Death Guard vs Space Marines
Even through his re-breather, the Brother Sergeant of the Raptors forces could smell Nurgle’s putrid stench. He stalked slowly through the ruined city, his bolter held in a firm grip. Around him, ashes fell, dusting his ceramite armor. All was quiet and still. Peaceful. One of the many sounds of death.
Beneath his heel he crushed something that crumbled like it was made of wet clay. Turning his eyes down, he saw only a mess of blood and puss and tissue that may have once been a skull. The space marine scowled and faced his brothers.
“Burn it,” he said. “Burn it all.”
At once, his men carried out his orders. Flamers ignited, birthing fires of holy flame to burn away the stench of this place in the Emperor’s name. Where the fires poured, the darkness and the snow receded. Until it didn’t.
All at once, a deathly music erupted around the Primaris marines. The fire screamed in a way it shouldn’t, the darkness roared blasphemies cursing the God Emperor and all his children. When the first bolter round rang through the hollowed-out structure and struck the brother sergeant in the shoulder, he raised his weapon in return and fired wildly into the flames for he could not see the enemy.
Bolters sang their songs of pain and death, joined swiftly by the hum of molten plasma and a cacophony of nightmarish howls. The blaze of light disrupted the Primaris’ HUDs, making it almost impossible to acquire targets just long enough that a hulking, monstrous Death Shroud Terminator could close in before being spotted.
He was clad all in white, his body was a pillar of flesh, muscle, and armor infused by the corrupting power of contagion itself. No amount of bolter fire or purifying flames could make the Terminator’s aim falter. With one swift swipe, he cut the brother sergeant in half… and thus the first had fallen in a battle that would be as swift as it was bloody.
Mission: Beachhead
Points: 1750
Deployment: Search & Destroy
++ Battalion Detachment +5CP (Imperium – Space Marines) ++
**Chapter Selection**: Raven Guard
+ HQ +
Captain: Chainsword, Jump Pack, Storm bolter, Teeth of Terra
Captain in Phobos Armour: 5. Target Priority, Camo cloak, Master-crafted instigator bolt carbine, Warlord
+ Troops +
Infiltrator Squad: 8x Infilltrator, Infiltrator Helix Adept, Infiltrator Sergeant
Intercessor Squad: Auxiliary Grenade Launcher, Bolt rifle, 4x Intercessor, Intercessor Sergeant
Intercessor Squad: Auxiliary Grenade Launcher, Bolt rifle, 4x Intercessor, Intercessor Sergeant
Scout Squad: 10x Camo cloak
. Scout Sergeant: Bolt pistol, Sniper rifle
. 9x Scout w/Sniper Rifle: 9x Sniper rifle
+ Fast Attack +
Bike Squad
. Biker Sergeant: Combi-flamer, Twin boltgun
. 2x Space Marine Biker w/Bolt Pistol: 2x Twin boltgun
. Space Marine Biker w/Special Weapon: Flamer, Twin boltgun
. Space Marine Biker w/Special Weapon: Flamer, Twin boltgun
+ Heavy Support +
Devastator Squad
. Space Marine Sergeant: Boltgun
. Space Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Lascannon
. Space Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Lascannon
. Space Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Lascannon
. Space Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Lascannon
Devastator Squad
. Space Marine Sergeant: Boltgun
. Space Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Lascannon
. Space Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Lascannon
. Space Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Lascannon
. Space Marine w/Heavy Weapon: Lascannon
++ Vanguard Detachment +1CP (Imperium – Space Marines) ++
**Chapter Selection**: Raven Guard
+ HQ +
Captain on Bike: Power sword, Storm shield, The Burning Blade, Twin boltgun
+ Elites +
Aggressor Squad: 2x Aggressor, Aggressor Sergeant, Auto Boltstorm Gauntlets/Fragstorm Grenade Launcher
Contemptor Dreadnought: Combi-bolter, Dreadnought combat weapon, Kheres pattern assault cannon
Contemptor Dreadnought: Combi-bolter, Dreadnought combat weapon, Kheres pattern assault cannon
++ Super-Heavy Auxiliary Detachment (Chaos – Death Guard) ++
+ Lord of War +
Mortarion
++ Vanguard Detachment +1CP (Chaos – Death Guard) ++
+ HQ +
Daemon Prince of Nurgle: 5. Putrescent Vitality, Hellforged sword, Plague spewer Warlord
+ Troops +
Plague Marines
