up firing positions.

Then the shooting began. Pulse blast after pulse blast poured into the Plaguebearers, who took the combined fire of both Piranahs, both Hammerheads, all six Crisis Suits, two Broadsides, the Tau Commander, the Firewarriors, the Pathfinders, and the Kroot, … and suffered an unbelievable three casualties. Somehow, in a series of miraculous savings, I managed to pass over thirty invulnerable or feel no pain rolls, leaving me with hardly any dead at all!

The Tau cried in frustration, but their firepower was all but spend. There was little else they could do. The lonely devilfish, out of range of the same ‘nurgle blessed’ pack, chose a closer pack of Plaguebearers as its target and managed to gun down one.

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/2411/battle005.jpg


Seeing their doom approaching, the Tau dug in and prepared for the worst.


TURN 2 Daemons

With the absolute failure of the Tau forces in stopping my daemonic assault, the battle looked to be pretty much over. Out of the four units in reserves, two more became available. Qweckelqwami screeched his readiness, joined by the Daemon Prince Vuloveich, eager to take part in the bloodletting before the Nurgle daemons claimed it all.

However, the Lord of Change deviated from his chosen position as he tried to appear in the middle of the field. Instead, he landed on top of one of the two pesky Piranahs. A mishap was rolled for and my opponent was allowed to place the daemon. He put the Lord of Change in the rear right corner, far away from any fighting.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/1061/battle007.jpg


The Daemon Prince of Tzeentch tried to appear in the same spot, but he too scattered. His final position was ten inches towards the left this time. Vuloveich stepped out of the warp between a pack of plaguebearers and a Tau Piranah, with barely an inch to spare on either side! He then fired his Bolt of Tzeentch at the middle Piranah, but its disruption pods foiled the shot.

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/7494/battle006.jpg


With both of the Tzeentch daemons having failed to do anything, it was up to the Nurgle daemons to make good on their earlier success.

Tsu’lotch acted first. He flew over the battlefield and landed near the Tau hammerhead to assault it. Although the Daemon Prince did not quite manage to destroy the heavy skimmer, he stunned it and immobilised it, thereby sealing its doom come the next assault phase.

Obolos meanwhile assaulted the kroot on the first level of the building in front of him. The birdmen struck first and managed to cause the greater daemon a wound, but then lost several of their own in the counterattacks. Faced with such a massive threat, the mercenaries decided no amount of cash was worth their deaths. They ran from the fight, barely getting away.

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/7130/battle008.jpg


That left three packs of Plaguebearers. The wounded group assaulted the Tau pathfinders just below where Obolos was fighting. They killed three of the xenos, taking no casualties of their own. More courageous then the Kroot though, the Tau held, ready to sell their lives dearly. The second pack of Putrid daemons rolled two sixes, one for their regular and one for their assault move. They ended up attacking both the Tau broadsides and the Xenos commander. They lost a daemon in the assault, but managed to put a wound on the commander and each of the broadsides as well. It was enough to win the combat and cause all three enemy suits to panic and flee straight off the table!

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/8017/battle009.jpg


The final assault went less well though. The third pack of Plaguebearers assaulted the kroot. The birdmen struck first, and out of twenty six attacks managed to hit twenty four times! They then forced me to take eleven saves, resulting in five dead plaguebearers. The daemons killed only a single kroot in retaliation, and lost another one of their members from the no retreat roll. That left me only a single daemonic footsolider, swiftly encircled by a pack of angry birdmen!

[Redrivertears]

TURN 3 Tau

The Nurgle daemons were in their midst, but the Tau were not yet ready to give up!

Seeing the Great Unclean One closing on their position, the Tau firewarriors climbed to a level higher into the ruin, taking some distance before aiming their guns down to fire at the daemon. The running kroot were unable to rally, due to the daemon still being too close, but only ran five inches. That left them able to add their fire to that of the Firewarriors. So was the Hammerhead and the two Crisis Suits nearby. Between the four units, they managed to knock all remaining wounds off of the Greater Daemon and banish him back to the warp.

