For Honour, Duty and Death
Warhammer 40,000 Battle Report
16th July 2022
1,500 pts – Imperial Knights (Dan) vs. Chaos Knights (Tom H)
War Zone Nephilim: Secure Missing Artefacts
The Nephilim book
also removes the restriction of only taking a single faction-specific Secondary
Objective – we both took advantage of this change by choosing 3
faction-specific objectives. I like this change as it feels good from a narrative
point of view (I still think the narrative of a game is important in matched
play games), and I don’t think the faction-specific ones are necessarily
auto-includes for all armies / scenarios. They certainly felt right in this
game though, pushing us towards honour or infernal notoriety and rewarding us
for smiting the opposing war engines. Which was all good!
Knights of House von Ulrich, The Harvesters of Sorrow |
||
|
|
Questor Allegiance: |
Questor Mechanicus |
|
|
House: |
Fealty to the Cog (House Krast) |
|
|
Oaths: |
Defend the
Realm |
|
|
|
|
|
Dominus Pupulorum |
Knight Warden (Warlord) |
Warlord Trait:
Blessed by the Sacristans (1CP) |
|
Indago Perdo |
Knight Errant |
Thermal Cannon, Meltagun, Reaper Chainsword |
|
Cupam Urceum |
Armiger Helverin |
2x Armiger Autocannon, Cognis Heavy Stubber |
Wandering Freeblade Hero |
||
|
|
Questor Allegiance: |
Questor Imperialis |
|
|
Martial Tradition: |
Hunter of Beasts |
|
Ferro Brutum |
Knight Paladin – Freeblade |
Rapid-Fire Battle Cannon, 2x Ironhail Heavy Stubber, Reaper Chainsword |
|
|
|
1,490 pts
|
versus
Chaos Knights of the Infernal House Vextrix
Knight Desecrator, Knight Rampager, Knight Abominant and War Dog
Deployment
The two Knight forces faced off across the industrial
wasteland. Deployment zones for this mission were defined by diagonal lines
across the battlefield, so the distance between the forces wasn’t great – this
suited the pilots of noble Imperial Knights and infernal Chaos machines alike,
as they were equally eager to close ground and destroy their opponents in the
glory of personal combat.
One Chaos Knight, the Abominant, was held in reserve as it
had the ability to materialise from the Warp later in the battle. This left the
remaining Chaos forces outnumbered until its arrival, so they focused on the
northern side of the battlefield and left the War Dog scouting the southern area
on its own. The Imperial Knights were more evenly split, spreading themselves
out in the hunt for the missing artefacts.
This mission allows each player the opportunity to move two
of the objective markers (missing artefacts) by 6” at the start of the battle,
then select one to be the Precious Artefact that their opponents must protect
at all costs. I chose Tom’s southern marker, which I had dragged towards my
deployment zone and which was only vaguely contested by the War Dog. Tom chose
my northern marker, which was right in front of my Warlord and Armiger, but
which was in the sights of both of his large knights that were deployed from
the start. My plan was to stomp forwards onto my own Precious Artefact, while
charging full tilt towards his and thus preventing him gaining the bonus VPs
for holding on to it… Essentially, I could see this becoming a real slugfest in
the middle of the battlefield. And I was OK with that!
 |
| The towering knights face off across a ruined industrial complex |
Imperial Knights Turn 1
I won the roll off for first turn.
Indago Perdo ran forwards, the suit’s machine spirit
eager to engage at close range as quickly as possible. The pilot managed to direct
the war engine towards the Precious Artefact, securing it for the glory of the
Omnissiah and standing in challenge to any that would try to take it. With all
power diverted to the legs, there was no shooting from the Knight Errant this
turn.
The Freeblade, Ferro Brutum, stood its ground next to
the artefact in front of it, bracing its legs to fire the huge-bore rapid-firing
battle cannon. The Knight Paladin fired off several shots at the War Dog that
was near Indago Perdum, scoring several explosive hits against the
smaller war engine. Cupam Urceum, the Armiger Helverin, joined its
autocannons to the fusillade, smashing yet more shots into the War Dog. It was down
to Dominus Pupulorum, the Knight Warden, to finish off the smaller Chaos
Walker, exploding the machine to smithereens with its Stormspear Rockets. First
blood to the Imperium!
