1st Battle of Ehdiciun VI

The Dark Angels, commanded by Master Mazarius, had assumed garrison duties on this backwater planet.  Although the battle company had been fighting in a dozen wars for a decade, it was finally time to rotate assignments and the force was recalled and deployed to quiet outposts under the Chapter's protection.

Little did Mazarius know that a raiding force of Word Bearers had set sights on this world and something important to them, snatching peace away just as the Dark Angels were settling in.  The renegade marines, led by Daemon Prince Kharsis, had just finished a campaign against a hated foe and now sallied the remaining veterans foward to obtain an ancient deamonic text.  The Chaos Gods had warned that this artifact was stubbornly defended by their First Legion rivals, which made Kharsis even more hungry to carry out this mission.  The Book Battles of Ehdicium VI began soon after...

The first battle was met in the open woodlands of the western plains, when the astropath informed Mazarius of a disturbance in the area.  The company master grabbed a dozen or so marines and the revered Dreadnought, Ancient Rashiel, and rushed out to the plains to recon the incident.  Just as his forced had reached some old ruins, he was set upon by a Defiler's massive cannon and saw crimson-colored warriors charging his position. 

The Defiler successfully targetted and blew the Assault Cannon from Rashiel's mounting, and the 1st Coterie's Missle Launcher smashed the Razorback in the center with a well-placed Krak round, but failed to cause any real damage.  The 2nd Coterie had advanced from ruins located in the northeast of the battlefield, implacably advancing on the Dark Angels.  Mazarius ordered the crawling Razorback to destroy the Defiler, but failed to get the targetting systems calibrated quickly enough.  Rashiel advanced on the Defiler and the other Tactical Squad hunkered in the woods and took shots-of-opportunity at the Chaos Marines.

Kharsis was eager to kill the enemy commander that had the nerve to obstruct his quest; beating his huge wings he descended on the Razorback and let out a terrifying howl of challenge.  Needless to say, (especially with the Dark Angels' prediliction for discretion) there was no answer.  The 1st advanced and fired their missles and plasma shots into the Razorback, finally turning it to a smoking hulk.  The company master and his combat squad piled out of the vehicle and took shelter in the nearby woods, as far away from that tainted monster as they could.  The 2nd continued to advance into the Angel's Tactical Squad, suffering some casualties all the way.  The Defiler again targetted the ancient Dreadnought, spraying armor chunks as the Reapers bit but couldn't penetrate.  Kharsis could taste his victory already, even if he couldn't charge this moment.

Rashiel, tired of being shot at, advanced and then charged straight into the massive war machine Defiler.  His experience and his speed saw the Dreadnought rip the armor plates and machinery from the body of his enemy, resulting in a stellar explosion that incinerated nothing, the close-by renegades' power armor more than enough protection against it.  The Combat Squad, led by Mazarius, stepped from behind the ruined Razorback and squared directly at the Daemon Prince.  Unleasing all the plasma and bolter firepower they could, the unit poured everything they had at the beast.  When the smoke finally cleared and the situation could be assessed, courage began to fail as Kharsis was completely unharmed, and mere feet from the commander and his bodyguard...

The Dreadnought was charged by the 1st Coterie and quickly dispatched- all the skill and experience meaning nothing compared to many well-placed Krak Grenades.  The 2nd Coterie finally moved into combat with the loyalist squad in the woods, suffering nothing from the overwatch and easily bounding through the foliage.  That melee continued until the end of the battle, neither unit willing to give ground or even lose!  The most important battle began as Kharsis howled a roar and charged straight into the Dark Angel Combat Squad.  Bellowing the same challenge again, it was the squad's sergeant that stepped foward, grimly facing absolute defeat, but distracting the Daemon Prince from his true target for a time.  Luckily for the Sergeant, this was easier as the Prince wasn't even looking at him as he swung the massive daemon-blade, allowing the marine a moment of hope.  It was for naught as his squad saw him fail to land a single blow with his sword on the frightening creature...

With little left to do, Mazarius ordered the Dark Angels to gather their wounded and quit the battlefield, obviously understanding that he was outmatched this day.  Striking a last few blows and firing off some quick shots, the defenders fled an orderly retreat and left Kharsis and his renegades standing alone and victorious.


This battle was a teaching battle for my brother (using Chaos) and a chance to start playing the new rules (with my Dark Angels).  The game was a blast, even as I got creamed and annihilited and the final score was 4-1.  That being said, this game represented combat very well, even if only with small armies, and made learning and teaching the rules very simple and intuitive.  The cool thing is that this battle is the first of three in only two days, so you should see some more batreps coming soon.  Stay clicked in!

Happy Gaming!