Mining Colony 45-87 - Caseopeia

Planet: Caseopeia.
Region: Cadian Sector.

Death Guard vs Eldar Corsairs
1500 points:
Mission: Retrieval Mission - Night Fighting battle zone.

This was a major engagement in the war that saw the Death Guard begin to turn the situation around and begin a slow climb to victory over the alien menace.
Mining colony 45-87 fell to the Death Guard without a shot being fired. The colonists simply opened the gates and knelt down hoping for a hint of mercy. 
As night fell the pursuing Corsairs roared into the colony firing into the plague marines. The plaguecasters took actions that would see them executed by Typhus when the dawn came. They pooled their sorcery and sacrificed the colonies, rotting them alive in glory to Nurgle... and summoned forth their lord and master, Mortarion to lead them in battle!

My first game against the Eldar Corsairs under 8th. Previously Dan had crushed me every time we played so hopefully under 8th I'd have a better chance. I expected Dan to bring one of his big tanks and loads of jet bikes. As we were playing with the night fight rules I figured I could get into combat and maybe deal enough damage to blunt his usual advance. I also decided that since I had recently bought and build Mortarion for my birthday that I should give him some limelight on the table. I felt a bit of a dick for doing so but in fairness I was egged on to do so by Dan's cousin! What can I say.

We rolled the awful corner deployment and as I was able to fit a three units in reserve I got a better view of where Dan was placing his models. I was lucky enough to get a large ruin to cover Mortarion at the start of the game. Dan attempted to seize the initiative but failed. This gave me the opportunity that I wanted. The plague marine squad deployed in the rhino sped off towards the objective on my left flank. The plague marine squad advanced forth to get close to a second. My cultists already held one so stayed put. Mortarion advanced flying across the ruins and was soon surrounded by his deathshroud bodyguards. The psychic phase was rather wasted as nothing was in range for Smite. The objective that my cultists held turned out to be a support weapon and it killed one of his jetbike characters. Sadly not his warlord though.

Dan made an odd play. He threw everything he had towards the right hand side where Mortarion was. He seemed to forget that the mission was about holding objectives. If that was what he wanted to do then who was I to argue? He threw so much firepower into Mortarion and the deathshroud's jumped in the way. Unfortunately I lost two of the three where I had hoped that they would survive a lot better.  In future take six! His warriors grabbed the objective that my footslogging plague marines were after and he also had a support weapon. I thought he would throw it at Mortarion but instead he dropped it on my plague marines and killed two!

Turn two and my plague marines had grabbed the objective on the left flank. Mortarion moved into a better position, ready to assault the corsair warriors. Smite was handy here but didn't do as much as I had wanted. My shooting was ineffective this turn and the dice were against me as I tried to assault the enemy. Mortarion failed to get into combat even with a re-roll.

Come Dan's turn and his continued firing took my last deathshroud and a couple wounds from Mortarion but my dice started to kick back into gear. Once more I was making far too many disgustingly resilient rolls! Dan's face was a picture of shock and horror every time!  Once Mortatrion hit combat on turn three he was a monster! One set of attacks took out seventeen corsair warriors! Then I did start to feel bad for Dan. My lords of contaigon had come down this turn via teleport. One dropped down to assist the combat and the other I had originally planned to drop down behind of Dan's big tanks. Instead having noticed that the fourth objective was unguarded I decided to forgo that and grab that last prize.

From there on Mortarion sweep through everything Dan had left. To his credit Dan did deal enough damage to drop Mortarion down to six wounds despite how great my DR rolls were throughout the last half of the game. End of turn five and I had succeeded in wiping out every single model Dan had brought to the table. I had 14 victory points to my opponent's 1 (first blood).

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 Afterwards...

An enjoyable game though maybe not so much for Dan, although I think he had fun as well. I have since offered to play again, same mission and battle zone, but without Mortarion.

Nightfight played very little into this game. I did think that it would impact his shooting at me for the first turn or two but we ended up so close to one another right away that it made little difference.

