Battle Report: Vadinax Campaign - Mission 6 A Thousand Splendid Sons

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Explicator Bromely briefly looks up from his tome.  The Dark Age teleportation chamber on this ancient battle barge is vast, larger than any he has seen before, with no light reaching the high ceilings. Steam from all around the platforms billow upwards into the darkness.  The rumble in the room is deafening, as the energizers power up, slowly building with a buzzing quality adding in as well.  He cannot see much else beyond two hulking terminators flanking him.  Most of the light in the room emanates from the pad beneath his feet.  He turns back to his recitations.

"The absence of faith is the mark of the weak.  The absence of faith is the mark of the heretic..."

Across the chamber, the main door splits open.  Flanked by servitors on both sides, Praelior Tarquinius Regulus marches through the wide entrance.  Clad in the black tactical dreadnought armor and bone white skull helm of his office.  From his helm vox, his voice roars above the rumble of the teleportarium machinery.

"What is it to be Death?"

In unison, Squads Tourbillion and Nox strike their fisted gauntlets to their chests. The bass notes of their responses echo about the chamber: "It is to be the destroyer, the end of all things."

Bromely is startled by the sudden salute, his own devotions now interrupted.  He swallows hard as he adjusts the goggles over his eyes.

Chaplain Regulus draws near to the wide, low steps to the first tier of the teleportarium.

"What is it to end life?"

"It is an honour, to be the executioners of the Emperor." echo the terminators.

"Twenty three seconds..." drones a servitor across the vox.

Regulus is now on the steps ascending into the amphitheater.  The flanking servitors carry the Benediction of Fury, and the Chaplain's blessed storm bolter.

"Why do we fight?" 

"To protect the Imperium and deliver mankind from the evil of the xenos, the mutant, and the heretic!"

Regulus reaches his teleportation pad, just in front of Bromely.  While Bromely is on the next tier up, Regulus is at eye level with him.  Bromely gasps.

"What is the fate of all foes?" booms the Chaplain, now only feet away.

"To perish in the fire of battle and be cleansed from the galaxy." the squads respond.

Regulus turns to face forward as the terminator squads flanking him on both sides move into battle positions, weapons drawn and raised.  The rumble of the chamber crescendos.  The servitors arm Regulus and quickly run from the pad.

"Six seconds..."

"Who will prevail against the darkness?"

"The Ultramarines!"

"Two... One..."

Bromely grits his teeth as a blinding light flashes from everywhere, all at once.  Despite the goggles, he screws his eyes shut as far as they can go.  There is a thunderous boom!  A jolt of pain and vertigo that is gone instantly.  Then the sounds of war.  As he opens his eyes, the terminators are already in full charge, their storm bolters flaring and thunder hammers crackling.  Regulus is at the fore.

"FOR THE EMPEROR AND THE PRIMARCH! DEATH! BRING DEATH TO OUR FOES!"

    5225023.M42 - Tern's Endeavor, Vadinax Sector

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We are in the sixth mission and eighth week of the Vadinax Campaign and while last time the Ultramarines saw a hard fought victory at the Valern Citadel, it fell anyway.  Now we fight the LGS Game Master and Crusade Manager himself, the great Quinn and his Thousand Sons (who fight for the space elves).  As per usual, I studied hard and approached the game with a plan, but still there were plenty of surprises.

Battle Report:

Ruleset: Core Crusade 2023 Arks of Omen Grand Tournament - Strike Force, 2023 Q1 Balance Datasheet & Points, and Goonhammer Vadinax Crusade rules
Mission: Arks of Omen GT: 22 Conversion + Tempest of War Secondary Objectives
Points: 1500

My Forces:

++ Arks of Omen Detachment 1492pts ++

**Chapter Selector**: Ultramarines
Battle Size [6CP]: Strike Force(101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points) [6CP]
Game Type: 4. Chapter Approved: Arks of Omen Grand Tournament + Crusade

+ HQ +

• Primus Leo Exevio Faustus - Captain in Terminator Armour: Rites of War, The Sanctic Halo, Power Fist, Wrist mounted grenade launcher, Storm Bolter, Warlord (Warleader)
• Praelior Tarquinius Iulian Regulus - Chaplain in Terminator Armour:  Benediction of Fury  Storm bolter, Canticle of Hate, Litany of Hate, The Imperium's Sword

+ Troops +

• Squad Kaiel- 5 man Tactical Squad - Chainsword, Plasma pistol, Bolt pistols, Meltagun, Bolters
• Squad Vitus - 5 man Tactical Squad - [Shell Shocked] Chainsword, Bolt pistols, Heavy Bolter, Bolters

