



Our gaming club had been running a campaign for the last few months, and we used the campaign rankings to pick sides. Tommy (tbrassf2) and I were the points leaders, and Tommy suggested that this year, we do a fortress defense game. I then began a 6-week project to build a fortress (only for him to say he meant a couple of bastions and an aegis line...) I've got a thread detailing the fortress construction over here:



As the game got closer, people got called off on random duties, work and families, but some new friends joined in, and on the day of the game, our teams looked as follows:



Team Hive Fleet Controlling the Ultramarines (!?)

Tommy (tbrassf2) - 3k Tyranids.

Dave (colpicklejar) - 3k Ultramarines

Shawn (SparkeyG) - 3k Ultramarines

Grace - 2k Dark Eldar

Big Fortress - 3k



Team Chaos-Tau-Necrons

Alex (Redbeard) - 3k Tau

Phil - 3k Tau

Chris - 3k Chaos Daemons

Art - 3k Necrons

Kathleen - 2k Chaos Daemons



Apoc Formations and Interesting units:

Shawn fielded Marneus Calgar and a full Space Marine Company

Tommy ran the Living Fortress, with the Swarmlord leading it

Kathleen ran Zarakynel and An'ggrath (she likes just running the big models around)

Chris had no apoc formations, but ran 10 MCs , most of whom flew

Grace ran a Kabalite Web Strike

Phil ran a Rapid Insertion Force

Art ran a Nightshround bomber

I ran a Riptide Wing, Skysweep Missile Defense, a Tigershark AX-1-0, and the new R'Varna suit



The Fortress was using our custom rules:

Spoiler:

Massive Fortification, AV15, 1 void shield, regens on 5+ each turn

Main Gate is 3 sections, not removed until all three are wrecked, but wrecking one of the sections takes out its weapons.

Emplaced Weapons:

Left & Right: 2 Heavy Bolters, Hurricane Bolter & Flamestorm cannon

Center: Aquilla Mega-Cannon & Lascannon



Small gates emplaced weapons: 2 heavy bolters, lascannon, 2 hurricane bolters, 2 heavy flamers, 1 aegis autocannon

Tower emplaced weapons: 2 heavy bolters, battlecannon



Battlements provide 3+ cover.



Interior buildings (AV12):

Medicae provides Feel No Pain(6+) to all units in the fortress

Armoury allows all units in fortress to re-roll to-wound rolls of 1

Shield Generator prevents orbital attacks on fortress inhabitants

Garage & Barracks count as board edges for reserves





We played "The Final Assault" mission from the new apoc book. This put three objectives in each deployment zone, with the attackers starting 12" outside of the defenders deployment zone. We said the fortress was the defenders zone, leaving a little space on either side to start attackers.



Notably, the defenders objectives are worth double points, and they're protected by a big wall...



The narrative for the battle revolves around a possible attack against the planet. The planet is defended by a series of force shields, and the generators are protected by fortresses. In order to attack the planet, the attackers must destroy these force shields, allowing their fleet to commence bombarding the planet. As such, until the force shield is down, no orbital strategic assets can target the fort. The defenders also have a fleet, but it's on the far side of the planet. They're prevented from employing orbital strategic assets until turn 4, when their fleet arrives. At the end of turn four, the fleets engage in space, and the battle on the ground concludes.



We have three breaks scheduled, after turn 1, when the pizza arrives, after turn 3, when the cake is served, and after turn 4, at the end of the game.



Deployment!



Spoiler:

Tactical Genius Marneus Calgar decides to defend the Fortress from the outside...







On Second Thought...





Defenders try to eliminate any places to deep strike or fly into the fort





Attackers set up their ranged attacks...





And their assault wall, all focused on one side of the fort.