Turning its attention to the larger Chaos war machines, Dominus
Pupulorum strode forwards to secure the Precious Artefact in front of it
and hosed the Knight Desecrator with a hail of shells from its avenger gatling cannon,
Endless Fury. Many of the shots were turned away by the crackling ion shield,
and many others were shrugged off by the infernal power of the daemon-infested
machine, though a few found their mark and did some minor damage to the ancient
and twisted armour.
 |
| First blood to the Imperial Knights as Indago Perdum rushes forwards to secure a precious artefact in enemy territory |
Chaos Knights Turn 1
With the Rampager floating somewhere in the Warp and the War
Dog a smoking ruin, the Knight Desecrator and Abominant strode forward towards
the Knight Warden, Dominus Pupulorum. The devastating laser destructor that
the Desecrator was armed with failed to hit its target – presumably the
infernal daemon within the war engine was too eager to get its dread claw on
the Knight Warden that it was incapable of shooting straight. The Abominant
didn’t move forwards as quickly, but was far more accurate with its shooting,
blasting volkite energy that fizzled through Dominus Pupulorum’s ion
shield and staggered the venerable machine.
Just as the knight was recovering from the shooting, the
Desecrator charged into combat. The Knight Warden held its ground, firing everything
at the charging brute, though to little effect. Swinging its talons in frenzied
attacks, the Desecrator smashed into the Knight Warden again and again. The
Chaos war engine stood back, like a wild animal panting, expecting to see the
smoking wreckage of its enemy lying, stricken on the ground. It was sorely
mistaken. Dominus Pupulorum lived! The Knight Warden was only on a
single wound, but that was enough to keep it on its feet. It bravely retaliated
and inflicted just 3 wounds in return – not much, but it held the enemy in
close combat and prevented the Chaos forces from taking the artefact that it was
protecting.
.jpg) |
| The Knight Desecrator charges in! |
.jpg) |
| Dominus Pupulorum survives the vicious close combat on a single wound! |
.jpg) |
| The battlefield at the end of Turn 1 - the Imperial Knights dominate, but the Knight Warden is in a precarious position |
At the end of Turn 1, I had managed to secure my Precious
Artefact while preventing Tom from holding his, giving me 3 VP for that Primary
Objective (no points for the Take & Hold part of the Primary Objective
could be scored in the first turn). I had also increased my Honour points and
taken more objectives than I started with, giving me some Secondary VPs. Neither
of us had killed a larger Knight (yet), so no VPs were awarded to either of us
for that (those objectives offered significant bonuses for how and when the
largest enemy models were despatched), though Tom managed to secure a single VP
for covering at least half of the objectives in the Dread Range from his two
knights.
So far, it was looking good for the Imperial Knights, but Dominus Pupulorum would have to be very lucky to survive the next turn.
|
|
|
|||
Attacker |
Dan – Imperial Knights |
|||
|
Battle Round |
Primary
Objective |
Secondary
Objectives |
||
|
Take & Hold, Precious Artefact |
Yield No
Ground |
Duel of
Honour |
Honour of the House |
|
|
1 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
|
Total |
3 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
Total VP (1 Round) |
8 |
|||
|
|
|
|||
Defender |
Tom – Chaos Knights |
|||
|
Battle Round |
Primary
Objective |
Secondary
Objectives |
||
|
Take & Hold, Precious Artefact |
A Fitting
Challenge |
Ruthless
Tyranny |
Path of
Destruction |
|
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Total |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Total VP (1 Round) |
1 |
|||
Imperial Knights Turn 2
The blessings of the Machine God had kept Dominus
Pupulorum from being destroyed, and it now self-repaired – doubling its
wounds from 1 to an almighty 2! Its machine spirit was unbowed, however, and
fresh strength coursed through its adamantium sinews (the Machine Spirit
Resurgent stratagem). Baron von Ulrich couldn’t countenance the ignominy of
retreat in the face of the abominable machine in front of him, an affront to
the Machine God, so he grasped its arm with his thunderstrike gauntlet and
unloaded his guns at point blank range. Though the salvo blew chunks from the
Chaos war engine’s armour, the Baron knew that he was but a mere decoy, holding
the enemy’s attention while the Freeblade Knight Paladin, Ferro Brutum, manoeuvred
into position for its own devastating charge.
Meanwhile, the Armiger Cupam Urceum ran to secure the
artefact that Ferro Brutum had left behind to stalk the Knight
Desecrator, while the Knight Errant, Indago Perdum, strode towards the
centre of the battlefield. Turning its attention to the Knight Abominant, Indago
Perdum unleashed a torrent of energy from its thermal cannon. Though the
machine spirit of the Knight Errant would have much preferred to slice its
enemy in twain with its reaper chainsword, it was satisfied enough to see the
Chaos abomination melt into a puddle of slag as the coruscating fires from the
thermal cannon burned through its armour and utterly destroyed the once-proud
walker.