. Plague Champion
. . Codex: Boltgun, Plague knife
. 11x Plague Marine w/ boltgun
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun
. Plague Marine w/ Special Weapon: Plasma gun
+ Elites +
Blightlord Terminators
. Blightlord Champion: Bubotic Axe, Combi-bolter
. Blightlord Terminator: Bubotic Axe, Combi-bolter
. Blightlord Terminator: Bubotic Axe, Combi-bolter
. Blightlord Terminator: Bubotic Axe, Combi-bolter
. Blightlord Terminator: Blight launcher, Bubotic Axe
Blightlord Terminators
. Blightlord Champion: Bubotic Axe, Combi-bolter
. Blightlord Terminator: Bubotic Axe, Combi-bolter
. Blightlord Terminator: Balesword, Combi-bolter
. Blightlord Terminator: Balesword, Combi-bolter
. Blightlord Terminator: Balesword, Combi-bolter
Deathshroud Terminators
. Deathshroud Champion: Manreaper, Plaguespurt gauntlets
. 2x Deathshroud Terminator: 2x Manreaper
+ Heavy Support +
Plagueburst Crawler: 2x Plaguespitter, Rothail volley gun
Plagueburst Crawler: 2x Plaguespitter, Heavy slugger
To start off the Raptors Turn 1, the unit of Bikers, accompanied by the mounted Captain forge forwards, before assailing both the unit of Blightlord Terminators and the Plagueburst. Due to the robustness of both of these units, the Bikers’ attempts to damage them prove futile, as the Bolter rounds simply ricochet off of their armour, leaving nothing past a scratch on their enemies. This alerts the Death Guard to their whereabouts, as the Raptors now sit further up the battlefield and in a vulnerable position.
Up next, the elite unit of Infiltrators take aim at the Blightlord Terminators, their Marksman Bolt Carbines a far more precise variant of the standard issue Boltgun. Firing well-placed shots allow them to find a chink in the Terminator armour, as one bullet manages to penetrate a slightly thinner armour plate near the neck, resulting in 1 wound.
Both Dreadnoughts are issued a command from the Jump Pack Captain; to take down Mortarion. The Dreadnoughts aim their Assault Cannons at the huge target, as the barrels begin to rotate, picking up speed before launching a barrage of lead at the Primarch. Seeing the incoming fire, Mortarion bats his wings violently, the huge torrent of wind that is picked up in the process blowing away the majority of the Assault Cannon rounds. Some of the rounds lodge themselves in the wings of the Primarch, before simply disintegrating due to the toxic nature of the wings. 2 wounds are dealt to Mortarion despite the huge amount of shooting from the Dreadnoughts, as the sturdy Primarch stands tall.
Following up the shooting are the Devastator Squads. Having been given the coordinates by their Sergeants, they take aim, using the initial shooting from the Dreadnoughts as a window of opportunity to charge their Lascannons, before firing their high-powered lasers at the target. Noticing the Devastators in the distance, the Deathshroud Terminators stand in front of Mortarion’s vulnerable spots, ready to absorb the Lascannon shots. Pardo needs to spend 1 Command Point to re-roll one of his to wound rolls, as Shaggy decides to take the brunt of the damage onto the Deathshroud unit. Pardo then fires his 10 man Scout Squad at Mortarion, but once more, the Deathshroud body block for the Primarch, which unfortunately for Shaggy, sees the Terminator unit removed from play early on. This is huge for Pardo, as it picks him up First Strike, but more importantly, makes Mortarion far more vulnerable for the upcoming turns of the game, as there are no longer ways for wounds to be taken from him.
Following what has been a relatively good Shooting Phase thus far for Pardo and his Raptors, he takes aim with the Aggressors. Due to having been moved with the Strike from the Shadows Stratagem, they did not move during the Movement Phase. This means that the unit benefit from their Fire Storm rule, giving each of them twice the amount of shots that they would normally get! Despite this however, Mortarion proves just how tough he truly is, with the Aggressors only managing to deal 2 wounds to the Primarch. This was partially due to some very unfortunate to-hit rolls from Pardo, which he then realised could have been made better had he moved his Captain up to better serve the Aggressors with the re-rolls to hit of 1’s.