Zarakynel stays back to play goalkeeper against any harrying forces the defenders might send out



Tactical Genius Marneus Calgar decides to defend the Fortress from the outside...On Second Thought...Defenders try to eliminate any places to deep strike or fly into the fortAttackers set up their ranged attacks...And their assault wall, all focused on one side of the fort.Zarakynel stays back to play goalkeeper against any harrying forces the defenders might send out



Attacker Turn One



Spoiler:



Banging on the walls!





Chilling inside.





Railgun hit breaks a hole where a tower used to be.





Fusion guns knock out a building corner.





And most of the daemons bang into the wall. (and the scarabs assault up the wall).





Not pictured:

All the Daemon MCs attacked the walls, and with 46 S10 attacks, only one section broke. The Tiger Shark had better luck, killing the main gun on the center tower with it's heavy railguns.

Banging on the walls!Chilling inside.Railgun hit breaks a hole where a tower used to be.Fusion guns knock out a building corner.And most of the daemons bang into the wall. (and the scarabs assault up the wall).Not pictured:All the Daemonattacked the walls, and with 46 S10 attacks, only one section broke. The Tiger Shark had better luck, killing the main gun on the center tower with it's heavy railguns.



Defender Turn One



Spoiler:



Tyranid reserves show up, using Flank March, out in the backfield.











The Mawloc misses the target, and is now a sitting duck.





The Doom of Mylantae arrives on target, and does quite a bit of damage to the daemons





Dark Eldar pop out of the webway





And their fighter attempts to engage the Tigershark





Not Shown:



The attackers use two of their strategic assets this turn. The Daemon monstrous creatures are protected with a Shield Generator, and the Tau use Camouflage, mitigating much of the damage that can be done to them.





At the first break, the defenders control all their objectives, for 6 points, the attackers have their side, for 3.





Tyranid reserves show up, using Flank March, out in the backfield.The Mawloc misses the target, and is now a sitting duck.The Doom of Mylantae arrives on target, and does quite a bit of damage to the daemonsDark Eldar pop out of the webwayAnd their fighter attempts to engage the TigersharkNot Shown:The attackers use two of their strategic assets this turn. The Daemon monstrous creatures are protected with a Shield Generator, and the Tau use Camouflage, mitigating much of the damage that can be done to them.At the first break, the defenders control all their objectives, for 6 points, the attackers have their side, for 3.







Attacker Turn Two



Spoiler:



The attackers react to the units in the open:









We realize that the Tyranid Living Fortress has to play as a unit, and it moves together.







An'ggrath is first through the breach





And the Nightshroud commences bombing





Shooting and assaults do their damage to defending forces in the open





But the Living Fortress is largely unharmed, as the Riptides used Interceptor fire on their turn, and the 2+ saves are hard to chew through.





R'Varna plans his next move.





As do the players.



The attackers react to the units in the open:We realize that the Tyranid Living Fortress has to play as a unit, and it moves together.An'ggrath is first through the breachAnd the Nightshroud commences bombingShooting and assaults do their damage to defending forces in the openBut the Living Fortress is largely unharmed, as the Riptides used Interceptor fire on their turn, and the 2+ saves are hard to chew through.R'Varna plans his next move.As do the players.



Defender Turn Two

Spoiler:

We're all having a good time here...









Defenders have little to fire with out side of the breach.





But pour fire into An'ggrath inside the fort. (4 wounds inflicted)





Contemptor dread passes initiative test not to fall off the battlement, and guns down MCs .





The Living Fortress makes a mess of some robots





And Ymgarl Genestealers hit some other robots





One of the stranger sub-battles was the several turn long duel between a spore pod and some scarabs.





Marneus remains chill, biding his time.



We're all having a good time here...Defenders have little to fire with out side of the breach.But pour fire into An'ggrath inside the fort. (4 wounds inflicted)Contemptor dread passes initiative test not to fall off the battlement, and guns downThe Living Fortress makes a mess of some robotsAnd Ymgarl Genestealers hit some other robotsOne of the stranger sub-battles was the several turn long duel between a spore pod and some scarabs.Marneus remains chill, biding his time.



