Showing posts with label necrons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label necrons. Show all posts
Friday, November 11, 2011
I must be patient...
Friday, May 22, 2009
Battle Report: The Necropolis Campaign, Part Three
The Necropolis Campaign, Part Three
The Battle of Favonia, Part Two
The Necropolis, a massive Necron vessel, had begun a rampage throughout the Arcadia Sector. The Imperial Navy amassed all the ships they could and moved to intercept the Necropolis and its accompanying fleet. They would make their stand on the edge of the Favonia system. The battle was too early to call, with the Imperials doing some damage to the Necron fleet, but the Imperials were suffering substantial losses as well.
Click here to see part one of the battle report.
Turn 4
The Dauntless Light Cruiser Constellation, set ablaze by the Necron Tombship, got some revenge, as after drifting closer to the Tombship, her plasma drives overloaded and she suddenly exploded. The Tombship was rocked by the nearby explosion, damaging its inertialess drive.
The fires aboard the Dominator Class Cruiser Warrior went out, but the vessel drifted onward, dead in space.
The Elnath failed its command check to Lock On to the Tombship.
The Apocalypse Class Battleship Repulse fired one broadside on the Silver Scythe, damaging it and disrupting its Power Flow. It fired the other broadside on the Jackals, which lost one ship despite Bracing for Impact.
The Mars Class Battlecruiser Aetolia, in the thick of it, fired all of its weapons systems at varied targets, but failed to damage any, except for the nova cannon shot against the Necropolis, which scored a single hit. The last Firestorm, the Gemini, damaged the Necropolis with its lance, and then combined its fire with the Swords and Cobra Squadron 1, and between them they delivered another point of damage to the Necropolis.
The capital ships Arcadia, Capella, Adhara, Procyon, and Elnath fired a 21-lance salvo against the Tombship, two shots of which got through to damage the ship, also rendering its port weapons unable to fire. Their combined weapons batteries inflicted a further point of damage.
In the ordnance phase, bombers from the carrier Prometheus killed one Khopesh and a Dirge.
The Vulture and the Shroud continued their wide maneuver, and had now moved behind the Imperial fleet, almost in position to strike. This flanking manuever had so far kept the two vessels out of the fight, but their imminent arrival might make the difference.
The Necropolis again fired its Soul Harvester, hitting the Repulse and delivering two points of hull damage. It then lay about with its multiple weapons systems, striking all within range. The Lightning Arc destroyed two Cobras, the Aglaja and the Pales, a pair of Swords, the Sinope and Triton, and the Firestorm Gemini. The Gauss Particle Whip lashed out and damaged the Repulse, crippling her. Finally, it teleported hundreds of Necron Warriors onto the decks of the destroyer Nemesis via its portal. Such was the fury of the onslaught that the Nemesis simply...vanished.
The Tombship and Silver Scythe combined their fire on the Repulse, hitting it three more times. Finally the Tombship repaired its port weapons systems.
Turn 5
The Prometheus attempted to Reload Ordnance but failed its command check.
The Repulse fired its lances on the Silver Scythe, disrupting its power flow and preventing it from firing. The Aetolia and two surviving Cobras fired on the Tombship to no effect.
The Elnath fired its broadside lances on the nearby Jackals, destroying one, while the Arcadia destroyed another.
The Procyon, Capella, and Thunder Child fired their broadsides all at the Tombship, which weathered all of the fire without any shots penetrating its armor.
The Thunder Child fired its lances ahead at the Necropolis, but failed to damage it. The Mimosa and the last surviving Sword Class Frigate, the Nereid, fired their weapons batteries on the Necropolis, delivering one hit.
The last Khopesh (lower right) prepares to ram the Elnath, (red-trimmed black cruiser, second from lower right) The last Khopesh rammed into the stern of the Elnath, destroying itself and inflicting two hits to the Gothic Cruiser.
The Shroud and the Vulture had finally moved into attack position, and attack they did, concentrating their fire on the Repulse. Between them they knocked the Repulse's shields down and inflicted two hits. The Tombship's lightning arc inflicted two more. Still, the Repulse held on.
The Necropolis now had a plethora of targets to fire upon. The Gauss Particle Whip lashed the Elnath, but the ship emerged unscathed. One lightning arc downed a shield on the Aetolia, while another hit the Thunder Child, downing its shields and delivering two hits to its hull.
The Silver Scythe spent the turn repairing its damaged weapons systems.
The Repulse and the Aetolia pass by the Tombship, making for the Necropolis Turn 6
The Prometheus reloaded its ordnance and prepared for another strike.
The Repulse fired its starboard lances on the Tombship, damaging it once. The Cobras fired on the Jackal, which Braced For Impact. This protected it from the Cobras' fire, but not from the starboard broadside of the Elnath, which destroyed it.
The Necropolis, detecting that it was about to sustain a massive lance barrage, Braced for Impact. The Elnath, Arcadia, Capella, Thunder Child, Aetolia, and Procyon unleashed a total of 24 lance shots at the Necropolis, hitting with fourteen and causing four more damage points to it. The shots damaged its Inertialess Drive, and the hits sustained crippled the vessel. Weapons batteries from the Aetolia, Mimosa, Procyon, and Capella delivered a further two damaging hits.The Necropolis receives a torrent of fire from the Imperial capital ships The Vulture, finally in firing position closed up behind the Aetolia and fired. The Aetolia Braced, but despite this her shields were downed and she suffered two hits, including one that damaged her prow armament. Fire from the Necropolis inflicted a further damage point, but the Necropolis, crippled and braced, could not offer much firepower to the fight.
The Silver Scythe moved towards the Scutum and the Prometheus, firing on the Scutum, downing its shields and inflicting two damage points.
Turn 7
The Capella locked its weapon systems on the Necropolis, but the rest of the fleet failed their command checks and no other special orders were given.
Preparing for another massive barrage, the Necropolis attempted to Brace for Impact, but with its leadership decreased due to critical hits, it failed the check. The Repulse fired a broadside and its dorsal batteries, but the Necropolis' armor held. The Thunder Child damaged it once with its prow lances, damaging the ship's inertialess drive again. The Aetolia and Procyon each delivered a hit with their weapon batteries. The Capella then fired and damaged the ship's Command Core, and finally the Arcadia inflicted one more hit. The Necropolis had taken a massive pounding, and only had two hits left.
The Repulse fired its port lances at the Shroud, which was already crippled from damage sustained in a previous battle, and the ship quickly exploded under the weight of fire. The Tombship was caught in the explosion and suffered a hit.
The Silver Scythe focused all of its fire on the Scutum, which was defending the Prometheus. The Scythe smashed the ship hard, downing its shields and delivering five hits, destroying its shield generators. As the crew desperately tried to get the damage under control, the Necropolis fired and finished the ship off, rendering the Scutum a drifting hulk.
The Vulture concentrated its fire on the Aetolia, damaging it three times. The Vulture's attack was followed up by the Tombship, which slammed the Mars Class Battlecruiser, hitting it twice more. The damage overloaded the ship's plasma drive, causing the Aetolia to explode in a fireball. The Necropolis barely escaped the blast.
The Aetolia (just under the Necropolis) explodes
Finally, some bomber waves from the Prometheus reached the Tombship, but they were all driven off or shot down by the Tombship's formidable turret defenses.
The Imperial fleet swarms the Necropolis, pouring all of their fire into it Turn 8
The Necropolis failed to Brace for Impact again, and with all the Imperial ships surrounding it, it seemed clear that its end was near. The Repulse delivered a single hit with its lances, and then the Thunder Child and the Arcadia fired their lances simultaneously, pushing the Necropolis over the edge into destruction. The ship continued to drift, but then the rest of the Imperial fleet continued to pour fire into the ship, causing it to explode in a ball of light.
Once the light faded, the area was filled with debris. The Necron Tombship, Silver Scythe, and Vulture had used the confusion to escape into deep space. Scanning the area, the Imperial ships found no more evidence of the Necron threat, and quickly began to reform their fleet and begin rescuing survivors from the many wrecked ships. The Necron threat had been destroyed, for now...
Imperial Navy Debriefing
Darkwing: My plan to take out the escorts first worked, but I don't think I deserve too many laurels for the victory. Badelaire played into my hands from the first turn, by keeping the Necropolis back and moving the rest of his fleet right into my guns. Also the wide flanking maneuver he performed with the Shroud and the Vulture just kept them out of most of the battle. The sheer number of capital ships at my disposal made my fleet a very tough nut to crack. I also have the dice to thank, because I rolled a lot of criticals on the Necron ships. Necrons are good at repairing damage, but I whittled down their leadership values as the battle went on. In the end, I think that my fleet had the staying power this time to simply overwhelm the Necron forces, giving me the opportunity to pound the Necropolis into submission. My fleet will need some time to recover from this fight, but I imagine I haven't seen the last of the Necrons.
Necron Debriefing
Badelaire: Well, it was a long and bloody engagement. I didn't do that well in the beginning of the fight, but whenever I could bring some heavy firepower to bear, it was telling. Not having shields, even though my armor is great and my Brace For Impact is stellar, means if I take hits, the ships start getting chewed up. Being able to do 2-3 hits to a ship and still not doing damage can be frustrating, but them's the breaks. I did notice about 2/3rds of the way through the game that I was forgetting the Particle Whip rule that allows rolls of 6 to ignore shields - I can't remember if that had any effect or not, but it just goes to show that sometimes having too many "cool rules" means you just forget them and put yourself at a disadvantage.
All in all, the battle was a blast. While the Necropolis finally died out, I was able to destroy all but one of Darkwing's escorts and a fair number of capital ships. In the end though, numbers won out, and the Necropolis died like a bear pulled down by a pack of wolves. A very fitting end to an awesome campaign.
The Battle of Favonia, Part Two
The Necropolis, a massive Necron vessel, had begun a rampage throughout the Arcadia Sector. The Imperial Navy amassed all the ships they could and moved to intercept the Necropolis and its accompanying fleet. They would make their stand on the edge of the Favonia system. The battle was too early to call, with the Imperials doing some damage to the Necron fleet, but the Imperials were suffering substantial losses as well.Click here to see part one of the battle report.
Turn 4
The Dauntless Light Cruiser Constellation, set ablaze by the Necron Tombship, got some revenge, as after drifting closer to the Tombship, her plasma drives overloaded and she suddenly exploded. The Tombship was rocked by the nearby explosion, damaging its inertialess drive.
The fires aboard the Dominator Class Cruiser Warrior went out, but the vessel drifted onward, dead in space.
The Elnath failed its command check to Lock On to the Tombship.
The Apocalypse Class Battleship Repulse fired one broadside on the Silver Scythe, damaging it and disrupting its Power Flow. It fired the other broadside on the Jackals, which lost one ship despite Bracing for Impact.
The Mars Class Battlecruiser Aetolia, in the thick of it, fired all of its weapons systems at varied targets, but failed to damage any, except for the nova cannon shot against the Necropolis, which scored a single hit. The last Firestorm, the Gemini, damaged the Necropolis with its lance, and then combined its fire with the Swords and Cobra Squadron 1, and between them they delivered another point of damage to the Necropolis.
The capital ships Arcadia, Capella, Adhara, Procyon, and Elnath fired a 21-lance salvo against the Tombship, two shots of which got through to damage the ship, also rendering its port weapons unable to fire. Their combined weapons batteries inflicted a further point of damage.
In the ordnance phase, bombers from the carrier Prometheus killed one Khopesh and a Dirge.
The Vulture and the Shroud continued their wide maneuver, and had now moved behind the Imperial fleet, almost in position to strike. This flanking manuever had so far kept the two vessels out of the fight, but their imminent arrival might make the difference.
The Necropolis again fired its Soul Harvester, hitting the Repulse and delivering two points of hull damage. It then lay about with its multiple weapons systems, striking all within range. The Lightning Arc destroyed two Cobras, the Aglaja and the Pales, a pair of Swords, the Sinope and Triton, and the Firestorm Gemini. The Gauss Particle Whip lashed out and damaged the Repulse, crippling her. Finally, it teleported hundreds of Necron Warriors onto the decks of the destroyer Nemesis via its portal. Such was the fury of the onslaught that the Nemesis simply...vanished.
The Tombship and Silver Scythe combined their fire on the Repulse, hitting it three more times. Finally the Tombship repaired its port weapons systems.
Turn 5
The Prometheus attempted to Reload Ordnance but failed its command check.
The Repulse fired its lances on the Silver Scythe, disrupting its power flow and preventing it from firing. The Aetolia and two surviving Cobras fired on the Tombship to no effect.
The Elnath fired its broadside lances on the nearby Jackals, destroying one, while the Arcadia destroyed another.
The Procyon, Capella, and Thunder Child fired their broadsides all at the Tombship, which weathered all of the fire without any shots penetrating its armor.
The Thunder Child fired its lances ahead at the Necropolis, but failed to damage it. The Mimosa and the last surviving Sword Class Frigate, the Nereid, fired their weapons batteries on the Necropolis, delivering one hit.
