The Red Death - Sanctum

Planet: Sanctum.
Region: Xenobian sector.

Death Guard vs Craftworld Saim-Hann.
1500 points.
Mission: The Scouring.
Deployment: Search and Destroy.

Elements of the Death Guard had gathered to fortify their position until reinforcements could reach them. The low hills and overgrown ruins offered some defence. However, the fast moving Saim-Hann force swiftly overran the outer defences. The battle lasted two days before the Aeldari finally slew the last plague marine. When Typhus and his entourage arrived they found nothing but a burning pile of their own dead.

My second match up against Charlie and one long time in coming. I wasn't sure if he was still going to be playing his Aeldari so I simply tried to build an interesting list. That would blow up in my face as you shall soon see.


The Scouring was our chosen mission and we rolled Search and Destroy for the deployment. This was not a good deployment for myself. I was forced to deploy bunched together and mostly hiding behind ruins knowing full well that if I moved out I was going to get blasted. Straight away I seriously doubted I was going to win this match.

The first turn was simply the Aeldari zooming forwards and letting off a few shots which dropped a couple cultists and stripped one or two wounds from some vehicles. I attempted to move forwards to grab a couple objectives and get ready for Charlie's incoming aircraft.

At was at this point as we got to turn two that I realized that I had made a huge mistake. I am so used to playing 2000 point games that I forgot the night before that I was playing 1500 points. Thankfully something clicked in my head and stopped the game to point out my mistake. I had a couple minutes to remove 500 points from things that had not impacted the game. This meant that a sizable chunk of my army went bye bye. I felt like such a numpty. Thankfully Charlie was a good sport and we carried on.

The second turn saw the Aeldari grab some objectives and suitable firing points to continue pouring fire into my army. I was stuck. There was no way to advance out into the open to grab objectives for myself. When Charlie brought a pair of war walkers in on my right flank I gave myself the secondary objective of taking those down. If I could do that then I would happy.

This was pretty the state of the game from here on. By turn five I believe I was down to just my lord of contagion and plaguecaster. The plaguecaster took a good chunk of it before he fell, but the lord of contagion did get into combat with the war walkers and brought one down with ease. Turn six and that war walker fled from combat but not for long. My warlord successfully charged into him again and crushed it with his manreaper. Then he turned to the encroaching Aeldari and they burned him to the ground.

Even if I had not made a silly mistake and had to remove models, I still don't think that I could have done anything against Charlie's list. It was really good and long range fire meant that there was little that I could do. I did manage to inflict some casualties among his jetbikes and his warlord, I just didn't have the range or the stopping power to do much more against this list.

A good game though. Nice and visual for a good bit of a narrative game.

---

My corrected list.

++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (Chaos - Death Guard) [85 PL, 1489pts] ++

+ HQ +

Lord of Contagion [7 PL, 117pts]: 3. Tainted Regeneration, Manreaper, Warlord

Malignant Plaguecaster [6 PL, 110pts]: 1. Miasma of Pestilence, 5. Putrescent Vitality, The Pandemic Staff

+ Troops +

Chaos Cultists [6 PL, 48pts]
. 9x Chaos Cultist w/ autopistol and brutal assault weapon
. Chaos Cultist w/ special weapon: Heavy stubber
. Cultist Champion: Shotgun

Plague Marines [10 PL, 180pts]: Icon of Despair
. Plague Champion: Plague knife, Plasma gun, Power fist
. 4x Plague Marine w/ boltgun
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun

Plague Marines [10 PL, 183pts]: Icon of Despair
. Plague Champion: Plague knife, Plasma gun, Power fist
. 4x Plague Marine w/ boltgun
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Blight launcher
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plague Spewer

+ Elites +

Deathshroud Terminators [11 PL, 180pts]
. Deathshroud Champion: Manreaper, Plaguespurt gauntlets
. 2x Deathshroud Terminator: 2x Manreaper, 2x Plaguespurt gauntlets

Helbrute [7 PL, 139pts]: Helbrute fist, Multi-melta

+ Fast Attack +

Chaos Spawn [4 PL, 66pts]: Chaos Spawn, Chaos Spawn

Myphitic Blight-haulers [7 PL, 142pts]
. Myphitic Blight-hauler: Bile spurt, Missile launcher, Multi-melta

+ Heavy Support +

Chaos Predator [9 PL, 172pts]: Combi-flamer, Havoc launcher, Predator autocannon
. Two heavy bolters: 2x Heavy bolter

Plagueburst Crawler [8 PL, 152pts]: 2x Entropy cannon, Rothail volley gun

++ Total: [85 PL, 1489pts] ++

Battle for Site 2212 - Sanctum

Planet: Sanctum.
Region: Xenobian sector.

