On the road on the west flank, a squad of veteran guardsmen and a Ministorum Priest engage in a life-and-death struggle with Necron warriors.

“Advance! Advance! Keep moving forward! There aren’t that many of the xenos. Just get in close and drag them down with numbers. Arghh!“—Final worlds of an unidentified sergeant, just before he was struck by a Necron gauss flayer.

Necron Turn Five

On the east flank, the Tomb Blades respond to the advancing infantry by firing upon them before charging into melee. The two skimmers and 10 guardsmen are well matched, and no one falls.

Not far away, the Ghost Ark rushes forward to block the gap between the wooded hill and the shanty, thus forming a challenging obstacle to the advancing humans. It also is close enough to the Necrons’ central objective, allowing the xenos to claim it.

In the center, the Doomsday Ark hits a Lemon Russ, but the heavy tank’s thick armor survives the xeno energy beam. Meanwhile, the Night Scythe turns and joins the Immortals in firing upon an infantry squad advancing on the Necron-held woods. Four guardsmen fall.

The Doom Scythe maneuvers away from the Lightning and strafes the Valkyrie. Despite taking evasive action, the gunship takes a glancing hit.

On the road, the Necron Lord again sweeps overhead of the surviving Veteran and Priest, lopping the head off the Priest. The last Veteran finally falls to the Destroyers.

In the building, the Lychguard and Wraith charge. Advancing Necrons get a partial shot at their targets, killing five with effective gunfire. The Lychguard wipes out the platoon commander and his command squad; the Wraith kills 1 guardsmen of the surviving infantry squad, but the rest of the unit stands its ground against the horrifiying creature.

At the end of the day, Imperial troops reached the top of a key Necron-held hill on the battlefield. Alas, the Necrons successfully contested the hill until nightfall.

Imperial Turn Five

It is almost certain that the guardsmen in the building are doomed, but they are determined to fight to the last. The special weapon squad reforms on the road and moves behind the building. They could try to join the melee, but if they wait, they might be able to rush forward and contest the building objective on the last turn.

Not far away, the Punisher tank has advanced until it has a clear shot of the Necron warriors outside the building ruins. Its Punisher Gatling Cannon kills four xenos.

The command Chimera, which has largely advanced behind the battle tanks, rushes forward and contests the objective held by the Ghost Ark.

The Lightning makes a sharp turn and targets the Doom Scythe, although it misses. They Hydra has better luck, its flak guns guns finally bringing down the Necron fighter.

Near the hill, an infantry squad fires at the Immortals, killing two with the help of a psyker who casts Prescience.

One tank takes a long-range shot at the Annihilation Barge but fails to hit it. The other tank targets the Doomsday Ark and finally destroys it.

The heroic stand of the veteran guardsmen, which delayed the Necron advance for hours, finally came to an end. The last survivor to fall was the Ministorum Priest who had been such an inspiration to the troops.

Necron Turn Six

The Ghost Ark disgorges a squad of Warriors to drive away the Imperials. Their fire kills a handful of nearby guardsmen. and the rest of the squad flees.

The Annihilation Barge, having turned back to support the Necron center, targets the Command Chimera and destroys it. The company commander and his bodyguard escape unharmed.

To the left of this action, the Immortals are guarding an objective and target an advancing infantry squad. They kill two, but the guardsmen are not dissuaded from their effort to contest the objective.

On the road, the Necrons warriors turn and advance on the Imperial-held building. In the building, the Lychguard joins the Wraith in its fight against the last standing infantry squad. The last of the guardsmen are brought down, and the objective finally is seized by the xenos.

Imperial Turn Six

The Necron air presence is annihilated, as the Lightning fighter brings down the Night Scythe.

A handful of infantry rush toward the Ghost Ark, getting close enough to contest the Necron objective. Another squad races toward the Immortals and their objective, but time is running out.

On the west flank, the last special weapons squad, having reformed behind the building just lost to the Necrons, advancse to contest the objective that their comrades have defended with so much blood. If they can simply survive, they can stymie the Necron’s victory.

Necron Turn Seven

The Sentinel Squadron finally overcomes the Necron lines and seizes a key position, effectively outflanking the xenos.

The sun is setting. It is too late to reach the contested Imperial building, the Necron warriors who have helped kill the Veterans, turn their gauss flayers at the Punisher and put two hits on the anti-infantry tank. Elsewhere, there is intermittent shooting, but the battle is largely over.

In the building, the Necrons charge the impudent humans who challenge their victory. They kill two guardsmen, but one last hero stands his ground. Could the sole human be the key to victory?

Imperial Turn Seven

On the east flank, two Senintels turn the Necron flank and seize an objective. In the center, Necron and human warriors battle over the obstacle on the hill but neither side will fall back.

There is nothign more that Imperial forces can do to challenge the battle’s results. Only in the ruined building is there any contest worth mention. The lone guardsmen fights courageously against the Necrons, but he is brought down. He is a hero, but he will not change the course of history.

VICTORY POINTS

Imperial: 2 objectives (6 v.p.), Linebreaker (1 v.p.) = 7 v.p.

Necrons: 2 objectives (6 v.p.), First Blood (1 v.p.), Linebreaker (1 v.p.) = 8 v.p.

(One objective is contested.)

NECRON MARGINAL VICTORY

TheGM: When you play a solo game, you tend to favor one side. You’re aggressive with one faction; passive with the other. But I was all over the place in this game.

Holding three of the five objectives, the Necrons could have stayed on the defense and made the Imperials cross open ground. Or they could have charged, seeking to put the Imperials on the defensive and keep them far away from their objectives.

I split the difference. With buildings covering the west flank, I figured I’d make a push for the Imperial-held objective on that side of the battlefield, but defend the middle. Oh, I’d advance a bit up the east flank, just to see what happened, but I wasn’t serious about taking on all the infantry firepower over there.

My thinking as the Imperial commander was really pathetic. With only two objectives held, I was forced to go on the attack. But I moved cautiously in the center and, once Pask died, I got intimidated by the Doomsday Ark. I eventually “went for it,” but my hesitant advance on the first two turns meant I just didn’t get enough forces to the Necron line in time.

At the same time, I was so afraid of Necron fire that I hid in the buildings. I should have let loose with all 30 infantrymen in the building. What a wimp. I simply surrendered the initiative on that flank.

Still, after all these years, it was lovely to see my Necrons finally on the table—with more than 2,000 points. I really like the army. They have a cool “feel,” and I look forward to facing off against the Imperium again.

Click here to return to the beginning of the battle.

Click here to return to Part 2 of the battle.

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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.