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The Necrons deployed in a deep formation with a narrow front. The sent their Warlord in a Command Barge with a full Annihilation Barge escort along the southern flank. Along the northern flank, they staged a unit of Canoptek Wraiths and a Canoptek Doomstalker with a full squad of Triarch Stalkers behind them. Throughout the backlines, four small pockets of Immortals covered the various strategic locations.
Against them, the Mordian Iron Guard staged a defiant resistance. A mighty Stormblade sat in the center, its massive Plasma Blastgun glowing with immense power as it came up to full charge. As this weapon was not necessary for dealing with upset citizens of the Imperium, it remained in fine working condition. A very happy tech priest bubbled contently in the crew compartment, working and fine tuning the ancient relic. The southern flank hosted the Company Command Squad, a squad of Veterans, a squad of Guardsmen, and 2 Chimera variants with a Veteran Squad each. A group of 2 Griffon Mortar carriers sat in the back. The northern flank had a Platoon Command Squad, Guardsmen Squad, and a squadron of Leman Russ Exterminators in a wide dispersion.
Both sides eyed each other wearily. The Mordians had not brought many adequate weapons to crack the Quantum Shielding of the Necrons, and they had not brought many adequate weapons to pierce imperial heavy armour.
The Necrons started the aggressive maneuvers first. The Barges moved up the southern flank firing full Tesla and Gauss weaponry with only light damage done to the lead Chimera. The northern flank saw the Wraiths move in, but their weapons were out of effective range and did little damage. The Doomstalker moved in support, blasting wildly at the Leman Russ Squadron. It only did light damage as the round went way off target and clipped the rear one. The Triarchs also were out of range and did no appreciable damage with their Heat Rays to the Stormblade.
In response, the Mordians flicked on their red and blue flashing lights and demanded the xenos scum surrender over their PA systems. When the Necrons did not comply, their training kicked in. The standard Chimera pulled in front of its damaged counter part and went point blank with the Barges. It’s Heavy Flamer, usually not used even on rioters (seriously, who wastes perfectly good Corps Starch Rations?), was gleefully sprayed to no effect. The Stormbolter and Multilaser hammered with little effect as well. In the back hatch, two Veterans popped up and fired a Plasma Gun and a Meltagun. No damage was done, but the Company must have been equipped with faulty Ryza Patterns because one Veteran was incinerated. The Meltagun missed when the Chimera hit a curb. The Company was also plagued by faulty Servitor, who loaded every Hunter Killer Missile in reverse. This missile was not an exception and went kilometers in the opposite direction. The Chimerax followed in with its crudely mounted flak setup. Old and designed for a hasty anti-air platform, this Chimera variant had its turret weapon refitted with 4 linked Autocannons, but did not have proper anti-air abilities. It hammered away, with its Heavy Bolter and Stormbolter blazing, causing some light damage. The Hunter Killer Missile went flying backwards like the first. The rear Chimerax popped Smoke to cover the First Chimera. Once again, two Veterans were hanging out of the back hatch firing Plasma Guns. One inflicted some damage, the other gunner burned himself to a crisp. The accompanying squads fired as well, lending some light damage. The Stormblade’s Coaxial Heavy Bolter Chattered and its Plasma Blastgun whined and then discharged a double ball of titanic plasma death. The blinding flash awesomely provide a perfect hit, each round hitting three of the Barges. One burst into flames and melted into a pile of expensive metal. The one next to it titled as one of its thrusters sputtered and underslung cannon were vaporized. The follow up Lascannon rounds and Heavy Bolter sponsons kept them under intense fire. The third Hunter Killer Missile went in reverse. The Stormblade followed procedure and popped both smoke clusters to conceal itself. The northern flank saw the Exterminators beat punishing amounts of fire into the Doomstalker. They may have been used to malnourished civilians, but according to the Commissariat, Necrons were no different. Nine Heavy Bolters, six Exterminator Autocannons hammered into the monstrosity. Two Stormbolters and a Heavy Stubber followed suit, Leaving it limping and barely functioning. Hunter Killer missiles four, five, and six all went in reverse. Two Exterminators popped smoke to cover their front and vulnerable left flank. The accompanying squads were out of range so they hunkered in. The Griffon Mortars scored a direct hit on some Immortals, but its light round was unable to knock them over.
The Necron Overlord in the Command Barge was not pleased with how things were transpiring. He ordered his Barges around towards the middle of the field, firing into the Company Command Squad in cover with all Tesla and Gauss weapons, nearly wiping them out. They charged the Guardsmen Squad in cover and a hand to hand fight broke out. Several Guardsmen died, but they fixed bayonets and stabbed a commander of one of the Barges. They refused to retreat and the fight wore on. The Overlord then fired his Tachyon Arrow at the Stormblade, scoring a solid hit and disabling a Heavy Bolter on the side. Inside, the Tech Priest screamed in rage and began repairs. The Triarch Stalkers moved closer and fired again but were just out of effective range because the Stormblade and backed up slightly. Combine with the smoke, it barely sustained any damage. The Doomstalker retreated around the back, seeking shelter has every system started to fail from the punishing fire. The Wraiths closed in, someone scoring a perfect accuracy despite their programming limitations and the smoke screen. Only two rounds made it through as the Exterminators buttoned up their hatches to weather the fire, but it did significant damage. They charged in, but the Mordians were ready for this. Years of line rushes from upstart citizenry not complying with their nobles has taught them great reflexes for crowd control. Combined with their targeting computers, the Exterminator Autocannons were incredibly accurate, even on the fly. Two Canoptek Wraiths were obliterated before they made hull contact. They did a small amount of damage, and another one was run over completely as the tank turned to deal with the offenders.