Attacker Turn Three



Spoiler:



Advancing on the fortress





The Nightshroud (see empty flying stand in background, as not to risk model), drops bombs and destroys the shield generator.





(But in the excitement, we forget to fire the orbital bombardment)



Zarakynel eats the Living Fortress in one round. She is a beast!





An'ggrath Smash! The medicae is destroyed, and An'ggrath ends up on the objective!





There used to be a tower there...





Daemon prince stops for a soda



Advancing on the fortressThe Nightshroud (see empty flying stand in background, as not to risk model), drops bombs and destroys the shield generator.(But in the excitement, we forget to fire the orbital bombardment)Zarakynel eats the Living Fortress in one round. She is a beast!An'ggrath Smash! The medicae is destroyed, and An'ggrath ends up on the objective!There used to be a tower there...Daemon prince stops for a soda



Defender Turn Three

Spoiler:



Contemptor falls? Jumps? I have no idea.





Things are opening up inside the fort.





At this point, Tommy assaulted An'ggrath with about 30 fearless gaunts, locking him in combat (a change in the new apoc rules), on the objective, and unable to be shot.





And at the break, the attackers have their three objectives, and one in the fort, earning ten points to the defenders eight, but the defenders still have a point lead.



Contemptor falls? Jumps? I have no idea.Things are opening up inside the fort.At this point, Tommy assaulted An'ggrath with about 30 fearless gaunts, locking him in combat (a change in the newrules), on the objective, and unable to be shot.And at the break, the attackers have their three objectives, and one in the fort, earning ten points to the defenders eight, but the defenders still have a point lead.



Attacker Turn Four



Spoiler:

With An'ggrath locked in on his objective, the attackers set to bubble-wrapping their own objectives, trying to seal a win. We expect the defenders to launch some sort of backfield push on the last turn.













And then we find a book open to this page... And they have a Ressurection asset to use to recycle the webway attack. Never leave your plans out where your opponent can find them...







Put the toughest model on one of the objectives





Nightshroud just flies around.





Scarabs plan to tar-pit the dreads (these are some FW scarabs that don't have the entropic strike, so they can't kill the dreads)





Daemon prince vector strikes Marneus' command squad.





Monolith just hangs...





Riptides get set for interceptor fire against the webway assault for next turn.





This objective is most vulnerable, so the Keeper is hiding behind the storage tanks





Overview of the backfield





Daemon Prince flies onto the Main Gate.





Dave tracks his Ultramarine's individual accomplishments. Lots of red ink in this game...





An'ggrath vs the Gaunts.





There's a Ravager there...





The attacker's last turn ends.



With An'ggrath locked in on his objective, the attackers set to bubble-wrapping their own objectives, trying to seal a win. We expect the defenders to launch some sort of backfield push on the last turn.And then we find a book open to this page... And they have a Ressurection asset to use to recycle the webway attack. Never leave your plans out where your opponent can find them...Put the toughest model on one of the objectivesNightshroud just flies around.Scarabs plan to tar-pit the dreads (these are somescarabs that don't have the entropic strike, so they can't kill the dreads)Daemon prince vector strikes Marneus' command squad.Monolith just hangs...Riptides get set for interceptor fire against the webway assault for next turn.This objective is most vulnerable, so the Keeper is hiding behind the storage tanksOverview of the backfieldDaemon Prince flies onto the Main Gate.Dave tracks his Ultramarine's individual accomplishments. Lots of red ink in this game...An'ggrath vs the Gaunts.There's a Ravager there...The attacker's last turn ends.



Defender Turn Four

Spoiler:



Remember that Ravager. It turns out that it was part of the Webway assault formation. And since it didn't die, the formation can't be recycled. Defenders are running out of hope.



There are Assault Terminators in that Land Raider. Dave says he hasn't killed nothing but a shield drone all day.





But he'll give it a shot... Assault Terminators get out.