The Piranah hovering close fired on the newly appeared Tzeentchian Daemon Prince, but failed to harm the fiend. The other Piranah, along with the devilfish and four more Crisis Suits all converged on the Plaguebearers in the middle. They were eager to take vengeance for the death of their commander. Firepower poured into the pack, but again only one Plaguebearer fell. The rest passed the saves they were forced to make.

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/5864/battle011.jpg


In a bold gambit, the four crisis suits then attempted to assault. Only two of the four rolled high enough on their difficult terrain test though. Fortunately for the Tau, the gambit paid off. They killed another Plaguebearer, for no losses of their own. I lost a second daemon from the no retreat saves, leaving just two of the putrid creatures standing.

In the battle between the Kroot and the last plaguebearer of the third pack, I boldly claimed that my one daemon would win the combat, cause the kroot to break, and overrun them all. My opponent laughed, then to his horror watched as despite all their attacks, the Kroot failed to harm the single Plaguebearer. The daemon struck back and slew exactly one birdman, forcing a leadership test with a minus one penalty. Dumbstruck, my opponent rolled the dice. They came up a five and a one, barely keeping the kroot in combat.

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/6137/battle010.jpg


At least he wouldn’t be underestimating my plaguebearer anymore!

The putrid footsoldiers fighting the pathfinders did less well. They failed to kill any of the Tau, but fortunately, suffered no losses of their own. Tsu’lotch, nearby, ripped into the immobilised Hammerhead and tore it apart.

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/2889/battle012.jpg



TURN 3 Daemons

I began my third turn rolling for reserves as usual. The last Daemon Prince decided to keep me waiting, but the fourth pack of Plaguebearers was ready. They appeared on the battlefield inbetween the two middle objectives, in no man’s land. Running allowed them to spread out and get close to both objectives. Although I could claim only one, I had the last turn advantage. I hoped that my Plaguebearers would be able to consolidate on top of whichever objective my opponent left uncontested (or least contested, knowing the Tau).

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/2253/battle014.jpg


The other three packs of nurgle daemons were all in assault. I once again proudly told my opponent that this time, my lonely Plaguebearer would destroy his kroot pack for sure! A little less self-assured now, my opponent began rolling the dice, though it quickly appeared the luck of the daemon was all but spend. The Kroot managed to connect with all but a few of their attacks and smash the plaguebearer asunder, setting their sights on the next pack fighting the crisis suits to their left.

In that melee, the Plaguebearers failed to do any damage at all. They lost one of their own to the counter attacks of the suits. The third pack likewise, failed to harm the Tau pathfinders, though fortunately suffered no casualties. I was beginning to wonder who had taught the Tau close combat training though!

Tsu’lotch did better. Finished with the first hammerhead, the Nurgle Prince flew over to the second heavy skimmer and began eagerly tearing into that one as well. Once again he stunned and immobilised the gun-tank. His proximity to the fleeing Kroot also ensured that they’d run off the table next turn.

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/500/battle013.jpg


That left the Tzeentch Daemons. Still far too far away from the battle, Qweckelqwami flew closer and ran an inch through the ruin it was crossing. The second Prince flew to the top of the Tau ruin and assaulted to six firewarriors there. To my horror though, those pesky Tau really did receive combat training, as they managed to inflict no less then three wounds on the Prince before he could strike back! He killed three of his enemies, drawing the battle and closing a very strange assault round.


TURN 4 Tau

While the first Kroot pack ran off the table, the second group of birdmen turned to their left and charged into the fight between the crisis suits and the plaguebearers. They slaughtered what remained of the daemon pack, which actually wasn’t much to begin with, and consolidated back into the ruin.

Emboldened by the success of their mercenary brethren, the Tau pathfinders decided to press the advantage as well. My Plaguebearers once again failed to harm any of the enemy, and the Pathfinders cut down two of the putrid daemons in a burst of adrenaline. Fortunately, I passed my no retreat saves, leaving me with only two daemons standing.

My troop core was swiftly dwindling down. Seeing this, my opponent decided to ignore the big daemons and focus instead on denying me the ability to take objectives. The two Piranahs, as well as the free Crisis suits and the Devilfish, all concentrated fire on the newly appeared pack of Plaguebearers. Making up for their earlier failure, they managed to gun down five of the seven daemons in a round of highly accurate shooting, barely leaving me with any troops left!