Death Guard vs Drukhari / Craftworld Saim-Hann.
1500 points.
Mission: Deadlock.
Deployment: Spearhead Assault.

The battle for Site 2212 was a major battle for the Death Guard as they fought to breach the Aeldari defences and reach their desired targets. There had been many minor engagements, skirmishes really, since the Death Guard landed nearly two months ago but this was the first to field significant numbers. The surprise came when it was revealed that the Aeldari had brought forth Drukhari mercenaries to aid in driving off the favoured sons of Nurgle.

This match was against another new player to the club Charlie. We picked a simple mission from my list ahead of time and set to building out lists. I had thought that Charlie played Blood Angels so I was surprised to see a combined Drukhari and Saim-Hann list deployed before me.

A fair bit of Charlie's army was deployed in transports or was flying above the battlefield. I was perhaps a bit too cautious and deployed quite far back into my deployment zone or as in the case of Typhus and his ground forces right behind a wall. The Aeldari got the first turn and I failed to seize the initiative as usual.

The flyer detachment zoomed in and with a lot of massed fire destroyed my plague drone, thus earning first blood. From what I recall the rest of his shooting was not very effective. I lost a few wounds from the plagueburst crawler as I recall but this was a time in the game where I was making a lot of my disgustingly resilient rolls. This is me though and that luck petered out as the game went along. I think Charlie scored two of his tactical objectives putting him on three victory points at the end of the first turn.

My first turn and I think I was still being cautious. Previous experience against the Aeldari has made me so I think. I didn't move up very much but I had some easy to achieve tactical objectives. My shooting caused some damage to the flyers but I was mostly pleased with a direct hit from the plagueburst mortar which destroyed a venom in one shot! My first turn and I did well to score four objective cards.

As the game progressed I couldn't get too far up the table as the Aeldari shooting was rather accurate. I was soon able to down the planes and a fair few number of his Drukhari infantry. I felt for that poor warrior who stood his ground against a rampaging chaos spawn before it tore him limb from limb! Sadly the spawn didn't last much longer afterwards. We both started to lose a lot of what we had remaining on the table. I forget exactly now after nearly a week, what dropped what but I remember my cultists being rather stubborn and not running, dying to the last man.

Towards the end of the game Charlie was able to access a webway portal behind my lines and dropped some wytches. The Scourges dropped down too, massacring my cultists and then assaulting the crawler. They soon died to that though. The wytches slaughtered there way through my plague marines, a killing that I had not expected. My DR rolls hard failed me.

The game ended turn 5 and neither of us had much left to gather our dead. We counted up the victory points and the game was a draw. A couple hours later I realized that I had had a tactical objective that gave me a victory point if Typhus survived the game so in theory I won but I can't in good conscious include it as if I didn't remember at the time then tough. A draw was still a good result and one I was happy with. A very enjoyable game.

---

After thoughts...

A very good fun game. Not nearly as tough as I had expected considering what I am used to with the Aeldari. Charlie was a good casual opponent and I am looking forward to a nice rematch in the near future.

---

++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (Chaos - Death Guard) [76 PL, 1321pts] ++

+ HQ +

Malignant Plaguecaster [6 PL, 110pts]: 1. Miasma of Pestilence, 6. Curse of the Leper, The Pandemic Staff

Typhus [9 PL, 175pts]: 4. Blades of Putrefaction, 5. Putrescent Vitality, Warlord

+ Elites +

Deathshroud Terminators [11 PL, 180pts]
. . Deathshroud Champion: Manreaper, Plaguespurt gauntlets
. . 2x Deathshroud Terminator: 2x Manreaper, 2x Plaguespurt gauntlets

Hellforged Contemptor Dreadnought [10 PL, 170pts]
. . Left Arm: Combi-bolter, Hellforged deathclaw
. . Right Arm: Kheres assault cannon