I do think that Dan was going to lose that game regardless. He wasn't prepared to face a Primarch although his Corsair army needs to be updated rather than just be an Index entry. However saying that, I did think that hen focused too much on bringing down Mortarion. Had he thrown enough at the big bad to keep him occupied he could very well have come close to a draw if not winning just on objective points. Lords of War are nasty but if you largely ignore them and get on with the mission they aren't such a problem. At least not in my experience/

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++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (Chaos - Death Guard) [55 PL, 1009pts] ++

+ HQ +

Lord of Contagion [7 PL, 137pts]: Manreaper
Lord of Contagion [7 PL, 137pts]: Manreaper

+ Troops +

Chaos Cultists [6 PL, 72pts]
. 15x Chaos Cultist w/ autopistol and brutal assault weapon
. Chaos Cultist w/ special weapon: Heavy stubber
. Cultist Champion: Shotgun

Plague Marines [10 PL, 182pts]: Icon of Despair
. Plague Champion: Plaguesword, Plasma gun, Power fist
. 5x Plague Marine w/ boltgun
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun

Plague Marines [10 PL, 182pts]: Icon of Despair
. Plague Champion: Plaguesword, Plasma gun, Power fist
. 5x Plague Marine w/ boltgun
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun

+ Elites +

Deathshroud Terminators [11 PL, 225pts]
. Deathshroud Champion: Manreaper, Plaguespurt gauntlets
. 2x Deathshroud Terminator: 2x Manreaper, 2x Plaguespurt gauntlets

+ Dedicated Transport +
Chaos Rhino [4 PL, 74pts]: Combi-bolter, Combi-bolter

++ Super-Heavy Auxiliary Detachment (Chaos - Death Guard) [24 PL, 470pts] ++

Mortarion [24 PL, 470pts]: Curse of the Leper, Plague Wind, Putrescent Vitality

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The Corsairs throw themselves into the reach of death!

Corsair deployment.

Mortarion, daemon primarch of Nurgle.

A gaggle of corsair warriors.

Mining Colony 557 - Caseopeia.

Planet: Caseopeia.
Region: Cadian Sector.
999.M41

Death Guard vs Eldar Corsairs
2000 points:
Mission: Spoils of War.

Desperate for supplies and fresh promethium, a small band of Death Guard head out in the badlands to assault an Imperial mining station. As they arrive they find that their xenos foes have had the same idea and battle is joined. The Eldar are few in number and underpowered to face a force as large as the Death Guard's. Emboldened the war lord led his forces into battle. His overconfidence would be his undoing.

 This was originally going to be a game against my friend Danny and his new Thousand Sons (with Magnus) army but last minute he decided he needed some practice with corsairs for an upcoming tournament in April. I threw together a basic list to help out and figured it would be a tough game but one that, should the mission be willing, I had a fair chance at winning. We followed the Spoils of War mission - one that no one at my club enjoys but I figure I have to give it a decent go.

We set the objectives up equally across the table and then rolled that awful corner deployment. Danny picked his side but I got to set up first. Everything except raptors and the heldrake terror pack started on the table already holding one objective. Danny was trying to do some sort of Alpha Strike type play so started only with two units of jetbikes and a unit of rangers on the table. Everything else, including his Lynx and Warp Hunter, in reserve.

I forget who got the first turn but it was fairly blunt. I think I got one chaos marine sniped and the battle cannon from my defiler took out a couple of his rangers, but the rest made their cover saves. One of his jetbike squads dropped a webway portal on the far side of the table. Night fighting then came to an end.

On the second turn none of Dan's reserves came in where I got my raptors and one heldrake. The raptors deviated into some rough terrain and one marine crumpled under the impact. I finally got an objective next to my deployment zone and dispatched my terminator champion with his terminator retinue to grab it hopefully on turn 3. Along comes turn 3 and Dan get's his two hornets in as well as a third squad of jetbikes. Both units outflank onto my side of the table and with just incredible luck on my opponent's side (and terrible rolls on mine) they gun down the warlord and all but one terminator! I was so not happy.

