Hey guys, Doctor Xiox here....
So for some time now, me and a friend have been playing a campaign between an awakening necron force and the Imperial Guard deployed to combat them. We've titled it The Battle of
Srophloius VI. So far, so good.... for me. Lol, albeit my friend is a novice, but he wants to enjoy 40k for the spectacle and not the competitive aspect; something I find increasingly rare these days.
Previously in the campaign, we played various missions where small
forces of necrons awoke to strip the world above of all life. We began
with small games where the Imperial Forces were dug in, as Necrons
continued to advance on their positions. Raids were conducted on
manufactorums, mining deposits and a munition storage. Luckily for the
Astra Militarum, the full might of the Necrons was not brought to bear
and the small contingents were often quickly struck down through their
overwhelming firepower - and yet each encounter became tougher and
tougher. Eventually, despite the veterancy of the Xioxians, they knew
such victories were at best transitory. It was only because they awoke
not more than two weeks ago that the necrons had not come out in full
strength. However, an Inquisitor has opted for another strategy - one which
would throw a wrench in the plans of these ancient warriors.
He has therefore asked that I don't go through a turn by turn summary for this post and I have agreed. Apologies on his behalf for the unpainted necrons, he has only recently acquired them and I don't blame him for not painting them yet either. Please note that many are also proxied models since he doesn't have an entire force yet. The Imperial Guard has successfully managed to thwart the Necrons at every corner, wiping them out or capturing the objectives. We've had tons of fun so far and now we've come to the final battle of our campaign. So here goes the narrative for this battle...
The Imperial Guard has cornered the Necrons, located in a small desolated town. Once a minor mining site, the town has since gone silent once the rumors of necrons started spreading. Although the Imperial Guard have suffered some heavy casualties along the way, this final assault will determine if they get to leave this wretched battlefield and who emerges victorious over the planet
Srophloius VI for once and for all. For this final mission, the Imperial Guard has been requisitioned by an Ordos Xenos Inquisitor to extract a particular relic that has intrigued the Inquisition. Months ago, an obsidian prism-like structure was extracted by the miners from the very small town the Necrons are currently holding. Whether it is a weapon or an artefact of great importance remains to be seen and the Inquisitor is very much surprised that it has drawn the attention of several overlords, let alone an entire Necron Court. The Imperium must act fast before whatever this relic holds or unlocks is unleashed or utilised by the awakened xenos.
Unknown to the Imperial forces, the artefact itself housed the
warscythe of Truilyn the Restless and was key to accelerating the
awakening of the remaining forces that slumbered beneath the planet.
However, the planet's Necron Royal Court of lords and the overlord were
vastly outnumbered, and with their strength focused on channelling
forsaken magical energies into the artefact, it was left to their escort
of lynchguards, immortals and Crypteks to defiantly hold their ground. A
doomscythe, anhilation barge and ghost ark were also present -
delivering even more relentless forms of firepower to the fray. Even
then, the Imperial forces vastly outnumbered the barely awoken necrons.
From the battles that they had previously waged, they knew they stood
little chance against the Xioxian Armoured might - but should the
necrons successfully acquire their desired relic, the tides will
definately turn.
For the Imperial Guard, they have expended a vast amount of resources over this campaign - and although emerging victorious through all their confrontations with the small resistance of necrons so far, they have proved to be a formidable foe. Numerous vehicles and men have been lost in the attacks and few have survived the wrath of gauss weaponry to tell the tale. Now, the last elements of the Xioxian Astra Militarum are closing their grasp on the town for an all out siege on the dug in Necron Court and their consort of immortals, warriors and wraiths. Victory here means they finally getto leave this godforsaken wasteland to its metallic menace and replenish supplies whilst the Inquisition gives the command for an Exterminatus to be carried out on the planet. Failing that, the artefact could unleash devastating forces upon the entire sector and the Xioxian 10th will be destroyed - for there is to be no retreat from this confrontation. From here on out, it is winner take all.
To portray this last stand, we decided to go with the Pincer Attack deployment in the Apocalypse rulebook. We had the necrons defending and my imperial guard attacking. We made a city like board in order to replicate the mining town.
So here was our deployment. I managed to take the initiative and went ahead with my tanks. Here are some pics i captures with my ipad that day.
Eventually the battle commenced. The Imperial Guard tanks fired wildly and necron gauss weaponry returned fire. I won't go through what happened each turn so this post is a bit more condensed than usual - but picture heavy.
Some cinematic poses - these moments didn't really happen:
Eventually I was able to eliminate the vast majority of his forces by turn four by sniping his proxied immortals holding onto the relic, with the baneblade tipping the tide. Sure it wasn't balanced but then again we just laughed our asses off the whole day an enjoyed having a great time. Narrative campaigns are amazing, and it truly gives you that epic feeling you would get from immersing yourself in a black library novel. I really enjoyed this game, and so did he and maybe at the end of the day even if we will never have a balanced 40k then so be it - did we have fun? If the answer is yes, then maybe that is all that really matters. So back to the narrative.
So the final assault of the imperial guard armour paid off. The necron
forces were caught off guard by the pincer strike on the small town of
Serabris, pinned down by a sustained barrage of heavy fire. Though the necrons' own retaliatory strikes scored a few hits on the Imperial force,
it was too few to make an impact. The Imperial forces had struck from
afar, crippling the necrons with overwhelming powerful weapons until
only the royal court stood standing. Interrupting the channelling
process, the Royal Court turned their attention to their armoured
assailants. But by then, it was too late. One by one the lords finally
fell to their knees and for once, they were the ones being exterminated.
Such was the damage inflicted upon them that their self- repair
mechanisms could not keep pace. They were pummelled by lasgun fire,
meltagun fire, lascannon fire and tank round after round even as they
tried to reassemble themselves. The remaining necron were obliterated in
the undying fury of an entire regiment. As the last overlord collapsed
to the ground, their metallic fragments were consumed by a bright
emerald light and as one they disappeared. The living can claim their
trophy and deny them their relic, but like all mortals - their time will
come.
The unnamed mysterious Ordos Xenos Inquisitor was most pleased later that day as the Imperial Guard handed the relic over and sought their assistance in continuing her ambiguous motives in the Sector. Although defeated for now, any Inquisitor knows that a world harboring necrons lasts not more than a month after the first encounter. Thus, it was by her hand that the planet Srophloius VI would be given the treatment of Exterminatus - for better or for worse. As she departed the world along with her requisitioned detachment of Imperial Guard, she knew that even with the mysterious necron artifact, this would not be the last they saw of them. If not on this world, then perhaps the next.
Thanks guys,
Let us know what you think!
Doctor Xiox