The Shroud and the Vulture had finally moved into attack position, and attack they did, concentrating their fire on the Repulse. Between them they knocked the Repulse's shields down and inflicted two hits. The Tombship's lightning arc inflicted two more. Still, the Repulse held on.
The Necropolis now had a plethora of targets to fire upon. The Gauss Particle Whip lashed the Elnath, but the ship emerged unscathed. One lightning arc downed a shield on the Aetolia, while another hit the Thunder Child, downing its shields and delivering two hits to its hull.
The Silver Scythe spent the turn repairing its damaged weapons systems.
The Prometheus reloaded its ordnance and prepared for another strike.
The Repulse fired its starboard lances on the Tombship, damaging it once. The Cobras fired on the Jackal, which Braced For Impact. This protected it from the Cobras' fire, but not from the starboard broadside of the Elnath, which destroyed it.
The Necropolis, detecting that it was about to sustain a massive lance barrage, Braced for Impact. The Elnath, Arcadia, Capella, Thunder Child, Aetolia, and Procyon unleashed a total of 24 lance shots at the Necropolis, hitting with fourteen and causing four more damage points to it. The shots damaged its Inertialess Drive, and the hits sustained crippled the vessel. Weapons batteries from the Aetolia, Mimosa, Procyon, and Capella delivered a further two damaging hits.
The Silver Scythe moved towards the Scutum and the Prometheus, firing on the Scutum, downing its shields and inflicting two damage points.
Turn 7
The Capella locked its weapon systems on the Necropolis, but the rest of the fleet failed their command checks and no other special orders were given.
Preparing for another massive barrage, the Necropolis attempted to Brace for Impact, but with its leadership decreased due to critical hits, it failed the check. The Repulse fired a broadside and its dorsal batteries, but the Necropolis' armor held. The Thunder Child damaged it once with its prow lances, damaging the ship's inertialess drive again. The Aetolia and Procyon each delivered a hit with their weapon batteries. The Capella then fired and damaged the ship's Command Core, and finally the Arcadia inflicted one more hit. The Necropolis had taken a massive pounding, and only had two hits left.
The Repulse fired its port lances at the Shroud, which was already crippled from damage sustained in a previous battle, and the ship quickly exploded under the weight of fire. The Tombship was caught in the explosion and suffered a hit.
The Silver Scythe focused all of its fire on the Scutum, which was defending the Prometheus. The Scythe smashed the ship hard, downing its shields and delivering five hits, destroying its shield generators. As the crew desperately tried to get the damage under control, the Necropolis fired and finished the ship off, rendering the Scutum a drifting hulk.
The Vulture concentrated its fire on the Aetolia, damaging it three times. The Vulture's attack was followed up by the Tombship, which slammed the Mars Class Battlecruiser, hitting it twice more. The damage overloaded the ship's plasma drive, causing the Aetolia to explode in a fireball. The Necropolis barely escaped the blast.
Finally, some bomber waves from the Prometheus reached the Tombship, but they were all driven off or shot down by the Tombship's formidable turret defenses.
The Necropolis failed to Brace for Impact again, and with all the Imperial ships surrounding it, it seemed clear that its end was near. The Repulse delivered a single hit with its lances, and then the Thunder Child and the Arcadia fired their lances simultaneously, pushing the Necropolis over the edge into destruction. The ship continued to drift, but then the rest of the Imperial fleet continued to pour fire into the ship, causing it to explode in a ball of light.
Once the light faded, the area was filled with debris. The Necron Tombship, Silver Scythe, and Vulture had used the confusion to escape into deep space. Scanning the area, the Imperial ships found no more evidence of the Necron threat, and quickly began to reform their fleet and begin rescuing survivors from the many wrecked ships. The Necron threat had been destroyed, for now...
Imperial Navy Debriefing
Darkwing: My plan to take out the escorts first worked, but I don't think I deserve too many laurels for the victory. Badelaire played into my hands from the first turn, by keeping the Necropolis back and moving the rest of his fleet right into my guns. Also the wide flanking maneuver he performed with the Shroud and the Vulture just kept them out of most of the battle. The sheer number of capital ships at my disposal made my fleet a very tough nut to crack. I also have the dice to thank, because I rolled a lot of criticals on the Necron ships. Necrons are good at repairing damage, but I whittled down their leadership values as the battle went on. In the end, I think that my fleet had the staying power this time to simply overwhelm the Necron forces, giving me the opportunity to pound the Necropolis into submission. My fleet will need some time to recover from this fight, but I imagine I haven't seen the last of the Necrons.
Necron Debriefing
Badelaire: Well, it was a long and bloody engagement. I didn't do that well in the beginning of the fight, but whenever I could bring some heavy firepower to bear, it was telling. Not having shields, even though my armor is great and my Brace For Impact is stellar, means if I take hits, the ships start getting chewed up. Being able to do 2-3 hits to a ship and still not doing damage can be frustrating, but them's the breaks. I did notice about 2/3rds of the way through the game that I was forgetting the Particle Whip rule that allows rolls of 6 to ignore shields - I can't remember if that had any effect or not, but it just goes to show that sometimes having too many "cool rules" means you just forget them and put yourself at a disadvantage.
All in all, the battle was a blast. While the Necropolis finally died out, I was able to destroy all but one of Darkwing's escorts and a fair number of capital ships. In the end though, numbers won out, and the Necropolis died like a bear pulled down by a pack of wolves. A very fitting end to an awesome campaign.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Battle Report: The Necropolis Campaign, Part Two
The Necropolis Campaign, Part Two
The Battle of Favonia, Part One
Introduction
With the Imperial Navy's defeat at the Battle of Axis Columen, a massive Necron vessel, the Necropolis, awakened from its slumber under the planet's surface and lifted off. More Necron vessels phased in as others arrived from the depths of space. The massive fleet began to move implacably through the sector, destroying any settlement it came across and harvesting the souls of those who lived there.
While the Imperial Navy floundered desperately to amass another fleet to take on the Necrons, a third race intervened. A force of Eldar from two different craftworlds converged on the Necron fleet. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the Eldar made a heroic effort to destroy the Necropolis. In the end they failed, but they did manage to weaken the Necron Fleet somewhat.
After harvesting the souls of the Eldar trapped inside the wreckage of their destroyed vessels, the Necropolis and company continued through the sector, harvesting several more worlds before setting their sights on the planet of Favonia.
Favonia was an Imperial world of little strategic importance to the sector, but it was populated by much of the sector's aristocracy, being a nexus of commerce and leisure for the upper classes of Imperial Society. As such, when the system came under threat, the calls for the Imperial Navy to respond swiftly and decisively were loud and laced with panic. Regardless, the Imperial Navy had had time to amass a task force, including several upgraded vessels, to take on the Necron threat. They would make their stand on the edge of the Favonia system.
Imperial Fleet - Task Force 43
Imperial Navy Briefing
Darkwing: The officer corp of Battlefleet Arcadia, while still relatively inexperienced to those of other Imperial Sectors, are starting to wise up with respect to the Necron menace. Now there are surviving captains from previous battles (the Lunar Class Cruiser Elnath and the Tyrant Class Cruiser Mimosa having survived the battle of Axis Columen) and signals intelligence of the battle between the Eldar and the Necrons, the Imperial Navy has come up with a strategy to deal with the Necrons.
As the Eldar learned from their battle with the Necropolis, Necron escorts simply cannot be ignored. The Eldar had tried to focus everything on the Necropolis, and were torn apart by the rest of the fleet. A squadron of five Jackals, for example, packs the punch of a Cairn Class Tombship, and if allowed to roam unchallenged, can wreak devastation upon an Imperial Fleet.
So my strategy in this battle will be as follows: Strip away the Necropolis' defenses by destroying its escorts (that is, all the other Necron ships), then swarm it and destroy it. If I go straight for the Necropolis, I think my fleet will be torn to shreds by the rest of theirs.
Necron Fleet
Necron Briefing
Badelaire: Playing out a "test to destruction" game can be interesting, but it's also somewhat depressing as well. I know that in the end, I will be beaten down and I'll lose the Necropolis - I don't have any illusions to the contrary. Right now it's just a matter of how many Imperial ships I can take with me before the Necropolis is wiped out that's the question.
Unlike fighting the Eldar, my Khopeshes are great for killing escorts, and if used en masse, I can severely cripple a capital ship as well if I hit i right. The question really becomes whether or not I can use a lot of my Necron special rules and my speed to their greatest advantage, or will the confusion of battle and just remembering the correct way to play out the standard BFG rules cloud the issue to the point where I'm not remembering half of what I should be paying attention to? I'm sure I'll make mistakes--but I also think that I'll give Darkwing's fleet, especially his escorts, quite the beating. Unfortunately, it's going to be the massive number of cruisers, especially his new lance-heavy battlecruiser and his "carrier", that I'm going to have to worry about.
Scenario
The Fleet Engagement Scenario will be used, with the deployment zones enlarged to accommodate the large fleets and available space.
The Imperial Line of Battle
The Necron Line of Battle 
The Imperial Line of Battle 
The two fleets pass each other Turn 1
The Imperial Fleet assumed a Cross formation, so as to present its broadside to the Necron Fleet, while the Necrons tried to break through the Imperial Fleet using a wedge. As a result, both fleets passed each other's flank, just out of range of their weapons. The Imperial Capital ships, in line astern, began a simultaneous turn to port, closing the distance to the Necron Forces. Still out of range of most of their weapons, the Apocalyse Battleship Repulse, the Mars Battlecruiser Aetolia and the Dominator Cruiser Warrior all opened fire with their Nova Cannons, aiming for the bulk of the Necron Fleet, but the long range thwarted all three shots and they exploded harmlessly in space. Finally the Aetolia and the Prometheus launched massed waves of bombers.
The Imperial fleet turns to engage The Necropolis held its course, while the rest of the Necron fleet turned to meet the Imperial fleet head on. The Vulture and the shroud, however, moved ahead of the main Necron fleet in an apparent attempt to outflank the Imperials.
The Necrons move to meet the challenge One squadron of Khopeshes attempted to go on All Ahead Full orders to ram the Imperial ships, but failed their command check. One squadron of Jackals closed in on Firestorm Squadron 2 and unleashed their Lightning Arcs, destroying the Eridanus and Fornax. The other group of Jackals fired on Cobra Squadron 2, destroying the Virginia and Nemausa. The Silver Scythe continued to pick on the Cobras, destroying the Europa, while the Gold Scythe finished off the Cobras with its Lightning Arc, destroying the Kalypso. The Gold Scythe's particle whip was still ready to fire, however, and it blasted the Firestorm Equuleus out of the sky. The Tombship then assisted the Gold Scythe, finishing off Firestorm Squadron 2, killing the Dorado and Draco.
Finally, the Dirges converged on the cruiser Warrior, knocking down its shields and damaging its hull, nearly crippling her.
The two fleets approach Turn 2
The Imperial Fleet plunged ahead into the teeth of the Necrons, and let fly with their broadsides. The Prometheus reloaded its ordnance, preparing for the next strike. The Gothic Cruiser Achernar then failed its command check to Lock On. The Apocalypse Class Battleship Repulse fired its lances at the nearby Khopeshes, which then Braced for Impact, but even so one of the Khopeshes was destroyed. The Repulse then took aim with its nova cannon at the Gold Scythe, but the shot missed, instead blowing two Jackals to smithereens. The Warrior fired its own broadside on the Dirges to no effect, but its nova cannon shot also hit Jackals, destroying two more of them. The Aetolia fired its nova cannon, but missed its target, but was able to take out a Khopesh with its dorsal lances.
The two fleets about to clash Both squadrons of Swords combined their fire on the Khopeshes ahead of them, and accounted for two of the blade-like ships. The Achernar fired its left lance broadside against the Dirges, which responded by Bracing for Impact, but one of the Dirges was destroyed. The Dauntless Light Cruiser Constellation and the Lunar Cruiser Procyon each fired on the second group of Khopeshes, destroying one each. The Dauntless Light Cruiser Thunder Child fired its prow lances at the long Jackals in front of it, killing it.
From standoff range, the Battleship Arcadia swung its three triple-lance turrets to port and aimed at the Gold Scythe, and fired, rocking the vessel with three hits, and damaging its drive system. The Procyon then fired its torpedo salvo at it, damaging it further and crippling it. Cobra Squadron 1 then fired its torpedo salvo at the Jackals ahead, destroying one of the escorts before the salvo was expended.
The Arcadia fires a broadside at the Gold Scythe The Vulture and Shroud continued their flanking maneuver, as the rest of the Necron forces continued the merge with the Imperial Fleet. Two Khopeshes plowed right into the Prometheus' bomber waves, sacrificing themselves to eliminate the massive strike.
The Dirges and Jackals both converged on the Repulse, which, anticipating the attack, promptly Braced for Impact. The Repulse weathered the fire well, only suffering a single shield failure.
