A Clash Against the Deathguard

Over the weekend it was my pal Ron's birthday. For the event myself, Ed, Josh and Ron assembled our armies to face off against each other. Ed and me formed a Mechanics-Space wolves alliance, while the Orks ran alongside the Deathguard. 

It was a close game with 3000 points a side. In the end the survivability of the Deathguard won the game. One lonely Deathguard model held the objective allowing the forces of Chaos to prevail over the forces of man.

Not having faced off against orks too much in the past, it was great to see the might of a Stompa on the battlefield. Intimidating and huge; it was a sight to behold.

Vlees and Jostien, the eldest and youngest leaders of the Canis Aureus.

The Ritual

Renegades and the lost had collected from all parts of the galaxy to hear the great one speak. Once a proud member of the imperium, like all astartes, his vision had changed. His skull, massive, bare and broken was a sight to behold. Long absent were his needs to communicate using the words of man. Now Vlees relied on far greater stimuli. No longer possessing eyes, his large cranium had built upon his nerve endings and sensory glands. The ancient's hearing and smell was unmatched among his rivals and peers. Proudly he had led his renegade forces from the warp to face off against the Tau and Eldar alliance. In his victory, he discovered that his chapter of origin were not only still active but also disgraced. Furious, Vlees gathered his warband of renegades and placed them under banner of his chapter. Deserters from the Emperor's Children, the Deathguard, the Thousand Sons, some Khorne beserkers and many other factions had chosen to follow their Lord over the centuries. Now they served the Canis Aureus, the Chapter out to get revenge on everyone for the treachery that had been committed against them. As he rose from his mighty throne of soul stone, Vlees commanded his legion to disembark and prepare to face the green skin menace that approached. Eager and cunning, the green skins had acted as a diversion for the Deathguard's more malevolent plans. Being one of the original Chapter's founders and firm battle brothers with the original High Jackal, Vlees had gained acceptance despite his altered state. Even under his horrific transformation, his stance and manner had remained unchanged. Slowly he strode down the long hallway of the Garmr, with the same pride and commanding the same respect as he had done over nine thousand years ago.

Gottfried had been waiting for a chance to fell the greenskins again. It was how he had spent the last three decades as a Freeblade under the service of the Imperium. His mighty Knight had been torn down and rebuilt more times than he could remember. The pilot's right arm, both legs, as well of a portion of his internal organs had been replaced with cybernetics across the years of conflict. As the last noble of House Aureus, he had taken these wounds with pride. He had hoped to clean the Aureus name with his efforts. After two decades it was clear that no matter how many green skins he eradicated there would be no promotion or acceptance of his heritage or that of his lost home world. As he began his advance on the colossal stompa before him, he was filled with pride. Never did he dream he would be fighting alongside the astartes of his home world. Working alongside the Ancient's legion drove him to seek greater glory. Thermal cannon belching forth molten hellfire, the knight collided with the metal beast before him. Lifting his reaper chainsword high, he cleaved chunk after chunk from it. Large sections of metal crashed into the ground, creating large clouds of fetid noxious fumes. The taint of the Deathguard was evident.
The belly of the Stompa was now open, from within burst forth a Horde of orks along with their mighty Warboss. They pulled the noble to the ground tearing and chopping at his legs. From the inside of his wreck he could see the mechanicus support drawing the green skins from his wreckage. Laughing, he knew he would get to live another day.
Crushing the once lush tropical vegetation underfoot, the mutated Chaos Lord crashed into the bloated, fetid landscape. Their strongest ally down, he knew it was time to give his aid and help turn the tide of battle. Firing his storm bolter and grenades from his custom-built power fist, he made his presence known. Inspired by his descent the marines piled out of their rhino and collided with the decaying lord before them. With the supporting fire of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the champion fell and his bodyguard soon after. Vlees turned his bloated weeping sockets upward and absorbed the sounds of mighty engine ahead. The stormfang gunship launched all of its ordinance into the gorkanaut next to him. As it tore the last of the first and second marine squad apart, the impact of the volley hit. The walker buckled and collapsed, leaving only one of the twenty jackal hunters standing. Surveying the disease ridden corpses of his brothers before him, Vlees silently commanded the remaining marine to begin incinerating the area. In the distance he could hear the lone surviving Deathguard marine finish his ritual. Even though the battle of might had been won, they had managed to stall the Aureus forces. The ritual was complete. He was was coming.