When his warp hunter entered the table it only stripped a hull point from one helbrute. Shots from two meltaguns and a multimelta destroyed it over two turns without it getting to fire again. Danny's time to not be happy. When his lynx came in, it got a mishap and I ended up placing it on the far corner of the table facing the wrong way to give me a little extra hope.

Danny was very lucky with his tactical cards but about this time I pulled a blinder. I drew three objectives, including a Death Guard specific one, all of which I could pull off at the end of my turn finally closing the gap in victory points.

The unit of jetbikes who slew my warlord soon died when the remaining terminator charged into them. He won the challenge and then proceeded to slaughter the remaining eldar. Slowly my game turned and I was whittling his forces away. Heldrakes basically burnt down his jetbikes and rangers. He had hardly anything to handle them so after the initial arrival I was able to just go into hover mode and keep pouring flame into everything.

By the time the game reached turn five I think I was winning on victory points. Unfortunately random game length took us all the way to turn seven which allowed Dan to seize a few more cards and put him in the lead. It was close with Dan winning 15 victory points to my 12.

I do think Dan has become very stuck on fitting big D tanks into the game where perhaps one would suffice and the points better spent on more jetbikes. Although the cards were in his favour for most of the game he could have held me back better and been in a better position to seize more had he had the manoeuvrability.

Death Guard verticulum detachment.

Chaos Warband.
Chaos Lord in terminator armour.
10 man CSM squad, with heavy bolter and metlagun. Champion with power weapon, plasma pistol and meltabombs.
10 man CSM squad, with two meltaguns. Champion with power weapon, plasma pistol and meltabombs.
5 man Raptor squad. Champion with pair of lightning claws.
5 man Terminator squad. Four sets of lightning claws and a reaper autocannon/power weapon.
Helbrute.

Helforged Warpack.
Warpsmith with combi-melta and power axe.
Defiler with power scourge.
Two helbrutes.

Heldrake Terror Pack.
2 Heldrakes with baleflamers.

Death Guard ready to bring death and ruin to the xenos filth!

A slow and steady advance through the mining colony ruins.

The unlucky champion and his terminators.

Pre-Emptive Strike - Caseopeia

Planet: Caseopeia.
Region: Cadian Sector.
999.M41

Death Guard vs Eldar Corsairs.
1500pts.
Mission: Pre-Emptive Strike.

The Void Dreamers of the corsairs have foreseen a time when, if not stopped, Typhus could devestate this world with his foul plagues. To this end they orchestrate an attack upon his headquarters out in the badlands. A dawn strike to catch him unawares and disrupt his plans of destruction and chaos.


My friend Danny has recently started buying into an Eldar Corsair army so I challenged him to a game to try out my Traitor Legion rules again. Danny choose to play the Pre-Emptive Strike mission and 2000 points.

My forces had to sit quite bunched up to start with as the mission assumes I’m being surprised by the Eldar attack while his were spread out nicely along his deployment line. He was confident but had some concerns about the Heldrake terror pack as he had nothing to bring down fliers.

Danny had the first turn and moved everything up. His shooting was mostly ineffective but a well placed D shot from his Warp Hunter took out a Rhino and left one squad of chaos marines to slog across the battle field. My first turn saw me split up my forces so his D weapon couldn’t hit too many at once. I had limited shooting and what I did fire failed to do anything.

The game soon sped up Danny’s corsairs swooped in to cut down many chaos marines with shuriken fire. Even so having everything in my army T5 made things difficult for him. My turn two and one Heldrake and the Raptor squad came in from reserve. The Heldrake was out of range but the Raptors dropped two flamers and took out some jetbikes and their bolt pistols struck wounds off his Void Dreamer.

Over the third turn, I lost most of one squad of chaos marines (those who had lost their rhino turn 1) and the second squad lost their rhino to concentrated fire from the Hornet’s and War Walkers. He assaulted my Raptors with both his prince and Void Dreamer. The Void Dreamer lost all but one wound in the over watch. A challenge was called and the Raptor champion dropped dead before getting to swing. The rest of the Raptors tore down the Void Dreamer and the rest turned their attention to the Prince.

