Fear vs. Faith: Part 2   by Kenton Kilgore 
The battle was not going as I had planned, but there was still time to turn it around... 

Turn 4
Gunning his bike engine, Shamshir Talatra zipped towards the only target he could reach this round, the empty Rhino that had been used by Squad Esperance. Bronze Tyger 1 lumbered after him to assist, but suffered terrible difficult terrain rolls: even with “Fleet of Foot,” the tiger-bot went all of 5". The Sorcerer moved to support the Greater Rakshasas. 

Using frag missiles, my Havocs killed three Sisters; the battle cannon from Bronze Tyger 2 killed the Inquisitor. BANG! The Greater Rakshasas and the Chaos Sorcerer charged Squad Croyance, who invoked Spirit of the Martyr but were wiped out anyway, the Possessed and the wizard sweeping into the nearby Celestians, under Palatine Phillipa Maracher. Despite having 15 Attacks (thanks to his Daemon Weapon), Shamshir Talatra failed to damage the Rhino he had attacked—how embarrassing!

Pat continued to throw Sisters at my guys, despite losing a Seraph to difficult terrain and having the Dominions’ Immolator get immobilized in deep sand. Squad Piete dismounted and formed up around Shamshir Talatra, and the Seraphim and Squad Clemance moved in to back up the Celestians. 

The Dominion Squad Demene dismounted and destroyed Bronze Tyger 1 with their melta weapons. The Exorcist blew the battle cannon off the other Defiler. Retributor Squad Revanche killed four Havocs from Squad Agni, and Squad Piete gunned down Shamshir Talatra, my big, bad Chaos Lord. Oh, the ignominy! 

Both invoking The Passion, the Seraphim and Squad Clemance charged the Greater Rakshasas; already in combat, the Celestians invoked The Passion and Spirit of the Martyr. The Possessed Marines kept their focus on the Celestians, but could not bring down any holy heroines. The bad guys, did, however, lose three, but kept their nerve, and the fight continued.

Turn 5
With a target finally in range, Squad Rudra 1, who had been doing naught but holding territory since Turn 2, fired on Dominion Squad Demene, killing three of them. Bronze Tyger 2 used its havoc launchers to kill another Dominion, and the squad fell back 6". Attempting to avenge their leader, the Havocs fired on Squad Piete, killing five of them.

In the Assault Phase, the Celestians invoked Spirit of the Martyr again, but the Chaos Sorcerer used Warptime to good effect, striking down one. The Celestians, Seraphim, and Clemance continued grinding away at the Possessed Marines, taking down two more. 

Dominion Squad Demene successfully invoked Light of The Emperor, halting their rout. The Exorcist moved into an adjacent board quarter, and the non-immobilized Immolator (whose multi-melta had failed to wound the Havocs three times in row) moved closer. Shooting at the Havocs again, the Immolator dropped one, and the Retributors dropped another. In the mass melee, the Greater Rakshasas and the Sorcerer killed three Celestians, and one Possessed Marine perished.

Turn 6
No movement at all for my side. Squad Rudra 1 held their ground, and the Havocs shook and immobilized the Immolator bearing down on them. The Sorcerer and the Greater Rakshasas wiped out the Celestians and turned their attention to Squad Clemance. 

Fire from the Retributors and Squad Piete killed five Chaos Space Marines from Squad Rudra 1, but they did not break. The Sorcerer killed three Sisters from Squad Clemance, but the woman warriors held, and the field belonged to the Sisters of Mercy.

Outcome: Sisters of Mercy win (2,421 Victory Points to 1,509 Victory Points). A Solid Victory!
 

Posted May 2008
 

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