In a wave of pestilence, the Death Guard begin the first of their many advances to come, sites set on the initial Raptors force in the centre of the battlefield, housing both Dreadnoughts and the Captain. The Plague Marines slog up along the city, leaving bright green trails of bile behind them. The slow but sturdy Marines look to meet their Imperial counterparts in combat as soon as possible.
Supporting the mass of infantry are the Blightlord Terminators and the first Plagueburst Crawler, as they advance towards the front lines of the Raptors, namely the Infiltrator unit. The Infiltrators brace themselves, as the looming presences of Nurgle makes itself more and more apparent each second. Heavy thuds from the Terminators grow louder with the passing moments, until finally, they reach their desired location, ready to fire at the Raptors.
Finally, Mortarion himself moves along the battlefield. Despite the rancid appearance of the Primarch, he moves himself with form and grace, his movements almost elegant despite the Nurgle devout’s mien. Casting an impressive shadow over the Aggressors, Mortarion begins to cast Miasma of Pestilence, but unfortunately for Shaggy, fails. Shaggy decides not to spend a Command Point to re-roll, as he is already down to 1 final Command Point for the rest of the battle. Following that however, Mortarion casts Blades of Putrification on himself, adding 1 to all of his wound rolls in the next Fight Phase. Finally, the Nurgle Daemon Prince casts Putrescent Vitality on the huge mass of Plague Marines, giving them +1 to both their Strength and Toughness characteristics until the next Psychic Phase.
With only 1 Command Point left, Shaggy decides that he is better off using it now, rather than saving it for later on in the game. He spends it on the Blasphemous Machines Stratagem on the Plagueburst Crawler, allowing it to ignore the penalties for moving and firing heavy weapons. Looking to make an impact on the battle, the Crawler fires its Plagueburst Mortar at the Dreadnought and its Heavy Slugger at the Infiltrators. This split firing technique helps Shaggy shave off some wounds from each unit, as he manages to kill 3 Infiltrators and also deal 4 wounds to the Contemptor Dreadnought. However this does mean that Shaggy must now play the rest of the game without a single Command Point, which also means he is completely out of Stratagems that he can use.
However Shaggy looks to make the most of what he can, as he fires into the Aggressors with both the huge unit of Plague Marines and the Blightlord Terminators. All manner of ranged weaponry rain down onto the 3-man unit of Aggressors, as they are pelted by a barrage of different weaponry. This inevitably results in the death of the unit, picking up First Strike for Shaggy. This does mean however that two of Shaggy’s units had to focus fire one of Pardo’s, resulting in there being less Death Guard shooting at the rest of his army for the rest of the turn. A worthwhile trade-off?
Targeting the now staggered Infiltrator unit, the Blightlord Terminators nominate them as their charging target. They begin to rush into combat, close combat weapons drawn and at the ready. The talented Infiltrators however, manage to recover, as their reload their weaponry and spray the converging area where the Terminators will cross with a heavy load of suppressive fire, cutting their path off. One of the Terminators are unlucky, as they get caught up in the Overwatch fire, being slain in the process. To add insult to injury, Shaggy rolls miserably on his charge, meaning they fail to lock up the Infiltrators.
Swooping into the lines of the Raptors, Mortarion targets one of the Intercessor Squads, as he flies up past the rest of the Raptors. Intimidated by the sheer presence of Mortarion makes the Intercessors miss their Overwatch, as he comfortably reaches their lines. Beginning the Fight Phase, Mortarion’s Host of Plague deals 3 Mortal Wounds to the Intercessors, as swarms of rapid insects bore through the armour of the Adeptus Astartes. Turning his scythe, Silence, sideways, he performs a sweeping motion, which cleaves the Intercessor unit cleanly through, making the elite warriors look like trivial enemies in front of the Daemon Primarch. After slaying the Raptor unit, he consolidates into one Dreadnought, dragging it into combat. The Dreadnought sticks its fist out, striking Mortarion square in the chest, dealing 1 wound to him in retaliation as Shaggy passes two disgustingly resilient saves.
At the end of the turn, Pardo picks up 1 Victory Point for having secured the objective in his deployment zone. Onwards, to Turn 2!