+ Elites +

• Chief Apothecary Hulm Singa - Apothecary: Astartes Chainsword, Bolt pistol, Frag & Krak grenades, Selfless Healer, The Armour Indomitus, Conversion Field, Custodian of the Future [Lost Leg Scar]
• Venerable Brother "Fury" - Dreadnought: Dreadnought melee weapon w/ Storm bolter, Twin Lascannon
• Squad Nox - 5man Terminator Assault Squad: Teleport Homer,  5x Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield
• Squad Tourbillion - 5 man Terminator Squad: Teleport Homer, Power sword, Storm bolter, Assault cannon, 3x Chainfist, Power fist
• Kill Team Rubrum - 5 man Terminator Squad: Teleport Homer, Power sword, Storm bolter, Heavy Flamer, Chainfist, 3x Power fist
• Squad Velox - 5 man Vanguard Veterans Squad: Relic Blade, 3x Storm Shields, 2x Thunder Hammers, 2x Lightning Claws (pair)

+ Heavy Support +

• Squad Nero - Devastator Squad: Power sword, plasma pistol, 2x Lascannon, Missile Launcher, Plasma Cannon

+ Fast Attack +

• "One Charlie" - Land Speeder Tornado: Heavy flamer, Multi-melta
• "Two Charlie" - Land Speeder Tornado: Heavy flamer, Multi-melta

Agendas: Survivor, Reaper, Guide the Chapter

The Remembrance of Psati:

++ Arks of Omen Detachment ++

+ HQ +

• Atoum bne Psati - Sorcerer in Terminator Armour
• Thoh'out Paphib - Exalted Sorcerer
• Eunophre - Infernal Master
• Pishoi Akhom - Exalted Sorcerer

+ Troops +

• Beniphi - Rubric Marines
• Potephre - Rubric Marines
• Kharakhte - Rubric Marines

+ Elites +

• Honored Kalasire - Chaos Contemptor Dreadnought
• ⲯⲁϯ Ⲥⲁⲭⲙⲓ - Scarab Occult Terminators

+ Dedicated Transports+

• Path of Lamentation - Chaos Rhino

Takeaways & Analysis:

I've had really great luck with Tempest of War so far, and did I mention it's a real fun way to play?  You're never sure what you're going to need to do, but I think it can really level the playing field a bit.  But this was going to be almost a mirror match with terminators vs psyker terminators, dreadnoughts against dreadnoughts, and speedy things against speedy things.  I knew there would be a rumble in the middle (terminators are too slow to do anything else) but what I wasn't quite prepared for was the strong auspex scan style ability that the Thousand Sons had.  

I played it pretty cautiously as I had the first turn.  Aside from sending Two Charlie, and Squads Velox and Kaiel to the near objective, I kept everyone else back behind the ruins.  The Thousand Sons were the first to venture out into the center.

Luckily we had a ruin in the middle of the battlefield that blocked line of sight and allowed me to beam in just in range.  Also, with my newly upgraded Dark Age Teleportarium, I could beam in 2 terminator squads (in front of the third on the board) and the hero of the match Chaplain Regulus sung his song of charging.  On top of that, the fleet Squad Tourbillion with their extra +1 move gave me basically a 5" charge.  Tourbillion, Nox, and Regulus himself didn't really seem to need any of that though, all of them handily making their charges.

Explicator Bromely was in for a ride as he followed Squad Nox into the fray - I elected to strike with them first and dumped two strategems onto them: Fury of the First, and Death to the Traitors - knowing that I had to hit hard to blunt the counter-strike.  Squad Nox (and the dice) came through in a big way with a knockout punch that took out 9 of the 10 Scarab Occult Terminators.

Quinn still had a lot of punch left though.  His warp magic completely nullified Squad Nox's invulnerable saves, and both the dreadnought and the sorcerer on the disc packed quite a punch.  Squad Nox would not fall, but Regulus did (again).  He always takes one for the team which is why I marked him for greatness.  Somehow Squads Nox and Tourbillion stayed alive long enough for Captain Faustus, Kill Team Rubrum, and Chief Apothecary Singa to swing in to support.

Thoh'out Paphib and his Disk of Tzeentch were not to be underestimated though.  While I had won the fight for the center objective, the sheer speed of the sorcerer was trouble for my back lines.  I can see the power of a strong and fast character who can sit in the exact center of an objective and use heroic intervention to bully troops off.  I was lucky enough to get Brother Sergeant Vitus and his squad to hang on just long enough to keep the point lead.  A critical save at the end prevented a point swing of maybe 15 points.  Always stay frosty, even if you feel like you're in the lead, a strong opponent can still do a lot by playing the mission.

Perhaps Squad Nero delayed Thoh'out Paphib just enough...

While in the end I played things right, I wonder if I could have changed things around a bit to use the speeders to chase after the disk and used some of the other units to secure the back line?  Something to look at should I face The Remembrance again.  Ultramarines came out just ahead this time with some key Tempest of War objectives: 91-72.