Eradicating the Infestation

I decided to play Space Hulk the other day. This is what happened...

There was movement in the corner of the corridor. The ancient ships emergency lighting flickered and sparked spasmodically, illuminating the remains beneath it in a vicious red glow. Jostien could see how the Imperial forces had failed to wipe out the xenos infestation. The whirring of dying machines, the xenos scuttling and the deep crunching of metal was disrupting their sensors. Steadying his stalker bolter, Jostien took the right corridor and waited patiently for his foes to approach. 

"Wade here, xenos sighting confirmed. Proceeding forward," voxed in the reiver Sgt. 

"Just waiting for the bastards to reveal their ugly heads. Hold your ground or they are likely to flank you and Radford," ordered Jostien.

From the base of the corridor they came. A river of shining white and vibrant pinks. Radford held his ground firing his bolter down the long corridor. Each popped in a spray of shimmering, lurid green that ate away at the metal where it landed. He turned to his comrade and saw that Wade held the tide in his corridor. His heavy bolt pistol in hand, the astartes emptied the magazine point blank into each of his assailants heads,  they popped like ripened fruit, coating the wall behind in the thick acidic ichor.  Advancing over their dead, the genestealers sunk their claws into his armour like it was flesh. Swiftly drawing his combat blade he made light work of his foes. With the corridor clear in front of him he made his way to the end of the corridor. In the old elevator he saw them. Each beast was slowly stirring from its slumber, sluggishly waking from their stasis. With a few carefully thrown frag grenades, Wade destroyed his sluggish adversaries. 

Enraged by losing their kin, the genestealers fought with even more fury. Striding down the corridor at an alarming speed they made their approach. Radford shot three off of the ceiling and one off of either wall before they were upon him. Slashing a mighty claw across his throat and delving another claw deep into his abdomen, his body fell limp in his killers arm. Turning their attention back to where they had awoken, the genestealers saw the skull-faced marine approach. Jamming his pistol, he threw it aside and flung himself into the horrors before him. The first had no time to react as he decapitated it with his preliminary stroke, before knocking it aside to stab the other repeatedly in the front of its carapace. It's blood coated his hands burning through armour, flesh, then bone. Roaring in dismay, he watched as three out of his five fingers fused with his dagger and then dripped off of his palm. 

Screaming three corridors away, Ufuk fell with his jammed bolter in his hands. It's mechanisms destroyed by the acidic build up, he had been left defenceless and caught unaware. Turning his attention onto his dying brother, Ugo sprayed his bolter down the corridor. Flipping onto the ceiling, his target dodged the volley of fire. Launching from its vantage point the terror cleaved the marine in two with its mighty talons. Knowing the intruders had almost been wiped out, the tyranid screeched in triumph and charged the marine Captain.  Overwhelmed on all sides Jostein floored one and then a second before his clip was emptied.  The blood soaked tyranid connected with his chest and slashed him open across the abdomen.  As his innards fell from him, he hit the distress signal. What had he started? He thought to himself as his vision went to black.

Grappling into the ceiling, Wade propelled himself into the xenos. Punching it with fury and hatred, his now fingerless hand entered the xenos skull. Biting out the throat of a second, he was hit with an arterial spray of acid. As he dissolved the one remaining genestealer bit into his helmet, removing skull, bone and brain. 

Victorious and alert, the lone warrior stalked off to wake up the rest of his brood.

Freehand Flyer

Gradually since just before 8th Editions release, I have been experimenting with freehand painting. A few weeks ago I purchased a Storm Raven for £8 and was pretty hyped about it. Soon after I realised that I could not use it with my Space Wolf force. I then sold it on ebay for £35 and acquired this Storm Wolf instead.

I have never been a fan of painting vehicles (aside from walkers), so I thought I would try a different approach. After priming it black I have started to treat the blank vehicle as a canvas. My aim is to cover most of it in freehand.

I started with the portrait of the Wolf Mother, a greater daemon unaffiliated with any of the four Chaos gods that saved the Canis Aureus in their time of peril. I began with the basic image and worked up the highlights. The eyes needed to be larger in order for me to get the detail into them.

