Clash with Death Guard

Clash with Death Guard

On Saturday I played against Death Guard, and my friend Josh, for the first time. They were as brutal as I expected them to be, but regardless it was a great game!

Myself and Mia managed to hit quite hard in the first turn, the Sun Shark certainly coming into it's own, obliterating half of a squad of marines (despite being taken down by a flamer from a Cultist...!). The Riptide was surprisingly effective too, as I'd heard bad things about it's condition in 8th from various sources online. Thanks to some good rolls and greater tactical prowess however, the Chaos forces bought the game back and ended up tabling us.

 

Bloat Drone staring down the Cadre Fireblade

A Major Deafeat

You could smell the fear in the ranks. Pax'nera Sept were no strangers to Chaos, having fought it many times over the past year, but this was different. The Death Guard were here, a terrifyingly grotesque and powerful foe, worthy of respect and fear. 

This was Shas'El Tau'n Bra'dax's chance to prove himself to Steadstrike. Before donning his Coldstar suit, he gave his Fireblade a quick rundown of the plan, along with the famed Commander Shadowsun. A Lord of Contagion had been seen on the field and they all knew this was going to be a tough fight. 

They weren't wrong.

The hulking Riptide unleashed it's fury upon the incoming marines while the Strike team used their mobile fortifications for cover, advancing up the field. A dreadnought soon fell from the firepower of the Crisis teams, but alas the favour soon turned to the Chaos forces. Shas'El Tau'n was torn to pieces as his suit gave way and soon enough, the entire Tau force had been eradicated.

Skirmish with the Imperium

So last night at our FLGS, we played a 2000 point game. Myself playing Tau alongside David's Eldar against Darren's Salamanders and Lewis' Space Wolves.

It was an interesting game - the deployment was either the 2 edges of the table or 18" in the centre. We won the roll off and chose the edges. The twist was Warp Storm, which luckily only really affected the Eldar player, as no one else fielded Psykers. The game mode was the one where you add up the Power Level of any unit completely destroyed (I forget the name, but it was a good one!).

The game only actually lasted until the end of the 2nd turn, as we started late and the shop was being shut earlier last night too. We prevailed 27-26, but it honestly could've gone either way.

Below the photos is some fluff from the Tau perspective.

Tau forces preparing for battle

Eldar Guardians watching over from the rooftops

Breachers and Jet Bikes advancing

Very little remained after the hail of Shuriken and Pulse fire

Commander Steadstrike joins the battle

The alliance with the Eldar may be an uneasy one, but it is still mutually beneficial regardless. The Tau learnt their lessons from the Drukhari incident so naturally they were cautious at first, but so far it has proved fruitful. When they received word that Imperial forces were moving in, it was only natural for the Xenos races to fight back together.

O'Lynu'Ka mobilised a strike force quickly, hoping to ambush the advance before it pushed too far into their territory. By the time they arrived, the Salamanders and Wolves had already dug themselves in well and to his surprise, none other than Vulcan himself had accompanied them. "Hmm, looks like we've managed to make quite the impression.." he mused to himself.

Positioning his forces around their flanks, supported by Eldar, Steadstrike gave them their final warning. When it was ignored, he gave the order. The clouds darkened as the looming Sun Shark flew low, dropping its pulse bombs onto the Marines below, the Breacher teams loading into their Devilfish and his trusted Fireblade, Shas'el Ka'mais Tsua'kran, barking orders to the Strike team, their pulse rifles aimed squarely at Vulcan and his guards. It was then that O'Lynu'Ka noticed a familiar figure entrenched in one of the buildings below his Manta ship. 

"Jostein..?"

It was less than a month ago they fought side by side against the impending Tyranid invasion and now they're here, once again fighting each other. The Commander sighed heavily, knowing his opponent is a worthy one. Turning his back, he headed to his newly outfitted Coldstar suit and began preparing to enter the battle himself.

URGENT - Sept Expansion Update

To All Shas'El and Above,

RE: Sept Expansion Updates

It has come to our attention that the territory surrounding our foothold world of Nem'myr in the Charadon Sector has become extremely dangerous. We have been negotiating with the various factions of Eldar and Imperium, but they have fallen through due to their short-sighted nature.

We have also received communications from our allies in Bay'be Sept. They have also been expanding into the Charadon Sector and have found evidence of Chaos forces building up.

It is near inevitable that we will be at war with the factions controlling the various planets in the Charadon Sector. We must swiftly and decisively deal with the threats as they come, while expanding our interests within the Sector. The current status of the Sector is shown below and will be updated in due course.

Charadon Sector

Please ready your Cadres for immediate full effectiveness. 

For the Greater Good.

Aun’O Pax’nera Ol’Cha Ho’star Ash’ath

Cadet/Saal Training - Unit #181: Pax'nera Basics

Welcome Saal, to your new life as a Cadet Fire Warrior!

I trust your training has begun smoothly and any issues you may have had with integration have been ironed out. Now, this may seem a very basic training module but it is important nonetheless - every Shas in our Sept knows these pieces of information like the back of their hand.

Remember, even something like this could be on your graduation test, so study effectively and remember - For the Greater Good!

Sept Information

Sept Name: Pax'nera Sept

Date Founded: 998.M41 (Third Sphere Expansion)

Lead Ethereal: Aun’O Pax’nera Ol’Cha Ho’star Ash’ath (O’Ol’Cha, High Ethereal Lightstar)

Fire Caste Commander: Shas’O Pax’nera Lynu’Ka Fi’rios Tor’fa (O’Lynu’Ka, Commander Steadstrike)

Motto: H'ai Hee / H'ai He (We Are One of Many / We Are Without Number)

Capital Planet: Vu'steya

Firestorm Cadre

Philosophy: Kauyon, the Patient Hunter

Tactics: Hybrid, stationary units supporting highly mobile units

Primary Function: Peacekeeping & Exploration

Greater Good Adherence: Higher than normal

Auxiliaries: Few (Kroot Mercenaries)

Preferred Enemy: Orks, Tyranids

Leader: Commander Steadstrike

Personality: Cars'hesa, Or (Evaluative, Ambitious)