++ Priority Supplies inbound. Argus lighters are making a run, ensure the LZ stays clear and await delivery. Keep the bugs off the runway, Captain, or there's no way we'll find you in all that greenery. ++

After discovering the hastily-abandoned research outpost might somehow be utterly infested with xenos, the Company HQ of the Crypt Angels has made planetfall to secure the situation. No humans this time - it's Primaris all the way!

I've gone for a 'company command' narrative: Captain, Lieutenant, Librarian, Apothecary and Ancient. The captain gets Gravis armour, as well as all the Salamander traits and relics, so he'll at least stand a chance in combat with the big bugs!

The Battalion is filled out with three standard squads of Intercessors (now with rapid-fire Bolt Rifles, to try out the Beta Bolter Drill). I also take five Flamer Aggressors (for the overwatch and general Salamander vibe), and two squads of Hellblasters: assault and rapid-fire.

And finally, Kraken mentioned that he'd painted up a Repulsor tank and it had yet to see the field. So go on then, I let him convince me to field this beautiful brick of dakka. It's only fitting for a command vehicle anyway.

Mission and Deployment





Advance Scans ability - 3CPs and I can take the first turn. And then - a twist! Because I won the opening mission in the Main Compound , I get to use theability - 3CPs and I can take the first turn.





Uh-oh. Well, serves me right for losing the last match, I suppose.





It's a big chunk of points, but probably worth it to deny the initiative to the 'Nids. I go for it.





Crypt Angels - Turn 1





-- All squads, this is Captain Corleandro. Vox reports advance scans from the main compound. Xenos in the treeline. Form a defensive around the Replusor and open fire at anything that moves.--





-- Squad Fortuna, secure Drop Zone 1. Squad Suffitus, hold position on Drop Zone 2. --





-- Captain, there are two more drop zones in the treeline.--





-- Squad Exustio, advance to secure them and burn that treeline to ash.--









Hive Fleet - Afanc Turn 1





The jungle is surprisingly quiet. The hiss of a liana as a thick carapace rubs against it. The click of talons as they speed across a tree branch. The Hive Mind is concentrating all of its alien power on a single objective - escape.









This world is already dying. The reclamation pools are spreading beneath the trees. The volcanoes are slowly being choked as towers of bone and chitin grow inside them. Soon, Zamaroon's biomass will become merely more of the Hive. And the Hive always needs more. Time to leave.









The Swarmlord has merely to think, and the packs of genestealers obey. Like moving an arm. The Hive Mind reaches out, and the muscle and ferocity of a hundred bodies responds. Faster almost than thought, the genestealers are out of the treeline, flitting from cover to attack.









But there are fewer than there should be. The jungle is quiet, but the bolters are loud. Hiss-crack, rocket trails terminating in blasts of bone and gristle, the shrill piping of armoured creatures cooked in their shells by firepower. Even the Swarmlord itself, blasted by plasma as it crashes out of the trees.





It pushes back, flaying the enemy with psychic power, but they are armoured and prepared. Flames gush from powered gauntlets, keeping the Swarmlord at bay, and the swarm follows suit, unwilling to close until the moment is ripe.

Crypt Angels - Turn 2





It cost me some command points to get it done, but that was a roaringly successful turn.





The Aggressors did a grand job - the Salamander chapters works really well for flamers (as you'd expect) as well as maximising power fists. I hadn't quite appreciated what utter beasts (literally) Swarmlord's are in combat, and it shook off an obscene amount of punishment.





Yeah, that was a good fight! 31 flamer hits put a proper dent in the Swarmlord, but I'd cast Catalyst on it and it managed to live through it as well as a round of punching too. Then I accounted for a pair of Aggressors despite the pain, which probably would have been enough to last through if it hadn't been for the Honour the Chapter stratagem!





I'm quite impressed with Intercessor Squad Fortuna's survival against the scrag-end of the Genestealer swarm. I was lucky to get two with Overwatch, but Primaris really are durable, and they still live to claim an objective.





Taking out both Hive Tyrants and most of the Genestealers is a big boost - with just the Tyranid Warriors in my front lines, I can put everything I've got into the deepstrikers who should be arriving at any minute.





Hive Fleet Afanc - Turn 2





Twin shrieks of anger rip through the warp, rippling through the swarm's mind. Even as the Swarmlord is born anew, heaving out of a foetid birth sac deep in the jungle with new knowledge of the foe in its heart, the other Tyrant falls, blasted out of the air by volley after volley of plasma fire.