Marneus isn't so chill anymore. He wants to assault that Daemon Prince (but can't, cause it's flying)





The Defender's Fleet arrives, they try to knock the attackers off an objective...





But fail.



It's all down to the Hammernators...





















































They put five wounds on An'ggrath, with a 3++, and he whiffs the saves!





Remember that Ravager. It turns out that it was part of the Webway assault formation. And since it didn't die, the formation can't be recycled. Defenders are running out of hope.There are Assault Terminators in that Land Raider. Dave says he hasn't killed nothing but a shield drone all day.But he'll give it a shot... Assault Terminators get out.Marneus isn't so chill anymore. He wants to assault that Daemon Prince (but can't, cause it's flying)The Defender's Fleet arrives, they try to knock the attackers off an objective...But fail.It's all down to the Hammernators...They put five wounds on An'ggrath, with a 3++, and he whiffs the saves!



Results

Spoiler:

After knocking An'ggrath off the objective, the defenders earn 18 points in the final round, plus 1 for killing a Gargantuan creature. The Attackers only earn nine for their backfield objectives.



Victory to the Defenders!





A second year's Apocalypse game that came down to the last rolls of the last turn to decide the victors.







Yeah, so we drank a lot of beer, and ate some pizza and cake and played with toy soldiers and that's how you should celebrate a birthday





I try to host an apocalypse game every year, usually coinciding with my birthday. I'm like a little kid, I want all my friends to come over and play toy soliders!Our gaming club had been running a campaign for the last few months, and we used the campaign rankings to pick sides. Tommy (tbrassf2) and I were the points leaders, and Tommy suggested that this year, we do a fortress defense game. I then began a 6-week project to build a fortress (only for him to say he meant a couple of bastions and an aegis line...) I've got a thread detailing the fortress construction over here: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/556090.page As the game got closer, people got called off on random duties, work and families, but some new friends joined in, and on the day of the game, our teams looked as follows:Team Hive Fleet Controlling the Ultramarines (!?)Tommy (tbrassf2) - 3k Tyranids.Dave (colpicklejar) - 3k UltramarinesShawn (SparkeyG) - 3k UltramarinesGrace - 2k Dark EldarBig Fortress - 3kTeam Chaos-Tau-NecronsAlex (Redbeard) - 3k TauPhil - 3k TauChris - 3k Chaos DaemonsArt - 3k NecronsKathleen - 2k Chaos DaemonsFormations and Interesting units:Shawn fielded Marneus Calgar and a full Space Marine CompanyTommy ran the Living Fortress, with the Swarmlord leading itKathleen ran Zarakynel and An'ggrath (she likes just running the big models around)Chris had noformations, but ran 10, most of whom flewGrace ran a Kabalite Web StrikePhil ran a Rapid Insertion ForceArt ran a Nightshround bomberI ran a Riptide Wing, Skysweep Missile Defense, a Tigershark AX-1-0, and the new R'Varna suitThe Fortress was using our custom rules:We played "The Final Assault" mission from the newbook. This put three objectives in each deployment zone, with the attackers starting 12" outside of the defenders deployment zone. We said the fortress was the defenders zone, leaving a little space on either side to start attackers.Notably, the defenders objectives are worth double points, and they're protected by a big wall...The narrative for the battle revolves around a possible attack against the planet. The planet is defended by a series of force shields, and the generators are protected by fortresses. In order to attack the planet, the attackers must destroy these force shields, allowing their fleet to commence bombarding the planet. As such, until the force shield is down, no orbital strategic assets can target the fort. The defenders also have a fleet, but it's on the far side of the planet. They're prevented from employing orbital strategic assets until turn 4, when their fleet arrives. At the end of turn four, the fleets engage in space, and the battle on the ground concludes.We have three breaks scheduled, after turn 1, when the pizza arrives, after turn 3, when the cake is served, and after turn 4, at the end of the game.Yeah, so we drank a lot of beer, and ate some pizza and cake and played with toy soldiers and that's how you should celebrate a birthday