Guardsmen and Bullgryns advance in the cover of the leading Lemon Russ Battle Tanks. A stray shot from a Necron Doomsday Barge landed in the midst of these brave warriors, killing all three Bullgryns and wounding several guardsmen.

“I’ve been battling these metal skeletons for almost three years, night and day. I fight them during the day. At night, I fight them in my nightmares. My hair has turned gray, most of my squad is dead, and I doubt I’ll live through this war. But while I breathe, I’m going to defend my homeworld.“—Indigo Octavius, sergeant, 17th Tophet Militia Regiment.

Imperial Turn Two

On the west flank, the platoon commander in the ruined building is dithering. He wants to order his men to the building’s windows to fire, but his men will be close enough for a Necron counterattack. So, instead, he decides to withdraw his men deeper into the building. That way, the Necrons will enter the building too far away for a charge—but close enough for a devastating volley from his guardsmen. (At least, that’s what he hopes.)

A Valkyrie roars onto the battlefield and targets the advancing Destroyers. Its fire combines with that of the Chimera, and two Destroyers fall. The xenos fall back.

The Punisher tank turns and advances to the west, deciding that its firepower could contribute greatly to fending off the Necron attack. No enemy is, however, yet within his line of sight.

Despite the loss of Commander Pask, the overall Imperial commander has seen nothing to suggest the Necrons are unbeatable. His confidence grows and, recognizing that he must seize objectives to win, he orders an advance.

His surviving tanks and infantry in the center move toward the Necron line. The tanks target the Doomsday Ark, strike home, but do no damage.

On the east flank, two infantry squads and three Sentinels advance on the Tomb Blades, letting the xenos know that their threat will be met. Only two Sentinels manage a line of fire, but their shots hit home: one xeno vehicle crashes into the ground.

Necrons Turn Three

On the east flank, the Tomb Blades are vulnerable to the Imperial Sentinels and long-range fire from the tanks, and if they attempt to race to the Imperial deployment zone, the troops defending the objective will likely prevail. The xenos race back to the cover of the shanty and ruined vehicle in their deployment zone. The probe of the flank is off!

The Triarch Stalker targets a Sentinel but misses.

In the center, the Doom Scythe targets the Valkyrie. The Imperial aircraft begins evasive maneuvers and, although hit four times, manages four saving throws. No damage.

The Night Scythe flies over the Chimera and drops a squad of Warriors and a Crypnek. This assault force barely avoids a Deep Strike mishap as the xenos scatter and land within arm’s reach of the armored transport.

Several xeno units target the Chimera. In addition to the newly dropped Warriors, the two Warrior squads advancing toward the Imperial building are in range, as is the Annihilation Barge and Command Barge.

The armored transport is destroyed, but none of the veteran guards are injured. A nearby special weapons squad also is targeted, three are killed, and the rest rout.

The Lychguard and Wraiths close on the Imperials in the ruined building.

The armored might of the Imperium advances on the wooded hill where key Necron-held objectives are found.

Imperial Turn Three

The xeno air superiority is challenged as an Imperial Navy aircraft, a Lightning Strike Fighter, sweeps down and targets the Doom Scythe, forcing the xeno aircraft to jinx to avoid destruction. The aircraft also is targeted by a Hydra anti-air vehicle, and the Doom Scythe takes two glancing hits.

In the center, the Imperial tanks, Sentinel, and infantry squads advance. With Pask dead, no orders can be given to speed up the tanks’ advance, so it becomes apparent that the Imperials may not reach the Necron lines in time.

The tanks continue to exchange fire with the Doomsday Ark, but with partial cover from woods and the hill slope, the xeno armored vehicle is untouched.

As the Necrons advance on the building ruins, a few brave guardsmen sneak up and open fire with their weapons. A flamer consumes one Lychguard in holy promethium.

Along the road, the Veterans advance on the Crypnek and his warriors with their shotguns blazing. The Punisher tank also targets them with its Punisher Gatling Gun.

When the firing stops, the Veterans charge, led by the inspiration of their Ministorum Priest. By the end of the turn, the two sides are locked in combat, but while the guardsmen are down to four men, there is only one Necron warrior left standing. Even the Crypnek is dead.

The routing special weapons squad rallies.

Over the battlefield, a sizable number of Imperial and Necron aircraft battled for air superiority and the opportunity to influence the ground battle. In the end, the Imperium swept the Necrons out of the air.

Necron Turn Four

On the west flank, the Necrons finally storm the ruined building. The Lychguard and Wraiths charge into the guardsmen. There are no overwatch casualties, but the Necrons only manage to kill one guardsmen.

Alas, the guardsmen do worse, causing no casualties. To add insult to injury, the guardsmen fail their morale check and are swept from the field.

A special weapons squad is in the building. They are fired upon by the advancing Necrons. Three are killed. The Annihilation Barge cannot target the Veterans, as they are in melee, so it takes a potshot at some guardsmen in the ruins. One is killed.

Meanwhile, the Veterans manage to kill the final Necron warrior, but by this point, more Necrons join the fight. The Necron Lord in his Command Barge sweeps overhead and lops the head off one Veteran. The Destroyers charge in and kill another. But although reduced to two survivors, the Veterans hold their ground.

In the center, a squad of Immortals advance through the woods on the central hill in hopes of targeting the advancing human infantry.

The Doomsday Ark fires at a tank. The shot scatters, but it lands atop the second tank—and the three Bullgryns who are using their Slab Shields to screen the guardsmen advancing behind them.

The tank is unhurt, but all three Bullgryns fail their 4+ saving throws and fall to the powerful xeno blast (Instant Death).

On the east flank, the advancing Sentinels target the Triarch Stalker and destroy it.

Guardsmen, Necron warriors, and Wraith engage in a bitter fight over the ruined buildings on the west edge of the battlefield. The Necron victory essentially shatters the Imperial left flank.

Imperial Turn Four

The fight in the ruined building is carnage. One squad, as well as the  remnants of the special weapons and command squads, fire frantically at the xenos only feet away. A flamer kills two Wraiths. But the xenos keep coming.

Nearby, on the road, the Punisher tank targets the Annihilation Barge. Despite being the target of 20 high-caliber rounds, the xeno vehicle is undamaged.

Meanwhile, the nearby Veterans continue their desperate but doomed defense. If nothing else, the Ministorum Priest and sole Veteran are keeping three Necron units busy.

In the center, a Lemon Russ finally manages to get a solid strike on the Doomsday Ark. The quantum shield collapses, the xeno tank is damaged, and the crew stunned.

At the same time, several infantry squads are running forward in the center of the battlefield, desperate to seize the Necron-held objectives before the sun sets.

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The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40k blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.