Noticing the threat of the Death Guard, both the Infiltrators and the Bikers, still accompanied by the mounted Captain look to close off the entry points to the rest of the army for the Death Guard. The Infiltrators run up along the board, arriving directly in front of the Terminators and the Plagueburst Crawler. Over to the right, the Bike Squad come in to flank the vehicle, catching the Death Guard in a slight pincer formation from the front.
Noticing the immediate threat of Mortarion, the Dreadnought falls back out of combat from the Primarch, opening him up to being shot at once more. It is imperative that Pardo removes Mortarion as soon as possible, as if he is left to his own devices, he will tear through the Raptors forces with relative ease. Meanwhile, the rest of the units move away from Mortarion, as Pardo does not want to suffer any more casualties from the Host of Plagues if he can help it.
With the role of the unit medic, the Infiltrator Helix Adept walks over to one of the corpses from the unit. Some emergency treatment on one of the fallen Infiltrators allows him to get back up and continue fighting. Pardo manages to successfully revive one of the fallen Infiltrators, something which could prove to be a nuisance for Shaggy if he is not able to remove the full unit.
Both Lascannon Devastator Squads know the target; Mortarion. They take aim once more, this time not having to worry about any interference from the Deathshroud Terminators. They pump out a monstrous amount of shots, as the intense Las weaponry tear through the Primarch, leaving him a mangled and disfigured being on the verge of death, a mixture of puss and blood pouring forth from the open wounds that litter the Primarch’s frame. Some good rolling from Pardo, along with a Command Point re-roll of one of his to-wound rolls sees Mortarion being brought down to his last 2 wounds. Could Pardo finish him off this turn?
Seeing the damaged body of Mortarion, the Sniper unit take aim under the strict command of their Sergeant. They are told to hold their shot, until all ten of them line it up perfectly. They looked to bring down the Daemon Primarch in one final, crushing blow. Once each Sniper confirmed the accuracy of their shot, they unleashed one single flurry of Sniper Rifle fire, each shot concentrated on the head of Mortarion. The extreme velocity and high power of the rounds, all fired in succession at the same target sees Mortarion’s head blowing cleanly off due to the immense pressure, as the Primarch’s body begins to hurdle down towards the ground. Upon impact, the now slump ceases to move, all manner of bodily fluids pooling around the now corpse. Pardo manages to do it, he removes Mortarion from the battlefield in what was essentially just one round of serious shooting! This is a huge momentum swing, as Shaggy has now lost his most destructive piece from the board.
The Infiltrators and Bikers coordinate their attacks onto the Terminators and the Plagueburst Crawler, as they charge into the enemy units. The Plagueburst Crawler fires off once more, before directly killing 1 Biker, slaying them outright. Once in combat, the Captain manages to hack into the hull of the Crawler, dealing a total of 4 wounds to it. The Infiltrators however, are not as fortunate, as their strikes onto the Terminators are fruitless, with the Death Guard unit striking back and removing 2 more Infiltrators from the battle.
The other Contemptor Dreadnought attempts to charge into the second Plagueburst Crawler, as it begins to run towards the vehicle, picking up a tremendous pace in the process. The Crawler fires its flamers, which eventually finds the Dreadnought, striking it hard, knocking it onto its side, rolling violently through the battle-torn streets. 4 wounds are dealt to the Dreadnought, as well as Pardo failing to make the charge, despite using a Command Point to re-roll a die. The Captain then launches himself towards the Crawler, vaulting over terrain and ally alike to reach the foul vehicle. The Crawler is not as lucky this time, as it misses due to the Captain propelling himself forwards with the help of his Jump Pack and cover from the crates. Poised to strike, he sinks the Teeth of Terra into the hull of the Plagueburst Crawler, dealing a massive 4 wounds to it in return. It would have been more than 4, but Shaggy manages to make a lot of his saves; they don’t call it Disgustingly Resilient for nothing!
Having held the objective for a full turn, Shaggy now picks up 1 Victory Point of his own, before mobilising his mass of Death Guard infantry forwards. The Plague Marines continue to inch their way along the battlefield, as they feel the adverse effects of their Primarch no longer being there to inspire them. Close beside them, the other unit of Blightlord Terminators cover ground, looking to clear through what they can of the Raptors.
