Valour VIII has been the staging ground for assaults to retake and hold Valour IX. In a rare time where the planets have nearly aligned, some say the omens spell evil for the system. With enemies of all kinds invading in system, there seems to be truth to this. On the fourth moon, a patrol of Cadian Shock ran into trouble!
One of the Tau Commanders sent out to investigate their new unknown location (see prior Tau Narrative Battle Report) was Shas’o Auzat. Two teams of five Fire Warriors hunkered low in the south tower. They carefully were scanning for the life signs they picked up while investigating the dark side of the moon and did not want to expose themselves until the time was right. A unit of five Pathfinders took perch on the highest intact floor to provide Overwatch. Shas’o Auzat took to waiting in low orbit to strike as needed.
While they were watching, Cultists of Tzeentch came in from the northeast. Two units of 10 came through, one supported by a Psyker. The Dark Commune lead their scouting party, looking for supplies that might have been left after the old buildings had been used for the latest round of urban warfare training.
At this point, the Cadian Shock came in from the northwest, performing the routine patrol training as part of the urban program. A Lord Commissar lead the way, with a minimum Platoon and a squad of Veterans. A Chimera rumbled along with a squad of fresh Guardsmen to practice APC combat.
The Cultists surged forwards on two fronts, eager to draw blood! The unit with the Rogue Psyker went south towards the Tau, trying to hug cover. The Dark Commune and other Cultists came west to confront the Guard!
The Tau cautiously stuck one squad of Fire Warriors out of cover, but was content to hold their Objective and fire a few shots into the Cultists with no effect.
The Lord Commissar, eager to actually fight heretics AND xenos scum as opposed to training incompetent recruits, ordered the patrol to spread out. The Chimera went to the south west fort and garrisoned its unit there to keep them safe and protect their flank. Their took some shots at the Fire Warrior Squad, killing their two Drones. The Chimera fired in just about every direction, but was unable to score any substantial hits.
The Veterans holding the old post office fired a Frag Missile into the Cultists but was thwarted by an interior wall. The other Guard Squad and Platoon Command Squad pulled back slightly and made a gun line. If the Cultists wanted to charge them, so be it!
The Tau took a few shots at the Cultists, killing one, but both snipers failed to hit the Rogue Psyker. The Fire Warriors shot back at the Guardsmen, killing one in return. Shas’o Auzat landed perfectly on target from the sky! He sprayed fire at the Guardsmen as well, forcing them to Go to Ground and took another one out. His Fusion Blaster blew holes into the Chimera, Stunning the Driver and Destroying one of the Lasguns facing his forces.
The Cultist closed in on the Tau further, keeping their heads down. Armed only with Autopistols for ranged combat, they were sorely outmatched and could not afford an open charge. The Rogue Psyker decided to use Bolt of Change, but Reality (and his brain) went a bit runny and he missed.
They pressed towards the Guardsmen as well, staying in tight cover after the frag missile nearly took out their dark leadership. The progressed from the east administratum wing to the west, but did not press further.
The Lord Commissar shouldered his Boltgun and blew two of the Cultists to pieces. The Platoon Commander bellowed First Rank Fire! Second Rank Fire! With a rallying cry the rest of the Guardsmen armed with Lasguns fired in the Cultist Squad, killing most of them, but the powers of Tzeentch were messing with their accuracy in a horrible way! (Seriously, like 80 percent of my shots missed, and over half of them hit on 3+). The Missile Team fired a Krak Missile into Shas’o Auzat, but his Shield held firm.
The Chimera pull up a bit closer and fired its Multilaser at the Dark Commune, but failed To Hit again (I rolled 1, 2, and a 3 each time with it this game. So glad my gunner could count to 3). The Lasguns fired at the Commander and was able to remove the two Drones with an impressive display of shooting despite losing one of them. The Guard Squad rallied and fired at the Fire Warriors again, killing another two.
The Psyker Squad of Tzeentch moved up again, and the Psyker found himself dazed with both nostrils running melty brain juice instead of just one. They fired their pistols and tried to Charge, but the aura of confusion left by the Psyker’s wandering thoughts visually filling the air kept them to disorganized to make it.
Tzeentch was truly powerful this day, and heavily influencing the cubes of chance! Two pistol rounds hit the Guard Squad. The Lord Commissar through himself on the new recruits, taking both in the leg in his attempt to save them. The Dark Commune and Cultists Charged! The Lord Commissar rolled off the recruit, firing a pair of Bolter Rounds to Overwatch the Cultist, killing both! The rest of the squad poured suppressive fire with little to no effect.