The Swarm does not know defeat nor fear. The Warriors, now commanding the swarm, fall on the enemy who downed the Swarmlord. This time, their fire doesn't suffice to keep a hail of bone and venom descending. The Aggressors are butchered where they stand.









The Genestealers sweep forwards, sensing the vulnerabilities of enemy psykers and commanders. But these are tenacious foes, they somehow stand firm against the avalanche. And even deal out death in return - there will be no easy gains here.





Reinforcements fall from the sky, fired from mile-long gullets on the far side of the mountains. A drifting Tyrannocyte spews venom against the armoured Repulsor tank, scourging smoking rents in its shell. Bellowing, a vast Tyrannofex claws free of its fleshy transport sac, and wastes no time in adding its acidic firepower to the battle.





The tide is not yet turned. The swarm will win through, dauntless in the face of casualties.





Crypt Angels - Turn 3





-- Lieutenant Segrasso, have you taken leave of your senses! Were you planning to beat the genestealers with your rifle butt?--





-- My apologies, captain. Apothecary Timblans and Codicier Ibrani are now free of danger. --





-- See it doesn't happen again. You're meant to be a son of Rylstone, not Fenris! --





-- Yes, captain. --





-- We don't charge around the battlefield like leo'nids. Now fall back on the Hellblasters and tell them to open up on those big bugs. Full power. All other squads mop up the genestealers. --





-- Yes, captain. And, forgive me, where are you going? --





-- I'm going to charge that Red Terror and shove my fist so far down its throat I'll be able to tickle the last thing it ate. --

Hive Fleet Afanc - Turn 3





The escape route looks ever more distant. What little the Hive Mind has left as its disposal, it uses. The Red Terror will devour their leader. The Tyrannofex will drown them in a sea of bile.









Crypt Angels - Turn 4





-- Brother Captain, step back. Let the gunners work. --





-- Never Segrasso! The fires of my wrath are stoked, and not one of these foul creatures shall stand before me!--





-- Codicier Ibrani! That psychic blast looked like it near-killed you! In the name of Vulkan, fall back to the Apothecary. --





-- My place is with our captain, Segrasso. --





--Sergeant Tredecim here. Auspex confirms continued enemy presence in the trees. Our bolt rifles shells are proving less effective against their native camouflage.--





-- We've just lost Squad Ambustum. He must have disabled his plasma incinerator's safeties to avenge his squad on that beast. --





-- That sac-creature has fallen! The captain has slain it himself!--





-- Captain, beware! The larger beast is rearing to strike at you! --









Hive Fleet Afanc - Turn 4





The Tyrannocyte is sacrificed, but it had done its work. The leader of the foe is exposed, tempted into a position where the Tyrannofex can deal with it. Torrents of yellowish spew flood the air - the Librarian is destroyed in moments, the Captain barely survives.





There is still a chance. While their attention is divided, the Warriors surge from hiding and bring the fight to the enemy, venom cannons spitting hate as they charge home. The Hive Fleet has a taste for this enemy now, and there is nothing to be gained from retreat.





If it fails today, the lessons learned will bring victory tomorrow.





Crypt Angels - Turn 5





-- This is Captain Corleandro to Apothecary Timblans: you'd better get over to Codicier Ibrani and see what you can do for him. He took the brunt of that acid shower. And while you're at it, I could use a dose of stims.--





--Squad Suffitus reporting in. Weapons are hot and that monster is down. Repeat: the monster is down.





--Sergeant Tredecim here. Last two warrior-bugs have been detached. Pistols and chainsword. The area is clear.--





--Corleandro acknowledged. All remaining units sweep the - whoa, Timblans, that's some good stuff! - sweep the area for surviving hostiles and recover out fallen brothers. The field is ours. Ave Imperator.--





Result - 9 : 3 - Victory to the Crypt Angels!

Unpacking Depot

Battle Honours

Squad Tredecim: 6

Squad Fortuna ( Sharpshooters ): 9

): Squad Hudde: 1

Squad Iaculator: 1

Squad Exustio: 11

(I gave this unit the MVP award, since they took out both Hive Tyrant and Tyrannofex, all while holding an objective all game)

Squad Ambustum: 0

Urna Volans: 1

In terms of promotion, Squad Tredecim (the ones that beat up the Tyranid Warriors at the end) get a Rank 1 promotion. The most appropriate one seems Grizzled (ignores Ld penalties - not much use to them, but there you go).



The Assault Hellblaster Squad Exustio leaps up two ranks in one go - I don't know if that entitles me to both a Rank 1 and Rank 2 promotion, but I'll stick with the latter. While Sharpshooters is obviously the most useful ability for plasma guys, I think these slayers of Hive Tyrants ought to be Assassins.



