AAR: December 1, 2012 - Rain of Fire

The battle for control of this planet rages both on the surface and in orbit!  Some important wreckage has been distributed across a wide arc of ground as starships are blown into flaming chunks of wreckage.  Two of these smoldering prizes are contested by the orks and the Storm Heralds.  The battlefield is more dangerous than usual, with debris slamming into the area with alarming regularity. 

Capture and Control with 2 objectives and long edges.

5x6 table. Hills and rocks are all the cover to be had in this barren location.

At the beginning of each turn percentile dice will be rolled and multiplied by the length and width of the table to generate a random co-ordinate.  A large blast will cause a Strength 10 hit
to any model under this template.

The two players will then have a roll-off of a single D6 to determine which direction the impact comes from.  The winner of the roll off gets to place a template effect, centered on the impact point, that will cause an additional Strength 6 hit to any models it touches.

Orks versus Space Marines with 1802 point limit.

Chainsawz Ladz: 
HQ - Mega-Warboss Chainsaw (Master of the WAAAGH!)
HQ - Big Mek (Shokk attack gun) 
Elites - 12x Kommandoz (Nob with power claw, 2x Rokkit)
Elites - 13x Tank Bustaz
Troops - 10x Gretchin (Runtherd)
Troops - 30x Boyz (Nob with power claw)
Troops - 30x Boyz (Nob with power claw)
Heavy Support - 3x Lobba gunz (6x Extra crew, Runtherd, 3x Ammo runts)
Heavy Support - 8x Flash Gitz (Kaptain Krunktoof, Painboy, Cyborks, Blastas, Shootier)

"Dis klaw iz too big fur youse, ya stoopid 'umies!"

Dark Purifiers
HQ - Antonidus Aurelius (Chapter master, Master-crafted power sword)
HQ - Ambrose Praetorius (Chaplain, Jump pack, Master-crafted combi-flamer, Hellfire boltgun rounds)
Elites - Dreadnought (Power fist, Heavy flamer, Twin-linked heavy flamer)
Elites - 10x Terminators (2x Cyclone missile launchers, 2x Chain-fists, Power fists)
Troops - 10x Tactical Marines (Flamer, Missile launcher)
Troops - 10x Tactical Marines (Flamer, Heavy bolter)
Troops - 8x Scouts with Sgt. Immortus (Missile launcher, Boltguns)
Fast Attack - 5x Vanguard Veterans (Jump packs, Bolt pistols, Lightning claws)

"What's in the black box?"

Dark Purist wins the initial die toss and the infiltrator roll-off.  He selects the blue edge and mentally steels his forces for the chaos of the upcoming conflict.

Chainsaw happily takes the red edge and makes sure everybody's chainsword's are topped off with promethium fuel. 

Objectives will be wreckage that still has value to both forces, even if it merely in keeping their enemy from holding what they desire.

The blasted cockpit of a Valkyrie has the flight recorder (or black box) still intact.  The data it contains about enemy forces the brave crew flew over will be vital to later engagements.

"It must be secured and extracted, brothers!  Do not let the sacrifice made by the crew in giving up their lives to collect the intelligence be in vain!"

The ork objective is less noble...

"Dat iz de biggest klaw me ev'a seen!  Me gotz ta havez it!"

A huge power claw, from a deranged Mek's nightmares or a mighty Gargaunt shoulder is the ork's prize.

The space marines form up mostly on the center and north of their line.  Only the Scouts are positioned far to the south.

The marines of Tactical Squad1 command the hilltop to the north.  Directly below them is the Dreadnought - ready and willing to get some payback.

In the center, the Vangaurd Verterns are followed by the Terminators, and the squads of Tactical Marines that cover both the objective and the southern flank.

Chapter Master Antonidus Aurelius leads the Terminator squad.  He teaches some new points of doctrine to the groups around him.  The Terminators will benefit from thinking of themselves as Unyielding Anvils (making them into a scoring unit) while the Vanguard Veterans will dash forwards as scouts using his teachings of being a Spear of Light.