In high spirits, the Mordians pressed the attack. On the southern flank, the Chimeras went hunting. The Chimerax pulled forward and dropped off some Veterans to claim a strategic point while it laid waste and finished the startled Doomstalker with its Autocannons. The other Chimera pulled into enemy territory and unloaded its troops to get behind enemy lines. Combined, they saturated the Immortals in the building with devastating fire, but two Reanimated. The Stormblade rolled back a bit further, then blasted the incoming Triarch Stalkers. One was crippled by the incoming fire, torn up by the immense weapon arrays of the rolling fortress. The veterans that just disembarked on the southern flank put more shots into, losing another Plasma Gunner to a faulty weapon. As the Triarch staggered, the Commissar opened the hatch and executed the driver from a long distance. The Mordians cheered as the machine crumpled to the ground. The Griffon carriages rolled to a better shot, blew the seventh and eighth Hunter Killer Missiles backwards, and then obliterated the small group of advancing Immortals with two perfectly placed shots. Two reanimated, but no longer posed a threat. The Exterminators fired point blank range, knocking over another two Wraiths. One Reanimated, but they still did little damage to the tanks.
In earnest, the Necrons tried to regain control of the field. Small pockets of Immortals picked off a few guardsmen or damaged a Chimera, but nothing substantial. The Barges finally cleared out the squad of stubborn resistors. The Triarchs moved towards the Stormblade, scoring several good hits. It buttoned up its hatches to brace for impact but still took some damage. They realized they were still a fair distance from the super heavy, so they charged the Exterminators instead. After pushing them back, despite several Wraiths being crushed like the malnourished civilians that they are if you think about it, the last one was run over by the retreating tanks. One was left behind, destroyed but not forgotten. The Necrons attempted to catch them but failed.
The Mordians continued to push. Despite their successes they were not holding the key battle locations that would sway the ongoing war in their favour. They were sent to crush some uprising citizens, but by some clerical error, were dealing with Necrons. But that was not going to stop them from trying. The Veterans further out got underneath the Immortals and started blasting holes in the floor. The Veterans in the middle, having scored the location the commanders needed, piled back into the Chimerax. They pulled back and began hammering the Barges, collapsing yet another despite some poor accuracy. The mounting likely had come loose. Its side guns raked the Immortals, but one stood back up. The Stormblade hammered the Barges, crippling the Command Barge as it attempted to intervene. As the gun fired more, its ancient targeting array began to overheat and the accuracy was slowly dropping throughout the battle. The Leman Russ Squadron rallied and hammered the Wraiths again, killing all but two. None reanimated. Both mortars fired on some Immortals across the map, but the light shells did not damage them.
The Necrons, reeling from massive losses, began to be desperate. They were winning strategically but threatened to be removed from the field all together. The crippled barges limped to the Griffon Carriers and charged them, locking themselves into an eternal dual of tank grinding action with no results until the end of the game. Some Immortals managed to destroy the Chimerax, forcing the Commissar and Veterans to dismount and dive for cover. The Wraiths switched targets, charging the Platoon Command Squad with mild success while the Exterminators were charged by the Triarch Stalkers from behind. The Exterminators were getting overwhelmed and fell back a short distance.
The Veterans got up from the burning wreckage and mowed down the Immortals in the building for the other squad to claim the objective, but it Reanimated again. The Chimera joined in the fire support. The Stormblade moved over to the northern flank, and blasted the Triarchs. The deceptive building did not offer any cover, and the second triarch was absolutely crippled but still standing. The Exterminators continued to fire, with no effect against the Quantum Shielding. The Platoon Command Squad fell to the Wraiths, leaving only three Guardsmen in that section of the field.
The last Immortal on the southern flank had been charged and refused to die, and did so again by Reanimating. The Wraiths and Triarchs charged the Exterminators again. One Wraith was killed, and another barely left alive. While neither tank was destroyed, they were forced to fall back again, crushing the last Wraith in their retreat. Neither Reanimated.
The Mordians realized they could not have overall victory, but could definitely deplete the forces. Except that last Immortal. It survived some more shooting and a charging Commissar with a Power Sword by continuously Reanimating. The Stormblade began hunting pockets of Immortals, immolating them with plasma, heavy las, and bolter shot. The Tech Priest questioned this use of munitions, but was happily humming to himself as he had fixed the tank to near mint condition by this time.
Nihilakh Dynasty wins, 12 to 6 with a Major Victory!
Alternate 40k Rules 