Update: A 40k (Kinda) Batrep and 100k Hits

First of all I'd like to say welcome and thank you to the new followers of the blog – I noticed the number crept over 220 last week. Hope you enjoy what you're reading!

Second of all I'd like to thank you all for visiting because the blog passed 100k hits over the weekend which is amazing. Thank you all so much for visiting.

Now, today's post was meant to be a detailed battle report from Sunday – the build up has been slow and steady, plus it would be the first outing for Bull's 'shiny new codex' Dark Angels. Things all started very well – got to Bull's in plenty of time and we'd were due a couple of guest gamers too.

However, in what can only be described as a moment of complete noob-ishness I managed to drive up the M20 for 70+ minutes only to discover when I arrived in sunny Tunbridge Wells that I'd left the case with ALL my figures at home!!

Absolutely gutted.

Anyway, silver linings and all that… Bull has an extensive collection of models that we raided to make up the missing models in a rather random and comedic way – a bare-chested Ogre model standing in for Typhus. I did manage to remember my Heldrake and Forgefiend which was a blessing. I was so embarrassed that I couldn't force myself to take any photos of the game, so there's not much eye candy today.

I'd like to thank Michael from 28mm Victorian Warfare for braving the Sunday trains and rolling some excellent dice for the Chaos side. He may not have played much before but he was a dice-rolling prodigy on the day. Michael also took some photos of the game which may surface at some point. I'd also like to thank Steve for braving the M25 and joining the Dark Angels… and rolling more than his share of 1s and 2s. He is a Chaos player at heart so may be considered an undercover agent for the powers of the warp!

Thanks also to Bull and his wife for being excellent hosts. A good day was had by all.

Photos of the game are now available alongside Bull's narrative.

The table was set up with rather a lot of terrain, despite having a large collection of vehicles between the two armies. We managed to roll the Relic mission which meant a dash to the centre of the table to grab the loot.

Bull brought his new-look Belial, leading some Deathwing Knights, a handful of 5-man units with heavy/special weapons, an Interrogator Chaplain, a new flyer, a new skimmer with plasma cannons and the dreaded quad gun. There was also a Razorback, Predator and Land Raider in there.

I took Typhus and a unit of Plague Marines in a Land Raider, a maxed out unit of Plague Zombies, a Heldrake and a Forgefiend. This was supplemented by a detachment of Iron Warriors lead by a Sorcerer and containing two 7-man units of Troops plus a Defiler and Predator.

The battle ebbed and flowed, Bull steadily knocking chunks out of the Zombie unit, my Chaos steadily picking hull points of vehicles. Then the Heldrake turned up.

His quad-gun got a free shot once it arrived and did heavy damage – two hull points and locked velocity – but it did survive. Vengeance was brutal. It toasted an entire unit of marines caught in the open with the Baleflamer and crushed the shiny plasma-skimmer with its Meteoric Strike. It managed to burn a second unit the following turn before finally being shot down.

The Forgefiend was the walking gatling gun as usual, peppering the battlefield with shots and managing to take down a Venerable Dread, Razorback and a handful of hull points off the flyer. The Defiler was in danger of being a sideshow until I threw it into combat against the Deathwing Land Raider. It didn't have enough attacks to whittle down the hull points on the monstrous tank but managed to get a couple of penetrating hits and blew it up, spilling Deathwing Knights in front of Typhus and his retinue.

Nobody had made a grab for the Relic after 4 turns so I made my play. Charged Typhus' Land Raider to the middle of the table, just beyond the objective. A unit of marines in a Rhino followed up behind, tumbling out on top of the Relic. The combined effort of Typhus/Sorcerer spells and rapid firing bolt/plasma guns thinned out the Knight unit but it came down to combat. Bull revealed an ace in the hand by dropping a stasis bomb on my gathered troops, reducing their weapons skill by 3. This made things tricky and the addition of Chaos characters having to declare challenges made things ridiculous quite frankly.

Long story short, the chaos troops managed to wipe out the Knights for the loss of the Sorcerer and Plague Marine Champion. The Chaos marine unit jumped back in their Rhino with the Relic and made their getaway. Just as the inevitable clash between Typhus and Belial was about to happen we rolled for random game length… and the game ended.

Not to be denied the spectacle of our warlords clashing we played it out anyway atop a fortified bunker. Typhus managed to roll a 6 for his Daemon Weapon attacks so, despite taking a wound initially, cleaved Belial in two… except of course it wasn't Typhus – he was sat cosy and warm in his case back home 60+ miles away!!

The Dark Angels will want their revenge!