The Chaplain, Ambrose Praetorius, leads the fierce and willy Vanguard Veterans - their metallic wings shining brightly.  He sings a low battle hymn that emboldens all of the men who hear it as they prepare for the battle to come.

The Ork forces line up in as disiplinced a manner as they are able - which is to say: slightly less anarchy than normal.

The Tank Bustaz and Flash Gitz form the front ranks of the main force, both of them hoping to get off some early and crucial shots.  Mob1 forms up behind the Tank Bustaz to the north, and Mob2 is behind the Flash Gitz in the center.

The Kommandoz move in to counter the threat of the space marine Scouts to the south and protect the Gretchin who currently have control of their objective.

The Big Mek has a commanding view of the battlefield from high atop a rocky upthrust.  His ragtag collection of grot are not looking forward to being walking bullet-catcha's as they have heard this duty normally entails, but it's a grot's life...

Mega-Warboss Chainsaw is pleased with his green tide and looks forward to the bloodletting and play-time that lies ahead.  He leads Mob2 with pride.

With wreckage streaking across the sky, it is time to lay claim to the prizes!

Scouts get to move before anything else happens.  The Scouts move forward to get within rapid-fire range of the orks.  The Vanguards fly over the hill to land in the middle of the battlefield, giving the Dreadnought cover from the hooting Tank Bustaz.

A hail of molten armor plate slams into the ground!  Impact is near the space marine side and although the template hits some of the terminator's their armor shrugs off the damage.

Tactical Squad1 moves to the north and Tactical Squad 4 moves south.

The Terminators, Dreadnought, and Vanguard Veterans move almost due east, straight at the enemy.  The Vanguard force is inspiring to watch as they soar into the air and hit the vile xenos like lighting bolts.

Attacks this turn are as follows:

• The orbiting spacecraft respond to Antonidus Aurelius' call for aide!  A hail of kinetic warheads slam into the Big Gunz position, killing several grot crew and wrecking two of the Lobbaz.
• The Scouts shoot at the Kommandoz and kill two of the orks.
• The Terminators open fire at the Flash Gitz.  Two of the orks are blown away with another one taking a wound, despite the painboy's best efforts.
• Tactical Squad3 fires a krak missile at the Flash Gitz, but their heavy armor diverts the blow.
• Tactical Squad2 and the airborne Vanguard Veterans shoot at the Tank Bustaz and a total of 5 of the orks are laid out - two of them are burned to a blackened crisp by the master-crafted combi-flamer wielded by Ambrose Praetorius.
• Then the Vanguard drops into the midst of the Tank Bustaz!  It is a horrifying slaughter with every last ork being carved into chunks by the lightning claws.  Satisfied with this result, the space marines, withdraw back towards their own edge of the table - daring the orks to follow them...

Bellowing madly, the orks charge in response to this dare!

Mob1 rushes down from the top and sides of their hilltop starting position and run towards the Vanguard Veterans who cut down their happy-go-lucky Tank Bustaz.

The Flash Gitz move to the south to keep the range open and allow Mob1 to maneuver.

Mob1 moves up to fill the gap and take a few pot shots at the "Flyin' 'umies wif wingz!  Oh, noes!  Dat ain't right, attal!"

The Kommandoz charge into the Scouts, hooting wildly at the chance they have to sink their teeth into the enemy.

Disturbing acts of violence then occur:

• The last functioning Lobba gun is over-crewed with grot, all of them with their own opinion on aiming, powder charges, etc.  The result is that they fail to inflict any damage to their target: Tactical Squad1.
• The Flash Gitz super-charge their weapons and unload them at the Terminators.  The power-up time is too much for one of the unstable weapons and it blows up - killing one of the orks.  But the firepower has a good effect as 5 of the mighty terminators are put out of action.
• The Big Mek takes careful aim and fires a spray of snotlings at the Terminators.  His aim is perfect, but the angle setting is off by 90 degrees...  The stream of wailing snotlings come out of the warp aimed right at the ground and leave messy, craters of pulp in the ground just in front of the space marines.
• Mob1 and Mob2 both shoot at the Vanguard Veterans, but all of their firepower only manages to take one of them out.  So Mob1 slams into them!  The close combat is brutal and bloody: 6 boys die, but so do 4 of the Veterans - leaving the Chaplain alone...
• The Kommandoz fire as they run, killing one of the Scouts before the two groups slam into each other.  Two Kommandoz die, but the bitter orks wipe out 7 of the Scouts, leaving Sergeant Immortus to scramble out of the melee and take aim with his sniper rifle.

