Mission: Retrieval
Points: 1750
Deployment: Vanguard Strike
++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (Chaos – Death Guard) ++
+ HQ +
Lord of Contagion: Revoltingly Resilient, Plaguereaper, The Suppurating Plate, Warlord
Malignant Plaguecaster: Miasma of Pestilence, Curse of the Leper
+ Troops +
Plague Marines
. Plague Champion: Bolt pistol, Plaguesword, Power fist
. 5x Plague Marine w/ boltgun
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun
Plague Marines
. Plague Champion: Plague knife, Plasma gun, Power fist
. 5x Plague Marine w/ boltgun
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun
Plague Marines
. Plague Champion: Plague knife, Plasma gun, Power fist
. 5x Plague Marine w/ boltgun
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun
+ Elites +
Blightlord Terminators
. Blightlord Champion: Bubotic Axe, Combi-flamer
. Blightlord Terminator: Bubotic Axe, Combi-bolter
. Blightlord Terminator: Blight launcher, Bubotic Axe
. Blightlord Terminator: Flail of Corruption
. Blightlord Terminator: Bubotic Axe, Combi-bolter
. Blightlord Terminator: Balesword, Combi-bolter
Blightlord Terminators
. Blightlord Champion: Bubotic Axe, Combi-flamer
. Blightlord Terminator: Bubotic Axe, Combi-bolter
. Blightlord Terminator: Blight launcher, Bubotic Axe
. Blightlord Terminator: Flail of Corruption
. Blightlord Terminator: Bubotic Axe, Combi-bolter
Deathshroud Terminators
. Deathshroud Champion: Manreaper, 2x Plaguespurt gauntlets
. 2x Deathshroud Terminator: 2x Manreaper, 2x Plaguespurt gauntlets
Helbrute: Helbrute fist, Twin lascannon
Helbrute: Helbrute fist, Twin lascannon
++ Battalion Detachment +3CP (T’au Empire) ++
T’au Empire Sept Choice: T’au Sept
+ HQ +
Aun’Va: Aun’Va, Ethereal Guard, Ethereal Guard
Commander in XV86 Coldstar Battlesuit: Advanced targeting system, High-output burst cannon, Missile pod, Shield generator, Strength of Belief (T’au Sept), Vectored manoeuvring thrusters, Warlord
+ Troops +
Strike Team
. Fire Warrior Shas’ui: Pulse rifle
. 5x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Rifle
Strike Team
. Fire Warrior Shas’ui: Pulse rifle
. 5x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Rifle
Strike Team
. Fire Warrior Shas’ui: Pulse rifle
. 5x Fire Warrior w/ Pulse Rifle
+ Elites +
XV25 Stealth Battlesuits
. Stealth Shas’ui w/ Burst Cannon: Burst cannon
. Stealth Shas’ui w/ Fusion blaster: Fusion blaster
. Stealth Shas’vre: Burst cannon
XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit: 2x Fusion blaster, Advanced targeting system, Counterfire defence system, Cyclic ion raker, 2x MV5 Stealth Drone
XV95 Ghostkeel Battlesuit: 2x Fusion blaster, Advanced targeting system, Counterfire defence system, Cyclic ion raker, 2x MV5 Stealth Drone
+ Fast Attack +
Pathfinder Team
. 9x Pathfinder: 9x Markerlight
. Pathfinder Shas’ui: Markerlight
+ Heavy Support +
XV107 R’varna Battlesuit: Advanced targeting system, Multi-tracker
XV88 Broadside Battlesuits
. Broadside Shas’ui: 2x High-yield missile pod, 2x Smart missile system, Counterfire defence system
. Broadside Shas’vre: 2x High-yield missile pod, 2x Smart missile system, Counterfire defence system








The Helbrutes move towards the Ghostkeels without hesitation, as they catch a glimpse of them before they phased out of sight again, hurling themselves in the general direction from which they saw them! The Plague Marine units along with the Plaguecaster also begin their slow advance up to the other side of the board in order to get into range of the T’au forces. Once everything had moved into position for the Death Guard, they awaited for the rest of their forces to enter the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, the Lord of Contagion, accompanied by a unit of Deathshroud Terminators to his right and a unit of Blightlord Terminators to his left enter the fray via Teleport Strike, the mass of followers of Nurgle appearing behind the T’au army! In the nearby ruins close to the centre of the battlefield arrive the second unit of Blightlord Terminators!

