Decapitation Strike - Battle against Orks on WBGE-08

WBGE-08 is overrun with orks.

The Marines Errant find an opportunity to raid an abandoned Ministorum for war materiel. They dash into the sector, hoping to secure alien technology left behind after the planetary bombardment of surrounding districts.

A band of orks lead by a Warboss arrives, marching upfield with trukks, dreads, and a gorkanaut.  Several trukks weave between multiple hoards of ork infantry, all surrounded by force fields and corkscrewing rokkits launched from its midst.  It was an smoke belching, oil covered mass that made the ground shake.

The Marines knew that infantry would be a problem, so they arrived with air support, assault marines and predators kitted out for infantry mowing.

The battle was bloody, and nobody knew who won until the bitter end.

The battlefield, from a perspective of my short-edge deployment zone.  The orks entered from the north.

Things were already defiled in the formerly Imperial held sector.

Lt. Thad Allen directs the phalanx of predators to the front lines.  

The Stormraven screams over the building tops, adding a weight of fire upon the Orkish machines.

A mek with a Shokk Attack Gun takes aim.

Rokkits pour forth from the Tankbusta's trukk and hammer into the sides of the Stormraven.

Grots hold an objective far to the northwest.

The warbles is spotted, goading along his mobs of Boyz.  

The Stormraven delivers its charges.  A dreadnaught engages the lootas, but cannot finish them off before help arrives.

Assault Terminators and an Apothecary drop in the objective in the east abandoned post-office, valiantly standing before an ork tide.

The ork tides hits home, and a giant scrum begins in the runs of the eastern post office.

The dread is pounced upon by a doc, the warbles, and a banna waava.  The dread manages to kill the warboss, but is eventually dismantled by the doc's saw.

The honor guard, brought to the midfield in a drop pod with Captain Bane, dash left and into the west garage.  There they  engage a mob of orks guarding some unexploded ordinance.

The assault terminators fall despite the persistent efforts of the Apothecary.  He warily backs away from the mob before being overrun.

Bane is charged by some Boyz from a trukk.  He finishes off the Boyz and has to contend with the belligerent Nob.

Captain Bane slays the Nob, but is then standing at the front of his army.  The Ork army opens fire and mortally wounds him.

The predators continue to drill into the front lines.  Remaining clusters of Boyz are swept from the field one by one.

Yet.  

Treachery is afoot.   A new mob of orks appears at the walls of the southeast registrar building.  They swarm into the building and rip asunder the marines within.

Lt. Allen is forced to leave the formation in a vain attempt to hold them at bay.

The battle is ended as orks swarm into the Marine deployment zone.  There are just too many of them.

This game was great.  Norm won something like 17-8, and the majority of his points were scored in the last two turns.  In the first two turns, my firepower tore apart his armor, and it really looked like I had this game in the bag.  However, his Boyz were too much for my assault and I couldn't hold them back.  The lethality of an ork charge backed by a Waagh banner is not to be underestimated!  

Terrain Project: Just some bass coats tonight, primer, highlight, greens and blues, and a dark brown on the base.

Airbrushes are fun, at least.

where the wild fern grows

where the tortoise lives.

Tau Insurrection: SANDSTORM

Hi.  Played a little 75pl game against Derling's Tau  the other Saturday night (not the last last one, but the last one).

We had a great time.  Caught up, spent 50% gaming and 50% discussing the merits of plastic in our oceans and other heady things.  Anyways.  We played a custom mission with special rules, the rules of which are too detailed and unfinished to go into with any sort of cohesion or sense.  But they are good, and I liked them.  Let's just say that it involved ballistic skill modifiers based upon movement.

There.  I said it.  I liked the complexity.  After turn three I was a whiz with this more complex rule set.  Mostly because it made sense.

Here are the highlights.

The Coldstar commander enters the CA5 facility

The riptide took cover behind the CA5 block.

Tau forces mount to the balcony and begin scanning for targets.

The first objective secured by the Tau fire warriors.

The Errant Stormtalon careened across the battlefield, dodging fire and strafing fire warriors. 

Combat squad Beta sets up in the remains of the Lib-12 factory cogs.

Cold Star Commander closes in for a tight firefight with a Marine Plasma Team.

Devil fish sticks.

Captain Bane and a remaining Honor Guard Marine make it to the Tau objective and begin pushing them back.

Librarian Flaescher and Combat Squad Alpha linger behind to offer support to the captain.

Sgt. Greene's Plasma Tactical Team clambers out from their Rhino and targets the Breachers at almost point blank range.

Tau take aim on the East flank.

Stay on target...

Stay on target... fire upon the Riptide on my mark...

The firefight between the Cold Stone Commander, the Breachers, and the Plasma Tactical Team.

Breachers lay down fusillades of fire during overwatch.

Combat continues around the billboard.

Combat Squad Alpha dashes over to help secure the area.  

Tau advance, peppering the Errants with continued fire.

At the end of the game (which was around turn four) we declared me a winner of the contest, but if we had gone the extra turns as planned I'm sure the Tau would have overrun one of our positions and at least pulled off a tie.

Good gaming.  I'm looking forward to next Saturday, when the Errants hit the road and visit the new home of a friend.

Captain Bane and Lt. Allen take the field tomorrow against Tau. I think.

teaching my first airbrushing class.

veteran sergeant.
This is one of those "don't look too close" models. He will blend in well with the rest of the army. And, no. I don't care what the insignia on the shield is. Blood angels? We stole it. Deathwing? It was a panty-raid of epic proportions.