Enter the Steel Host

Sanctus Reach, Mission 4. The Knights are overextended and cut off from Imperial lines. The Orks are closing in for the kill, can a spearhead of Guard Armor breakthrough and reinforce the Knights in time?

2500 points per side, the Imperials have ten models, the Orks just about 100. The Knights start on the far left side of the field and must get to the far right side and off the table. Half of the Orks start in the center, the other half will come on from the left side, so the Knights must boogie or get completely swamped. The Imperial Guard tanks all start in reserve and arrive on the right side.

Scoring is really straightforward, and all about the Knights. The Orks get D3 points for killing a Knight, and the Knights get D3 for getting off the table, plus the regular 1 point for killing the enemy warlord.

The Knights start by killing off a Deff Dread and put some damage on the Ork Battlewagon full of bad things, but cannot stop it. On the Ork turn, said Battlewagon pulls up close and unloads Grukk Face-rippa and his Mega-Nobz friends. They gleefully hack down a Knight, but the resulting explosion goes quite poorly for the lads. Grukk survives by using the big Mek as a shield, and seven out of eight Mega-Nobz are vaporized. A very costly win. Not that Grukk cares.

Turn two sees six of the Guard tanks arrive. The Mega-Dread, and a Deff Dread fall to battle and lascannon fire. The last Leman Russ to fire hits the Battlewagon in the rear and kills it with a single shot. Live by open top, die by open top.

Grukk responds by charging the Knight Errant with his one remaining minon. The Mega-Nob is splattered, but Grukk's stupid luck holds and he is unharmed by the huge chainsword. The Ork Warlord hits with all attacks and the Knight explodes under the onslaught. Grukk is wounded by the titanic blast. He was finally put down by the last Paladin on the following turn.

The rest of the Guard armor showed up and put a hurting on the Orks from across the table. More Orks arrived and managed a couple of points damage on the withdrawing Paladin, but it was too late to stop it exiting the field.

The Imperials fought very well, but that thrice damned Grukk put the game just out of reach for us. Orks 5, Imperials 4. Gah.

Tough situation for the Knights to start with, they needed just a bit more luck than they got. Good mission, I would like to give it another try.

Mr. Face-ripper will see you now.

Orks:3, Imperials:1