The might of House Fenris advances into the teeth of the Necron attack and slaughters it.

“Let the power of your Knight flow through your veins. Let the ghosts of your throne whisper wisdom into your mind. Let steel be your sinews and fire be your fists. Become your Knight, as it becomes you, and through symbiosis ascend. So shall you become. So shall you protect your people and slaughter your foes.“— Sixth Canticle of the Ritual of Becoming

* * *

Continued from Part 1 . . .

At this point, it was mid-day, and a sizable force of Doomsday Arks, Necron infantry, and a host of Tomb Blades finally reached the 113th’s left flank and began firing at Skitarii Rangers holding the ruins that anchored the flank. Mechanicus casualties quickly began to rise.

But with the Stalker threat neutralized to their front, the war horns of House Frenis began to blare, and the Knights, supported by their Amiger squires, strode forward to meet this xeno threat.

“It was a sight to swell the heart of any Imperial soldier,” Brennus said. “Our mighty war machines walked, their footsteps causing the ground to shake beneath the soldiers of both sides and making clear they would defy the filthy xenos on our beloved planet.”

The powerful cannons of the Doomsday Arks appeared to have no effect on the advancing Knights, whose Thermal Cannons roared, sending blinding beams of plasma into the Necrons’ advancing host. Hundreds of xenos perished, vaporizing in a bright light.

“Everywhere the Knights struck, the desert sand was fused into glistening glass by the heat of the plasma fired by our Knights,” Brennus said. “It is believed the Necron warlord was amongst those killed.”

A Necron Doomsday Ark is destroyed by the Thermal Cannon of an Imperial Knight. The attack by House Fenris at the end of the battle utterly broke the xeno threat.

The xenos made one last effort to turn the tide. A squadron of Tomb Blades swept past the Imperial ruins to strike at the 113th Legion’s headquarters in the rear.

“The Skitarii reserve intervened, protecting the Tech-Priest Dominus, and, supported by a nearby Onager Dunecrawlers, the xeno skimmers were driven away.”

As late afternoon arrived, the battle was all but won, Brennus said. After destroying the Necron logistical center, the Infiltrators managed to get behind the Doomsday Arks and open fire on their weaker rear armor.

“With the Imperial Knights, Amigers, and Onagers crushing all before them, and Sicarian Infiltrators to the xenos’ rear, the remnants of the Necron force began to retreat. Victory was ours.”

* * * END TRANSMISSION * * *

As the battle came to an end, a Skorpius Dunerider “tank shocked” Necron Immortals holding an objective. By contesting the objective, the Mechanicus won the day.

TheGM: For the past year, Imperial forces have had little to brag about on the tabletop. But this was a solid victory. The Mechanicus had an actual battle plan . . . and it worked!

Highlights included a neigh-perfect combined-arms attack on the Necron east flank. The Infiltrators were the star of the fight. They broke the Necron flank and seized an objective, raced three feet to seize another objective in the center of the Necron deployment zone, and finally sent their Scorpius Dunerider to yet another two feet to “tank shock” some Immortals and contest the objective.

Meanwhile, my Imperial Knight wiped out a Stalker and Doomsday Ark, eliminating all the xeno heavy support and, with a final Thermal  Cannon shot, managed to wipe out a squad of Necron warriors holding yet another objective and the enemy warlord.

In the end, by taking two objectives from the Necrons and denying them two more (one contested and one unclaimed), and scoring for First Blood, Slay the Warlord, and Linebreaker, the Mechanicus pulled out a 6-5 victory.

But the score doesn’t reflect the one-sided victory by the Mechanicus. The Necrons were crushed, and their repulse will force the xeno line back 50 kilometers and give the Skitarii the initiative in the war.

Yeah!

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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.