Game One: A Suspicious Accident

Missing In Action: Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor Gloriana Locke

Scenario

To kick off the Incident On Malinche IX campaign, I specially designed this special Kill Teams scenario revolving around Inquisitor Locke’s sabotaged shuttle.
You can read the scenario particulars as well as the background fiction here
Justin played a Space Marine Tactical Squad that included a heavy bolter, a meltagun, and a power fist for Sergeant Dagni. This was the same team he used in the first Kill Teams tournament at JSHC. It’s a well-rounded squad good at dealing with various kinds of enemies and (more importantly) it fits the background fluff of the scenario. He gave his Sergeant the Furious Charge rule, while his meltagunner got Feel No Pain and his heavy bolter got Relentless.
I played a squad of Veterans and a Penal Legion squad. I had never used Penal Legions before, so I was dying to give it a go. The veterans included a grenade launcher, two plasma guns, and a plasma pistol for Veteran Sergeant Fairborne, my Kill Team’s general. There are no upgrade options for Penal Legions, but I got Psychopaths for their Desperadoes roll. This meant all my Legionnaires had Fleet, Counter Attack, and Furious Charge. I gave Feels No Pain to my Veteran Sergeant and (mostly because I forgot everything the Psychopaths ability entails) I gave Furious Charge to my Penal Custodian. My strategy was based on numbers, rather than my usual tactic of kitted-out troops with higher survivability. I don’t think Justin was expecting this approach at all.

Round One

Marines, move out and secure the crash site!
I won the roll for first turn. Most of the action revolved around everyone slowly marching towards the burning crash site. I kept a Veteran with a plasma gun up on the second story of a ruined building in my deployment zone as a precaution. Justin did likewise with his Marine armed with a heavy bolter. Of course, my plasma gun was out of range to do anything. The heavy bolter Marine took first blood by blowing away a single Penal Legionnaire.

Round Two

Cultists attack!
With almost all the models circling the crash site, a wild firefight broke out. I managed to take out a Marine and Justin felled four Penal Legionaries and two Veterans in a hail of bolter fire. After the gunfire stopped, the rest of my troops made a mad dash towards the crash site, including my plasma gunner in the ruins.

Round Three

Things are starting to really heat up.
The flaming wreckage prevented most of the troops on either side from drawing a bead on anyone. The shooting phase was lackluster, to say the least. Custodian Sheppard of the Penal Legion lead the charge into combat by rushing the Marine meltagunner and taking him down. Two more Marines fell somewhere during this round but I don't remember if it was from shooting or assault (most likely shooting).

Round Four

A brutal assault ensues.
Showdown of the force commanders.
With everyone shooting en masse, you would think there would have been a lot more casualties. Four veterans dropped from bolter fire and Custodian Sheppard finally went down in close combat. However, there was still a Penal Legionnaire brawling with a Marine. Veteran Sergeant Fairborne made a desperate charge against Sergeant Dagni in close combat. The Veteran failed to kill his genetically enhanced opponent; Sergeant Dagni squished Sgt. Fairborne into paste with a power fist. I guess that’s what I get for giving my sergeant a plasma pistol instead of a power weapon.

Rounds Five And Six

Objective Secured.
The veteran with the plasma gun finally got into prime position to fire at two Marines. To make things easier, I told Justin I was shooting at both but he could choose his casualties after the dice were cast. Jokingly, he asked if my Veteran could be the casualty instead. I rolled a 1 to hit, which meant the plasma gun overheated and killed my veteran. I really have to stop asking Justin to choose casualties. Another Marine fell to lasgun fire. Seeing the very real possibility of having to make Leadership tests in the near future, Sergeant Dagni wisely secured Inquisitor Locke. The lone psychotic Penal Legionnaire was still locked in melee with a Marine from last turn in an aggravating stalemate
With only four models on the table, round six wasn't looking very promising. I rolled my Leadership test and failed by two, resulting in a victory for the Marines. For fun, we keep playing out the rest of the game, but my few beleaguered Penal Legionnaires weren’t enough to turn the tide.

Reflections

All in all, it was a very close match and it was the most fun I’ve had in a miniature game in almost eleven years. It really could have gone either way. Everything looked awesome. We both had suitably painted models, we had access to great terrain at The Game Room, and the explosion markers really enhanced the whole look & feel of the game. I am looking very forward to the rest of this campaign.
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