After this I did the portrait of the Wolf Mothers' true form. A woman with a humanoid body, a clawed hand and the head of a Jackal (See video below).

Finally, I painted over the cockpit of the Storm Fang. Is the beast alive or is it a paint scheme designed to bring terror into the hearts of the Aureus' enemies? One thing is for sure, it is going to take me some time to finish this, but I am sure it will be worth every hour.

680 Skulls

Is 680 skulls enough for one man?  Is it enough for life? The answer to both is probably not.

At the weekend I picked up two boxes of the new Games Workshop Skulls.  they contain such a nice variety that I just couldn't resist getting two packs.

I have no regrets as the Nurgle skulls make for excellent chaos guardsmen to act as more chaos cultists. Demented but strangely cute.

I also have added 3 skulls to every figure that won the tournament. It was a good day and the little guys deserved it.

Shrike

I was commissioned to paint this lovely Raven Guard Shrike model in my clients custom scheme.  My iPhone camera didn't pick up the gradients properly but he was happy with the work.  

The Aureus Expand: My First 40k Tournament

Eight armies gathered for the fight over one sector of Konor. The Aureus were keen to make a name for themselves and get vengeance against the Imperium. Six of these armies were Forces of the Imperium, one was Eldar and the other the Canis Aureus. 

The tournament was three games per army, the warlord with the most victory points winning the tournament. The points requirement for each force was 750 and each army had to be battleforged.

Canis Aureus
x1 Chaos Lord (Fenerus) with combi-bolter and powersword
x1 Spawn
x5 Chaos Marines
x4 Havocs with x 4 Autocannons
x9 Khorne Berserkers (Sgt with power fist)
x1 Rhino with x2 combi-bolters
x1 Hellbrute with combi-bolter, fist and multimelta

The boys without their Lord

My first game of the tournament was the one that I dreaded the most.  It was against a veteran Imperial Guard player and a rules buff at that. In my first few months of playing I faced this army in a small 500 point game as was crushed mercilessly, almost putting me out of the hobby. It sapped my fun out of the game and was just nasty.

Now, despite having vowed to never face this opponent again, it was time to try and get my revenge. A few weeks before the tournament I had told Ed about my fears of facing 50 man conscript squads in such a small game.  He advised me to go with the Berserkers in the rhino. 

The first turn of the game I managed go first and took out the heavy weapon las cannon team. I advanced my rhino up to the conscript wall. In the Guards first turn I lost my marine unit and the rhino took a beating. As turn two began I deployed the Berserkers and their two attacks made them devastating. They piled out of the rhino and managed to wipe out 38 conscripts in a round. The rhino managed to pin in the basilisk making it useless for the remainder of the game.

Come the end of turn six the guard only had two models on the battlefield, ending the game at a score of 9-3. Revenge was sweet.

My second game was against an infantry heavy Eldar list. MY good pal David got first turn and rolled pretty badly, allowing me to steam in and hit hard. The hellbrute tore through his first squad like a mallet through butter and the beserkers piled into the nearby building, wiping out another squad.

By turn three it was over, a 10-0 victory. Savage and efficient the Jackals came out on top. Quite literally as F.G. Bio (My Warlord) ascended the tower and killed the rangers hiding above.

The third game was a battle on the harshest battleground. One trench in an open wasteland.  It was against Darren who I had spent the last few weeks playing intro games against. With some skills up his sleeve and some borrowed miniatures, he had worked his way up to the final. We both had 19 victory points and the other contenders were behind us by a long shot. With a firm handshake the game began.

His Salamanders (Dragon Force) hit hard.  The mighty intercessor marines punching my marines armour and tearing the flesh beneath many of them fell in the first round.

The "Relic" in the middle of the open battlefield.

My havocs held their ground and punched back pulling down a few intercessors, while the khorne troop and the spawn tore into combat against the thick masses of tactical marines.  After a couple of successful rounds all of the tactical marines had died, but Vulcan He'stan carried on swinging. Killing most of the khorne beserkers and saving every wound with his 3 up invulnerable save.

Again my Aureus managed to win a large 9-0, enabling me to take the top spot. Sadly Darren came 3rd due to my win but claimed a prize along with David who claimed best sportsman.