Dirges and Jackals attack the Repulse The Silver Scythe fired on the Warrior, but only managed to down one of its shields. The Gold Scythe fired on Sword Squadron 1, destroying the Callisto and the Leda.
The Necropolis turned ponderously, beginning the slow sweep which would bring the Soul Harvester to bear upon the Imperial ships. It then fired its particle whip, destroying the Sword Frigate Ganymede.
The Tombship then concentrated its fire on the Gothic Cruiser Achernar, blasting away its shields and riddling it with six hits, crippling it.
The Gold Scythe succeeded in repairing its drives.
Turn 3
The Imperial line of battle began to close on the Tombship, which, seeing it was about to take a lot of punishment, promptly Braced for Impact. The Tyrant Cruiser Mimosa locked on to the Tombship and prepared to fire, but the other Imperial cruisers failed their command checks. The Arcadia, Mimosa, Lunar Cruiser Adhara, Armageddon Battlecruiser Capella, Gothic Cruiser Elnath, and Dauntless Thunder Child all opened fire on the Tombship, and hit it 17 times, but all but three hits were saved by its armor. The ship's sepulchre was damaged as well, but as a whole the Tombship weathered the fire very well.
The Silver Scythe, also preparing to receive a massive barrage, also Braced for Impact. Multiple Imperial ships prepared to fire on the Silver Scythe. The Achernar delivered a single hit with its broadside, and then Sword Squadron 2, the last Firestorm Frigate, the Dauntless Constellation, and Cobra Squadron 1 opened fire on the Scythe, but the Scythe's bracing proved effective, and no further hits were scored.
The Repulse fired its lances at the Dirges, destroying two of them.
The Warrior fired its broadside against the Gold Scythe, delivering a massive four hits, damaging the Scythe's Command Core and disrupting the ship's power flow. The Constellation then fired its prow lances, blasting through the Scythe's armor and detonating its plasma drive, causing the harvest ship to explode. The Constellation was damaged in the blast, and the Tombship was also caught in the explosion, but undamaged.
The Gold Scythe (right) explodes The Shroud and Vulture continued to move around the Imperial flank. The Silver Scythe plowed forward through the Imperial battle line, while the Necropolis swung its massive prow around, bringing the Repulse and the Warrior within its sights. Sensing the danger, both ships Braced for Impact. The Khopeshes went on All Ahead Full orders, so as to reposition themselves for an attack run on the Imperial rear.
The Soul Harvester fired, blasting at a Sword Frigate, the Warrior, and the Repulse, but miraculously failed to damage any of the ships. The Necropolis then opened fire with its other weapons, crippling the Warrior with its lightning arc and hitting the Achernar hard with its particle whip. The Achernar Braced for Impact, yet despite negating four of the hits, the ship was destroyed anyway and reduced to a drifting hulk. Then the Silver Scythe fired its weapons at the Warrior, blasting through its armor and destroying it, sending it careening through space, ablaze from stem to stern.
The Dominator Class Cruiser Warrior(next to the Scythe) is set ablaze The Dirges and Jackals swarmed towards the Gothic Cruiser Elnath, downing its shields and delivering a hit. Finally some bombers from the Prometheus made their attack runs on the Khopeshes, destroying two of the four remaining.
The Tombship focused its fire on the Constellation, overwhelming its defenses and rendering it a blazing hulk.
The sheer number of Imperial Capital ships were taking their toll upon the Necron Fleet, but the mighty firepower of the Necron vessels were beginning to make itself felt as well, as one by one the Imperial ships began to die. It would remain to be seen whether the Necropolis would blast its way through the Imperial Fleet and continue its rampage throughout the Arcadia Sector.
Stay tuned for part two of the Battle of Favonia...
The Battle of Favonia, Part One
Introduction
With the Imperial Navy's defeat at the Battle of Axis Columen, a massive Necron vessel, the Necropolis, awakened from its slumber under the planet's surface and lifted off. More Necron vessels phased in as others arrived from the depths of space. The massive fleet began to move implacably through the sector, destroying any settlement it came across and harvesting the souls of those who lived there.
While the Imperial Navy floundered desperately to amass another fleet to take on the Necrons, a third race intervened. A force of Eldar from two different craftworlds converged on the Necron fleet. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the Eldar made a heroic effort to destroy the Necropolis. In the end they failed, but they did manage to weaken the Necron Fleet somewhat.
After harvesting the souls of the Eldar trapped inside the wreckage of their destroyed vessels, the Necropolis and company continued through the sector, harvesting several more worlds before setting their sights on the planet of Favonia.
Favonia was an Imperial world of little strategic importance to the sector, but it was populated by much of the sector's aristocracy, being a nexus of commerce and leisure for the upper classes of Imperial Society. As such, when the system came under threat, the calls for the Imperial Navy to respond swiftly and decisively were loud and laced with panic. Regardless, the Imperial Navy had had time to amass a task force, including several upgraded vessels, to take on the Necron threat. They would make their stand on the edge of the Favonia system.
Imperial Fleet - Task Force 43
| Apocalypse Class Battleship (BB-2 Repulse) | 365 |
| Arcadia Class Battleship (BB-5 Arcadia) | 375 |
| Mars Class Battlecruiser (CB-3 Aetolia) | 270 |
| Armageddon Class Battlecruiser (CB-18 Capella) | 245 |
| Prometheus Class Carrier (CV-1 Prometheus) | 340 |
| Scutum Class Cruiser (CG-57 Scutum) | 180 |
| Lunar Class Cruiser (CA-20 Procyon) | 180 |
| Lunar Class Cruiser (CA-34 Adhara) | 180 |
| Gothic Class Cruiser (CA-21 Achernar) | 180 |
| Gothic Class Cruiser (CA-39 Elnath) | 180 |
| Tyrant Class Crusier (CA-32 Mimosa) | 185 |
| Dominator Class Cruiser (CA-62 Warrior) | 190 |
| Dauntless Class Light Cruiser (CL-52 Constellation) | 110 |
| Dauntless Class Light Cruiser (CL-53 Thunder Child) | 110 |
| 1st Firestorm Squadron (3 Firestorm Class Frigates, FFL-33 Dorado, FFL-34 Draco, FFL-35 Equuleus) | 120 |
| 2nd Firestorm Squadron (3 Firestorm Class Frigates, FFL-36 Eridanus, FFL-37 Fornax, FFL-38 Gemini) | 120 |
| 1st Sword Squadron (3 Sword Class Frigates, FF-98 Ganymede, FF-99 Callisto, FF-100 Leda) | 105 |
| 2nd Sword Squadron (3 Sword Class Frigates, FF-107 Sinope, FF-146 Triton, FF-147 Nereid) | 105 |
| 1st Cobra Squadron (4 Cobra Class Destroyers, 1 Nemesis Class Destroyer, DD-46 Hestia, DD-47 Aglaja, DD-48 Doris, DD-49 Pales, DD-128 Nemesis) | 150 |
| 2nd Cobra Squadron (4 Cobra Class Destroyers, DD-50 Virginia, DD-51 Nemausa, DD-52 Europa, DD-53 Kalypso) | 120 |
| Total | 3810 |
Imperial Navy BriefingDarkwing: The officer corp of Battlefleet Arcadia, while still relatively inexperienced to those of other Imperial Sectors, are starting to wise up with respect to the Necron menace. Now there are surviving captains from previous battles (the Lunar Class Cruiser Elnath and the Tyrant Class Cruiser Mimosa having survived the battle of Axis Columen) and signals intelligence of the battle between the Eldar and the Necrons, the Imperial Navy has come up with a strategy to deal with the Necrons.
As the Eldar learned from their battle with the Necropolis, Necron escorts simply cannot be ignored. The Eldar had tried to focus everything on the Necropolis, and were torn apart by the rest of the fleet. A squadron of five Jackals, for example, packs the punch of a Cairn Class Tombship, and if allowed to roam unchallenged, can wreak devastation upon an Imperial Fleet.
So my strategy in this battle will be as follows: Strip away the Necropolis' defenses by destroying its escorts (that is, all the other Necron ships), then swarm it and destroy it. If I go straight for the Necropolis, I think my fleet will be torn to shreds by the rest of theirs.
Necron Fleet
| Necropolis | 1000 |
| Cairn Class Tombship | 550 |
| 2 Scythe Class Harvest Ships | 550 |
| Vulture Class Cruiser | 300 |
| Shroud Class Light Cruiser | 155 |
| 5 Jackal Class Escorts | 250 |
| 5 Jackal Class Escorts | 250 |
| 4 Dirge Class Escorts | 200 |
| 6 Khopesh Class Ramships | 240 |
| 6 Khopesh Class Ramships | 240 |
| Total | 3735 |
Necron BriefingBadelaire: Playing out a "test to destruction" game can be interesting, but it's also somewhat depressing as well. I know that in the end, I will be beaten down and I'll lose the Necropolis - I don't have any illusions to the contrary. Right now it's just a matter of how many Imperial ships I can take with me before the Necropolis is wiped out that's the question.
Unlike fighting the Eldar, my Khopeshes are great for killing escorts, and if used en masse, I can severely cripple a capital ship as well if I hit i right. The question really becomes whether or not I can use a lot of my Necron special rules and my speed to their greatest advantage, or will the confusion of battle and just remembering the correct way to play out the standard BFG rules cloud the issue to the point where I'm not remembering half of what I should be paying attention to? I'm sure I'll make mistakes--but I also think that I'll give Darkwing's fleet, especially his escorts, quite the beating. Unfortunately, it's going to be the massive number of cruisers, especially his new lance-heavy battlecruiser and his "carrier", that I'm going to have to worry about.
Scenario
The Fleet Engagement Scenario will be used, with the deployment zones enlarged to accommodate the large fleets and available space.
The Imperial Fleet assumed a Cross formation, so as to present its broadside to the Necron Fleet, while the Necrons tried to break through the Imperial Fleet using a wedge. As a result, both fleets passed each other's flank, just out of range of their weapons. The Imperial Capital ships, in line astern, began a simultaneous turn to port, closing the distance to the Necron Forces. Still out of range of most of their weapons, the Apocalyse Battleship Repulse, the Mars Battlecruiser Aetolia and the Dominator Cruiser Warrior all opened fire with their Nova Cannons, aiming for the bulk of the Necron Fleet, but the long range thwarted all three shots and they exploded harmlessly in space. Finally the Aetolia and the Prometheus launched massed waves of bombers.
Finally, the Dirges converged on the cruiser Warrior, knocking down its shields and damaging its hull, nearly crippling her.
The Imperial Fleet plunged ahead into the teeth of the Necrons, and let fly with their broadsides. The Prometheus reloaded its ordnance, preparing for the next strike. The Gothic Cruiser Achernar then failed its command check to Lock On. The Apocalypse Class Battleship Repulse fired its lances at the nearby Khopeshes, which then Braced for Impact, but even so one of the Khopeshes was destroyed. The Repulse then took aim with its nova cannon at the Gold Scythe, but the shot missed, instead blowing two Jackals to smithereens. The Warrior fired its own broadside on the Dirges to no effect, but its nova cannon shot also hit Jackals, destroying two more of them. The Aetolia fired its nova cannon, but missed its target, but was able to take out a Khopesh with its dorsal lances.
From standoff range, the Battleship Arcadia swung its three triple-lance turrets to port and aimed at the Gold Scythe, and fired, rocking the vessel with three hits, and damaging its drive system. The Procyon then fired its torpedo salvo at it, damaging it further and crippling it. Cobra Squadron 1 then fired its torpedo salvo at the Jackals ahead, destroying one of the escorts before the salvo was expended.
The Dirges and Jackals both converged on the Repulse, which, anticipating the attack, promptly Braced for Impact. The Repulse weathered the fire well, only suffering a single shield failure.
The Necropolis turned ponderously, beginning the slow sweep which would bring the Soul Harvester to bear upon the Imperial ships. It then fired its particle whip, destroying the Sword Frigate Ganymede.
The Tombship then concentrated its fire on the Gothic Cruiser Achernar, blasting away its shields and riddling it with six hits, crippling it.
The Gold Scythe succeeded in repairing its drives.
Turn 3
The Imperial line of battle began to close on the Tombship, which, seeing it was about to take a lot of punishment, promptly Braced for Impact. The Tyrant Cruiser Mimosa locked on to the Tombship and prepared to fire, but the other Imperial cruisers failed their command checks. The Arcadia, Mimosa, Lunar Cruiser Adhara, Armageddon Battlecruiser Capella, Gothic Cruiser Elnath, and Dauntless Thunder Child all opened fire on the Tombship, and hit it 17 times, but all but three hits were saved by its armor. The ship's sepulchre was damaged as well, but as a whole the Tombship weathered the fire very well.
