Tuesday 24 April 2012

Campaign - Ardan V, Mission 1 Battle Report

With the battle coming to a close in Baston, the last remaining remnants of the Oracles of Change were being slowly pressurised into a last stand by the Wolf Lord Fjolnir Lightningwolf and his Great Company. Huge Land Raider Crusaders bathed buildings in burning promethium, forcing the Chaos Marines out of their hiding holes within these buildings and out into the welcoming arms of the Lightningwolf's very own Wolf Guard.

High above the planet the Fang of Russ and its Gladius class escort Grimnar's Fury monitored movements within Ardan V's capital city. The Oracle were broken and in complete disarray, but all units continued to retreat north away from the advancing Space Wolf forces.

Having received this information from his flagship, Fjolnir commands his second in command, the Wolf Guard Battle Leader Hjorvard Gunnarson, to flank around the outside of the main battle area and set up camp with a small force, ready to launch an assault on the fleeing traitor marines if they make it that far.

Meanwhile on the Biel-Tan craftworld Darryth Sunblade made the last preparations required for his strike squad to achieve planetfall and establish a safe perimeter for more of his Eldar brethren to join them and eliminate the threat from the Cursus. Accompanying the Exarch on this mission, Yvaine Skydancer knew what was required, a force was to be led toward the Space Wolves Rune Priest, the one who could bring the entire to planet to ruin if he were allowed near the Cursus.

Battle Report - 1,500pts

Hjorvard's Force

Hjorvard Gunnarson - Runic Armour, Frost Blade, Wolf Tooth Necklace, Wolf Tail Talisman.

Wolf Priest - Runic Armour, Wolf Tooth Necklace,
Wolf Tail Talisman.

Wolf Guard - 1. Powerfist, Combi-Melta
                      2. Wolf Claw, Combi-Melta
                      3. Frost Blade, Combi-Melta
                      4. Powerfist, Combi-Melta, Space Marine Bike

Grey Hunters - 7 Men, Standard, Flamer
Grey Hunters - 7 Men, Standard, Meltagun
Grey Hunters - 7 Men, Standard, Plasma Gun
Grey Hunters - 7 Men, Standard, Flamer

Bikes - 5 Bikers with Flamer and Powerfist, 1 Attack Bike

Long Fangs - 6 Men, 5 Heavy Bolters, Razorback
Long Fangs - 6 Men, 5 Heavy Bolters, Razorback


Yvaine's Strike Squad

Yvaine Skydancer  - Rune Armour, Runes of Warding, Spirit Stones, Witchblade.


Fire Dragons - 10 Men, Wave Serpent with TL Shuriken Catapult and TL Star Cannon.
Howling Banshees - 10 Men including 1 Exarch


Dire Avengers - 10 Men including 1 Exarch
Dire Avengers - 10 Men including 1 Exarch

Shining Spears - 5 Spears including 1 Exarch
Vyper - 1 Skimmer, Bright Lance, TL Shuriken Catapults.

War Walker Squadron - 3 Walkers with 2 Starcannons.

Hjorvard and his men settled down into their camp, having covered 30 miles since receiving their orders from Lord Fjolnir. The two squads of Long Fangs took up positions in the north-east and south-west, with the Land Speeder parked and disengaged in the centre of the camp. All other units were spread around the skimmer on all sides. The silence unnerved Hjorvard, although he could find no reason for his uneasiness with the situation and as such took up position with a squad of Grey Hunters he had fought many battles with on Ardan V.


Yvaine Sundancer could see clearly the layout of the Space Wolves camp that sat between the Eldar and the Rune Priest who could unleash all manner of hell from the Cursus located somewhere on this planet. Splitting their forces accordingly, Yvaine hoped that a swift and deadly surprise assault would destroy these humans and leave the Eldar forces relatively intact.


The Eldar struck quickly and with incredible force. With very little time to react the Space Wolves numbers were cut down in a matter of moments. The Long Fangs in the south-west were annihilated from a storm of plasma sent out by the war walkers, who were personally guided by Yvaine.

That was not the only casualty of the surprise assault. The Swiftclaw bikers were reduced to molten waste by a squad of Fire Dragons, the Land Speeder stunned from a Bright Lance from the Vyper and a few Grey Hunters falling to shots from Dire Avengers.

A squad of Howling Banshees heading for the north-east Long Fangs did not have much luck as the unit of Fangs, utilising all their experience, got their heavy bolters into position quick enough to cut down every last Banshee and ensure they would not fall to their power weapons today.

Success for the Wolves was in very short supply, but this did not prevent a heavy bolter shell from a Razorback strike the Farseer Yvaine Sundancer and cause a wound, while return plasma fire from a nearby Grey Hunter squad momentarily halt the movement and firing from the war walkers.


Where the Wolves could, they launched into combat with their Eldar attackers, fighting against hope as the onslaught of the Xenos warriors slowly began to reduce their numbers. The Dire Avengers masterfully held up the Wolf Priest long enough for the Shining Spears to come to their aid and finish of the remaining Wolves who struggled for what seemed an eternity against the Avengers.


Hjorvard had better luck up against the Dire Avengers he had squared off against. After coming under a hail of fire, twice, in which he lost five men, Hjorvard and his remaining squad are assaulted by Dire Avengers, who believe they have the Wolf Guard Battle Leader almost finished. With a vicious snarl, Hjorvard leaps into combat, slaying a Dire Avenger while his squad smash another apart. The Avengers falter and break at the sheer ferocity of the Wolves counter-charge, with Hjorvard leading the move to cut down the surviving exarch and his troops before they can escape.


Turning to survey the rest of the battlefield with his two accompanying Grey Hunters, Hjorvard is confronted with a scene of utter devastation. In the distance he can see a long serving Razorback being ripped open by the Witchblade of Yvaine Sundance, the Land Speeder exploding under the melta weapons of the Fire Dragons where he sees at least one of the enemy attackers burn in the blaze.


It does not take Hjorvard very long to realise that there is only himself and the two that stand alongside him left alive. This battle was lost before it even started and the Space Wolves now have a newer and more powerful enemy on the soil of Ardan V.


It was now obvious that trying to claim some level of vengeance against these Eldar was a pointless exercise at this particular moment in time and Hjorvard decided that the three of them would attempt to fall back and get word to Wolf Lord Fjolnir so that a bigger force can be assembled to drive them from the planet.


Yvaine Sundancer stepped away from the blazing wreckage of the tank destroyed with the help of the Witchblade, pleased to see that the Eldar force had only suffered two units worth of casualties. By his calculations the human warriors had lost ten units. A successful assault and the first part of a plan going smoothly completed. That was until Yvaine spotted three warriors in the grey armour slip from the battlefield in the direction of the main city of the planet. If those three lived, warnings about the Eldar arrival could be raised and a much bigger force, and bigger problems, would lie in wait.


Considering the situation for the briefest of moments, Yvaine dispatched a fresh squad of Pathfinders to hunt down and kill the fleeing Space Wolves, hoping to silence their warnings forever.


Introduction to the Campaign, Mission One.

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