For the Tyranids ... well, getting killed in each mission isn't speeding along the learning process. And with MVP given to the Warriors, and the Tyrannofex doing all the heavy lifting, they're the only ones who can pull ahead.



Tyranid Warriors: 2

Tyrannofex: 4



Stand by for Part III of the Zamaroon Campaign: the Imperium top brass gather in the compound, ready to declare 'Mission Accomplished!' For the Tyranids ... well, getting killed in each mission isn't speeding along the learning process. And with MVP given to the Warriors, and the Tyrannofex doing all the heavy lifting, they're the only ones who can pull ahead.

Tonight, we are fighting on the Supply Depot board - which is filling, since the mission is Supplies From Above.Clearly logistics are the order of the day. There are four objectives that mark where the aerial drops will be landing, but these will drift about during the battle, so you have to stay on your toes (or claws). The objectives can move up to 3" at the start of the round, and you score at the start of your turn. So if you want to guarantee scoring, you really have to surround it.I win the roll for deployment and pick Vanguard Strike, since that neatly bisects jungle and compound. Kraken is given the jungle end to plant his creatures.So that puts me in the compound. Aware that there are some big deepstriking nasties waiting above, I use my Intercessor squads to screen left, right and behind me. On the closest flat roof (with one objective), I place the Assault Hellblasters, and on the further away building (Building 1-A, which also controls the Space Elevator), I place the Rapid-Fire Hellblasters.The characters gather around the Assault Hellblasters, and the Aggressors form a screen in front of everything. In the centre of my lines, I place the Repulsor, ensuring it has nice lines of sight all around. I was going to load it up with troops, but it's probably going to be better use as a firebase than a transport.No First Strike for me, which is disappointing, considering the amount of hurt I put onto the Tyranids. But I can't really complain: killing Genestealer swarms was a priority for me, and the wounds on the Swarmlord was a bonus.I was perhaps too cautious in putting some of my guns so far back, but who ever wants to get close to a Tyranid army. Except for the Aggressors, who are well up for it.-- AIt was onlyI'd intervened with the Lieutenant that I realised I hadn't given him a close-combat weapon. Luckily, harsh language was sufficient to kill three of them.Thanks to that timely intervention by my Lieutenant, I saved half my command squad from being eaten. By interrupting combat and killing enough Genestealers to drop them below that crucial, I managed to reduce a barrage of attacks. Combined with a bit of luck, and I still have an Apothecary and Lieutenant.This was the first time the Repulsor whiffed, and my luck with the Hellblasters overcharge is also starting run out (somewhat mitigated by the Salamander re-roll). But that's what happens when you send your captain out of buffing range and charging off for glory - as he bloody well should be.I've managed to put some hurt on the monsters in my backline, but I need to remove them to be sure of victory.That insta-kill had me flashing back to Warhammer Fantasy 8th Edition.Crumbs, with no Repulsor and half my Hellblasters dead, I'm realising I have very few options left for dealing with a T8 monster.It may come down to my captain in close-combat - with all the boosts to his strength and toughness. I probably have this game locked down, but if it goes the distance and I can't silence that Tyrannofex, I may yet lose the objectives.That's a clean sweep. Nothing for Hive Fleet Kraken to achieve in their turn, and on the roll of a 1, the battle ends before I remember I was supposed to be destroying Building 1-A for bonus points.If it isn't obvious, I'm really enjoying playing Primaris Marines at the moment! They're durable, they can kick out a good bit of damage and they make one hell of a castle.I'm not sure how Kraken could have played that better - although my biggest fear was mortal wound spam in the psychic phase, so maybe he could have leaned on that more (but you don't want to lose Catalyst either). I was really lucky in the choice of deployment, and then being able to steal first turn (maybe that should remain a once-per-campaign ability for each side). Being able to paste half the army before the other half had arrived pretty much secured the win for me. If a few more of those first-turn charges had paid off, I'd be up against it, but Hive Fleet Kraken were uncharacteristically slow-footed.I like Salamanders too - aside from the endless supply of re-rolls (saving all those precious CP for other fun stuff), they have special abilities that can turn a humble captain into a combat beast, and the Flamecraft stratagem is custom-made for Aggressors.Alas, I'm leaving the Astartes on the bench for the next mission, so it's back to squishy humans (with melta guns!).And finally, we get to count up the battle honours. My captain did me no favours by finishing off a lot of units himself (I can't really complain), and my poor Aggressors always do badly, as they never survive the battle. But it's still a healthy spread of experience points.