The Silver Scythe, also preparing to receive a massive barrage, also Braced for Impact. Multiple Imperial ships prepared to fire on the Silver Scythe. The Achernar delivered a single hit with its broadside, and then Sword Squadron 2, the last Firestorm Frigate, the Dauntless Constellation, and Cobra Squadron 1 opened fire on the Scythe, but the Scythe's bracing proved effective, and no further hits were scored.
The Repulse fired its lances at the Dirges, destroying two of them.
The Warrior fired its broadside against the Gold Scythe, delivering a massive four hits, damaging the Scythe's Command Core and disrupting the ship's power flow. The Constellation then fired its prow lances, blasting through the Scythe's armor and detonating its plasma drive, causing the harvest ship to explode. The Constellation was damaged in the blast, and the Tombship was also caught in the explosion, but undamaged.
The Soul Harvester fired, blasting at a Sword Frigate, the Warrior, and the Repulse, but miraculously failed to damage any of the ships. The Necropolis then opened fire with its other weapons, crippling the Warrior with its lightning arc and hitting the Achernar hard with its particle whip. The Achernar Braced for Impact, yet despite negating four of the hits, the ship was destroyed anyway and reduced to a drifting hulk. Then the Silver Scythe fired its weapons at the Warrior, blasting through its armor and destroying it, sending it careening through space, ablaze from stem to stern.
The Tombship focused its fire on the Constellation, overwhelming its defenses and rendering it a blazing hulk.
The sheer number of Imperial Capital ships were taking their toll upon the Necron Fleet, but the mighty firepower of the Necron vessels were beginning to make itself felt as well, as one by one the Imperial ships began to die. It would remain to be seen whether the Necropolis would blast its way through the Imperial Fleet and continue its rampage throughout the Arcadia Sector.
Stay tuned for part two of the Battle of Favonia...
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Necron Fleet
Below are the three ships that I invented/scratchbuilt myself:
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The Necropolis
The Axis Columen Campaign ended with the Imperial Navy unable to stop the implacable Necron Fleet from entering orbit around Axis Columen and activating the Tombworld Generators on the planet below. The Brazen Claws Space Marines detachment on the planet's surface also failed to stop the Necrons there as well. The result was that the unbelieveably huge vessel, the Necropolis, awakened from its long slumber underneath the planet's surface, and rose into the heavens. Calling more Necron vessels to its location, the Necropolis began a campaign of terror in the Arcadia Sector, harvesting the souls of every living thing within reach. To represent this rampage, thus began the Necropolis Campaign, kicked off by a battle between the Necron Fleet and a quickly assembled force of Eldar.
For this battle and the ones to follow, the Necropolis needed a suitable model. After gaining some experience scratchbuilding the Vulture Class Cruiser, I wanted to try something bigger, and the Necropolis was it. Being made of simple geometric shapes, etc., Necrons vessels aren't too hard to scratchbuild. I built the entire thing out of plasticard and some clear tubing (made by a plasticard company named Plastruct).
I debated for a while on what the ship should actually look like, and ideas like a huge pyramid passed through my mind, although that seemed almost too Borg-like. Eventually I settled on designing the ship around one of the most common Necron Symbols--nothing says "Necron" as much as a ship that looks like one of their icons! The "hole" in the center of the ship serves a dual purpose--I envisioned it as a portal of sorts that could teleport in Necron escort ships--and what do you know, a Jackal escort fits perfectly within it! (I designed it that way)
I painted the ship in the standard necron metallic colors, with a stepped pyramid aft painted in the metallic blue that is the color of Badelaire's Necron forces (q.v. the Tombworld Beacon)
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Battle Report: The Necropolis Campaign, Part One
Necrons vs. Eldar
Introduction
The planet of Axis Columen is located in a very strategic location in the Arcadia Sector. Recently, the Imperial Navy discovered a signal emanating from the planet's surface of unknown origin. After dispatching a scout team to investigate and quickly losing contact with them, the Navy alerted a force of Brazen Claws Space Marines. The marines quickly determined the signal to be of Necron origin, and dispatched a force to eliminate the signal's source on the planet, while directly the Imperial Navy to prepare to repel any Necron fleet that might arrive in response to the signal.
The Brazen Claws discovered that the planet was harboring a massive Necron force beneath the surface, and moved to destroy the beacon that was sending the signal before it was too late. Unfortunately, just before they were able to, a large Necron fleet arrived in the system and smashed the Imperial Navy fleet in orbit, and send a response signal. On the planet's surface, the tombworld generators were activated, and a massive Necron vessel, the Necropolis, awakened from its long slumber. A large portion of the planet's crust was torn apart as the buried tombship tore free of its planetary grave and lifted off, heading to join the rest of the fleet. The massive fleet began to move implacably through the sector, destroying any settlement it came across and harvesting the souls of those who lived there.
While the Imperial Navy floundered desperately to amass another fleet to take on the Necrons, a third race intervened. The Eldar of the Yriel-Dyann Craftworld, an erstwhile enemy of the Imperium that still occasionally conducted commerce raiding from the shadows of the Saepes Obscura, suddenly appeared to take on the threat. Perhaps recognizing that the Necron menace, if left unchecked, would do far more than merely wipe out the Imperials in the sector; perhaps just to give time for the Imperials to regroup and strike; or perhaps for other reasons beyond the ken of humans, the Eldar would take a stand. The Eldar fleet was much smaller than that of the Necrons, so their attack was ultimately doomed, but the Eldar were known for taking on impossible odds. But then the Yriel-Dyann Eldar would receive aid from an unexpected ally...
Yriel Dyann Fleet
| Void Stalker | 580 |
| Eclipse Class Cruiser | 250 |
| Shadow Class Cruiser | 210 |
| 2 Hellebore Class Frigates | 150 |
| 3 Aconite Class Frigates | 195 |
| 3 Aconite Class Frigates | 195 |
| 3 Hemlock Class Destroyers | 120 |
| 3 Nightshade Class Destroyers | 120 |
| 3 Nightshade Class Destroyers | 120 |
| Total | 1940 |
Yriel-Dyann Eldar BriefingTyrant: If there is any race in 40K that puts their souls in the hand of fate, it is the Eldar, and this battle looks to prove that once again. This will be my first BFG fight in a long time, so not only do I have to remember how to play and learn a bunch of new rules, but I am facing the Necrons, quite possibly the deadliest foes of the Eldar in BFG. That being said, it's a great way to get back into it using my whole fleet (with some Imperial support) in a battle whose outcome is more or less predetermined. That can take quite a bit of pressure off...
Okay, so what to do? Originally I had plans on clustering my fleet into one huge battle group, until I learned about the "Soul Harvester" on the Necropolis ship. Needless to say, even with holo-fields saves, I don't want to give him the opportunity to wipe out a chunk of my fleet with one shot, so I think I'll spread them out in a much wider front and only come together when we close with the Necrons. Hopefully the Eldar maneuverability (and the Necrons lack thereof) will allow me to keep a few ships in his rear fire arcs to avoid the sickness of some of his weapons. Hopefully my torps, bombers and Pulsar Lances will do their job and I can crip on or two of his capital ships.
Tainbaharr Eldar Fleet
| Dragonship | 420 |
| Wraithship (pulsar lance and launch bays) | 160 |
| Wraithship (weapon batteries and torpedoes) | 160 |
| 3 Shadowhunters (lances) | 120 |
| 3 Shadowhunters (lances) | 120 |
| 3 Shadowhunters (weapon batteries) | 120 |
| 3 Shadowhunters (weapon batteries) | 120 |
| Total | 1220 |
Tainbaharr Eldar BriefingDarkwing: To keep things interesting, I kept Tyrant in the dark about just who his allies were going to be this battle--he made the assumption that it was going to be my Imperial Fleet and I didn't contradict him. The truth was, I was eager to try out my Craftworld Eldar Fleet, and this seemed to be the battle to do it. So the Tainbaharr fleet will make its debut in a trial by fire--against a very powerful Necron fleet. I have little reason to expect the fleet will survive, but I hope to take a Necron ship or two along with me.
Necron Fleet
| Necropolis | 1000 |
| Cairn Class Tombship | 550 |
| 3 Scythe Class Harvest Ships | 825 |
| Vulture Class Cruiser | 300 |
| Shroud Class Light Cruiser | 155 |
| 5 Jackal Class Escorts | 250 |
| 5 Jackal Class Escorts | 250 |
| 4 Dirge Class Escorts | 200 |
| 6 Khopesh Class Ramships | 240 |
| 6 Khopesh Class Ramships | 240 |
| Total | 4010 |
Necron Briefing
Badelaire: This is easily the largest Battlefleet Gothic force I've ever set down on the table. What's more, it'll be only the third battle I've played with my Necron fleet, so there's going to be confusion both on the part of the rules (which, with the infrequency of how often we play BFG, always require some relearning), and on the part of keeping my actions straight, making sure every ship moves, every ship fires, and making sure my special orders (and the order in which I call them) make sense.
On the other hand, this is going to be pretty darn cool. The Necropolic model is fantastic, and it is truly a force to be reckoned with all on its own. While slow, its firepower is trememdous and its ability to withstand punishment is equally impressive. And the ship is going to need it--if my opponents are smart, their sole goal will be to destroy the Necropolis before it harvests yet another world.
However, the big ship isn't going in solo. The Tombship and three Scythes are going to be brutal in their own right. While the Scythes do tend to rely on their Star Pulses and Particle Whips a lot, their Lightning arc is nothing to sneeze at if I can get within range of the Eldar vessles, and the Tombship's massive St 20 LA battery will cripple or kill almost any Eldar vessel I'll be facing. On top of this, the firepower of my escorts is likewise impressive, and they have the speed to catch up to the nimble Eldar that my capital ships lack. And, while the Shroud and Vulture might not be that effective this game, they can still be dangerous in the right circumstances and with the right rolls.
I will be curious as to how the Khopeshes play out in this scenario. Since Eldar get a holofield save against ramming, the Khopeshes won't be able to hit home very often. However, having 12 of them on the table means I can still do a lot to intercept ordnance and force leadership checks on the Eldar for shooting past the closest targets. Since the Necropolis is all that matters, if the Khopeshes get wiped out, as long as they are doing their part to keep the Necropolis in one piece, I'll be happy.
Scenario
The Fleet Engagement Scenario will be used, with the Tainbaharr fleet arriving from a random table edge on Turn 2.
Turn 1
The Yriel-Dyann fleet moved in to attack with a three pronged strike--the Eclipse Cruiser and escorts to the north, the Void Stalker and its company to sunward (east), and the Shadow Cruiser and escorts to the south. The Eldar opened fire with their weapons and torpedo salvos, causing some superficial hits on the Silver Scythe, damaging its Lightning Arc.
The Necrons responded by sending squadrons of Jackals after the Eldar flanking fleets, while the bulk of the Necron Fleet advanced to meet the Eldar head on. An Eldar torpedo salvo slammed into the Bronze Scythe, delivering several hits, damaging the Scythe's drive and crippling it.
Some Necron Khopeshes intercepted the Eldar Bombers, and two of them were destroyed taking out the bomber wave.
The Necropolis swung its prow to starboard, bringing the Void Stalker within its sights, and unleashed the Soul Harvester. The shot was on the mark, destroying some intervening bombers, but the Void Stalker was saved from any damage by its holofields.
The Shadow Cruiser was not so lucky, as a squadron of Jackals concentrated its fire on the vessel, delivering seven hits and overloading its plasma drive, causing the ship to explode. To the north, the Silver Scythe's Gauss Particle Whip tore apart a pair of Aconite Frigates. The northern squadron of Jackals concentrated their fire on the Hellebores, destroying both of them.
A pair of errant torpedoes closed on the Necropolis, delivering a single hit. The Necron ships attempted to repair, and the Silver Scythe repaired its damaged Lightning Arc, while the Bronze Scythe repaired its drives.
Turn 2
From behind the Necron Fleet, the forces of the Tainnbaharr Craftworld made its appearance. Taking advantage of the new arrivals, the Yriel-Dyann Eldar closed in.
The Hemlocks opened fire with their pulsars, destroying all four Dirges. The Void Stalker concentrated its fire on the Shroud, delivering nine hits and reducing to a blazing hulk, and reloaded its ordnance. Three Nightshades on the northern flank targetted the Silver Scythe, hitting it and damaging its Lightning Arc again. The Eclipse opened fire on the nearby Khopeshes with its Pulsar Lances, destroying all four, and reloaded its ordnance for another strike.
In an excellent position to strike, the entire Tainbaharr fleet opened fire on the Necropolis, which immediately braced for impact. The ships' weapon batteries, pulsar and phantom lances blasted away at the Necropolis, and succeeded in delivering seventeen hits, most of which were subseqeuntly saved, but four shots broke through and damaged the massive ship.
The Shroud drifted forward, its fires flickering out. The Necropolis lumbered forward, while the Tombship went on Lock On orders. Both squadrons of Jackals went on All Ahead Full orders, and one Jackal from the southern squadron slammed into some Eldar torpedoes and was destroyed. The Gold and Silver Scythes went on Come to New Heading orders and spun around, and all three Scythes concentrated their fire on the northern Nightshades, but failed to destroy any of them.