The Daemon Prince too moves up along with the rest of its forces, sights set firmly on the Jump Pack Captain. Once it finds its target, the Daemon Prince launches a bolt of Psychic energy at him, knocking the Captain backwards off of his feet. A nasty Smite manages to deal 3 Mortal Wounds to the Captain, significantly softening him up.
The Plague Marines finally look to have an impact on the battlefield, as the two Plasma Gun wielders fire at the weakened Dreadnought. They both overcharge their weapons, firing extremely hot-white bolts of Plasma at the walker. One of them manages to successfully damage the Dreadnought, dealing 2 wounds to it. However, the other Plague Marine is not as fortunate, as he misfires his weapon, it blowing up in the process and covering the Plague Marine in the hot plasma, burning right through the thick Power Armour.
In similar fashion to the Raptors, the Death Guard now orchestrate a combined charge of their own, with the second unit of Blightlord Terminators and the Daemon Prince charging into the Captain, looking to remove him from the battle. The masterful Captain manages to dance through the combat with the Terminators, deflecting all of the incoming blows with ease, before turning his attention to the Daemon Prince. Pardo spends 2 Command Points to Interrupt the combat, as the Captain strikes at the Daemon Prince, dealing 2 wounds to it. This is only just before the Daemon Prince strikes the Captain for itself, which sees the lone Captain not able to survive, as the Daemon Prince puts out a ridiculous amount of damage onto just 1 character, seeing the Captain slain.
The Bike Squad turn their attention to the giant unit of Plague Marines, looking to tie them up in combat and reduce their efficacy on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the mounted Captain begins to chase down the initial Plagueburst Crawler, looking to tie it up in combat yet again and stop it from shooting once more. Whilst not many units have fallen, Shaggy has already sustained heavy casualties with Mortarion and the Deathshroud Terminators, meaning he needs to make up for it by quickly slimming Pardo’s forces down where possible.
The Devastators once more fire in tandem, this time targeting the closest Plagueburst Crawler. Shot after shot from their Lascannons both hit and miss their mark, with a very bad shooting phase overall from them seeing just 4 wounds being dealt to the vehicle. Considering these are the same units that brought Mortarion down to just 2 wounds, this was a very lackluster shooting from them. Just a reminder that one of the units is hitting on 2’s due to the Walords, Warlord Trait.
Looking to continue to apply pressure from a distance, the Scout Snipers now target the Blightlord Terminator unit, as Pardo hopes to begin chipping away at the hardier units, where the removal of any wounds is very much welcomed. Unfortunately for Pardo, some horrendous rolling and some great saves from Shaggy sees no damage going through to the Terminators. Could Pardo’s luck be running out at this pivotal point in the game?
The Intercessors, having moved up earlier, now target the Plague Marine unit, with the assistance of the Dreadnought. Small arms fire, supported by Assault Cannon fire begins to tear through the ranks of the Death Guard infantry, as a total of 3 are slain from the relatively small pool of firepower. Still, thinning the unit down will allow the Bike squad a much higher chance of survival, something which could prove vital for Pardo.
After being pelted from different angles, the Bike squad and the Dreadnought charge into combat successfully. Bolter fire from the Plague Marines are simply shrugged off by the Dreadnought, as it locks the unit in combat, allowing the Bikers to be safely delivered. Despite reaching combat though, bad rolling strikes Pardo yet again this turn, with not a single wound going through onto the Plague Marines; not what Pardo had planned for this fight phase.
With the two great turns that the Raptors have had thus far, Turn 3 seems to be making up for it, by being as unfortunate for Pardo as possible. Despite all that you have seen thus far, the bad luck does not run out just yet. Pardo’s second Contemptor Dreadnought manages to reach the charge in against the Plagueburst Crawler, but, in the same fashion as its Battle Brothers, fails to deal any wounds to the vehicle. As a positive, Pardo has managed to lock up a lot of Shaggy’s units, but he really did need to continue dealing damage to them as well as lock them up.
The turn bounces back to Shaggy, and he lets out a sigh of relief after Pardo’s scuffed turn. To begin, Shaggy picks up 3 Victory Points for his objectives, which throws him into the lead for the first time this battle. Directly after this, he moves the Plague Marine unit back out of combat, freeing up the Bikers to be shot at. Will Shaggy be able to do anything remarkable, despite having a severely crippled force?