The resulting Melee was brutal, but not the worse outcome. Their dark leader Issued a Challenge, and the Lord Commissar accepted with a flourish of his Power Sword. The leader bellowed as the Lord Commissar casually side stepped, ramming his Power Sword through his ribs up to the hilt. As the heretic gasped in surprise, staring at the death mask respirator, the Lord booted him off back into his fellow comrades. As he crashed through their ranks, the Guardsmen rallied and piled in as well. Many of them were cut down, but three worked together and held one in place while the third punched him in the gut over and over again thanks to Tzeentch being fickle (Cult of the Raptora is a two edged sword) and another was heavily sucker punched.
The Tau Fire Warriors edged up closer and Rapid Fired into the Cultists. Two were killed, but Tzeentch’s influence and protective shield remained strong! (Like insanely so, so many 5+ Invulnerability Saves and the risky Cult of Raptora Feel No Pains being passed).
Their snipers nailed the Rogue Psyker in the head, obliterating him resoundly. The panicking Cultists hit the ground with wails of terror as plasma round tore in from the damaged Fire Warriors getting tired of some particularly potent las fire.
Shas’o Auzat strafed the fort again, taking out another three Guardsmen with his Burst Cannon. The Fusion Blaster blew another pair of holes in the Chimera, stunning the driver who had just recovered and removing another Lasgun from the side that needed them.
Annoyed, the Guardsmen rallied again from their Going to Ground and fired into the Tau Commander with no effect.
The Veterans fired another perfectly aimed Krak Missile into the Commander, but his high tech energy shield stopped it again!
Rallying to assist the well fighting but overwhelmed Lord Commissar, the Platoon Command Squad ordered them to Repel Borders, killing one of the Bodyguards. They Charged in from the rear, but the new Platoon Commander accidently threw his Chainsword instead of revving it in a grand display. His entire escort of Veterans failed to land any Hits as well, much to the dismay of the Commissar. He in turn cut down the Psyker as the squad was killed around him. Despite their success and acceptable attrition rate, they were losing ground!
The Lord Commissar calmly held, but the Platoon Commander, now swordless, decided to make a run for it! He made it one step when a bolter round hit him in the back of the head and killed him on the spot. (Its an awesome ability, but you can’t control when it goes off. That probably is what cost my the battle on that side of the table. I love the Imperial Guard!). The escort Veterans hesitated and turned to look at him in fear. He was straight out of the posters they had seen. Smoking Boltgun in one hand, gleaming death mask staring back at them with no soul, he was the scariest thing they had ever seen, so they resumed battle positions in a snappy fashion.
The Cultists Pinned by the snipers rallied, and then Advanced backwards to score an Objective they suddenly decided they needed to do instead of fighting snipers. The second squad peeled off from the north and came south through the center, Advancing through the old city hall as fast as possible!
The Dark Commune channeled the finicky nature of Tzeentch, shorting out the power cell running the Lord Commissar’s Power Sword, Refractor Shield, and his defroster in his gas mask! He stumbled as it all catastrophically failed, missing two swings and bouncing the flat of his blade off with his only hit. In turn, their Power Swords cut him down as well as the last of the Command Squad! The Lord Commissar’s augmented suit initiated its backup protocols and started tracking him away about a minute later. (Its a really cool 3rd party model, with my idea of it having an automated system inspired by Ice Guard, a fantastic novel if you have not read it).
The Tau fired pulse weapons again, with the snipers missing again. The Cultists and their finicky god laughed in energy shield and were mostly unharmed.
The Tau Commander raked the fort again with his Burst Cannon, killing another Guardsmen. His Burst Cannon blew up the Chimera, but his armour protected him! He Charged the Squad, Jumping over the Wall but got the Sergeant’s Chainsword digging through his hydraulics for his effort. One of the Guardsmen understood little about tech heresy, but knew that it was supposed to be broken. His repeated efforts with his rifle butt proved that Tau technology is not all it is hyped up to be. The Commander almost retreated, but decided against it at the last minute!
The Veterans were unable to get a shot on the Tau Commander, so they fired a Frag Missile at close range. Their lasguns completely failed to Hit or to Wound the Dark Commune, so great was the fickle god this day! (My rolls, my rolls. Twas not my day!).