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5164/battle015.jpg

Fortunately, the Tau did not have it all their way. Striking first now, Vuloveich killed two of the firewarriors. He did not receive any wounds in return. The last xenos soldier ran for it, and actually got away. Being below half strength though, he would be unable to ever regroup (my opponent hadn’t bought bonding knives).

Tsu’lotch, last, tore all the weapons off of the second hammerhead, leaving it an immobilised piece of dead weight.


TURN 4 Daemons

The last Daemon Prince arrived at last. Skasharii tried to appear in the middle of the field, but scattered eight inches to the right. He ended up on the right most objective. Knowing from experience that the pesky Piranahs were usually the ones doing the contesting, the Prince fired at the closest of the two little gunships. He scored a solid hit which penetrated the vehicle. The damage die came up a one though, only destroying the Piranah’s weapon.

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/176/battle016.jpg


A moment later the Lord of Change landed behind the Daemon Prince, having arrived to the battlefield at last. Qweckelqwami fired its bolt of Tzeentch at the Devilfish, scoring a solid hit and penetrating its armor, but once more the damage die came up a one, simply stunning the transport.

The wounded Tzeentch Prince leapt off the building, fortunately suffering no harm from the dangerous terrain test. He assaulted two of the Tau crisis suits who had leapt towards the middle. One was shot down with a bolt of Tzeentch, the other took a wound in the melee phase. Again, there was a tense moment as the Crisis suit struck back, but it failed to hit. The Tau soldier did succeed in his break test though, staying in battle.

Two more Crisis Suits were assaulted a second later by the Nurgle Prince, who easily slaughtered both of the Tau soldiers before they could strike. Tsu’lotch grinned at the Tzeentch Daemon, and swore something about showing the other how it was done!

While the two plaguebearers still standing after the Tau’s fusillade consolidated on the objective in the left crater, the other two putrid daemons finally managed to kill a pathfinder for no losses. At long last the tau lost their cool and tried to run, only to be caught by the shambling horrors in their wake. The Plaguebearers slew the last of their opponents and consolidated five inches behind a solid wall, trying to get out of sight.


TURN 5 Tau

With the end of the game looming, the Tau began to move their forces to contest the objectives. My opponent had planned to have the Kroot enter the Devilfish and go claim a marker of their own, but with the transport stunned, that left him unable to capture. So instead, he concentrated on making sure I couldn’t capture either!

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/8436/battle017.jpg

The two Piranahs flew over to the markers on the left flank and placed themselves within three inch of each objective. Then their drones detached, creating two extra contesting units. The skimmer that still had a weapon joined fire with the drones, as well as the running firewarrior, to try and gun down the two Plaguebearers who had recently dispatched the Pathfinders. They succeeded in killing only one.

Emboldened by their success so far, the Kroot decided to abandon the idea of grabbing an objective and instead assaulted the Nurgle Daemon Prince, who stood amidst the bodies of the fallen Crisis Suits. They charged in and lost two of their own to the daemon’s noxious blows. In return managed to put a single wound on Tsu’lotch. It was enough to give them courage, and they held their ground in the face of the daemon’s fury.

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/8071/battle018.jpg


However, the last crisis suit did less well. Before it could strike, the Tzeentchian Prince’s blows struck it down, freeing the daemon from the fight.


TURN 5 Daemons

With the Tau unable to claim any objectives and their last troop choice now locked in combat with Tsu’lotch, there was little risk of them being able to win the game. On the other hand, I still had a lot of work to do if I wanted to prevent this battle from turning into a draw.

I decided to focus on the objective my two plaguebearers were holding. I would need to remove both the Piranah and the drones contesting it. Vuloveich flew over and landed inbetween the two threats, so that he could assault either. The Plaguebearers, knowing they wouldn’t be able to do much about the skimmer, moved so that they could attack the drones if needed. They would still be able to consolidate back onto the objective if they managed to kill the pesky tau machines.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/9672/battle019p.jpg


The second Tzeentch Prince and the Lord of Change both jumped closer, in range to shoot their bolts. Qweckelqwami fired first and scored a solid hit with blew the Piranah sky high. It was a good start. It would allow Vuloveick to assault the drones and ensure the victory.