Having slain the Captain, the Daemon Prince looks for its next target. It jumps a top the crates, giving it a great vantage point over the battlefield. Within mere moments, the devout of Nurgle sets its sights on the unit of Intercessors. Wicked bolts of psychic energy amass in the Daemon’s hand, before throwing them at the Primaris unit. Following this, the Daemon Prince uses its Plague Spewer, as it douses the whole unit in putrid flame. Between the psychic power and ranged weapon, the Daemon Prince manages to lay waste to all but one of the Intercessors, as it survives on just 1 wound.
Splitting fire with the Blightlord Terminators, Shaggy opts to fire the Bolters into the Bike Squad and the Blight Launcher into the damaged Dreadnought. The Combi-Bolters do not manage to harm the Bikers, as they manage to out-maneuver the lead rounds from the Terminators. The Blight Launcher however, finds its mark impressively, as the toxic globules splash onto the Dreadnought, instantly corroding the Ceramite armour. An impressive display of rolling sees Shaggy finishing off the Dreadnought with that one ranged weapon, as he claws his way back into a controlling lead over the battle.
Continuing a successful turn thus far, Shaggy charges his Terminators into the Bikers, looking to remove the hardy Raptors unit from the board. The Blightlord Terminators reach the Bikers without an issue, and begin to lay into them with their malefic weaponry, each hack and slash tearing and crumpling armour as if it were paper, exposing the Space Marine’s flesh. Vicious blow after vicious blow begins to wear on the Bikers, as 2 of them are slain in combat.
After decimating the Intercessor unit, the Daemon Prince looks to finish what it began. It squats down, before launching itself down onto the Intercessor, the Daemon’s tremendous weight pinning down the Space Marine warrior in place. With a sadistic grin painted on its face, the Daemon Prince drives its Hellforged Sword through the chest of the Primaris Intercessor, before wrenching it up through the torso and out of the head of the Marine. Having slain it in combat, the Daemon Prince consolidates, looking to prepare itself for another charge soon.
Starting off Turn 4 for Pardo and his Raptors, he picks up 1 more Victory Point. Understanding that the game will be decided on who scores more objectives, Pardo sends his mounted Captain into the depths of Shaggy’s backline, looking to clear out the Plague Marines and capture the objective in Shaggy’s zone. If this works for Pardo, it will pay off immensely, as he will be gaining a lot more Victory Points than Shaggy will.
Looking to make up for their previous blunder, the two units of Devastators take aim at the nearest target to them, that being the Daemon Prince this time! The Sergeants once more confirm the coordinates of the Daemon, before issuing for it to be brought down. The loud humming sound from the power packs that generate the Las weaponry comes to its crescendo, before the beams are fired. Each Lascannon shot strikes a vital part of the Daemon Prince, with a great number of them penetrating the midsection of the being, erupting in a violent explosion of gory mess, the internal organs of the Daemon Prince scattering onto the nearby crate, as the well-placed shots go right through the flesh and bone of the Daemon. Making up for last turn, the Devastators manage to slay the Daemon Prince, leaving Shaggy with very little that can pose a serious threat to Pardo.
Still laying down suppressive fire for the Raptors, the Scouts target the weakened Blightlord Terminator unit, as they continue to pin down the Terminators and restrict their passage to the remaining Raptors. One of the Terminators leaves the protection of the nearby terrain momentarily, looking to fire back in the direction of the Scouts. This prompts the perfect opportunity for the Scouts to fire at the Terminator itself, which they all do. With a few shots landing adequately, they manage to remove yet another Terminator from the battlefield.
After the Plagueburst Crawler disengaged from the combat, the last standing Dreadnought forges ahead, meeting the Crawler once more in combat. The primal warrior hammers down into the hull of the vehicle repeatedly, the crushing blows causing massive indentations into the structure of the Crawler, before exposing the inner machinery that runs the vehicle. Burying its combat weapon into the newly formed opening, the Dreadnought begins to churn the components of the Plagueburst Crawler, tearing out massive chunks of the machine, until it is no longer operational. One great round of combat sees the Dreadnought dealing enough damage to remove the Plagueburst Crawler from the game. Unfortunately for Shaggy, it doesn’t blow up, meaning that there is no consolation damage dealt in return.