The southern Khopeshes all attempted to ram the Void Stalker, but were all thwarted by the Eldar battleship's holofields. The Vulture Class Cruiser made its move on the Void Stalker as well, and did better, delivering four hits with its Lightning Arc and Gauss Particle Whip. The Tombship then also fired on the Void Stalker, having Locked On with its weapon systems--and the Void Stalker did not stand a chance. Shots from the Gauss Particle Whip crippled it, and a massive discharge from the Tombship's Lightning Arc destroyed the vessel.
The Necropolis, surrounded by Eldar vessels, or rather, targets, unleashed its formidable weaponry upon them. Its starboard Lightning Arc took out two Aconites, the fore Lightning Arc a pair of Hemlocks, and the port Lightning Arc a Nightshade. The starboard Gauss Particle Whip destroyed the last Aconite, while the port Gauss Particle Whip damaged the Tainnbaharr Dragonship, delivering a single hit and shredding its mainsail.
The Eldar had struck hard, but the Necrons had struck back harder...
Turn 3
The Yriel-Dyann Eldar unleashed its firepower, with Eclipse and northern Nightshades on the Scythes, an Aconite on some Jackals, and the southern Nightshades on the Necropolis, but the Necrons emerged from the fire with no damage sustained.
The Tainbaharr again focused all their firepower on the Necropolis, which, naturally, braced for impact again. The Eldar ships delivered 25 hits total, 21 of which were saved by the Necron vessel. The Necropolis was surviving barrage after barrage without suffering crippling damage.
The Dragonship, within close range of a Necron Khopesh, made a hit and run attack and succeeded in destroying the ramship. The Eclipse launched a wave of bombers which headed towards the Bronze Scythe.
The northern Nightshades fired a torpedo salvo which impacted the Silver Scythe, delivering a single hit. The Gold and Silver Scythes fired on the last Eldar Aconite, destroying it. The Bronze Scythe fired on the Eclipse, shredding its mainsail with its Lightning Arc and crippling it with a hit from its Gauss Particle Whip.
The southern Jackals fired on the Dragonship, destroying the ship's Infinity Circuit and crippling the ship. The Necropolis destroyed the last southern Nighshade with its port Gauss Particle Whip, and finished off the Dragonship with a massive discharge from its port Lightning Arc. It then fired its aft Lightning Arc on the Pulsar Wraithship, combining its fire with the Vulture. The Wraithship shuddered until the barrage, its mainsail destroyed and superstructure damaged, and it was crippled to boot.
The northern Jackals fired on the squadron of phantom lance Shadowhunters, destroying all of them.
Finally the Silver Scythe repaired its Lightning Arc damage.
Turn 4
Heavily damaged and combat ineffective, the Pulsar Wraithship took the opporunity to disengage while it still could. Three Nightshades from the Yriel-Dyann fleet did the same.
The Shadowhunters manuevered into better firing positions, but one of the ships was caught in the blast of the destruction of other vessels and was destroyed.
The Eclipse took a shot at the Bronze Scythe, and damaged it, allowing the other Tainnbaharr Wraithship to close and fire, finally destroying the Bronze Scythe, which vanished in a ball of light.
The Necropolis braced for impact yet again, taking fire from eight Shadowhunters, which succeeded in delivering two hits to the Necropolis, crippling it and damaging its Lightning Arc array. After delivering these shots, several of the Shadowhunters turned and fled, leaving the battle area.
The remaining Shadowhunters, unable to disengage, found themselves targetted by the Vulture and Tombship, which destroyed all three of them. The Gold and Silver Scythes targetted the Wraithship, smashing it to pieces with their concentrated fire.
As the only Eldar ship left, the crippled Eclipse disengaged to fight another day. Aside from losing a single Scythe, the Necron fleet was intact. The Shroud, reduced to a drifting hulk, would be repaired and rejoin the fleet. The Eldar had thrown their might against the Necrons, and the result could only be called a defeat.
Tainbaharr Eldar Debriefing
Darkwing: The defeat of the Eldar was all but inevitable, but I had some hope when my fleet arrived directly astern of the Necropolis. At the time, all of us were wondering if such a placement was going to end the battle in a hurry with the Eldar ships blowing the Necropolis out of the sky. But after all the dice were rolled, and with the benefits of Bracing for Impact, the Necropolis easily survived the barrage. Beyond that, it was only a matter of doing as much damage as possible before being wiped out. That said, in the end I was happy that we finished off the one Scythe that we did. One less ship for the Imperial fleet to worry about in the next battle.
Necron Debriefing
Badelaire: So far, so good. While losing a cruiser is unfortunate, I know I'll be getting back all my formidable escorts, and while the Khopeshes did their jobs but little damage in this battle, against the Imperials they will be far more effective. Also, since my Vulture survived the Eldar onslaught, it'll be able to reap its fair share of Imperial souls, sniping and killing cruisers weakened by escort or capital ship fire.
The Necropolis was dealt some serious hurt, but it is still alive and ready to harvest. Again, Necron and Eldar ships are a very interesting match--each has abilities that defend against and give advantage towards the other, but both are very "non-standard" fleets. Against the more traditional Imperial ships, the benefits allowed to the Necron fleet will give it a serious advantage.
However, I am aware that Darkwing's space docks have been busy these last couple of months, and there may be some surprises in store for the Necropolis and its fleet when we enter Imperial space. Only time (and the luck of the dice) will tell if these rumored "surprises" will serve him well in the battle ahead.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Battle Report: The Axis Columen Campaign, Part Four
Destroy the Beacon!
Introduction
This battle is the culmination of a four part mini-campaign pitting forces of the Imperium (mainly Brazen Claw Space Marines) against Necrons.
The Imperial Navy had detected a xeno signal originating on the surface of the strategically located system of Axis Columen. The Navy quickly this finding to Space Marines operating in the sector, the Brazen Claw, who immediately dispatched a Strike Cruiser to the system to investigate.
While the Navy began amassing forces in orbit, the Brazen Claw began a reconnaissance of the planet and discovered necron forces there. The Brazen Claw engaged the Necrons in battle, and drove them back to a Necron structure that appeared to be the origin of the signal being sent into space. Recognizing that the structure was a beacon, calling more Necrons to the system, the Brazen Claw Commander, Captain D’Val, ordered the Navy to prepare to repel the Necron fleet that would undoubtedly be arriving soon, while his marine force would attempt to destroy the beacon.
Scenario Special Rules
We set up the game using the normal Apocalypse rules, with each side getting one Strategic Asset, picked by each player to fit within the framework of the background of the battle.
We determined deployment according to the normal Apocalypse rules, and then Badelaire placed the Tombworld Beacon within his deployment zone, greater than 6" from a table edge.
Generator Activation - We decided at the beginning of the campaign that if the Necron Fleet arrives in orbit before the Beacon is destroyed, the Tombworld Generator will be activated. If this occurs, every non-Necron unit on the table will suffer a hit from a Gauss Flux Arc, that is, a S5 AP4 Heavy D6 attack every single turn until the end of the battle. Vehicles are hit on their rear armor. (As it happened, in the previous battle the Necron Fleet was able to send the activation signal on Necron Turn 5)
They Awaken - To represent the Necrons waking up from their millennia long slumber, the Necrons will continuously receive reinforcements throughout the battle. Any Necron with the Necron special rule that is removed as a casualty should be set aside and grouped according to unit type. As soon as the number of Necron casualties for a particular unit type equals or exceeds the minimum required number of Necrons for that unit type (e.g., 10 for Necron Warriors, 4 for Flayed Ones), the unit will reappear in the movement phase of the Necron player’s next turn, emerging from the portal on the Tombworld Beacon. Units that arrive in this way may move normally, measuring their movement from the portal itself.
Phase Out - For this battle the normal phase out rules are not used. The Necrons will only phase out if the Tombworld Beacon is destroyed. If the Tombworld Beacon is destroyed, the entire Necron force will phase out immediately.
Brazen Claw Forces
Brazen Claw Briefing
Darkwing: I have a tall order ahead of me. My Brazen Claw force is much larger than in previous battles, coming in at just over 3,000 points. The Necron force is smaller in number, but they have some potent advantages on their side: 1. The Tombworld Beacon. A terrifying weapon in its own right, and my ultimate objective. 2. The regeneration capabilities of the Necrons—each unit with the Necron special rule will reappear at the Beacon’s portal when destroyed. So in a way, each little victory is a defeat—and towards the endgame my force will be smaller as the Necrons get more powerful. 3. Time is my enemy. If I don’t destroy the Beacon by the end of Turn 5, it’s all over, and the Necrons win. The Necrons don’t have to destroy me—they just have to hold me off for five turns.
That said, I have a strong army to take them on. My three Vindicators are just dying to get into action—I just need to get them close enough to strike. My terminators, with their power fists and thunder hammers, should also prove a deadly threat. Also my Predator Annihilator, with its three lascannons, should put some fear of the Emperor into those walking toasters.
Tactically speaking, I need to close with the Beacon, and do it fast. No holding back. I have to hope with I can smash through the Necron outer line of defense and swamp the Beacon with attack before the Necrons can whittle my forces down enough to prevent me from destroying it.
Necron Forces
Necron Briefing
Badelaire: This is going to be pretty interesting. My Necron army is not particularly "Apocalyptic" and in terms of raw points, even with three Necron Lords running around it's not particularly massive. However, the beacon is pretty powerful and with the Apocalypse rule I picked (Reconstruction Scarabs), I'm going to be incredibly hard to wipe out. However, going up against all those Str 10 templates, power fists, and power armor is going to give me fits, and with the new glancing rules, my Gauss weapons will be doing a lot less vehicle-killing and a lot more vehicle-annoying.
But in the end, I don't have to "beat" the Brazen Claws - I just need to bog them down, and that's what Necron armies are really, really good at - staying in the fight and keeping the enemy occupied. I've got my Scarab Swarms kitted with Disruption Fields as well, so in addition to bogging down troops if need be they can also go gunning for vehicles, as with so many attacks, there's at least a chance that they can get in a glance or two against a Vindie or a Pred and I know there'll be at least one Dread in the fight, so I might even have a chance against that too.
This is definitely going to be an exciting battle - maximum firepower against maximum resilience. We'll have to see which philosophy triumphs in the end...
Turn 1
Holding their assault squad and two terminators in reserve, the Brazen Claw deployed on the battlefield. Aside from the dreadnought, the entire force was mechanized. On their far left flank lay the Predator Annihilator, flanked by three tactical squads in their Rhinos, and the Command Squad in their Razorback. To the right flank lay the fourth Tactical Squad, the Techmarine in his Razorback, the 3 strong linebreaker squadron of Vindicators, and the Dreadnought.
The Space Marines vehicles roared forward, immediately taking the fight to the enemy. The Techmarine moved behind the cover of the rocks to support the Vindicators, who would certainly become prime targets for the Necrons. The Dreadnought advanced to their right, and firing its missile launcher, took out a Heavy Destroyer. On the far left flank, the Predator Annihilator killed a destroyer with its lascannon.
Both Necrons self-repaired (big surprise), and the Necrons began their counterattack. The Destroyers, Heavy Destroyers, a Tomb Spyder, and a unit of warriors advanced, ready to meet the Space Marines head on.
One Heavy Destroyer fired on the left Vindicator, immobilizing it, while the other fired on the Dreadnought and missed. The Tombworld Beacon charged up its Gauss Annihilator and unleashed it on the Vindicators, destroying one of them in an apocalyptic explosion.
On the Necron right flank, the unit of warriors fired on the Predator, and their Gauss Flayers destroyed the vehicles twin-linked lascannon. The Immortals fired on Tactical Squad 1’s Rhino, shaking up the crew, but not slowing it down. Two more units of warriors and the Destroyers all focused their attention on the Command Squad’s Razorback, shaking and stunning the crew, destroying the twin-linked heavy bolter, and finally blowing off one of the transport’s tracks, immobilizing it. The Command Squad would have to foot slog it the rest of the way in.
Turn 2
Both units of Terminators teleported onto the site, behind the Necron lines and within striking distance of the Beacon. One of the squads open fire at some nearby scarabs, destroying three bases of them.
The Techmarine disembarked from his Razorback and moved to repair the immobilized Vindicator. The Dreadnought fired at the Heavy Destroyer that it had destroyed just a moment earlier, and sent it crashing to the ground again with a well placed krak missile.