My army won best painted and due to my overall win I walked away with £25 in vouchers and a certificate.  

From left to right (Front row) Darren, Me and David

More Tournament Prep

I finally made a list for the 750pt tournament. Now I just need to make sure everything is painted for it.  I decided being an actual tournament that I shouldn't use any proxy models, so I dug out my only chaos spawn and painted him up, along with the four autocannon havocs that I need for it. Now to base them!

My rhino also needed a touch up, something to make it more chaotic. I think he turned out alright.

Tournament Prep

With a 70 point tournament on the way I thought it was time to bolster my forces. Normally I cannot justify Forgeworld but having achieved some good sales on ebay and gained a few commissions under my belt, I treated myself.

As soon as they arrived today I built 8/10 auto-cannons (enough for two squads of Havocs) and the five noise marines.  

Earlier today I was also given some space wolf upgrade kits and a few rubic marines for my army. I used the shoulders and some of the heads to make all the marines I built fit in with the army.

My gifts from Jack

Hopefully I will get them painted in time...

Vulcan He'stan

A new player to the world of Warhammer paid me to paint his Vulcan He'stan. As always the camera really doesn't get the gradient across but both me and him were very happy with the result. 

Yet another salamander terror I will have to face on the battlefield. 

Raven Guard

Regretfully I did not have time to photograph these two gents.  I was commissioned to paint them locally but neglected to actually take a picture.  thankfully the client sent me this picture of them in the cabinet at the local shop.

A huge part of commissioning for me is just to see the joy of people playing with the miniatures I have painted for them. It's nice to know that they go to loving homes.  

8th Edition Release Night

On the warm up to the Eighth Edition's midnight release, Marquee Models held an open games night, From six until one in the morning.

Myself, Jamie, Ron, Joshua and Marisa all attended along with plenty of others. 

Jamie and Mia formed a Tau alliance and decimated the forces of Khorne.

Meanwhile Josh's orks were locked in combat with the Canis Aureus.  the orks put up a good fight but the Aureus prevailed.

My final game saw the Eldar and Aureus face off against the Tau alliance and we won a narrow victory. My leviathan exploding in the process.

At the end of the night I was lucky enough to win the top prize in the raffle and snag myself a Space wolf book bag.

That night I also made and painted this fellow when I got in. The Aureus' failed attempt to make their own primaris marine. (Older marine used for scale.) Clearly they need more gene seed.

Carpet Campaign with Chaos

At the weekend I played my first 40k campaign.  Three missions and two Kill team challenges.  This was expanded upon when my girlfriend came home and wanted to join in the fray.  Having lost all but one Kill Team Jamie (My opponent) wanted a big final game using all of their Tau Forces. In total this came to 3300pts of Tau.

The biggest lesson we all learnt during this campaign is that dirge casters in chaos rhinos versus Tau are horrible. Preventing over-watch in an army that depends on its ranged combat was crippling.

The first game was: 1500pts Tau vs Chaos Marines using Echoes of War: The Scavenger War (Customised) from the Gathering Storm: Fall of Cadia supplement.

I deployed Chaos Marines and a renegade knight while Jamie used his refreshed Tau force including a riptide battle suit.  Having heard many terrifying things about riptides and also previously having faced a stormsurge, I was worried.  Sadly Jamie rolled beyond awfully in the first match and the Corrupted Aureus won 10-0.

Gottfried my second hand knight restored.

After this we moved onto a Kill Team Challenge: Against the Horde.  70 Chaos Cultists vs 200pts of Tau in a building granting 2 up cover.  This came down to the last hit of the final turn, in which my cult leader killed the Tau's final specialist in hand to hand.  As a reward and for flavour I rolled on the Chaos Boon table and got a 65 result.  Now I have to invest in a daemon prince, as the mighty cultists recived the best blessing from the dark gods.

The cult. The shotgun leader at the back is to become a prince!

Game 2 was 1000pts Tau vs Chaos Marines Echoes of War: The Sword of Defiance (Customised) from the Gathering Storm: Fall of Cadia supplement.  No knight was used in this game but again the score ended 13-0 in my favour.  a brutal and swift advance left the Tau forces in a lot of close assault.  Those that did not die in assault fell victim to the might of the deep striking obliterators.

