They rise! - 1500 pts Necrons vs Black Scorpions!

Zaitus sat comfortably in the ruined tavern. He'd cleard the rubble and made himself a nice cozy space. He sat there, peering out into the darkness...waiting. This sector was quiet but his instincts were telling him otherwise. HQ had ordered them to dig in and protect the landing sites. In the distant he could hear the continual whoosh and thump of thunderhawks. The civilians that were slowly dying of radiation poisoning were being evacuated. Many had hid in shelters and underground bunkers. They would be safe now, Zaitus thought to himself, but at a cost. Rescue would be granted in return for eternal allegiance. The dark times ahead would require every man and woman to stand a post and fight. Better they die fighting than decaying slowing in a rotten bunker... before he could finish his thoughts Zaitus spotted something in the darkness. Something slithering. He quickly thumbed his comms. 'HQ this is Zaitus, we have company! Request immediate fire mission on the following coordinates'

In the distance great flashes of light revealed the aliens slinking towards his lines. Zaitus saw the thumping artillery rain in amongst them, an earth shattering display of power. They would hold the line!

1500 pts - Necrons vs Black Scorpions - Maelstrom - Contact Lost

Black Scorpions - 2 scout squads in Storms, a fire raptor, 5 assault marines, a Knight Titan, 3 thunderfires, Telion and sniper scouts and finally 3 quad mortars.

Necrons - 20 warriors and a cryptek, 20 immortals, 6 wraiths, 6 destroyers and 2 night scythes.

Rik seized the intiative! He only deployed his wraiths and destroyers. They, due to the dark night only managed to take a hull point off a landspeeder as they surged forward.

My knight and artillery pounded the wraiths killing 2. My blind missiles blinded a squad of destroyers. In the assault phase I took down 3 more wraiths leaving only 1 left.

We scored no victory points.

Artillery!

 Turns 2 and 3

Rik flew in with a night scythe and took a few hull points off the night with his 20 man warrior squad. The scouts were whittled down to 2 men. The wraith was still locked.

My artillery pounded the warriors. I scored 55 hits from 12 blasts! (they were really bunched up!) I killed 8 warriors. My knight then jumped in and stomped the crap out of them rolling a six! Slay the warlord! My fire raptor unleashed everything at the night scythe but its evasive protocols were simply too swift. out of 8 glancing/penetrating hits, ALL were jinked with incredible 4+ rolling!

 The necrons were struggling to make head way as important units were locked in combat and the knight was absorbing a fair amount of fire. It was looking grim for the necron scouting party. In turn 3 another night scythe came in with immortals and again they were POUNDED by accurate artillery. The force of the shots wiping them out.

Turn 4

 The Necrons didn't have much that wasn't locked in combat and suffered. The knight was stripped to 2 hull points. My turn 4 was again a shower of deadly artillery and knighty-ness. Rik graciously conceded the game at this point as the necrons were overwhelmed by the entrenched positions.


End score 5-1 Black Scorpion Victory!

Zaitus reloaded his smoking bolter, It was hot from the constant shooting. The artillery barrells next to him were glowing with heat too. As dawn came the decaying forest was pock-marked with craters and shattered alien remains. This scouting party had probed the lines and paid dearly for their mistake. They were incomprehensible thought Zaitus. Their intentions impossible to discern. Their motivations a mystery. The Lord Baron Vaydus had brutalised them in his titan, Night Reaper. Zaitus was impressed.... the young noble had been eager for battle and proved himself a valuable ally. 'HQ This is Zaitus. The enemy has been neutralised. Request reinforcements on stand-by. They will be back'

Conclusion:

A fun game. Well fought all round. Rik came at me with a well rounded force but again, as most people do, struggled with the sheer range and number of artillery shells. The thunderfires and Telion (zaitus) are a potent combo. The flexibility of high-strength, accuracy and rending is a potent mix. When whole squads of necrons are being pummeled into dust, you know it's a powerful unit.... maybe too powerful. I felt my tactics were on point today, bunker up with artillery while distracted the advancing forces with sacrificial scouts and assault squad.

With necrons, if you can hold up the nasty units like wraiths etc, you have 1-2 turns of free shooting as their range of 24 inches causes problems. Putting the right units in the right place is key. I feel though, that my tactics are getting predictable... a canny commander will come along and find holes and weaknesses.

Great game all round. Thanks to Rik.

Man of the match: Has to be the thunderfires, for just killing tons o stuff.