On the left flank, the Command Squad disembarked their damaged Razorback and advanced on the Necron hordes. To their left, Tactical Squad 3’s Rhino plowed forward, tank shocking the Necron Warriors, who moved perfunctorily out of the way. The Command Squad opened fire on the same unit of warriors, killing one with their meltagun, the other with a bolt pistol. Then the Command Squad charged them, the adjacent Tomb Spyder, and some nearby Scarabs to boot. The Company Champion cut down one warrior with his power sword, the other marines took down one more. The Tomb Spyder missed the Captain, and then the Scarabs swarmed all over him. Despite dishing out 21 attacks, all directed against the captain, he remained completely unharmed. Then he smashed his power fist into the Tomb Spyder, damaging its body severely, but not quite enough to kill it. The marine sergeant then used his own power fist to kill three more Necron Warriors. Having lost the combat, the Warriors fell back, leaving the Tomb Spyder and scarabs to their fate. The Captain promptly finished off the Tomb Spyder and the scarabs suffered an additional four wounds. The Command Squad then piled into the remaining scarabs.
The Heavy Destroyer, shaking off its second krak missile in a row, got up yet again. The Reconstruction Scarabs of the Necrons swarmed around the fallen center Warriors, bringing five of eight of them back to their feet, but the warriors failed to regroup, and therefore continued to fall back.
The unit of Warriors on the Necron right, the Immortals, and the Destroyers began a fighting retreat, in the hopes of tightening their defensive position.
The right and center Necron Warriors fired on Tactical Squad 1’s Rhino, and succeeded in stunning it, but nothing else. The Immortals fired on Tactical Squad 2’s Rhino, but failed to damage it at all.
The Scarabs Turbo boosted, while a Tomb Spyder continued to advance behind the rocks towards the Vindicators.
A unit of Flayed Ones moved onto the battlefield behind the terminators, preparing a counterattack. The Destroyer Lord also moved into position to attack them. On the other side of the Beacon, a Necron Lord and the Heavy Destroyers moved to attack the Assault Terminators. Then the last Necron Lord used his Veil of Darkness to teleport himself and a unit of Warriors between the two Terminator Squads.
The Necrons then unleashed the hurt—the Destroyers and Destroyer Lord killed one terminator between them, and then the rest opened fire on the Assault Terminator Squad. The Heavy Destroyers and the teleported squad of Warriors did nothing, but a Necron Lord killed one. Then the Beacon itself attacked with its Gauss Flux Arc, but all of its hits were saved by the marines’ tactical dreadnought armor. The terminators had proved their staying power. The Destroyer Lord, bellowing in robotic rage, then assaulted the terminator squad, killing a pair of them. The Sergeant replied, wounding the Lord in return, and then the rest of the squad brought the Lord down.
On the Necron right flank, the Command Squad proceeded to completely annihilate the Scarabs, although they suffered one casualty.
Turn 3
The Predator Annihilator, still well out of range of the Tombworld beacon, barreled forward and tank shocked the nearby warrior squad, who simply moved out of the way. Tactical Squad 1 disembarked their Rhino near the Command Squad to support it, while the Command Squad itself moved up to take on the Immortals and Destroyers.
The Devastator Squad disembarked on top of the hill and began to take firing positions with their heavy bolters. The marines fired with their bolters and bolt pistols at the approaching scarabs, delivering two wounds and eliminating a base. Ahead of them, the Assault Squad deep struck by some woods near to the Beacon. They opened fire with their bolt pistols at the nearest Heavy Destroyer by failed to bring it down.
The Techmarine’s Razorback aimed at the Tomb Spyder with its twin-linked lascannon, but the Tomb Spyder was saved by cover. The nearby Vindicator then took a shot at it, wounding it. The dreadnought’s torso swiveled left to bring its weapons to bear on the Tomb Spyder, but its fire was ineffective. The Techmarine, only in range of the other Tomb Spyder, managed to wound it with his plasma pistol. He then charged in and finished it off with a swing of his power weapon.
The Terminator Assault Squad assaulted the Beacon, slamming their Thunderhammers into it, but while they both delivered glancing hits, both were negated by the Beacons impenetrable armor.
The Command Squad and Tactical Squad 1 charged the Immortals and the Destroyers. The Company Champion killed one Immortal, while the rest of the marines failed to bring down any more. Replying, the Destroyers wounded Captain D’Val once, but then he struck back and smashed three Destroyers to the ground with his power fist. Then both Sergeants struck decisively with their own power fists, killing no less than five immortals between them. Broken, both the Destroyers and Immortals turned to flee, but were struck down by the marines, who surged forward.
The portal of the Tombworld Beacon pulsed with an unholy light, and a Necron Lord, a unit of Destroyers, and a unit of Immortals emerged to provide the Necrons with some powerful reinforcements.
On the Necron right flank, the unit of Necron Warriors encircled the Predator and opened fire with their Gauss Flayers, and succeeded in immobilizing it. In the center the Necron Warrior unit regrouped, and opened fire on Tactical Squad 1, but failed to kill any marines. The newly arrived Immortals promptly opened fire on the Command Squad, wounding Captain D’Val again, the killing the squad’s sergeant.
A new unit of Flayed Ones arrived on the table and made for the Command Squad.
The two Heavy Destroyers fired on a Vindicator, stunning it. Behind them, the Beacon unleashed its Gauss Annihilator at the immobilized Vindicator, detonating it in a fireball.
The Necron Warriors by the Beacon fired on the Assault Terminators, and were very effective, delivering eight wounds resulting in four dead. (I rolled four 1’s for my saves! –Darkwing)
A unit of Flayed Ones and the Destroyer Lord charged the last terminator of his squad, and the Lord brought him down easily.
A Necron Lord unleashed his Staff of Light on the Assault Squad, killing a pair of them, while the newly arrived destroyers also fired on them, killing one more. The Lord then charged the Assault Marines, killing one, but was wounded twice by their retaliation.
The last Tomb Spyder charged the Techmarine, who was unable to fend off the robotic monster and was killed along with one of his servitors, and the remaining servitors were killed as they tried to flee.
The Scarabs assaulted the Dreadnought, swarming the walker, who smashed one base’s worth to scrap while weathering their attacks without any problems.
Turn 4
The Brazen Claw Rhinos had driven up, and were approaching striking distance. Tactical Squad 4 disembarked from their Rhino and went after the Tomb Spyder. Firing their bolters at short range, they blew it apart.
Tactical Squads 2 and 3 Rhino’s advanced and then disembarked in front of the Tombworld Beacon. The Devastators and Tactical Squad 3 fired on the Destroyers, and 2 of them were killed by the Devastator Squad’s Heavy Bolters. Tactical Squad 2 and the Command Squad fired at the Necron Lord, but failed to hurt him. Tactical Squad 1 fired at the Flayed Ones, and three of them were downed by the marines’ flamer.
In the assault, the Dreadnought smashed down the remaining two Scarab bases. The Necron Lord in combat with the Assault Squad killed one of them, but the rest of the squad ganged up on him and took him out.
Tactical Squad 1 charged the Flayed Ones, killing three between them without suffering any casualties. The last surviving Flayed One fell back out of reach.
The Command Squad charged the Necron Lord, and despite the flurry of blows by both sides, the combat was indecisive and no one was killed or wounded.
One of the two fallen Destroyers self-repaired, and fully five out of six Flayed Ones regained their feet, thanks to the Reconstruction Scarabs. The unit promptly regrouped and then charged the Command Squad.
The Necron Lord and his unit of Warriors behind the Beacon used Veil of Darkness to teleport themselves to the Brazen Claw side, near to the Techmarine’s Razorback, which, armed with a twin-linked lascannon, was one of the few weapons in the Brazen Claws’ arsenal that could damage the Beacon. Unleashing their fire at close range, they rocked the vehicle with their fire, stunning it multiple times and destroying the lascannon.
The two Heavy Destroyers shifted to get better firing positions and both aimed at the Dreadnought, but both failed to hit.
A unit of Necron Warriors, the Immortals, and the Destroyers all aimed their weapons at Tactical Squad 1, killing six with their massed fire. The survivors, however, remained stalwart and refused to fall back.
The Tombworld Beacon aimed its focused beam on the last mobile Vindicator, and wrecked it easily.
A unit of Flayed Ones charged Tactical Squad 1, killing two marines, but the marines killed two Flayed Ones in return, resulting in a draw.
The Command Squad, locked in combat with the Destroyer Lord, then got charged by the other unit of Flayed Ones. The Company Champion chopped down one Flayed One on the way in, but then was swamped and killed by the others. The other marines reeled under their onslaught, the but the fast acting Apothecary saved himself, the Standard Bearer, and the Captain with his Feel No Pain save. The Lord, experiencing bad luck, added nothing to the combat, while the Captain smashed down two more Flayed Ones with his Power Fist. Refusing to flee, the Flayed Ones moved in for the kill.
Turn 5
The Tombworld Beacon began to pulsate, and Captain D’Val knew that his marines were rapidly running out of time. The rest of the marines knew it too, and redoubled their efforts to strike.
Tactical Squad 2 moved towards the Lord and Flayed Ones in order to support the Command Squad.
Tactical Squad 3, the Devastators, and multiple Rhinos all opened fire on the Destroyers, sending two of them crashing to the ground. The Predator Annihilator fired one of its sponson lascannons at the Beacon, and while the shot hit, it merely inflicted some inconsequential glancing damage. The Dreadnought walked forward and fired a krak missile, felling one of the Heavy Destroyers.
Tactical Squad 4, sighting the Necron Lord and Warriors who had just teleported in using their Veil of Darkness, trained their weapons on them, killing three with bolters and six with the Plasma Cannon, which wreaked devastation on the tightly packed Necrons. Their Rhino nearby killed one more with its storm bolter. That proved enough, and the warriors began to fall back.
The Assault Squad fired their bolt pistols at the Immortals, and then charged them. Two Immortals fell to the chainswords, and the Sergeant killed two more. The Immortals struck back ineffectually and then turned to flee, only to be wiped out. The Assault Squad, seeing the Beacon began to energize, assumed a blocking position at the Beacon’s portal in order to prevent any Necrons from getting out.
Tactical Squad 3 charged the Destroyers, and both sides struck at each other ineffectively. Tactical Squad 1 lost a man to the unit of Flayed Ones they were fighting, and failed to kill any in return, but they held their ground to continue the fight.
Tactical Squad 2 charged the Flayed Ones and the Necron Lord who were currently engaged with the Command Squad. The Flayed Ones failed to kill anyone, while the Lord killed one marine from the Tactical Squad. The rest of the squad wounded the Lord once, and Captain D’Val smashed one more Flayed One to the ground.
Brazen Claw Debriefing
Darkwing: I think I’ve fallen into a trap. I’m finding that I spend so much time preparing for the game; I lose sight of preparing for the battle. For this game I had to come up with the scenario, make a special piece of terrain for it (the beacon), and frantically paint up several more squads of vehicles of my Brazen Claws. I whipped up an army list, then put it aside, and continued to paint miniatures to prepare for the game. When the game finally came around, I realized that hadn’t really thought about prosecuting the battle. When it came time to deploy my army, I thought Now would be a good time to have a plan... As a result of this, I made some pretty fundamental (some would say inexcusable) mistakes.
For the record, I will say that arming my Devastators with four heavy bolters was not one of them--it was intentional, and I knew what I was doing. Considering all of the power fists I had in the army, plus the Predator Annihilator, the three Vindicators, and the twin-linked lascannon Razorback, I felt I had enough punch to take on the Beacon. Arming the Devastators with four Lascannon might in the end have been more effective, but I decided against it. Generals in the real world usually don’t get to choose what troops are available to them. So rather than optimizing my army to be the ultimate necron force killer, I deliberately made some troops choices that were not ideal.
That said, I made some stupid mistakes. First and foremost, in designing the scenario, I assumed that I would be able to destroy the Tombworld Beacon with my plethora of power fists, missile launchers, etc. Except for one thing—the Beacon is a super heavy vehicle (well… structure), with AV 14. And due to the Super Heavy Vehicle Damage Table…it is impervious to structural damage to Strength 8 Weaponry. All of a sudden my power fists, thunder hammers, krak missiles, and meltagun were useless against it. Whoops. That left my Techmarine’s Razorback’s twin-linked Lascannon, my three Vindicators, and my Predator Annihilator as being the only things in my entire army that could affect the Beacon.
Which leads to my second mistake—the Predator Annihilator. For the longest time I could have sworn that the range of a lascannon was 72". Maybe it was, way back in 2nd Edition. But it’s 48". Normally this isn’t an issue on a 6’ x 4’ table. But on the 9’ x 5’ table that we fought the battle on, it was critical. I placed the Predator far on the left flank, assuming I could plink away at the Beacon with my 72" ranged lascannon all game long. I was confident of damaging the Beacon with it...until I tried to fire the damn thing. A casual look at the lascannon’s statline and Whaaat? I was very angry at myself for that mistake. If I spent more time studying my army and coming up with a battle plan, I wouldn’t have made that mistake.
I didn’t realize the mistake about the Beacon being impervious to S8 weapons until midgame—by this point, one Vindicator was destroyed, another was immobilized out of range, and the third was number one on Badelaire’s hit list. The Predator was uselessly out of range, and the twin-linked lascannon Razorback was in danger. It looks like even if I completely dominated the rest of the game, it still would be impossible for me to win.