Ferro Brutum now charged into glorious melee, to relieve
the beleaguered Knight Warden. Reaper chainsword whirring, the Freeblade sliced
into the infernal Chaos Knight again and again, inflicting so much damage that not
even the unholy energies that kept the machine walking could prevent its
destruction. Dominus Pupulorum was left holding the arm of the Knight
Desecrator as the rest of the walker crashed down to the ground, lifeless.
Baron von Ulrich breathed a sigh of relief. There were no
Chaos Knights remaining on the field of battle – he and his fellow Knights had
secured the area, so their serfs would be able to safely recover the various
artefacts from the ruined industrial buildings surrounding them. He was a
little surprised that the intelligence he had received had been wrong, as he
had been expecting 4 enemy war machines, but at least it was preferable to
finding an enemy force far stronger than anticipated…
.jpg) |
| Ferro Brutum charges in to relieve Dominus Pupulorum |
.jpg) |
| The Knight Desecrator couldn't withstand the devastating charge of Ferro Brutum |
.jpg) |
| Dominus Pupulorum is saved from further attack by the Knight Desecrator |
Chaos Knights Turn 2
Baron von Ulrich’s relief was short-lived as a fizzle, a
crack and the smell of ozone from behind him saw a tear in reality expand,
through which strode a Knight Rampager, haloed in balefire from the Warp. The
portal closed behind the Chaos war engine as soon as it had stepped forward onto
solid ground, when it immediately blared its warhorn and charged straight towards
the rear of the Knight Warden. Though it stumbled and scrambled on the debris,
its clawed feet soon found purchase and propelled it forwards with unnatural
speed (Tom had to re-roll his charge range, just managing to get the 9” that
were required after his deep strike).
Dominus Pupulorum attempted to turn and unleash
overwatch fire on the charging Rampager, but it was caught in the back by the
vicious claw and chainblade of the frenzied war machine. Already battered and
bruised, the Knight Warden had no chance and was thrown to the ground as the
Rampager stood above, roaring its triumph to the sky. It was revelling in its
victory so much that it paid no heed to the Freeblade Knight Paladin that was
standing a short distance away, battle cannon pointed straight towards it.
.jpg) |
| A Knight Rampager emerges from the Warp and charges Dominus Pupulorum in the rear |
.jpg) |
| Dominus Pupulorum is finally laid low, while Ferro Brutum trains its battle cannon on the Knight Rampager in anticipation of avenging its fallen comrade |
Killing Dominus Pupulorum gained a good 5 VPs for the
Chaos Knights, but with the rest of the force being wiped out they weren’t able
to contest any objectives effectively, allowing the Imperial Knights to really
pull ahead on points.
|
|
|
|||
Attacker |
Dan – Imperial Knights |
|||
|
Battle Round |
Primary
Objective |
Secondary Objectives |
||
|
Take & Hold, Precious Artefact |
Yield No Ground |
Duel of Honour |
Honour of the House |
|
|
1 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
|
2 |
15 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
|
Total |
18 |
5 |
7 |
4 |
Total VP (2 Rounds) |
34 |
|||
|
|
|
|||
Attacker |
Tom – Chaos Knights |
|||
|
Battle Round |
Primary
Objective |
Secondary Objectives |
||
|
Take & Hold, Precious Artefact |
A Fitting Challenge |
Ruthless Tyranny |
Path of Destruction |
|
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
2 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
0 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
Total VP (2 Rounds) |
6 |
|||
Imperial Knights Turn 3
There was only one thing left to do – avenge Dominus
Pupulorum by eradicating the last Chaos-tainted filth from the battlefield.
Indago Perdum moved up to support this effort, but the Knight Errant
wasn’t needed – at point-blank range, the rapid-firing battle cannon of Ferro
Brutum smashed through the Rampager’s ion shields, blasting holes in its
torso and dropping the infernal war machine to its knees. The Paladin strode up
to the stricken machine and fired one final high calibre shell through the
leering mask of the Chaos Knight, putting it down for good.
