A Relic Uncovered

Two weeks ago I acquired my first piece of Forgeworld kit.  Granted I got it second hand as getting the gear new is a bit out of my price range.  Regardless it was still pretty new.  I had to wash it, build it and paint it.  In total after five and a half hours work, I finally finished him.

My first encounter with a Deredeo was maybe my fifth or sixth game of 40k ever.  Needless to say my Jackals were under-equipped and I was tabled by turn three.  I vowed that day to not play in the big leagues, but then one was put in front of me, at a price I could not refuse.  Old, not built and unwanted I felt it needed a home.  My dreadnought addiction knows no bounds though, as the same day I acquired two more dreadnoughts in need of a home, thanks to my new pal Jack.

Ignis - the first of the two multi-melta dreadnoughts
and by far the nicer of the brothers.

So far out of all the games my Deredeo has been in he has performed well.  It really filled the gap in my army in terms of anti-air weaponry.

In the second game the Deredeo was fielded the Salamanders nearly engaged
him in close combat, but my grey Hunters were quick to charge to his aid.

Now for the fluff based on his first fielding vs Tau.

A Relic Uncovered

With a dark sense of foreboding Faustus knew it was time. Demens was to be released. The wolf mother demanded savagery and the onslaught of excessive force to all who opposed them. The High Jackal knew that he could not justify releasing the Brothers, but waking Demens was a risk worth taking. Contorted and buckled within the small confines of his prison, the Astartes hunched sedated. His ancient flesh, intertwined with the thick cabling and age old mechanisms that kept his one forsaken heart beating. For seventy centuries he had been locked beneath the surface of the death world of Strain. His location concealed and indeterminable to the imperium. A relic of a bygone age, dormant and trapped in an eternal chemically induced slumber. Haunted by the slaughter, the battle against his own kin. Demens was free of the taint of chaos but consumed by crippling insanity. Placing his hand over Demens' ravaged and tormented head, Faustus disconnected the makeshift stasis tubes. Crusted with rust and centuries of blood, he threw them to the ground. Gradually the beast began to wake. As the dreadnought's systems engaged Faustus knelt on his brother's chassis, peering into the dead, unfocused stare. "Aerial bombardment inbound High Jackal." Grekus said the dank confines of the bunker. "The Tau are coming." "Let them come, our brother here needs to adjust to the new order of things." Emerging into the piercing sunlight Faustus saw them descend. Lunging into action he was desperate to burnish his reputation with the Wolf Mother. As he gathered his men he worked up his chant of the incantations into a vehement rage. Bolts of energy veered into the sky before thundering down into three of his brothers. Instantly each one split and then erupted into a shower of crimson. In the plethora of demonic activity, a giant claw broke through the confines of the material plane and wrenched Faustus into the unknown.

Waiting for their transport to arrive the Jackals wondered where Faustus had been taken.

***

Advancing towards their enemy the Tau rushed into battle. Fraught with horror, they advanced using the cover of the ancient ruins. The peacekeepers had grown a deep hatred for the Aureus. The larger force this side of space seemed to be darker and greater in number than the Jackals that they had encountered first. Their use of daemonic energy seemed beyond acceptable for the average Astartes. On discovering their new-found mission, they new they had to make an aggressive advance. Demens was more than a tool of war, he was a symbol of power and more horror to come. Sniper fire punctured into Faustus' remaining squad. The last of his marines collapsed into the rubble, claimed by the sharp accuracy of their foe. As the snipers lined up their next target, he'll rained from the skies. Demens had opened fire. The devastation of the planet and the sight of these radiant and efficient xenos disturbed him. Surely the imperium of man had not buckled to such flimsy invaders. His vision blurring he saw Brother Janus calling him forth. The ancient was sure that Janus had been slain in the assault on Prospero. Regardless he was pleased to see his brother again. Taking heed of his advice, Demens obliterated the oncoming crisis suits and breacher teams. The rest of the Astartes sweepers forward, crushing the xenos advance and forced them to retreat. It was clear that they would be retiring with even greater numbers. Even with the ancient one here, they were now eleven warriors. There was nothing of importance left on the dead planet.