Distracted from the ongoing frontal assault, the Captain takes advantage of the situation, as he charges the rear of the Plague Marines. With the mighty Relic, the Burning Blade held firmly in his digits, the Captain rides through the ranks of the Plague Marines, hacking and slashing through the Power Armoured beings like a hot knife through butter, the legendary artifact rightfully being named after its immensely hot properties. The Captain manages to slay 2 Plague Marines, as he sits firmly directly on the objective.
With little to nothing left for Shaggy to do at this point, he maneuvers the Plagueburst Crawler back up the side of the map, getting it close to the Scout Squad. The Crawler fires both of its Plaguespitters at the Scouts, hoping to remove them from the board due to its potent weapon profile. Pardo once more manages to impressive all in the room, making every single save that Shaggy hands him from the Plagueburst Crawler, as the Scouts survive the shooting completely unscathed.
The wounded Terminators help Shaggy pick up some more Victory Points, with him gaining a total of 3 this turn. Since he no longer has any Psychic left in his force, the Death Guard are straight into the shooting, which sees the Blightlord Terminators targeting the second Dreadnought. In a major turn of events, the Combi-Bolters manage to pepper the Contemptor Dreadnought to death, removing the final wound from it, clearing out yet another threat from the Raptors’ side.
As the combat ensues, the Captain is struck upon passing by some of the Plague Marines, which he manages to deflect with the help of his Storm Shield. He makes a sharp turn, riding back in the direction that he came from, all the while slicing through what remains of the Plague Marine unit. The dust settles which was initially picked up by the bike itself, to reveal that just one Plague Marine is left standing, all the while the Captain has yet to sustain any injuries from the combat.
Pardo starts off his Turn 5 by picking up 1 more Victory Point for his objective. Currently, the battle is swung in Shaggy’s favour in terms of Victory Points, however Pardo can still salvage a win. All he needs to do is clear out whichever units Shaggy has holding objectives, and then capture them himself. By doing so, he will be able to grab a win in a couple of turns, as long as the game doesn’t end at the bottom of Turn 5.
Through the sound of explosion, the Scout Sergeant manages to communicate with the Devastator Sergeants. They recommend one final push on the Plagueburst Crawler with the combined arms of both the Sniper Scouts and Lascannon Devastators. Seeing as there are very few high-armoured targets left on the battlefield, they agree, with all of the Raptors taking aim at the lone vehicle. A countdown is initiated, and once reached, a raging cacophony of rifle rounds and Las fire rain down into the final Plagueburst Crawler, as the top of the hull blows cleanly off of the remaining body, shrapnel from the now destroyed vehicle launching itself and lodging into anything nearby. The second Crawler is removed, finally, after a lot of resources are poured into its removal!
Showing no signs of ceasing his relentless assault, the Bike Captain strikes repeatedly at the final Plague Marine. A few blows are exchanged, with the Death Guard infantryman managing to deflect a couple of blows through sheer luck. A now irate Captain looks to close out the combat soon and capture the objective finally. He rides full-speed ahead towards the last Plague Marine, holding the Burning Blade out towards his side. The long blade slices upwards from the Marine’s groin to his chest, as the overwhelming burning sensation quickly overtakes the Chaos devout, before he falls to the ground and begins convulsing from the pain. After a few moments, the Plague Marine stops moving, no longer a life form, as the Captain now holds the objective firmly on his lonesome!
Starting the bottom of Turn 5, Shaggy begins his turn picking up no Victory Points, as he no longer holds any objectives. The stronger unit of Blightlord Terminators that claimed the lives of the Infiltrators previously now turn their attention to the mounted Captain. They move back towards him, firing off their Combi-Bolters in the process. The Captain abandons his bike momentarily, using its bulk as cover, whilst holding his Storm Shield tightly in front of himself, ensuring that he is safe. This is worth while, as he manages to survive and once more, sustain no damage whatsoever, buying Pardo some more time in the battle.
In a last ditch effort, Shaggy charges the lone Blightlord Terminator from the second unit into the final Biker, looking to at the very least remove one more unit from the board. Unluckily for Shaggy however, he does not quite manage to do it, with the Biker surviving on 1 final wound, meaning that Shaggy won’t be able to pick up points for the objective that he is currently contesting. Very unfortunate for Shaggy there!
At the end of the turn, Shaggy rolls to see if the game carries on, which it does, meaning that this will go back over to Pardo yet again. What an intense and hectic battle this has been!