My custom obliterators

Kill Team 2 was Prey Stalker: 200pts of Deathwatch (7 Astartes) vs a fully kitted out Riptide with two shield drones.  The challenge was a close one.  The riptide took 4 wounds but managed to take down all 7 men pretty swiftly... as one would expect.

In game 3 we played 2400pts Various Imperials vs Tau Tau  Echoes of War: The Emperor Protects (Customised) from the Gathering Storm: Fall of Cadia supplement.  In this the Tau were winning 8-5 but in the final two turns the Order Extermini caught up and the game ended 11-8.  Once the hammerhead and riptide fell the tables turned pretty swiftly.  Maulerfiends fare well against riptides :D

The days highlights.

Finally we played the 3300pts of Tau vs Chaos. Echoes of War: The Fall of the Kriegan Gates (Customised) from the Gathering Storm: Fall of Cadia supplement. It took 3 and a half hours and was the largest game of 40k I have ever played.  The Tau hit hard but deployed too close. Once again it was a swift comeback from the Corrupted Aureus.

After 14 hours of 40k myself and Jamie were pretty damn tired but it was worth it.  Since I started in the hobby just over a year ago I wanted to play a thematic campaign and this weekend I achieved it.

Below is some fluff from the final game.

The Fall of the Peacekeepers. 

Lord Faustus had led them to victory in many battles. He had defeated the Salamanders, clashed with Death Guard, tore apart an Orc Warband and crushed the Tau, claiming three worlds in the process. Despite his overwhelming presence on the battlefield he had been taken from them seven times. Dragged into the warp to reemerge months later with even greater forces. Giant beasts of metal and flesh came to aid them from beyond the mortal realm. He had attracted warbands of traitor marines and cultists from nearby systems to defend the name of the Aureus. His direct link with the wolf mother had made him a beacon of the twisted and the lost. One uprising had successfully crushed the Tau without the Astartes intervention. The lead cultist being blessed and transformed into a daemon prince. He was without question, in their eyes, the High Jackal even if others did not recognise his status. Now without him again, they had to act. The odds stacked against them they descended into the Tau stronghold. With a mere fifty Astartes, a band of cultists and two demonic machines they disembarked from their vessel. Cranus could smell the Tau in the air. Tormented and tamed he longed to be released. As soon as the chains were cut, the mechanical monstrosity lurched into motion. Tearing through the fortified walls he made his way into the fort. The Tau weaponry bounced off of his hard metal carapace as he advanced. Out of the shining bronze central chamber burst the riptide battle suit. The beast had already eaten one a few days prior, Cranus was not perturbed. Dashing after its prey he flung himself from the ground and collided with the gleaming giant. Locked in brutal combat his fists punched into the suit, while the magma cutters tore at the cabling and circuitry beneath. From the opening the cultists strode through. Auto-rifles in hand, they spattered the central tau sentry point with fire. Instantly the xenos began to fall like dead fruit from a tree. Each impacting with a crunch spraying blue blood across the brass structure beside them. Hollering with glee the fanatics steadily advanced onto the building, tearing apart the enemy warlord with their firepower. Beside them spread out two units of Astartes, twenty strong each. Opening fire with their bolters they wiped the remaining sentry points clean. Not showing any signs of remorse as their brothers fell to the taus superior firepower, the Aureus pushed forward. Their Wolf Mother's Chosen emitted a sickly cloud of miasma that entered the surrounded piranha. Panicking the tau pilot opened fire. The vehicles corrupted weaponry lurched with vile energy before erupting in a ball of fly blown bile. Across the field of battle the other Chosen took off his helmet to reveal his twisted feminine face. With a seductive caress of his lips the kroot rifle team began to thrash and seize. Tearing at their own contorted, smiling faces five collapsed to the floor dead, before the rest fell victim to the hellbrute's heavy flamer. From the east the Baron Gottfried advanced. He refused to let the Canis Aureus down. His knight tore open a hammerhead before lurching into the hordes in front of him. Making light work of the infantry, he tried to ignore the systems alert signals. His knight had not yet recovered from its battle in the Exterminii's compound. The Barron knew the commander was his. The Aureus had taken down the bodyguard and left two crisis suits by his side. Walking over to their leader, he let her stare in horror before bringing his gigantic blade down upon her. With the battle over the remaining tau began to leave the system. Their losses had been too great and they needed to pool their resources before attempting another war. The Aureus would take control swiftly and with force. The war was far from over but the system was won.