After discussing it for a bit, Badelaire graciously allowed my Space Marine Captain to be armed with a Vortex Grenade. It gave my army some hope of victory, and him something to target aside from the continual pasting of my vehicles. And the way my Command Squad was smashing its way through the Necrons, it would make things more interesting.
Of course, in Turn 5 the Beacon was set to go off, and despite the heroic efforts of my marines, the Necrons had won. It was a fitting end to the campaign, with the Brazen Claw coming within inches of defeating the Necrons, only to be seconds too late.
And even better, the conclusion of this campaign quickly brought ideas of a follow-up campaign. The Necrons have won. The planet had split open, revealing the Necropolis, which would now join the Necron Fleet in orbit and proceed to go on a rampage, devastating planets and harvesting the souls of their inhabitants. And on board the Necropolis were 48 marines and 1 dreadnought, hidden, biding their time and waiting to strike.
Necron Debriefing
Badelaire: This was a really fun game, but in the end, I think that in order to make it more challenging, and to give my points-light army a more Apocalyptic ace up its sleeve, Darkwing really shot himself in the foot. The rules for the Necron Gauss Pylon (which is essentially what the Beacon was, with a few extra bells and whistles) give it the Living Metal special rule, and that combined with the new glancing hits table and the Super-Heavy vehicle rules, meant that it was pretty much impossible to damage, let alone destroy, the Beacon with the vast majority of Darkwing's army.
At first, when his Terminator squads teleported in, I panicked. I figured I had a turn, maybe two, before they cracked open the Beacon like an egg and there would go my victory...up until the point when they started getting damage results and we began to look things up. Then we discovered that his terminators might as well have been swinging croquet mallets for all the good they'd be doing against the Beacon.
Beyond that, my resurrection abilities were just a little too overpowered. With the Reconstruction Scarabs strategic asset, I could pick one unit every turn to WBB as if there was a Res Orb nearby, and also stand up on a 2+ to boot. With this, combined with the Beacon's regeneration of units rule, I could effectively "respawn" two units a turn if they were wiped out. And since the Beacon's unit regeneration meant they were popping back out at "home", as the Brazen Claws closed in, my wiped units were automatically re-grouping back at the Beacon to defend it.
And now the Necropolis is freed from its terrestrial slumber, and zooming around the sector sucking the life from planet after planet...not knowing all the while that there's a small seed of resistance still clinging to hope in its dark mechanical belly...
Introduction
This battle is the culmination of a four part mini-campaign pitting forces of the Imperium (mainly Brazen Claw Space Marines) against Necrons.
The Imperial Navy had detected a xeno signal originating on the surface of the strategically located system of Axis Columen. The Navy quickly this finding to Space Marines operating in the sector, the Brazen Claw, who immediately dispatched a Strike Cruiser to the system to investigate.
While the Navy began amassing forces in orbit, the Brazen Claw began a reconnaissance of the planet and discovered necron forces there. The Brazen Claw engaged the Necrons in battle, and drove them back to a Necron structure that appeared to be the origin of the signal being sent into space. Recognizing that the structure was a beacon, calling more Necrons to the system, the Brazen Claw Commander, Captain D’Val, ordered the Navy to prepare to repel the Necron fleet that would undoubtedly be arriving soon, while his marine force would attempt to destroy the beacon.
Scenario Special Rules
We set up the game using the normal Apocalypse rules, with each side getting one Strategic Asset, picked by each player to fit within the framework of the background of the battle.
We determined deployment according to the normal Apocalypse rules, and then Badelaire placed the Tombworld Beacon within his deployment zone, greater than 6" from a table edge.
Generator Activation - We decided at the beginning of the campaign that if the Necron Fleet arrives in orbit before the Beacon is destroyed, the Tombworld Generator will be activated. If this occurs, every non-Necron unit on the table will suffer a hit from a Gauss Flux Arc, that is, a S5 AP4 Heavy D6 attack every single turn until the end of the battle. Vehicles are hit on their rear armor. (As it happened, in the previous battle the Necron Fleet was able to send the activation signal on Necron Turn 5)
They Awaken - To represent the Necrons waking up from their millennia long slumber, the Necrons will continuously receive reinforcements throughout the battle. Any Necron with the Necron special rule that is removed as a casualty should be set aside and grouped according to unit type. As soon as the number of Necron casualties for a particular unit type equals or exceeds the minimum required number of Necrons for that unit type (e.g., 10 for Necron Warriors, 4 for Flayed Ones), the unit will reappear in the movement phase of the Necron player’s next turn, emerging from the portal on the Tombworld Beacon. Units that arrive in this way may move normally, measuring their movement from the portal itself.
Phase Out - For this battle the normal phase out rules are not used. The Necrons will only phase out if the Tombworld Beacon is destroyed. If the Tombworld Beacon is destroyed, the entire Necron force will phase out immediately.
Brazen Claw Forces
- Captain with Command Squad in Razorback
- Techmarine with Servitors in Razorback
- Dreadnought
- Terminator Assault Squad
- Terminator Squad
- 4 Tactical Squads in Rhinos
- Assault Squad
- Devastator Squad in Rhino
- Predator Annihilator
- Vindicator Line Breaker Squadron
Brazen Claw Briefing
Darkwing: I have a tall order ahead of me. My Brazen Claw force is much larger than in previous battles, coming in at just over 3,000 points. The Necron force is smaller in number, but they have some potent advantages on their side: 1. The Tombworld Beacon. A terrifying weapon in its own right, and my ultimate objective. 2. The regeneration capabilities of the Necrons—each unit with the Necron special rule will reappear at the Beacon’s portal when destroyed. So in a way, each little victory is a defeat—and towards the endgame my force will be smaller as the Necrons get more powerful. 3. Time is my enemy. If I don’t destroy the Beacon by the end of Turn 5, it’s all over, and the Necrons win. The Necrons don’t have to destroy me—they just have to hold me off for five turns.
That said, I have a strong army to take them on. My three Vindicators are just dying to get into action—I just need to get them close enough to strike. My terminators, with their power fists and thunder hammers, should also prove a deadly threat. Also my Predator Annihilator, with its three lascannons, should put some fear of the Emperor into those walking toasters.
Tactically speaking, I need to close with the Beacon, and do it fast. No holding back. I have to hope with I can smash through the Necron outer line of defense and swamp the Beacon with attack before the Necrons can whittle my forces down enough to prevent me from destroying it.
Necron Forces
- Necron Tombworld Beacon (counts as Gauss Pylon)
- Necron Destroyer Lord
- 2 Necron Lords
- Immortals
- 2 units of Flayed Ones
- 3 units of Warriors
- Destroyers
- 2 units of Scarab Swarms
- 2 Heavy Destroyers
- 3 Tomb Spyders
Necron Briefing
Badelaire: This is going to be pretty interesting. My Necron army is not particularly "Apocalyptic" and in terms of raw points, even with three Necron Lords running around it's not particularly massive. However, the beacon is pretty powerful and with the Apocalypse rule I picked (Reconstruction Scarabs), I'm going to be incredibly hard to wipe out. However, going up against all those Str 10 templates, power fists, and power armor is going to give me fits, and with the new glancing rules, my Gauss weapons will be doing a lot less vehicle-killing and a lot more vehicle-annoying.
But in the end, I don't have to "beat" the Brazen Claws - I just need to bog them down, and that's what Necron armies are really, really good at - staying in the fight and keeping the enemy occupied. I've got my Scarab Swarms kitted with Disruption Fields as well, so in addition to bogging down troops if need be they can also go gunning for vehicles, as with so many attacks, there's at least a chance that they can get in a glance or two against a Vindie or a Pred and I know there'll be at least one Dread in the fight, so I might even have a chance against that too.
This is definitely going to be an exciting battle - maximum firepower against maximum resilience. We'll have to see which philosophy triumphs in the end...
Turn 1
Holding their assault squad and two terminators in reserve, the Brazen Claw deployed on the battlefield. Aside from the dreadnought, the entire force was mechanized. On their far left flank lay the Predator Annihilator, flanked by three tactical squads in their Rhinos, and the Command Squad in their Razorback. To the right flank lay the fourth Tactical Squad, the Techmarine in his Razorback, the 3 strong linebreaker squadron of Vindicators, and the Dreadnought.
The Space Marines vehicles roared forward, immediately taking the fight to the enemy. The Techmarine moved behind the cover of the rocks to support the Vindicators, who would certainly become prime targets for the Necrons. The Dreadnought advanced to their right, and firing its missile launcher, took out a Heavy Destroyer. On the far left flank, the Predator Annihilator killed a destroyer with its lascannon.
Both Necrons self-repaired (big surprise), and the Necrons began their counterattack. The Destroyers, Heavy Destroyers, a Tomb Spyder, and a unit of warriors advanced, ready to meet the Space Marines head on.
One Heavy Destroyer fired on the left Vindicator, immobilizing it, while the other fired on the Dreadnought and missed. The Tombworld Beacon charged up its Gauss Annihilator and unleashed it on the Vindicators, destroying one of them in an apocalyptic explosion.
On the Necron right flank, the unit of warriors fired on the Predator, and their Gauss Flayers destroyed the vehicles twin-linked lascannon. The Immortals fired on Tactical Squad 1’s Rhino, shaking up the crew, but not slowing it down. Two more units of warriors and the Destroyers all focused their attention on the Command Squad’s Razorback, shaking and stunning the crew, destroying the twin-linked heavy bolter, and finally blowing off one of the transport’s tracks, immobilizing it. The Command Squad would have to foot slog it the rest of the way in.
Turn 2
Both units of Terminators teleported onto the site, behind the Necron lines and within striking distance of the Beacon. One of the squads open fire at some nearby scarabs, destroying three bases of them.
The Techmarine disembarked from his Razorback and moved to repair the immobilized Vindicator. The Dreadnought fired at the Heavy Destroyer that it had destroyed just a moment earlier, and sent it crashing to the ground again with a well placed krak missile.
On the left flank, the Command Squad disembarked their damaged Razorback and advanced on the Necron hordes. To their left, Tactical Squad 3’s Rhino plowed forward, tank shocking the Necron Warriors, who moved perfunctorily out of the way. The Command Squad opened fire on the same unit of warriors, killing one with their meltagun, the other with a bolt pistol. Then the Command Squad charged them, the adjacent Tomb Spyder, and some nearby Scarabs to boot. The Company Champion cut down one warrior with his power sword, the other marines took down one more. The Tomb Spyder missed the Captain, and then the Scarabs swarmed all over him. Despite dishing out 21 attacks, all directed against the captain, he remained completely unharmed. Then he smashed his power fist into the Tomb Spyder, damaging its body severely, but not quite enough to kill it. The marine sergeant then used his own power fist to kill three more Necron Warriors. Having lost the combat, the Warriors fell back, leaving the Tomb Spyder and scarabs to their fate. The Captain promptly finished off the Tomb Spyder and the scarabs suffered an additional four wounds. The Command Squad then piled into the remaining scarabs.
The Heavy Destroyer, shaking off its second krak missile in a row, got up yet again. The Reconstruction Scarabs of the Necrons swarmed around the fallen center Warriors, bringing five of eight of them back to their feet, but the warriors failed to regroup, and therefore continued to fall back.
The unit of Warriors on the Necron right, the Immortals, and the Destroyers began a fighting retreat, in the hopes of tightening their defensive position.
The right and center Necron Warriors fired on Tactical Squad 1’s Rhino, and succeeded in stunning it, but nothing else. The Immortals fired on Tactical Squad 2’s Rhino, but failed to damage it at all.
The Scarabs Turbo boosted, while a Tomb Spyder continued to advance behind the rocks towards the Vindicators.
A unit of Flayed Ones moved onto the battlefield behind the terminators, preparing a counterattack. The Destroyer Lord also moved into position to attack them. On the other side of the Beacon, a Necron Lord and the Heavy Destroyers moved to attack the Assault Terminators. Then the last Necron Lord used his Veil of Darkness to teleport himself and a unit of Warriors between the two Terminator Squads.
The Necrons then unleashed the hurt—the Destroyers and Destroyer Lord killed one terminator between them, and then the rest opened fire on the Assault Terminator Squad. The Heavy Destroyers and the teleported squad of Warriors did nothing, but a Necron Lord killed one. Then the Beacon itself attacked with its Gauss Flux Arc, but all of its hits were saved by the marines’ tactical dreadnought armor. The terminators had proved their staying power. The Destroyer Lord, bellowing in robotic rage, then assaulted the terminator squad, killing a pair of them. The Sergeant replied, wounding the Lord in return, and then the rest of the squad brought the Lord down.
On the Necron right flank, the Command Squad proceeded to completely annihilate the Scarabs, although they suffered one casualty.