+ Fast Attack +

Chaos Spawn [2 PL, 33pts]: Chaos Spawn

Foetid Bloat-drone [8 PL, 158pts]: 2x Plaguespitters, Plague probe

+ Troops +

Chaos Cultists [6 PL, 48pts]
. . 9x Chaos Cultist w/ autopistol and brutal assault weapon
. . Chaos Cultist w/ special weapon: Heavy stubber
. . Cultist Champion: Shotgun

Plague Marines [10 PL, 171pts]
. . Plague Champion: Plaguesword, Plasma gun, Power fist
. . 4x Plague Marine w/ boltgun
. . Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun
. . Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun

Plague Marines [10 PL, 174pts]
. . Plague Champion: Plaguesword, Plasma gun, Power fist
. . 4x Plague Marine w/ boltgun
. . Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Blight launcher
. . Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plague Spewer

Poxwalkers [6 PL, 120pts]: 20x Poxwalker

+ Heavy Support +

Plagueburst Crawler [8 PL, 152pts]: 2x Entropy cannon, Rothail volley gun

++ Total: [86 PL, 1491pts] ++

---

The field of battle!

Death on wings! The Aeldari sought to dominate the skies.

Battle for Qualor Valley - Sanctum

Planet: Sanctum.
Region: Xenobian sector.

Death Guard vs Craftworld Saim-Hann.
1500 points.
Mission: Roving Patrol.
Deployment: Vanguard Strike.

Having translated in system, Typhus was eager to make planet fall and begin his assigned task. Typhus lead a small vanguard into the overgrown ruins of the ancient Aeldari empire in search of their forgotten relics. But the farseers of the craftworlds had foreseen his arrival and prepared an ambush. Swooping through the trees came the skimmers and grav tanks of Saim-Hann.

At last a chance to play against the new Aeldari codex and my opponent did not disappoint. I picked a mission, Roving Patrol, from Chapter Approved 2017 as I had seen a nice youtube battle report using that once and I had as yet not played any of the new missions. Unfortunately we rolled the one deployment zone that I really hate but we went for it. Using the mission deployment rules Jon set up his small force in his corner and I had a little gathering sitting around my objective. I had hoped that this would help me so that I didn't just get swamped by swarms of jetbikes. I did ponder about trying to seize the initiative but I couldn't fathom a reason to actually do so.

Straight away Jon focused all his fire upon my poor plagueburst crawler but I was lucky and it shrugged off most of the damage. Most of his army also turned up straight away and we had to reset a little as we had both read it wrong as to where they could come in but no harm was done. My first turn and everything except Typhus turned up. I was able to pour some fire into him but not a great amount.

Turn 2 and Jon's army was now inbound. The plagueburst crawler took a lot of damage as did my renegade knight. The ion shield was just not set to resist Aeldari weaponry obviously. My turn and Typhus finally arrived. I tried to use psychic sorcery to hide the crawler but it didn't really help against the alien force arrayed against me. I was able to seize first blood though and took out one of his wave serpents. One poor dire avenger on board was killed but I'll take any victory against the Aeldari.

The next couple turns saw my crawler and my knight destroyed. Disappointing but facing the Aeldari had expected a lot of severe firepower coming my way. I tried to advance forward towards the objective at the center of the table but mass firepower from jetbikes and fire prisms was taking down by plague marines and poxwalkers. I also noticed that Jon had not as yet used his swooping hawks and it occurred that maybe he was waiting for me to move my troops out from my deployment zone before sending them forth to steal my objective. I figured that the game was lost at this point anyway so I set myself the tertiary objective of not letting him having my objective.

Turn 5 went on to turn 6 and Typhus lost his poxwalker screen and soon fell himself to mass firepower. I figure that the Terminus Est has teleport locks on him and pulled him to safety before he could be killed. My plaguecaster used his smite to take out the swooping hawks when they arrived but it did not help. He and the cultists were cut down turn 7. Jon had nicely tabled me.

---

Thoughts on the game. I felt that I had made a reasonable list that should have done me well. Had the deployment been different I think I might well have done better. But Vanguard Strike is just hell to play. Jon's much longer range weaponry gave him such an edge in the battle that it was soon apparent to me that I was not going to do well. I was also a little disappointed by the mission as I had figured that it would help me more than him. In the end, the deployment and reserve rules made very little difference to the outcome. A nice fun game as always but one where I think the deployment zone screwed me over.