Corrupted Canis Aureus vs Orks!

New blood is a great thing to have in 40k.  The more opponents I can get the greater I enjoy the game. Having different people to face off against keeps the game interesting and fresh, especially if people use different forces. This is why I was thrilled to see that my pal Richard had finally been coerced into the hobby by Ed and myself.  

It was a small 500pt game that lasted until turn 5 and also my first game playing as Chaos Marines!

It was only a matter of time until I delved into Chaos. with such heretical marines it was an inevitability. I started work on these obliterators and a mauler last week and also purchased a maulerfiend off of a friend.  

Playing against Richard was great. He had learnt his codex and we had a great game.  Sadly his charge rolls didn't go too well and my flamers and lone obliterator made swift work of his ork lines.  Faustus sucked himself into the warp once again. that now makes a grand total of six times.

The game ended 7-4 to the Aureus. Another victory to the hunted chapter. 

After our game we played Tanks, a game I had bought Richard for Christmas.  He got his sweet revenge, swiftly tabling my German tanks. I managed to take out one British tank but suffered a crippling defeat.  A simple but very entertaining game to end the night.

The Loyalists

The Loyalists

Now that I have started playing co-op games of 40k. 2 vs 2 or 2 vs 1, I have had to justify to myself why and how the Aureus would team up with other Imperial factions, as they are mostly ancient and heretical in nature and hate everything.

Well there was a simple solution, some of the aureus remained loyal to the Imperium. They did not chase down the Wolves and Thousand Sons or get tainted by the warp.

I was these guys that removed the Canis Aureus from record for their treason and the few hundred that were not executed in punishment, continued to work alongside various other imperial forces.

I decided to paint up some normal marines to play in these games instead of my usual heretical ones.

They were not prepared...

Their second battle was against the Eldar alongside the Salamanders. They lost of course, but it was an incredible game.

The first was against the Dark Eldar.  It was tense, I lost all of my forces but Jack held on with his Wolves allowing us to win the game.  Below is my fluff of the game.

The Darkness Comes

Alessandro Ermo had been there when Prospero fell. Slaying his brothers and watching the merciless Wolves slay their own. He had agreed with their methods but his chapter had not. All had left for the Warp that day, in pursuit of the 13th company in an effort to talk sense into them, to prevent the genocide that was to come. He had stayed with their allies. Promoted both to a High Jackal for his efforts and a Jackal Lord, he had fought with extreme prowes, worthy in the eyes of Russ himself. The first of his order to be of both ranks, he had spent the last ten thousand years pursuing chaos and aiding the Imperium. Alessandro had signed the paperwork and preformed the rituals to have his chapter stricken from all records. He knew the cost of the defiance the Aureus had exhibited. Now only his force of a mere five hundred warriors survived. They would be the last.

***

On hearing of his brothers emerging from the far reaches of space, Lord Ermo was both hesitant and elated. They had sent out feelers but was aware that they had already been in regular conflict with various imperial forces. Learning of Demens' awakening he had arranged for immediate dispatch. Commanding both his most trusted rune priests, ancients and a sizeable force of his allies he prepared for battle. Approaching the long forgotten world of Strain, the force descended. Clearly they were too late but that was irrelevant. They were here for the location of the mighty Typoon Seige Tank. He needed to reach it before his brothers. Making headway through the ruins the Wolves located multiple consoles that still emitted electrical power. It was then they came. At first they held back shooting from afar and hiding in the shadows. The marines made for the consoles, accessing, transmitting and deleting all of the data they could find as the storm of the Dark Eldar approached. Lord Ermo witnessed the agile and decadent force rip through his infantry and tear his allies apart. ascending the dilapidated communication tower, he heard them coming. The view from the ruin was horrifying. Xenos hordes like ants, seemingly immune to the firepower of the Astartes weaponry, surged beneath him. From above he observed the Blood Claws fighting until their last breath. Managing to upload the data to the central comms tower. One swiftly destroyed the consoles while the rest of the pack held grotesques and an aberration at bay. The mighty cannons of the Deredeo erupted and punctured the enemy fliers out of the sky, but not before all of Ermo's ancients had been sent to their maker. Hearing the cries of the rune priest below, he knew his time was over. It was only a matter of seconds before the wyches claimed him. Crushing the console with his fist he cursed. His mission had been a success information had been sent. Lord Ermo had wanted to see his brothers in person but clearly it was not meant to be. Throwing his storm bolter down, he drew his heavy and ancient blade. The wyches ascended to the upper floors. The first kicking the mighty warrior in the jaw, while another garrotted him from behind. It was over, the xenos had won. In orbit Decimus received the co-ordinates. Getting to the Typoon Seige Tank was going to take a lot more work than he had expected. With the loss of their Lord, they would need to find allies in order to achieve their goal and get the advantage over their tainted brothers.