A howling whistle overhead turns into a soft >CRUMP!< as a huge, blown apart las-cannon lands right in the midst of Mob2!  A whopping 8 boys are killed in the blast or crushed by the wreckage in a very bad bit of luck for the greenskins.

"The eye of the Emperor is upon us, brothers!  His hand guides even the remnants of his loyal forces to destroy the enemies of mankind!"

Tactical Squads 1 & 2 move to opposite ends of the hill in order to gain new tactical options.

The Dreadnought moves forward, intent on coming to the aid of Ambrose Praetorius.

The Terminators form up their line and Tactical Squad4 takes a bit of cover inside the rocky cave they are nearby.

Space marine weapons attempt to convince the xenos of their errors:

• Sergeant Immortus takes careful aim, steadying his breathing and heart rate with long-practiced ease, despite the slathering orks moving towards him.  He puts two silvered rounds into the head of the Big Mek and the large fellow drops like an anvil has stuck him on the head.
• The Terminators attempt to save the Sergeant by shooting at the Kommandoz.  They slice six of them to ribbons in a storm of frag missiles.
• Tactical Squad3 shoots at Mob1, but does no damage to the enraged ork ladz.
• The Dreadnought assaults Mob1 in an attempt to distract them from the Chaplain.  His idea fails as no orks are killed.  Ambrose Praetorius falls under the swarm of ladz, managing to take one more greenskin down with him.

The Flash Gitx continue to move towards the south, hugging the rock wall and keeping their weapons aimed at the Terminators.

Now that the Big Mek has fallen, the runtherd sees no reason to keep his grot exposed high on the rock.  They move down, behind the cover of the rock and surround the objective to keep it safe for Mega-Warboss Chainsaw's later inspection.

The orks strike back with vim and vigor:

• The Big Gunz shoot at Tactical Squad1, but fail to penetrate their powered armor.
• Mob2 shoots at the distant Tactical Squad1 as well, but fails to do anything important at such long range.
• The Kommandoz drop a rokkit right into Sergeant Immortus' stomach and his goes down with massive internal injuries.
• The Flash Gitz shoot at the Terminators and manage to stop one more of them.
• Mob1 turns to focus their attention of the Dreadnought and although one more lad gets turned into red goo, the nob manages to cut into something vital and the Dreadnought explodes!

The ladz of Mob1 are exuberant with their victory over the war machine, but then another whistling indicates something is headed their way....

Impact!

Two more of their number have been crushed by some kind of auto-loaded robot arm.  It's original purpose is irrelevant to the two orks who are smeared into the dirt by it's bulk.

"Whal - dis jist iz bad newz..."

Tactical Squad1 moves towards the shell-shocked remnants of Mob1.

Tactical Squads 3 & 4 move towards the ork line, following the brave charge of the Terminators.

This uncovers their objective and it is no longer under their control, but Tactical Squad2 can move in at any time to secure it.

The attacks of the space marines are as follows:

• Tactical Squads 1 & 2 open fire at Mob1, but they only manage to kill a single ork.  "Only da tuff'st ladz ar' left alife now!"
• The Terminators are most annoyed with the Flash Gits and attempt to make clear the depth of their feelings...  Three of the orks are obliterated from krak missiles and the last git and Kaptain Krumptoof are both wounded as well.

"Okay - dat iz e'nuff!  Let'z go ladz!  WAAAGH!!!"

The ork battle cry seems to give strength and energy to all the greenskins still fighting.

Mob1 charges into Tactical Squad1.

Mob2 slams into the Terminators.

The Flash Gitz and Kommandoz both move steadily towards the west, although both units now only consist of three bedraggled models each.

