Fractured Kingdom
Weeks of planetary bombardment have broken the crust of the planet. Relics of an ancient kingdom rise, emanating immense power, as the land sinks. The sleeping guardians awake to defend what is eternally theirs.
Introduction
As a break in our two player Planetary Onslaught campaign, between Planetstrike and Stronghold, we decided to put together a multiplayer game. With the excitement of 8th edition we agreed to play with the leaked rules at the last minute. The full mission rules (in the style of 7th ed) are available here.
The Armies
Each of the three sides had 90 power, giving each player 45 to work with.
Necrons
- Warriors x 20
- Doom Scythe
- Canoptek Wraiths x 3
- Monolith
Necrons
- Nemsor Zandrekh
- Vargard Obyron
- Warriors x 20
- Immortals with Tesla Cannons x 5
- Triarch Stalker
- Canoptek Spyder
Blood Angels
- Sanguinary Priest with Jump Pack, Plasma Pistol, and Power Fist
- Sanguinary Guard x 10 with Plasma Pistols, 5 Encarmine Sword, 4 Encarmine Axe, 1 Power Fist
- Stormraven with 2 Hurricane Bolters, Twin Assault Cannon, Typhoon Missile Launcher, Stormstrike Missiles.
- Tempestus Scions x 5 with Tempestor (Plasma Pistol, Power Axe), 2 Plasma Guns, 2 Hot-Shot Lasguns
Raven Guard
- Shadow Captain with Jump Pack and twin Lightning Claws
- 2 Scout squads, each with 4 sniper rifles and a rocket launcher
- 10 Vanguard Vets w/Jump Packs, 6 twin Lightning Claws, 4 Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield
- 1 5 man Assault Squad, 2 flamers, 1 Eviscerator, 2 chainsword and Plasma Pistol
- 1 5 man Tactical Squad, Flamer, Combi-flamer.
Chaos Space Marines
- Chaos Lord with Jump Pack
- Raptors x 7 with Plasma Pistol, Plasma Gun, Melta Gun
- Cultists x 20 with 2 Flamers, 2 Heavy Stubbers
- Heldrake with Baleflamer
- Plague Hulk (counts as Defiler)
Chaos Daemons
- Daemon Prince of Nurgle with Wings and Axe
- Herald of Nurgle
- Plaguebearers x 20
- Nurglings x 3
- Plague Drones x 3
- Beast of Nurgle
Turn 1
All forces began the game in reserve. The Necrons took advantage of their option to go last leaving the Imperials and Chaos to roll off. Chaos lost the roll and was forced to go first. In appropriately dramatic fashion the Chaos Lord and his Raptor retinue cut through the smoke and ash to land directly on the massive glowing power source. Nurglings manifested directly from the warp nearby, cheerfully eager to spread their pestilence in the form of many small bites and scratches. The rest of the Chaos forces were spread across the various shifting landmasses from the center of the battlefield to the East flank.
The Astartes jump troops came in on the next closest islands to the West, supported by tacticals and scouts. Oaths of the moment sworn and remembered, they unleashed a torrent of bolter rounds into the heretics and abominations. Through choking haze over the magma (-1 to hit for the first round) they were only able to cause a few casualties.
As the noble Space Marines and foul servants of Chaos threw themselves directly into this fierce firefight the lava around them bulged with something other than toxic gases. Without a sound living metal skeletons and their ancient machines of war rose up, shedding the last of their ablative heat shielding.
The loyalists suffered the worst from this surprise attack, as their ideal angle of attack on the Chaos Space Marines left them vulnerable to the Necrons who were able to deploy from reserve directly on to any island. Between shooting and assault the Raven Guard Tactical Marines and Assault Squad, and most of the Scouts fearlessly gave their lives to buy time for their brothers to accomplish the mission.
Turn 2
The Chaos Lord greatly desired this xenos technology and charged the horde of Necron Warriors who threatened to take it from him. Under the cover of the Heldrake’s warp fire he and his Raptors rent many of them apart while the Nurglings used their clever little claws to find their most delicate components.
Plague Drones harried the Doom Scythe that had just rocketed out of the lava. Chaos Cultists both exalted and quailed as a Daemon Prince of Nurgle came to deliver them from the vicious attack of the Wraiths.
Nearby a dripping, moaning, Beast of Nurgle charged the Necron Immortals, running through the lava, heedless of the intense heat and the damage it inflicted. Doing the same, the mass of Plaguebearers attempted to spread their gifts to the Noble Sanguinary Guard.
The veteran Raven Guard Jump Troops and their Shadow Captain continued to screen their allies, launching themselves at the Stalker and Spyder that had killed their brothers and heroically sacrificing themselves in the process. Sanguinary Guard hacked away at their assailants, slowly making headway despite their disgusting resilience.
Even while suffering continual heavy losses the Necrons on the central island repair themselves, standing back up to continue guarding their ancient realm and its mysteries. Under streams of destructive green energy from the towering monolith they pulled down the minions of Chaos, who would not rise again.
Turn 3
This stage of the battle saw the Chaos leaders each fighting on their own, Raptors and Plaguebearers slain. The Plague Drones dove in to defend the Herald against the Sanguinary Guard while the Heldrake swooped at the Necron Warriors battling the Chaos Lord. The Daemon Prince continued to whittle the Wraiths down into their base components with mighty swings of his axe.
Meanwhile the Stormraven spat a continuous stream of fire and missiles at every armored target that presented itself, notably destroying the Defiler in one particularly well aimed barrage.
The Necrons continued the stoic defense of their massive glowing crystal, the Doom Scythe and Monolith repositioned to maximize their destructive potential. However the drifting islands turned against them, increasing the distance between those that were not currently engaged in melee with the intruders. With a burst of green energy one of the Necron rulers summoned his Immortals from across the battlefield to fight by his side.
Turn 4
The end of this brutal battle saw the Necrons unleashing their Monolith and Doom Scythe’s power to destroy the Stormraven. Their ground forces marched across the burning, shifting paths in the lava, ignoring the damage they inflicted on themselves.
The Necron flyer, having escaped the airborne fury of the Daemon Prince, was finally immolated by a well placed plasma shot from a Sanguinary Guard. Seeing that the day was lost the few remaining Blood Angels and servants of Chaos took to the sky, taking some little solace that at least their nemeses had not taken the Necron technology.