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.

Facing a Tyranid Hierophant Bio-titan

Last Wednesday at Marquee Models Veterans Night, myself and Adam faced off against Ed.  Two 1000pt armies (Wolves and Salamanders) vs 2000pts of Tyranids.  I thought we would lose, as I have nothing high end in my army at all.  Deciding to leave the heavy gunning and defence up to the Salamanders I went for light and fast... It was the wrong option.

We got dominated.  The Aureus were pretty much tabled two turns in and my Culexus Assassin was one-shot in the first round... 140 points straight down the drain.  Somehow my psykers managed to survive until turn three and one until the game was called to an end at the end of the third round.

Scoring 8-0 Ed won a mighty victory.  I have never faced off against something so hideously powerful. We were swamped by the Bio-titan on our 6x4 board and there was no hiding or escape.  

As per usual, I was unprepared for what faced me.  A few weeks ago My Aureus managed to take down a Storm Surge with standard firepower and have also once felled the Primarch Vulkan, also with standard fire. Dumb luck is my friend,  however, as with most of my battles, I tend not to go stat hunting to understand my enemy.  In the words of Sun Tzu: "If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles."

Perhaps if I did more research I would win more battles.

Regardless it was a punishing experience as it is never nice to see your loved figures perish under the might of another so rapidly and pathetically. The game itself though was still a good game and certainly one for the history books of the Aureus. They sure do hate the Tyranids!  The Salamanders tried their best to kick up a Storm but nothing could quell the overwhelming power of the Tyranid invasion force.

To check out Eds Bio Titan progress head on over to his blog by clicking here.

Twas the Night of Festivities

For my brithday this year Ed over at BERSERKBLADE arranged a large scale game of kill team.  It was my Canis Aureus (led by St. Nic pictured below), Tau, Marines, more Marines and some Raging Heroes Imperial Guard vs 1000pts of Eds Tyranids.

It was an amazing game that was touch and go throughout. So much so I thought I would turn it into something silly.

Twas the Night of Festivities

Twas the night of festivities, when the Tyranids came, Attempting to engulf the planet, the hive mind to blame, War between rivals stopped, sudden and quick, The Warlord had come, the mighty St. Nic.

At first the Sisters of Silence made their advance, Spewing forth flamers and rituals to lance, Around the flank came Tau regimented and keen, To spread goodwill, wherever they've been.

From the hills to the right, arose such a clatter, A rhino, some scouts and marines to assist in the matter, Their bolters and plasma, spat forth hellfire, To cleanse the Xenos threat their desire.

Buxom lasses, veterans each one, Emerged from the trenches to join in the fun, Quickly torn apart by hormagaunts aplenty, Their limbs hit the floor ever so gently.

The Sisters held firm under St. Nic's gaze, Their spirits afire, their guns ablaze, Zonethropes advanced to bring mental rupture, While deathspitters hit home, armour they did puncture.

Tau and Marines did clean up the threat, Sisters and vixens were not quite dead yet, Marines unloaded until St. Nic was safe, Out came the final volly, the warlord it strafed.

Down it fell, thrashing with a groan, Victory within their hearts, a change of tone, Aureus, Angels, Agents and Tau, Left with few parting words and a bow,

For that was the day a planet was saved, For peace and goodwill, rivals behaved, Today enjoyment can be found, But tomorrow brings plenty of war abound.