---

++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (Chaos - Death Guard) ++
Rules: Inexorable Advance, Plague Host, Plague Weapon

+ HQ +

Malignant Plaguecaster: Blight Grenades, Bolt pistol, Corrupted staff, Curse of the Leper, Krak grenade, Plague Wind, Smite, The Pandemic Staff

Typhus: Blight Grenades, Master-crafted manreaper, Miasma of Pestilence, Putrescent Vitality, Smite, The Destroyer Hive, Warlord

+ Troops +

Chaos Cultists
. . 8x Chaos Cultist w/ autopistol and brutal assault weapon: 8x Autopistol, 8x Brutal assault weapon
. . Chaos Cultist w/ special weapon: Heavy stubber
. . Cultist Champion: Shotgun

Plague Marines: Icon of Despair
. . Plague Champion: Blight Grenades, Krak grenade, Plague knife, Plasma gun, Power fist
. . 4x Plague Marine w/ boltgun: 4x Blight Grenades, 4x Boltgun, 4x Krak Grenades, 4x Plague knife
. . Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Blight Grenades, Krak grenade, Plague knife, Plasma gun
. . Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Blight Grenades, Krak grenade, Plague knife, Plasma gun

Plague Marines: Icon of Despair
. . Plague Champion: Blight Grenades, Krak grenade, Plague knife, Plasma gun, Power fist
. . 4x Plague Marine w/ boltgun: 4x Blight Grenades, 4x Boltgun, 4x Krak Grenades, 4x Plague knife
. . Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Blight Grenades, Blight launcher, Krak grenade, Plague knife
. . Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Blight Grenades, Krak grenade, Plague knife, Plague Spewer

Poxwalkers
. . 11x Poxwalker: 11x Improvised weapon

+ Fast Attack +

Foetid Bloat-drone: 2x Plaguespitters, Plague probe

+ Heavy Support +

Plagueburst Crawler: 2x Entropy cannon, Plagueburst Mortar, Rothail volley gun

++ Super-Heavy Auxiliary Detachment (Chaos - Questor Traitoris) ++

+ Lord of War +

Renegade Knight: Heavy stubber, Reaper chainsword, Thermal cannon, Titanic feet

++ Total: [83 PL, 1498pts] ++

My initial deployment. Hold that objective!

The two fire prisms that gave me such trouble.

My army arrives ready to crush the alien!

That is a lot of skimmers...

World's of the Narrative - Sanctum

Planet: Sanctum III.
Segmentum: Pacificus.
Sector: Xenobian.
System: Sanctum.
Surveyed: M32.
Planets:
Sanctum I - Barren World.
Sanctum II - Barren World.
Sanctum III - Terrestrial World.
Sanctum IV - Terrestrial World.
Sanctum V - Gas Giant.
Sanctum VI - Gas Giant.
Sanctum VII - Ice World.

Summery:
The system designated Sanctum by the Imperium was once a part of the ancient Aeldari empire. Abandoned by them millions of years before the Fall the planet was quickly reclaimed by the forces of nature. Great jungles swept across those primitive ruins burying them beneath their roots and vines. However deep within those ruins artefacts of the Aeldari still lie waiting to be rediscovered.

The Aeldari still feel a tie to this world and Farseers visit to bask in the peace and solitude of this world unaware of the artefacts beneath their feet. Sanctum is all they have left of their original homeworld and they will defend it should it come under attack.

Size: Equatorial distance - 18,500 miles.
Gravity: 1.0 G.
Satellites: One moon.
Population: None.
Orbit: 75 million miles from it's star. Sanctum III takes 300 days to complete one orbit.
Climate: Mean surface temperature of 28 degrees centigrade.

Guided by the will of Father Nurgle, the Death Guard have emerged from the Warp above Sanctum III. With no population to to concern themselves with, the Death Guard simply deploy by landers to the surface and head towards the ancient ruins in search of the Aeldari relics. Following the will of Nurgle they seek these artefacts to corrupt them and deny the alien foes their heritage. The Craftworld farseer's sense the danger and come roaring through the webways with a terrible host to combat and stop the foul plague sons.

Notes: This is the world for narrative games against the Craftworld Aeldari and possibly for Harlequins as well.

Tide of Battle:
Craftworld victories: 2.
Death Guard victories: 0.
Draws: 1.

1. Battle for Qualor Valley.
2. Battle for Site 2212.
3. Outflanked!