Turn 3
The Predator Annihilator, still well out of range of the Tombworld beacon, barreled forward and tank shocked the nearby warrior squad, who simply moved out of the way. Tactical Squad 1 disembarked their Rhino near the Command Squad to support it, while the Command Squad itself moved up to take on the Immortals and Destroyers.
The Devastator Squad disembarked on top of the hill and began to take firing positions with their heavy bolters. The marines fired with their bolters and bolt pistols at the approaching scarabs, delivering two wounds and eliminating a base. Ahead of them, the Assault Squad deep struck by some woods near to the Beacon. They opened fire with their bolt pistols at the nearest Heavy Destroyer by failed to bring it down.
The Techmarine’s Razorback aimed at the Tomb Spyder with its twin-linked lascannon, but the Tomb Spyder was saved by cover. The nearby Vindicator then took a shot at it, wounding it. The dreadnought’s torso swiveled left to bring its weapons to bear on the Tomb Spyder, but its fire was ineffective. The Techmarine, only in range of the other Tomb Spyder, managed to wound it with his plasma pistol. He then charged in and finished it off with a swing of his power weapon.
The Terminator Assault Squad assaulted the Beacon, slamming their Thunderhammers into it, but while they both delivered glancing hits, both were negated by the Beacons impenetrable armor.
The Command Squad and Tactical Squad 1 charged the Immortals and the Destroyers. The Company Champion killed one Immortal, while the rest of the marines failed to bring down any more. Replying, the Destroyers wounded Captain D’Val once, but then he struck back and smashed three Destroyers to the ground with his power fist. Then both Sergeants struck decisively with their own power fists, killing no less than five immortals between them. Broken, both the Destroyers and Immortals turned to flee, but were struck down by the marines, who surged forward.
The portal of the Tombworld Beacon pulsed with an unholy light, and a Necron Lord, a unit of Destroyers, and a unit of Immortals emerged to provide the Necrons with some powerful reinforcements.
On the Necron right flank, the unit of Necron Warriors encircled the Predator and opened fire with their Gauss Flayers, and succeeded in immobilizing it. In the center the Necron Warrior unit regrouped, and opened fire on Tactical Squad 1, but failed to kill any marines. The newly arrived Immortals promptly opened fire on the Command Squad, wounding Captain D’Val again, the killing the squad’s sergeant.
A new unit of Flayed Ones arrived on the table and made for the Command Squad.
The two Heavy Destroyers fired on a Vindicator, stunning it. Behind them, the Beacon unleashed its Gauss Annihilator at the immobilized Vindicator, detonating it in a fireball.
The Necron Warriors by the Beacon fired on the Assault Terminators, and were very effective, delivering eight wounds resulting in four dead. (I rolled four 1’s for my saves! –Darkwing)
A unit of Flayed Ones and the Destroyer Lord charged the last terminator of his squad, and the Lord brought him down easily.
A Necron Lord unleashed his Staff of Light on the Assault Squad, killing a pair of them, while the newly arrived destroyers also fired on them, killing one more. The Lord then charged the Assault Marines, killing one, but was wounded twice by their retaliation.
The last Tomb Spyder charged the Techmarine, who was unable to fend off the robotic monster and was killed along with one of his servitors, and the remaining servitors were killed as they tried to flee.
The Scarabs assaulted the Dreadnought, swarming the walker, who smashed one base’s worth to scrap while weathering their attacks without any problems.
Turn 4
The Brazen Claw Rhinos had driven up, and were approaching striking distance. Tactical Squad 4 disembarked from their Rhino and went after the Tomb Spyder. Firing their bolters at short range, they blew it apart.
Tactical Squads 2 and 3 Rhino’s advanced and then disembarked in front of the Tombworld Beacon. The Devastators and Tactical Squad 3 fired on the Destroyers, and 2 of them were killed by the Devastator Squad’s Heavy Bolters. Tactical Squad 2 and the Command Squad fired at the Necron Lord, but failed to hurt him. Tactical Squad 1 fired at the Flayed Ones, and three of them were downed by the marines’ flamer.
In the assault, the Dreadnought smashed down the remaining two Scarab bases. The Necron Lord in combat with the Assault Squad killed one of them, but the rest of the squad ganged up on him and took him out.
Tactical Squad 1 charged the Flayed Ones, killing three between them without suffering any casualties. The last surviving Flayed One fell back out of reach.
The Command Squad charged the Necron Lord, and despite the flurry of blows by both sides, the combat was indecisive and no one was killed or wounded.
One of the two fallen Destroyers self-repaired, and fully five out of six Flayed Ones regained their feet, thanks to the Reconstruction Scarabs. The unit promptly regrouped and then charged the Command Squad.
The Necron Lord and his unit of Warriors behind the Beacon used Veil of Darkness to teleport themselves to the Brazen Claw side, near to the Techmarine’s Razorback, which, armed with a twin-linked lascannon, was one of the few weapons in the Brazen Claws’ arsenal that could damage the Beacon. Unleashing their fire at close range, they rocked the vehicle with their fire, stunning it multiple times and destroying the lascannon.
The two Heavy Destroyers shifted to get better firing positions and both aimed at the Dreadnought, but both failed to hit.
A unit of Necron Warriors, the Immortals, and the Destroyers all aimed their weapons at Tactical Squad 1, killing six with their massed fire. The survivors, however, remained stalwart and refused to fall back.
The Tombworld Beacon aimed its focused beam on the last mobile Vindicator, and wrecked it easily.
A unit of Flayed Ones charged Tactical Squad 1, killing two marines, but the marines killed two Flayed Ones in return, resulting in a draw.
The Command Squad, locked in combat with the Destroyer Lord, then got charged by the other unit of Flayed Ones. The Company Champion chopped down one Flayed One on the way in, but then was swamped and killed by the others. The other marines reeled under their onslaught, the but the fast acting Apothecary saved himself, the Standard Bearer, and the Captain with his Feel No Pain save. The Lord, experiencing bad luck, added nothing to the combat, while the Captain smashed down two more Flayed Ones with his Power Fist. Refusing to flee, the Flayed Ones moved in for the kill.
Turn 5
The Tombworld Beacon began to pulsate, and Captain D’Val knew that his marines were rapidly running out of time. The rest of the marines knew it too, and redoubled their efforts to strike.
Tactical Squad 2 moved towards the Lord and Flayed Ones in order to support the Command Squad.
Tactical Squad 3, the Devastators, and multiple Rhinos all opened fire on the Destroyers, sending two of them crashing to the ground. The Predator Annihilator fired one of its sponson lascannons at the Beacon, and while the shot hit, it merely inflicted some inconsequential glancing damage. The Dreadnought walked forward and fired a krak missile, felling one of the Heavy Destroyers.
Tactical Squad 4, sighting the Necron Lord and Warriors who had just teleported in using their Veil of Darkness, trained their weapons on them, killing three with bolters and six with the Plasma Cannon, which wreaked devastation on the tightly packed Necrons. Their Rhino nearby killed one more with its storm bolter. That proved enough, and the warriors began to fall back.
The Assault Squad fired their bolt pistols at the Immortals, and then charged them. Two Immortals fell to the chainswords, and the Sergeant killed two more. The Immortals struck back ineffectually and then turned to flee, only to be wiped out. The Assault Squad, seeing the Beacon began to energize, assumed a blocking position at the Beacon’s portal in order to prevent any Necrons from getting out.
Tactical Squad 3 charged the Destroyers, and both sides struck at each other ineffectively. Tactical Squad 1 lost a man to the unit of Flayed Ones they were fighting, and failed to kill any in return, but they held their ground to continue the fight.
Tactical Squad 2 charged the Flayed Ones and the Necron Lord who were currently engaged with the Command Squad. The Flayed Ones failed to kill anyone, while the Lord killed one marine from the Tactical Squad. The rest of the squad wounded the Lord once, and Captain D’Val smashed one more Flayed One to the ground.
Brazen Claw Debriefing
Darkwing: I think I’ve fallen into a trap. I’m finding that I spend so much time preparing for the game; I lose sight of preparing for the battle. For this game I had to come up with the scenario, make a special piece of terrain for it (the beacon), and frantically paint up several more squads of vehicles of my Brazen Claws. I whipped up an army list, then put it aside, and continued to paint miniatures to prepare for the game. When the game finally came around, I realized that hadn’t really thought about prosecuting the battle. When it came time to deploy my army, I thought Now would be a good time to have a plan... As a result of this, I made some pretty fundamental (some would say inexcusable) mistakes.
For the record, I will say that arming my Devastators with four heavy bolters was not one of them--it was intentional, and I knew what I was doing. Considering all of the power fists I had in the army, plus the Predator Annihilator, the three Vindicators, and the twin-linked lascannon Razorback, I felt I had enough punch to take on the Beacon. Arming the Devastators with four Lascannon might in the end have been more effective, but I decided against it. Generals in the real world usually don’t get to choose what troops are available to them. So rather than optimizing my army to be the ultimate necron force killer, I deliberately made some troops choices that were not ideal.
That said, I made some stupid mistakes. First and foremost, in designing the scenario, I assumed that I would be able to destroy the Tombworld Beacon with my plethora of power fists, missile launchers, etc. Except for one thing—the Beacon is a super heavy vehicle (well… structure), with AV 14. And due to the Super Heavy Vehicle Damage Table…it is impervious to structural damage to Strength 8 Weaponry. All of a sudden my power fists, thunder hammers, krak missiles, and meltagun were useless against it. Whoops. That left my Techmarine’s Razorback’s twin-linked Lascannon, my three Vindicators, and my Predator Annihilator as being the only things in my entire army that could affect the Beacon.
Which leads to my second mistake—the Predator Annihilator. For the longest time I could have sworn that the range of a lascannon was 72". Maybe it was, way back in 2nd Edition. But it’s 48". Normally this isn’t an issue on a 6’ x 4’ table. But on the 9’ x 5’ table that we fought the battle on, it was critical. I placed the Predator far on the left flank, assuming I could plink away at the Beacon with my 72" ranged lascannon all game long. I was confident of damaging the Beacon with it...until I tried to fire the damn thing. A casual look at the lascannon’s statline and Whaaat? I was very angry at myself for that mistake. If I spent more time studying my army and coming up with a battle plan, I wouldn’t have made that mistake.
I didn’t realize the mistake about the Beacon being impervious to S8 weapons until midgame—by this point, one Vindicator was destroyed, another was immobilized out of range, and the third was number one on Badelaire’s hit list. The Predator was uselessly out of range, and the twin-linked lascannon Razorback was in danger. It looks like even if I completely dominated the rest of the game, it still would be impossible for me to win.
After discussing it for a bit, Badelaire graciously allowed my Space Marine Captain to be armed with a Vortex Grenade. It gave my army some hope of victory, and him something to target aside from the continual pasting of my vehicles. And the way my Command Squad was smashing its way through the Necrons, it would make things more interesting.
Of course, in Turn 5 the Beacon was set to go off, and despite the heroic efforts of my marines, the Necrons had won. It was a fitting end to the campaign, with the Brazen Claw coming within inches of defeating the Necrons, only to be seconds too late.
And even better, the conclusion of this campaign quickly brought ideas of a follow-up campaign. The Necrons have won. The planet had split open, revealing the Necropolis, which would now join the Necron Fleet in orbit and proceed to go on a rampage, devastating planets and harvesting the souls of their inhabitants. And on board the Necropolis were 48 marines and 1 dreadnought, hidden, biding their time and waiting to strike.
Necron Debriefing
Badelaire: This was a really fun game, but in the end, I think that in order to make it more challenging, and to give my points-light army a more Apocalyptic ace up its sleeve, Darkwing really shot himself in the foot. The rules for the Necron Gauss Pylon (which is essentially what the Beacon was, with a few extra bells and whistles) give it the Living Metal special rule, and that combined with the new glancing hits table and the Super-Heavy vehicle rules, meant that it was pretty much impossible to damage, let alone destroy, the Beacon with the vast majority of Darkwing's army.
At first, when his Terminator squads teleported in, I panicked. I figured I had a turn, maybe two, before they cracked open the Beacon like an egg and there would go my victory...up until the point when they started getting damage results and we began to look things up. Then we discovered that his terminators might as well have been swinging croquet mallets for all the good they'd be doing against the Beacon.
Beyond that, my resurrection abilities were just a little too overpowered. With the Reconstruction Scarabs strategic asset, I could pick one unit every turn to WBB as if there was a Res Orb nearby, and also stand up on a 2+ to boot. With this, combined with the Beacon's regeneration of units rule, I could effectively "respawn" two units a turn if they were wiped out. And since the Beacon's unit regeneration meant they were popping back out at "home", as the Brazen Claws closed in, my wiped units were automatically re-grouping back at the Beacon to defend it.
And now the Necropolis is freed from its terrestrial slumber, and zooming around the sector sucking the life from planet after planet...not knowing all the while that there's a small seed of resistance still clinging to hope in its dark mechanical belly...
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