Or rather, it would have…because the Piranah exploded, causing a wound on the Tzeentchian Prince and banishing him back to the warp when he failed his armor save!

The second Tzeentch Prince, cursing ill fate, fired his bolt at the drones, killing one. The surviving automatum succeeded in its leadership roll though, and held its ground. It was still contesting. My last hope then lay with the two Plaguebearers, who assaulted the pesky drone and finally killed it with their plagueswords. Now all they had to do was make it back to the objective. I rolled for my consolidate move and scored a five, allowing the putrid daemons to get back to position and claim the objective as their own!

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/7577/battle020.jpg


While Tsu’lotch lost another wound to the kroot, killing three of their number in retaliation, my opponent rolled the die to see if the game continued. It came up a one, ending the battle. One objective was claimed by the daemons. The Tau held none.

Result: victory for the Daemons!


AFTERMATH

This certainly turned out to be a very odd and funny battle. The Tau, known for its powerful shooting and weakness in close combat, actually failed to do much damage with their shooting at all. However, instead they decided they give many of my daemons a good spanking in the melee phase. They killed two Plaguebearers packs, all but wiped out a third, and almost slaughtered a daemon prince as well! I had no idea what had gotten into the little grey buggers, but whatever it was, it was something fierce!

Still, despite their success in the close assault phase, the ineffective first turn of shooting really cost the Tau. It put them on the back foot for the remainder of the battle. They tried as they could to minimize the damage, but there were little to no opportunities for them to actually break the siege and go claim objectives. That meant I was never in any real danger of losing the fight.

On the other hand, they didn’t give me an easy victory either! Not getting my preferred wave was a setback. Having my most expensive and important model mishap on appearance was another. I could have sorely used Qweckelqwami, as his shooting ability could wreck tanks and crisis suits alike, and his hand to hand prowess still formed a huge threat to the Tau. Additionally, the rate with which my plaguebearers suddenly started dying left me wondering if I could damage the Tau enough before they destroyed all my troops!

Fortunately, things turned out alright, in no small part thanks to the presence of Tsu’lotch, the Daemon Prince of Nurgle. He destroyed both the Hammerheads, several Crisis Suits, and was working on tearing through the Kroot before the game ended. He was in it from the beginning to the end, and for that he gets the man of match award.

Daemon of the Match: Tsu’lotch, Daemon Prince of Nurgle!

……..

Deep Space
Location: Imperial Cruiser Interdictus, warp-travelling, Segmentum Obscurus
Local Time: 10.17am

“By the time our reinforcements arrived.” Colonel Xanthus spoke when the Captains were finished reading. “There was nothing left of the Tau. Nor was there anything left of the infected Guardsmen, who’s bodies had been possessed. The area was purified with fire and the entire incident surpressed. Yet again, it was but one of several.”

“So what does this have to do with us?” Captain Erik Siggurd asked, always one to get to the heart of the matter in the shortest possible way. The red haired brute seemed like a giant, heavily muscled and half a head taller then even Captain Grey.

“There is no way to predict when, or where, the attacks will come. That puts the entire region at risk.” The Colonel replied. “But the Inquisition has determined the place where the attacks originate from.”

“Originate?” Vohl frowned. “From this report the attack seemed to materialise out of mid air.”

“Yes and no.” Jared sighed. This was were it got really bad, he knew. He took the data-slate again and pressed several buttons, bringing up a map of the region of space they were heading too. It was mostly blank, showing neither planets nor constellations. “The attacks appear out of mid-air, but their point of origin lies here.” He said, pointing to a specific spot on the map.

“There’s nothing there Colonel.” Captain Grey said flatly.

“There is.” Jared retorted. “But the Inquisition has removed all trace of it. They’ve stricken it from the maps and all astrological records. There is a planet there, gents. Its name is Elysia, and it was lost to us three years ago.”

“Lost how?” Siggurd once again cut to the chase.

