Umbram and I have concluded the Road to Glory campaign with Umbram taking a rather decisive win. I had started doing battle reports but the campaign was five games, so instead of doing battle reports I have opted to do a narrative covering the campaign. So, here it is.
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On an isolated planet bearing no name that anyone knew of, the Tau made their way planet side to determine if any life existed so that they could continue to expand their growing empire. Upon arrival they found no life at all and decided to send out some scouting teams to try and see if any life existed at all on this barren planet. It wasn’t long before a small scouting force met with the only inhabitants they had yet to see, the Necrons.
The subsequent battle was quickly fought and the Necrons withdrew from the front seeing that it was better to regroup than to continue the confrontation. Once the Tau were sure that the disappearance of the Necrons was the last they’d see of them that day, they noticed a container on the field. Not daring to stay any longer on the battlefield, they retrieved the container and headed out to meet main force where they may discover the contents safely.
Elsewhere, another small Tau force was securing a forward position, having heard the reports that Necrons were encountered, when they themselves saw the small unit of Necrons marching to their position. The Necrons slowly advanced, their pace precise and unaltered. The Tau opened fire knowing that there was no other way to deal with Necrons, and slowly the advancing Necrons fell but it wasn’t enough, not enough were falling and those that did were often getting back to their feet to continue their eerie advance. The Necron Destroyers were picking apart the Tau gun lines and seemed all but impervious to return fire.
The Necrons formed up and returned fire, disintegrating the warriors of the Tau where they stood. The fight continued with both sides holding their position, trading shot for shot until it was clear that the fight would not be won that day. The Tau slowly withdrew from the field seeing that they had their match this day, neither side would prevail, and that an attack would need to be planned if they had any hope of driving further into the area that the Necrons seemed to hold.
The Necrons, having learned that the Tau firepower was not to be underestimated, decided to change their approach. They would bring in their Flayed Ones for this fight; they had to reach the Tau lines to disrupt the brutal plasma fire. And so the fight commenced as those before, both sides taking up positions to unleash their ranged weaponry, neither side truly gaining an advantage.
Towards the end of battle, the Flayed Ones made their arrival, reaching up from the ground to emerge and wreak havoc. However, the Flayed Ones were out of position and so their arrival was in vain. The Tau would again lay claim to another victory.
Having been driven back to the gates of the city that they held, the Necron Lord setup his army in hopes of holding off the oncoming attack. Their tomb had to be protected, no matter if the last of them fell in protecting it. They didn’t have long to wait before the Tau showed up in force.
To the Lord’s dismay, his assembled army was being taken apart piece by piece. The Tau brought heavy weapons, long ranged fire support, and all were chewing through the ranks of Necrons. The Lord decided upon a bold maneuver and teleported himself with a unit of his Warriors to the front lines of the Tau. The Necrons were not favored and found themselves far from the intended area. Standing too far from the Tau’s gun lines, they were reduced to nothing in short order.
Elsewhere, holding on to a critical location, Warriors saw the advance of a Crisis Suit team coming their way. Gauss streamed out of the building that the Warriors took shelter in but they could not reduce the Crisis Team. With the Crisis Team being upon them, the Warriors charged out to better deal with the threat. While the Necron Warriors dismantled the Crisis Team, the Tau Commander advanced on the now unoccupied building, supported by a Devilfish carrying Fire Warriors. Despite attempts at countering the Tau advance on the critical building, the Lord had to give the battlefield to the Tau least he lose all that remained to him of his army.
With the city perimeter in the hands of the Tau, the Lord set the last of his defenders throughout the city, fortifying themselves throughout the ruined buildings and waiting for their enemy to enter the city proper. Before the first shots were fired, the Tau scouting party that first encountered the Necrons arrived at the Tau camp. The scouts had recovered vital information on the Necrons, gaining a better understanding of their foe, an understanding they were sure to utilize. One way or another, this would be the last battle.
The ground began shaking and the Lord looked up to see the streaks of bombardment being rained down amongst his ranks. For all the effort the Tau put into the strike, they gained very little. None amongst his ranks were destroyed, a minor victory and one the Lord would gladly take.
The bombardment concluded, the Tau entered the city slowly, taking up positions on the perimeter with their long-range weapons. The Tau knew range was theirs and with that they opened fire. No matter the approach the Necrons took they were constantly under fire from the Tau and there was no way to avoid it. Their casualties were minimal, yet the Necrons were inflicting few casualties in return. Trying to come to grips with the entrenched Tau, the Necron Lord raced up the right flank of the Tau behind his Scarabs and accompanied by Wraiths. The Tau fought hand to hand with the Necrons with a fervor that surprised the Lord, yet the Necrons overran their flank. If the Lord were capable of smiling then he surely would have as he watched his Wraiths take down their commander, but it would not be enough.
Knowing that this campaign would not be his, the Lord phased from the field to return to the tomb, leaving what was left of his army to buy him time. With the Tomb Spyders who guarded the tomb, they destroyed the entrance to the tomb, sealing themselves in. The Tau would not gain the true victory, destroying the tomb and the un-awakened warriors within, the Lord would deny them that much. With that thought in mind, the Lord entered his technological slumber. He and his warriors would rise once again and undo all that the Tau managed while they slept.
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As you can see, I was trying to summarize the battles to keep them as short as possible, otherwise this could have easily have been a novel. I tried to put in there some details that stood out in the campaign or were part of it, like the first mission and the recon they did. That gave Umbram the use of preferred enemy on selective units of his for the last battle. Or the bombardment on the final mission, etc.
I’m also using this campaign to shelve my Necrons for a little while, hence the ending fluff in the story. With the campaign we’ll all be doing soon, I’ll be playing my Orks so I need to change my focus. Plus, having my newly started Marine army, I figure the Necrons will sit it out for a bit.
Of the five games, Umbram won them all but the second, that one we had a draw on. Most of the games were damn close, most of them being objective based, the last being annihilation. I learned a lot about the Tau, and my Necrons who I had not played a lot previously.
I love painting miniatures and teaching people how to paint. I also really love blogging, so I've combined those two passions here.
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