Here we see the second unit of Blightlord Terminators entering the battlefield too. Being just 9″ away from the T’au forces means that they are at prime striking distance this turn already, not what the T’au want!

During the Death Guard Psychic Phase, the Plaguecaster begins to manifest the surrounding pestilence, before casting Miasma of Pestilence on the unit to its left, giving enemy units a -1 to hit them until next turn!

Both Helbrutes target the nearest Ghostkeel, with Steven choosing to spend the first Command Point on the game on Fire Frenzy, allowing one of his Helbrutes to fire twice. Armed with Twin Lascannons meant a total of 6 Lascannon shots on the Ghostkeel! The multiple Lascannons fire simultaneously towards the Ghostkeel, hitting the already ruined building behind it as the Helbrutes struggle to locate the exact positioning of the Battlesuit. Some incredibly unfortunate rolling both to hit and to wound from Steven sees just one getting through, dealing a total of 2 damage.

On the other side of the battlefield, the unit of Blightlord Terminators seek to wreak havoc on the battlefield. Targeting the Broadside Battlesuit unit, one of the Terminators fires his Blightlauncher, the heavy shells crashing into the unit and bursting upon impact. One of the Broadside stumbles from the unexpected impact, as one of its legs buckle under its weight, taking 2 wounds!

After a rather unfortunate Shooting Phase, the Helbrutes run furiously towards the Ghostkeels’ direction, looking to tie them up in combat and possibly remove them! Steven declares his first charge, only needing to roll a 6 on 2d6. Unluckily, Steven rolls a 3 and a 1, opting to spend yet another Command Point in order to re-roll the 1 and… he gets another 1! The Ghostkeel Overwatches, along with the help of the nearby Stealthsuit unit. Due to the T’au Sept Tenet: Coordinated Fire Arcs, William’s Ghostkeel Overwatches on 5+, along with the Stealthsuit’s For The Greater Good, allowing them to assist in the Overwatch. Their combined firepower however is not as fruitful as one would have imagined, only removing 2 wounds in total. The second Hellbrute then chooses to charge the second Ghostkeel. Whilst the Stealthsuits were not in range, nor could they have helped in the Overwatch anyways as they had done so already, the Ghostkeel which had been charged previously could now give a helping hand to the other Battlesuit. Once again, Steven rolls to see if he makes his 6″ charge, but fails yet again! The second Helbrute is now victim of a total of 4 Fusion Guns, along with 2 Cyclic Ion Raker’s, which prove to be too much, the Fusion weaponry melting through the armoured carapace of the Helbrute like a hot knife through butter, before the Raker’s tore apart at the internal components of the walker, as it collapsed into a smoldering pile of metal!

The Blightlord Terminators then reluctantly charge into the Broadsides. Knowing that T’au Sept units Overwatch on 5+ made the choice of whether to charge or not incredibly tough, but Steven bit the bullet and decided to go for it! As the heavy-footed Terminators began their advance into the T’au backlines, the Commander turns in order to face the disease ridden Terminators, notifying the nearby forces to focus fire on the unit. A massive volley of Pulse weaponry, along with a myriad of missiles flew in the direction of the Terminators, creating a massive dust cloud that obscured the vision of all of the T’au forces. Once the dust cloud settled, all that remained were the five corpses of what were once proud followers of Nurgle, the T’au firepower proving far too much for even the hardy Death Guard. Being able to Overwatch on 5+ makes a world of difference!

Entering T’au Turn 1 with quite the lead, William looks to distance himself even more. The T’au Commander raises his hand, giving the signal to those around him. Although it is early on in the game, William opts to use Master of War, choosing Kauyon to give re-rolls to hit to all units within 6″ away from him. During the start of the Movement Phase, Aun’Va chooses Storm of Fire; giving the units that are out of the Commander’s Master of War range re-rolls of 1’s and Sense of Stone to give surrounding units a 6+ to ignore wounds!