Colonel Jared Xanthus nodded: “It was an Imperial planet, once. It fell to the forces of Chaos. Now… it’s a Daemon world, and we’re tasked to an Inquisitorial Strike Force. Our objective is to land on the planet, find the source of the daemonic plague, and end it.”

There was a stunned silence as Jared finished his briefing.

“That’s insane.” Captain Grey finally said, breaking the moment.

“Not to mention completely suicidal.” Vohl agreed, nodding with a severe frown.

“Nevertheless, those are our orders.” Jared said sternly. He didn’t like it any more then the rest of his men, but duty commanded him, and the orders of the Inquisition could not be denied. “We won’t be going alone. Apart from the 131st Armageddon Steel, we’ll be joined by Inquistorial Forces, as well as at least one contingent of Space Marines. In short, we’ll be armed to the teeth.”

“For all the good that’ll do.” Jonathan Grey sneered, but seemed to accept the facts all the same.

“Why not bomb the planet from orbit? Why risk going to the surface?” Vohl asked after a while, studying the empty map.

Jared shook his head: “It’s been tried. Planet-killer measures work off of known physics. Elysia’s atmoshere does not. Tectonic assaults do little but make the planet shift its plateaus and mountains. Virus-killers do not work at all. Prolonged bombardment has no effect and seems to incur a high degree of dementation in those who are in proximity to the planet.”

“You mean it drives them mad?” Vohl asked.

“Well that’s just great.” Grey sneered.

“I don’t like it any more then you do gentlemen.” Jared said. “But we are going. Get the men ready, for what may well be the worst fight of their lives.”

“Emperor Protect us all.”

………

[SabrX]

Woohoo! Right into the action on turns two! It’s rare to see a first Daemon wave mostly surviving. Dang, what have those Kroot Carnivores been eating? I’d like to try some that please, thank you.

This is one of those weird quirky games that defies “normal” 40k. Losing models and wounds off your big heavy hitters in close combat against… Tau?!?! This is truly one game worthy of remembrance. Haha, exploding Piranha kills a Tzeentch Prince, bet the Lord of Change didn't see that coming!

Excellent fluff. Great dialogue. I imagine someone saying, “Well exterminatus didn’t work, so I guess we’ll just have to do it the old fashion way.”

Keep up the good work RRT!

[SevenSins]

back to Elysia then

A very strange game this, those Tau must be friends of O'shava as he is fond of close combat.

[Major Braindead]

That's how I like to start my saturday or sunday, reading a cool battle report. Thanks RRT *drinks from his coffee*
It does inspire me to continue painting!

I bet, because Tzeentch and Nurgle were working together, Khorne or Slaanesh (or possibly both) secretly prepared the Tau, giving them close combat tactics and training and so the game of power continues!

I've always liked your fluff, but this one seems even better. Creating all those officers and giving them names makes people care more about the characters. A typical good vs evil storyline, it will be interesting to see who survives and who will be ripped apart by a blood-crazed daemon

Ps: only two soldiers left to paint if you know what I mean

[tinfoil]

Great report. After absorbing several serious setbacks as the battle took shape and the opposing forces closed with one another, the Tau player seems to have played a very skilled mdi- and endgame, making what might have been a massacre into a very interesting contest.

[Xyrex]

Nice. I just have one question... Are you going to follow up on your story, or was this a one-time scenario?

[Xyrex]

Ok, so i looked at your other battle report for this, and now realize it is a campaign. Can I sort of link my campaign to this? Perhaps the battles are happening in the same system. I just want to be able to refer to Elysia in my battle reports, and sort of follow the events in your story line (for example, if the imperials won a major battle in your campaign, I would put in mine that a relief force from the main combat was on the way. Also, if they suffered a defeat, maybe my planet could all of a sudden be plagued by daemons?). Please get back to me on this soon. (for more info see story line revision in the background section, or orders vs orders in the battle reports section for an example of what i meant. Note that if you let me, My planet will be called Elysia VII, as in 7th planet in the Elysia system.)

[daa6]

Great Fluff !! good "earthly" feel to it...... movie like...

What were those Tau on.... I'm siding with Major Braindead on this one..... i think they had help from power struggling Gods.... "Slaanesh (more suttle) or less likely Khorne....(blunt as a brick)..."