The second Heldrake came in and both let rip with their baleflamers, which decimated the two jetbike squads. The Raptors continued to pummel the Prince but neither side could really hurt one another. The chaos marines on my right side assaulted the last jetbike in one squad and they would be held up till the end of the game.

Turn four; Typhus and his sorcerer meet their end at the centre of a D cannon strike. Typhus pulled away into the Warp at the last moment. With no other legitimate targets, Danny pulls his forces back and the assaults continue. My Heldrakes enter hover mode and flamer two units of snipers. One unit falls back in terror.

The last turn saw Danny do nothing. I finally got to use the meteroric descent rule for a Heldrake and it swooped into one unit of snipers, snapping them up in it’s talons.

The game ended turn 5. The mission had been in my opponent;s court and it ended close on 16 to my 12. Good game and I certainly enjoyed it more and learned the new legion rules better in this match.

Pursuit across the Badlands - Caseopeia

Planet: Caseopeia.
Region: Cadian Sector.
999.M41

Death Guard vs Eldar Corsairs.
1500pts.
Mission: ???.

Having been forced out of the mining colonies and into the rugged sun blasted badlands, the Death Guard found themselves hounded by the Eldar pirates. It fell to the sorcerer Cholic, who had thus far earned Typhus' disfavour, to keep the Eldar occupied while the remaining plague marines made for safety.
Cholic's attempts to halt the Xenos pursuit was short lived. The plague marines suffered terrible losses and the sorcerer barely escaped with his life.

This was a revenge match against Richard and his Eldar Corsair army. Neither of us changed our lists and we simply played a kill point mission if I remember it correctly. If he did make any chances it was probably to add an extra Vyper to the roster as I remember him zooming about here there and everywhere making it very difficult to deal with his army.

As with the previous game against the Corsairs, it was their maneuverability and their long range firepower that proved to be my downfall. They took down my Predator first and then just kept hammering fire into my plague marines. The amount of firepower that it takes to destroy a plague marine squad is impressive but he seemed able to do it very well.

Much like the previous game it was very one sided. I had no doubts that he was going to tear my army apart but sometimes even though I enjoy the games I wish I had a better chance of dealing with certain armies. Eldar, Dark Eldar and Corsairs are the bane of my Death Guard. It is something that I hope to be able to deal with as my collection grows but for now it is quite frustrating.

Corsair Raid - Caseopeia

Planet: Caseopeia.
Region: Cadian Sector.
999.M41

Death Guard vs Eldar Corsairs.
1500pts.
Mission: Purge the Alien.

Moving ever closer to Cadia itself, Typhus leads his war band against the Imperial mining and munitions world of Caseopeia. Rather than follow his usual plans of seeding the atmosphere with flesh eating bacteria, Typhus simply deployed his ground troops and assaulted the mining colonies.

One such colony received unexpected aid in the form of an Eldar corsair raiding party. Whether these were allies of Maugan Ra and the Craftworld Altansar was unknown but would explain their presence. The Raiders fought to to drive the Death Guard back into the barren wastes of the planet rather than for conquest or glory.

So this was a game played against my friend Richard who had decided to pick up a Corsair army from one of the Forge World books and he wanted a friendly opponent for his match with the army. He had to proxy a few models for this one but that's fine. I hadn't seen this army played for a few years so I was not really aware of what could be arrayed against me and I don't quite remember what units he had just that they were mostly skimmers with long range fire and some cool warp gate toys.

My list was fairly basic as I recall being my usual but substituting a sorcerer for Typhus so I could try and get some plague bearers summoned, not that they did me much good. I just did not have the units to handle this battle. Long range fire has always been my weakness with what I currently have to field. Also, any time I did get close they simply flew away and blasted me.

It was still a very good game, although one sided. I had a good fun playing against it mainly because it was something we don't see at out club very often. Richard always provides a good game as well.

Apologies I don't have much to say about this one but it was a few months ago and I don't remember much of it now. However, we had a rematch a few weeks later which I have to write up.