It's Campaign Time!

Having spent 2014 being rightly teased for being uncharacteristically spammy and trying to be competitive in the UK 40k tournament scene, I have decided that the time is right to launch into a short campaign to get back to fluffy ways with my Tyranid Hive Fleet, Nemesis.

 

Picture from http://www.war-gamer.co.uk

 

Fellow 'First Company Veterans' club-mate Duncs and I have decided to play a series of games based around a Tyranid invasion of a Space Wolves outpost moon. I have knocked up seven sequential missions, where the result of each has an impact upon the next. These are fresh off the drawing board - I only started putting pen to paper on Wednesday - so they may need some tweaking, but I'm hoping they are good enough for us (and our wonderful Claws & Fists readers!) to try out immediately. If you do get the chance to playtest any of the missions, please post (constructive) comments below, but please remember these are intended for friendly play and are not designed to be perfectly fair or balanced!

 

So, without further ado, here is the campaign introduction and the first mission...

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The moon of Svellgard, in it’s slow orbit around the ice world of Frostheim, is a vital link in the defences of the star system of Fenris. However, unlike it’s parent-world, Svellgard is a lush, verdant globe brimming with both carnivorous plant and animal life. It is this richness of bio-mass that has made Svellgard the target of a splinter-force of Hive Fleet Nemesis.

 

As the Bio-Ships divert their course toward Svellgard, the Tyranid hive-mind becomes aware that their presence has not been detected. The splinter-fleet glides silently into orbit, eagerly anticipating the rich pickings that lie in wait…

 

GAME 1 – INVASION

 

On the Imperial outpost Omega-K12 on Svellgard, a woefully small garrison of Space Wolves mans the orbital defence laser batteries there, tending the servitors and monitoring the skies for signs of impending attack from the chaotic forces which issue forth from the Eye of Terror. Much later, it was noted with bitter regret that the threat came not from that spacial warp rift, but from the freezing void of deep space.

 

Suddenly, and with no warning, the vanguard elements of a Tyranid invasion force spewed forth upon the unsuspecting moon. Tyrannocyte spores descend, eerily silent as they deliver their deadly cargo to the surface below. Meanwhile, great beasts swoop down on tattered leathery wings, spitting parasitic death from grotesque biological mutations symbiotically attached to it’s monstrous parent…

 

SET-UP:

 

To represent the hive-mind choosing their preferred landing site, the Tyranid player places the terrain on the board. Each 2’ x 4’ section should have D3+2 pieces of terrain on them.

 

The Imperial defender then chooses board edge and deployment type.

 

ARMY CONSTRUCTION & RESTRICTIONS:

 

The Imperial player must choose a single fortification as Part of their army list.

 

All Tyranid forces must start the game in reserve. Any units with the Deepstrike rule must enter the game via Deepstrike; all other units enter the game from reserve in the normal way.

 

The Tyranid player may not take any fortifications.

 

OBJECTIVES & VICTORY CONDITIONS:

 

Primary objective (10pts): The Tyranid player wins by destroying the Imperial fortification.

The Imperial player wins by preventing the fortification from being destroyed.

 

Secondary Objective (7pts):

 

‘Modified’ Maelstrom Cards (see Caledonian Uprising 2015 rules pack – thanks, Tim King!)

 

Tertiary Objectives:

 

First Strike (1pt)

Slay the Warlord (1pt)

Line Breaker (1pt)

 

(NOTE: Tabling your opponent automatically gives the winner a 20-0 victory!).

 

OUTCOMES & BONUSES:

 

If the Tyranid player succeeds in destroying the Imperial fortification, he gains a single orbital bombardment to use in the next game. The orbital bombardment is fired at BS3. It is strength 7, AP-, Ordnance Barrage D3, Large Blast, one use

 

If the Imperial player prevents the destruction of the fortification, he may give the Interceptor special rule to one unit, for one game turn, in the next game.