Time of the Heresy: The Meeting

"Because the Wolves kill cleanly, and we do not. They also kill quickly, and we have never done that, either. They fight, they win, and they stalk back to their ships with their tails held high. If they were ever ordered to destroy another Legion, they would do it by hurling warrior against warrior, seeking to grind their enemies down with the admirable delusions of the 'noble savage'.

If we were ever ordered to assault another Legion, we would virus bomb their recruitment worlds; slaughter their serfs and slaves; poison their gene-seed repositories and spend the next dozen decades watching them die slow, humiliating deaths. Night after night, raid after raid, we'd overwhelm stragglers from their fleets and bleach their skulls to hang from our armor, until none remained. But that isn't the quick execution the Emperor needs, is it? The Wolves go for the throat. We go for the eyes. Then the tongue. Then the hands. Then the feet. Then we skin the crippled remains, and offer it up as an example to any still bearing witness. The Wolves were warriors before they became soldiers. We were murderers first, last, and always!" - Sevatar

Baltar decides this meeting is worth his time.

After suffering a defeat at the hands of the Iron Warriors the Night Lords Praetor Baltar needed an edge. He found it in a turn coat Iron Warrior guardsman of some ranking. The human offered information on Iron Warrior troop deployments, medical facilities and armories. It was worth the risk to at least to see where this could go.

Baltar decided to bring the Flaymaster along, his reputation among the legions would make for a good reminder to this Iron Warrior traitor that the 8th legion's time was not to be wasted.

It turns out the Praetor's time was not wasted.

The information was solid, but the meeting would be cut short. The wailing sound of jump packs accompanied the deep vibration of treads. Quickly the three units deployed to keep sentry all reported in on vox, "the 4th legion is here".

Iron Warrior Destroyers enter the fray.

The Iron Warrior attempt to plug this leak was lead by Erasmus Golg, Captain of the 11th Grand Company. A Medusa and Vindicator rained shells down on the Night Lords while Destroyers and Rhinos advanced on the ill fated meeting. Several Night Lords squads reported losses. Never ones who would allow their honor to get in the way of self preservation, Baltar called for his personal Land Raider to pick him up and some air cover to ensure his escape.

Fighting raged all around the area now. Terror Squads met Iron Warrior Terminators while Veteran Tactical squads on both sides opened fire and exchanged chainswords.

A Night Lord Xiphon swooped in and took out the Medusa. It then set it's sights on the Vindicator. While some damage was sustained, the veteran siege crew mustered on.

Hand to hand is the preferred type of killing among the majority of the 8th. Especially when you outnumber your enemy. 

Many of the attacking force fell to the blade or the chainsword. This little intrusion by the 4th was not going to work. Though Baltar will need a new command squad, he, the Flaymaster, and the Iron Warrior traitor escaped into their Land Raider while Erasmus Golg and his own squad of Terminators were hit by a phosphex bomb cluster.

Target spotted.

Golg lives with one wound.

Right now we are playing game to game. Boroth and I will keep this little campaign going. It's just some small scrapes between two Traitor Legions. Boroth reported on game one here http://apostlesofcontagion.blogspot.com The Night Lords tied the score at 1 game each.  And to what effect the Iron Warrior traitor being in lord Baltar's hands remains to be seen....

Ave Dominus Nox.

Night Lords vs World Eaters with Beta Deepstrike

Berzerkers vs. Atramentar

Things get dull in the Eye of Terror and when there are no Imperial heads to bash in, the traitors must make war against each other. A few Saturdays ago I took the trip to Mike's place to tussle with his World Eaters lead by Kharn himself.

Never to shy away from new rules we agreed to try out the beta rules on Deep strike. These rules can be found in GW's latest FAQ. Basically, any unit wishing to enter the game via reserves (deep strike, teleportarium ect) on turn 1, may only do so in their own deployment zone. Or wait till turn 2 to arrive in their opponent's zone.

Of course this was only one game. I used the same Night Lords type list I usually play. This included 2 Raptor squads, Terminators, and Obliterators all entering the game via (Deep strike). Mike had some units enter the game in this fashion as well, including a large amount of Bloodletters. Spoiler: neither of us found the rule to be that big of a deal. Now, did it alter the trend I have seen in 8th edition that most of the game happens in the first few turns? Not so much but maybe it helped a bit.

The World Eater deployment.

The Decimator and Maulerfiend face a Leviathan.

The match itself was pretty much a solid victory for the Night Lords. We ended the game after 5 turns as there were only a few of Kharn's followers remaining. I held off my Raptors, Terminators and Oblits till turn 2. Mike did the same with his units.

Ultimately the combined firepower in my list, which included a 10 man unit of Noise Marines, proved deadly. Endless Cacophony!! A 30 Deamon unit of Bloodletters showed up in the Night Lords backfield, but they were soundly hit by Sonic weapons before Vigo the Carpathian himself finished the Daemons.

Well, hello there!

While it was an enjoyable game, I'm not sure how much the beta rule changed things. I suppose to some degree it did help make the 1st turn at least, less deadly. I'm happy to say it didn't hinder anything I was trying to do with my tactics as a Night Lord player. Just one game, but I figure, why not share my early findings?

Ave Dominus Nox.