Back at the fort, the Sergeant nearly damaged the Crisis Suit for the 3rd time with his Laspistol (5 to Wound each time, needed a 6!). The Commander was able to clumsily slap one Guardsmen off the wall, which killed him. They fell back, but the Commander decided to hold back!
The Cultists closed in on the Fire Warriors, cutting all down but one! The Blind Grenades caused a few to be clubbed to death with little grace.
The Dark Commune Charged the Veterans, taking some injuries but wiped them out! Barely alive, they started heading towards the Tau Commander.
The Pathfinders and Fire Warrior shot where they could, killing a few. Tzeentch’s protection has never known more favourable Cultists in all of the galaxy though, and they emerged from the smoke mostly alive!
Shas’o Auzat jumped up on the wall, denying Cover to the fleeing Guardsmen. They Went to Ground anyways, and between poor quality ammunition and faith in the Emperor, the Sergeant lived! The Commander Charged again, but neither were able to harm each other.
The Sergeant’s Laspistol plinked off the suit (another 5 To Penetrate). They stared each other down. One, a 12 foot suit of advanced technology. The other, a Sergeant with an appendage made of adamantine. The Commander missed, probably because the Sergeant was in the process of removing its leg with his Chainsword! Shas’o Auzat wanted to retreat, but was spared the need to think about it as he toppled from the walls. Using his Jump thrusters, he was able to mostly land in a reasonable fashion.
The Pathfinders were killed and overwhelmed in battle, as the last Fire Warrior was cut down by pistol fire.
The Dark Commune reached the Commander. They were to kill the Warlord, and he was the only one standing! They Charged, shields flaring to impossible strength and improbability against the Overwatch! They got one solid hit in, damaging the power feed to the Burst Cannon. The Commander kicked out with his dangling, sparking leg and killed the Icon Bearer! Despite the heavy hit, the Commander held his ground.
Desperate to remove this threat, the Commander fired all weapons at the last dark one. The Disabled Burst Cannon sprayed rounds in every direction except where it needed to go, but the Fusion Blaster scored a direct hit and vaporized him! With the approaching Cultists on his flank, he attempted to Charge the Sergeant to ruin his promotion but utterly failed due to his leg falling off from his flailing.
The Sergeant kept requesting orders, but kept receiving commands to Slay the Warlord (I rolled this every turn I got rid of it almost all game. I finally just accepted it). Looking around at the stock pile of Frag Grenades his squad left, he threw one at him. It detonated right where it needed to but had no effect.
The Cultists closed in, losing another three to a really nasty Overwatch! They were unable to kill the barely functioning suit of death, and got kicked a bunch in return, but refused to run away.
They continued fight of Shas’o Auzat will not be remembered by the Imperium as how to hold your ground, but rumor has it the Tau Empire is already circulating copies across its entire empire as a must watch for all Crisis Commanders. It was clunky, and no one was hurt in the latest round of fighting.
With yet more orders to kill the enemy Warlord at all cost, the Sergeant through another grenade. A Direct Hit! Three of the Four Cultists were injured but those literally damnable shield rolls meant that only was killed. The suit was hit hard enough to kill it, but the armoured held!
The Cultists fired pistols to no effect, fighting in desperate hand to hand to also Slay the Warlord, but no side hurt each other!
Shas’o Auzat brought both weapons up and tried to cut two more down, once again foiled by their shields. The resulting hand to hand battle of the ages saw no casualties.
With the end of the battle closing in Nightfall, and no way for it to continue despite how improbably long it went (randomized Turns 5-8 for game length, was on Turn 8). The Sergeant dropped to the ground and threw another Frag Grenade. It failed to harm either opponent. He Charged in, Chainsword Revving, but even his great faith in the Emperor still meant it was hard to damage a combat mech. All three opponents failed to harm each other, and were forced to retreat under the cover of Darkness.
The battle ended with Tzeentch Cultists scoring 15 VP, Imperial Guard 7 VP, and Tau 2 VP! This was the first battle for our friend with his brand new Tau army! We wanted to give him a quick show of our rules, and despite some bad rolls on his part, Alex just could not fail his Saves! All part of the game, and it was a ton of fun with a lot of nail biters at the end. The game ended with just 7 models on the field.
Special shout out to my Lord Commissar for doing awesome until the moment he rolled 1s for everything, my Sergeant who has definitely got a promotion and leads Chainsword drills back at base, the Crisis Commander for taking tons of incoming fire without dying, the entirety of Alex’s Cultist army having the utmost faith in Tzeentch.
Alternate 40k Rules 