Attacks made by the orks this turn are:

• The Flash Gitz open fire into Tactical Squad4, killing 2 of the marines.
• Mob1 and the Lobba both attack the marines of Tactical Squad1 to soften them up first, but the badly aimed fire does nothing.  Mob1 then closes with the marines and kills 2 of them for the loss of a single lad.
• Mob2 is lead by a howling Mega-Warboss Chainsaw to crash into the Terminators.  Seven of the ladz go down, but 3 more Terminators follow them to lie flat on the earth.

The ork horde breathes a collective sigh of relief when the next chunk of wreckage comes down far from any of their forces.  A empty, but bulky, missile rack has come to ground.

Tactical Squad4 is the only unit that moves, charging in to hit the sore and bleeding trio of Flash Gitz.

Combat results continue to pile up:

• Tactical Squads 3 & 4 both shoot at the Flash Gitz, but the painboy now has fewer patients and manages to "stitch 'em all up."   When Tactical Squad4 hits the Flash Gitz, there is no progress made by either side and the combat will continue next turn.
• Tactical Squads 1 & 2 again focus their firepower on Mob1 and kill 2 of the orks, before Tactical Squad1 hits the orks with close quarters combat.  Another marine goes down, but they manage to wipe out all of the remaining orks - Mob1 is gone!
• The Terminators assault Mob2, but do very poorly.  They kill but a single lad, while the last Terminator dies and the Chapter Master takes a wound as well.  The Chapter Master steps away from the combat in a poor tactical move.

The Kommandoz move across a low hill to surround the men of Tactical Squad4.

Mob2 is grateful for the chance to shoot at Antonidus Aurelius before charging into him furiously.

Ork attacks this turn are as follows:

• The Lobba shoots at Tactical Squad1 again and they begin to weep and howl as their shell has no impact on the marines, yet again.  The runtherd makes sure they feel proper sorrow by plying his whip to get the right emotional response...
• The Kommandoz kill 2 of the men in Tactical Squad4, and then the Flash Gitz put the last member of the squad down.  Tactical Squad4 is out of the fight.
• Mob2 shoots at the Chapter Master and Mega-Warboss Chainsaw almost falls over when one of the slugs actually hits and manages to wound the mighty human warrior.  He laughs and orders his men "ta go finish da job!"  Three ladz die trying, and they manage to inflict yet another wound in the close quarters combat.

Once again, the flaming debris doesn't land on top of any of the remaining combatants, although it gets a bit close to the limping Flash Gitz...

The three tactical squads remaining in play move.

Tactical Squad 1 moves towards the ork lines, to threaten either the Lobba or the Gretchin who guard the objective.

Tactical Squad2 moves south to secure the marine objective.

Tactical Squad3 moves east in order to hold the ork forces away from their objective in an excellent tactical maneuver.

The few attacks made this turn are:

• Tactical Squad3 shoots at the Flash Gitz, but the now-overworked painboy is doing a great job and they do no damage.
• The Chapter Master assaults Mega-Warboss Chainsaw, but the huge ork slaps his blade aside and rips his belly open contemptuously.  "Stoopid 'umie!  You iz small 'nd I iz big!"

The ork forces in the center of the battlefield converge on Tactical Squad3 as they sense a coming bloodbath...

Grim displays of bloodlust follow:

• The Lobbaz try to redeem themselves, by killing one of the marines in Tactical Squad1 at least, but they fail and the runtherd begins kicking grot as hard as he can.
• The Kommandoz, Falsh Gitz, and Mob2 all open fire at point-blank range and kill 2 of the marines of Tactical Squad3.  Then Mob2 slams into them.  The carnage is awful as the marines are utterly destroyed without inflicting any casualties to the orks.

At the end of turn 5 the random game-length roll comes up as a 1.  This game is over!

It's a Draw (leaning to Chainsaw)!   The final score is 1 to 1.  Clearly a draw, but with only seven models left on the table, it's fairly certain that the game ending when it did was a fortuitous happenstance for the forces of the Storm Heralds.  This was an interesting game that was livened up considerably by the tension of not knowing where the next death-from-above impact would land!

"Whalp, dat wuz fun!  Anytime youse wantz a good thrashin', jist let uz know!  Laterz!"

"Evac!  Evac!  We got the box!"