Keep up the Good work !

[Vineas]

Maybe the LoC DID see the DP dying in the explosion and that is why he shot the Piranha so close to the DP. Can't have an upstart mongrel trying to make you look bad in battle.

[Redrivertears]

Thanks all!

Dang, what have those Kroot Carnivores been eating? I’d like to try some that please, thank you.

I think it was Death Company with some Khorne Beserker sauce!

I bet, because Tzeentch and Nurgle were working together, Khorne or Slaanesh (or possibly both) secretly prepared the Tau, giving them close combat tactics and training and so the game of power continues!

Or that's a possibility too. I can just imagine the Tau running and scream... "For the Greater Blood!"

Great report. After absorbing several serious setbacks as the battle took shape and the opposing forces closed with one another, the Tau player seems to have played a very skilled mdi- and endgame, making what might have been a massacre into a very interesting contest.

Indeed. The Tau player is relatively new to the game, but learning quickly and makes very few errors. He managed to crawl back from a disastrous beginning, to turn this into an interesting game to say the least.

Maybe the LoC DID see the DP dying in the explosion and that is why he shot the Piranha so close to the DP. Can't have an upstart mongrel trying to make you look bad in battle.

That's actually what the Daemon Prince is using as excuse. Its embarassing to go back to the Court of Change and having to admit that you were banished by a piece of flying shrapnel

Ok, so i looked at your other battle report for this, and now realize it is a campaign. Can I sort of link my campaign to this?

Most certainly, that sounds like fun! Incidentally, there's more information on Elysia itself in the "Elysia's Fate" series of battle reports I wrote half a year earlier.

-Redrivertears-

[Kildash]

Most certainly, that sounds like fun! Incidentally, there's more information on Elysia itself in the "Elysia's Fate" series of battle reports I wrote half a year earlier.

-Redrivertears-

carefull here, I believe the other guy is referring to the elysian system, from the forgeworld elysian imperial guard drop troops. That could give problems, could it not?

[Blind Sniper43]

Nice Battle Report,
Loved the balrog idea btw...

[Inach]

I 'didnt read some battle reports for some time.. When reading the first few lines I became all excited (not knowing who wrote it).. Joy another RRT report!

Good Batrep
Even better fluff!!

“Lost how?” Siggurd once again cut to the chase.

Colonel Jared Xanthus nodded: “It was an Imperial planet, once. It fell to the forces of Chaos. Now… it’s a Daemon world, and we’re tasked to an Inquisitorial Strike Force. Our objective is to land on the planet, find the source of the daemonic plague, and end it.”

There was a stunned silence as Jared finished his briefing.

“That’s insane.” Captain Grey finally said, breaking the moment.

“Not to mention completely suicidal.” Vohl agreed, nodding with a severe frown.

[Kaltenberg]

Great!
Let's try a new word, beautifull writing!

The fluff you do is amazing RRT, do not quit writing reports anytime soon.

Can't wait for the next one, hopefully you's meet the new tyranids at some point, you can only dream.

[Infidel]

I'd have to say the new nid is probably a bit weak against daemons in comparison to the other lists. Warriors as troops means that we'll be seeing a lot of MSU list to capitalize on their firepower and a handful of tervigons supported by fex squads. The new SW FAQ allowed FC to be used with Counter-Attack as well as nullifying the effect of defensive grenade against Counter Attack.

I guess it remains to be seen, but I suspect that fiends are going to really shine with their bounce and pounce ability to zoom all over the place.

[Redrivertears]

Thanks all!

Nids vs Daemons is going to be tough to predict. There aren't many Nid players in our regular group, so I doubt the match up is going to come up a lot. But you never know, I'm certainly interested in finding out if my daemons can compete with the new gribblies

-Redrivertears-

[Kildash]

I'm certainly interested in finding out if my daemons can compete with the new gribblies

Careful what you wish for, my friend... You never know, since my tau plans have been cancelled, I might just start a new army. Basically, the first dex that comes out that I like, I'll use ... Probably gonna be blood angels though, not nidz... If only those beautiful harpies had better stats, that'd be so sweet!