Battle Report: Skirmish on Medusa V

The sun was high in the sky as M'dlaka led his hardened command squad of veterans toward the spires of one of the ruined cities on Medusa V. In the centre of the city was the remains of a highly sacred cathedral, a shrine which could not be allowed to fall into Xenos hands. M'dlaka and his command squad were captaining a task force comprised of tactical squad Kan'mi and the dreadnought brothers Mareni and Sho'bana. They entered through one of the northern valleys, and came across the settlement. It still lay untouched. Should they hurry, they may be able to enter the city before - A small shockwave caught his attention, coming from the direction of the cathedral. M'dlaka looked toward it and twisted a dial on the side of his helm, zooming in on the shrine's ramparts. There, he caught a flash of purple armour and red lens. It was an XV25 stealth team - The Tau were here...

My new terrain was christened today, so I thought I'd mark the event with a narrative opening to the battle report. It was myself with my Salamanders against Lee and his Tau in a 700pt game. The armies were as follows:
- Salamanders
-- Captain M'dlaka and Command Squad D'loko
-- Tactical Squad Kan'mi
-- Dreadnought Brothers Mareni and Sho'bana
- T'au
-- Commander Battlesuit and two XV8 Crisis Battlesuit Bodyguards
-- Two teams of six Fire Warrior Shas'ui
-- XV25 Shas'vre Stealth Team
-- Five Gun Drones
-- One Piranha
The main terrain setup was as below:

Excuse the blurry photos, the game was intense so we snapped the images off quickly.

The battle began quickly with the bulk of the Space Marine forces moving into the city through the Industrial complex, with the Command Squad and Dreadnought Sho'bana quickly taking the Basilica Administratum to the top centre right of the photograph. The Tau retaliated by moving in through the Sanctum Imperialis' to the left. The combined force of the Piranha and one of the Battlesuits chewed through Dreadnought Mareni's legs and right arm with seeker missiles and burst cannons. The tactical squad moved deeper into the industrial complex and took shelter in some ruins, while the Stealth Team on top of the cathedral and M'dlaka's command squad on top of the Basilica got caught in a firefight over the rooftops.

Peekaboo, I see you!

Dreadnought Sho'bana took advantage of the diversion by moving round the back of the shrine and getting into a mexican stand-off with another Crisis Battlesuit.

The Dread chipped away two out of three of the Battlesuit's wounds before the Commander blew him up. Down below the tactical squad fired off a few shots at the Piranha and the other Battlesuit before taking casualties and backing off. The squad then made a tactical run across open ground to regroup with the Command Squad (sans its sergeant and standard bearer, who had been taken down by a Fire Warrior team's pulse rifles). The gamble paid off well, with them surviving the explosion of Brother Mareni after his disabled shell was finally destroyed and only having one casualty under Tau fire. The command squad and the tactical squad switched places, so the former was able to get into the cathedral and the latter could draw the incoming fire away. The tactical squad survived for a while, but eventually succumbed to the blasts.

*Insert Heroic Music Here*

The command squad clambered to the top of the cathedral and entered into a fierce close-combat fight with the stealth team. They emerged victorious, and the shrine had been liberated from the immediate Xenos incursion. 

However, they still had to ensure the others would not reclaim it, others who straight after the fight shot the company flamer in the head and sent him tumbling from the top of the ruins. Captain M'dlaka and his Company Champion and Apothecary then clambered down from the tower and entered onto the battlefield to meet their destiny.

The Piranha attempted to flank the trio, but ended up travelling to the opposite end of the board for no reason (Don't ask). M'dlaka shot the wounded Battlesuit square in the face, but his companions were gunned down and he retreated to the top of a nearby building. There, he realised Tau forces were going to overwhelm the city, and he had to stop the cathedral from falling into enemy hands. His last act before the searing heat of the returning Piranha's seeker missiles melted through his power armour and found charcoal-coloured flesh was to arm a bomb at the top of the tower, ensuring that the shrine would remain unpurified.

THE RESULT:
- Salamander Casualties

-- Captain M'dlaka and Command Squad D'loko
-- Tactical Squad Kan'mi
-- Dreadnought Brothers Mareni and Sho'bana
- T'au Casualties
-- One XV8 Crisis Battlesuit Bodyguard
-- Two Shas'ui Fire Warriors
-- One XV25 Stealth Team of Three

This image sums up the game perfectly.

VERDICT: The best game of Warhammer I've ever played.

The Christmas Haul...

Today, for those cave-dwellers out there, was Christmas. I received a few Warhammer gifts today, including an Imperial Sector, and therefore my Christmas (at least the parts not taken up by watching Doctor Who or stuffing my face) consisted of gluing, slicing and mangling plastic. The end result was a load more buildings, meaning my terrain selection now stands at:

5 Manufactorums (2 medium, 2 small and 1 tiny, but I built this to go together modularly to form one large complex)

4 Basilica Administratums (1 extra large, 1 large, 1 medium and 1 small)

2 Sanctum Imperialis' (1 medium and 1 extra large)

1 Shrine of the Aquila

2 Gothic Ruins

2 Hills

1 Random Scratch Built piece of Manufactorum machinery

6 Urban Ruins and Barricades

8 Pieces of Aegis Defense Line

5 Craters

Expect pictures soon...