It was a solid win for the Imperial Knights. There was no
Turn 3 for the Chaos force as they had been annihilated.
|
|
|
|||
Attacker |
Dan – Imperial Knights |
|||
|
Battle Round |
Primary
Objective |
Secondary Objectives |
||
|
Take & Hold, Precious Artefact |
Yield No Ground |
Duel of Honour |
Honour of the House |
|
|
1 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
|
2 |
15 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
|
3 |
15 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
|
End |
- |
- |
1 |
2 |
|
Total |
33 |
7 |
11 |
6 |
Total VP (3 Rounds) |
57 |
|||
|
|
|
|||
Attacker |
Tom – Chaos Knights |
|||
|
Battle Round |
Primary
Objective |
Secondary Objectives |
||
|
Take & Hold, Precious Artefact |
A Fitting Challenge |
Ruthless Tyranny |
Path of Destruction |
|
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
2 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
|
3 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
End |
- |
-2 |
- |
- |
|
Total |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
Total VP (2 Rounds) |
4 |
|||
Aftermath
Tom’s Chaos Knights were wiped out early in my Turn 3 Shooting
Phase, so he only got 2 turns to gain Victory Points… unfortunately for him, he
had struggled to gain many points early on as my Imperial Knights outnumbered
him significantly due to his Abominant being in reserve and me getting the 1st
turn and using the opportunity to destroy his War Dog. With just two knights on
the table at the start of his first turn, it was difficult to contest the objectives
required to gain the Primary or his Secondary Objectives.
He did manage to kill my Warlord in his Turn 2, netting a
nice 5 VPs… it was very unlucky for him that he failed to kill Dominus Pupulorum
in Turn 1 – surviving on a single wound denied him the 6 VPs he would have got
for killing it on Turn 1, plus his deep striking Abominant could have potentially
targeted one of the other high value targets. As both of the other Questoris
Knights were alive at the end of the battle, he lost 2 of the 5 VP he gained
for taking out the Warlord. It really was a bad day to be a Chaos Knight, but
then again it serves them right for worshipping the fell powers of the Warp!!!
Really, I think Tom’s main mistake was putting that
Abominant into reserve. It gave me the opportunity to focus on the rest of his
force and overwhelm it. That was helped by me winning the roll-off for first
turn. The second problem he had was not killing my Warlord on his Turn 1. That
was due to a combination of really bad luck on his shooting rolls with his
Desecrator and not getting his Rampager close enough for a charge – if he had
combined his forces in melee then he would have easily overwhelmed my Knight
Warden. I made sure I combined as much firepower as possible to ensure I
overkilled his War Dog, rather than doing a bit of damage here and there. He
did have some stinking luck with that shooting, but could have mitigated it by
getting both knights charging in.
I really liked the opportunity to fight against Chaos
Knights, and they did feel like a distinct army now, rather than just Imperial
Knights with spikes on! I was quite concerned about the Psychic Phase, but in
the end it didn’t cause much trouble. I like the fact they get some Warp-fuelled
powers and don’t lament the fact that the Imperials don’t get that – it would be
deeply irresponsible to put a psyker on a Throne Mechanicum, not to mention
totally lacking in honour!
Talking of honour, the new honour system is very good. It
does add to the admin and adds more things to think about, but it is very
characterful. It certainly added to my decision-making process about whether to
fall back with my Knight Warden or not. On the one hand, I knew that if I
retreated with the Warden then it would allow the rest of my Knights the
opportunity to shoot the Desecrator to pieces, and the Freeblade Paladin could
charge in to finish the job. However, he would have to survive some potentially
dangerous overwatch from that enormous cannon. Keeping the Warden in combat meant
that I could shoot at point blank range with the Warden and then charge the
Paladin in without having to worry about the overwatch. Ultimately, the decision
had nothing to do with these boring game considerations, and came down to what
was the most honourable thing to do. I would lose an honour point for falling
back, and I just couldn’t countenance that! Dominus Pupulorum had
somehow survived the charge, he would stay grappling with the beast, shooting
to the last, and distracting it from the whirring chainblade of Ferro Brutum!
Of course, that was the only decision a proper knight could possibly make! Of
course, if the Desecrator survived then my Knight Warden was dead… but he would
be dying honourably. As it was, he got shanked from behind the following turn by
a filthy, cowardly, completely ungallant Knight Abominant, but that would have
happened even if he had fallen back so I feel he maintained the moral high
ground!
Overall, it was a very fun game, with some good and bad dice
rolling on both sides and some opportunities to really get into the spirit of
things. With a few dice rolls going a different way and having all his knights
on the table from turn one, things could easily have turned out very
differently. For now, though, duty and honour won the day for the glory of
House von Ulrich, the great Forge World of Metalica and the Imperium of Man.
No comments:
Post a Comment