Phil and I kicked off a new 40k campaign last night based on the Planetstrike rules in Chapter Approved 2017. My Genestealers are defending Syrlene XI, a mining and agricultural world that they wrested from Imperial control a decade ago. Phil and I played a brief campaign representing the cult taking over this planet. It involved some 40k games on VASSAL, and face-to-face games of Inquisitor and 40k in Hamburg. I have a piece of fiction Phil and I wrote for that campaign that covers the preamble. The Inquisitor’s warband was soundly rebuffed in their attempt to infiltrate the Cult’s mining operations, but the Ultramarine, named Gidrion, that had helped recce the site with Inquisitor Dornoth managed to convinced his seniors to send a small force to tackle the Genestealer threat. This was soundly beaten resulting in the death of Gidrion and Dornoth barely escaping with her life. I must write a piece of fluff to cover what happened in that campaign.

Now she is returning at the head of combined Ultramarine and Astra Militarum planet assault force!

Taking Syrlene XI may not have posed difficulties for the the Inheritors, but things didn’t go to plan for the Genestealer Cult in game 1 – I over-concentrated my force and invested too heavily in the required Heavy Support options. I should have used cheaper Astra Militarum units to meet this requirement.

Here’s what the board set up looked like. The deployment should have looked like this too, but I didn’t pay attention to the redoubt rules (the greenish defensive buildings) and missed that I could place units in them. Instead I deployed two units of Neophytes and a unit of Acolytes in the open. One unit of Neophytes managed to retreat into the rear redoubt and my Magus, named B’athlem, (luckily) made it into the front one during the game… 

This was my high water mark at the end of Turn 1. The Genestealers had a pretty successful ambush, but most everything else was in trouble.

Below is the end of Turn 2. The Magus, in the forward redoubt, decided to abandon the defences and return the the Great Father for punishment following his abject failure!

I’m looking forward to Game 2… I’ll be better prepared next time! The battle for Syrlene XI continues.

Owen