The Battle for Mith'ler

 This week's battle report is a special treat.  Kevin (grubnards) and I planned out a 2,000pt game with mostly painted armies (pardon my mycetic spores) and I asked him to write-up the game from a cinematic perspective.  Army lists and a turn-by-turn can be found here (bottom of the page).  If you enjoy this format, voice your support with a comment and I may be able to persuade Kevin to write stories for the blog on a more regular basis.

By Kevin G.

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Commit to: Imperial Record CHT 16/2326
Crossfile to: Planetary Colonization Segmentum Tempestus
Transmitted: Exploratory Research Ship: Light of the Emperor
Telepathic Duct Transmitter: Astropath – Prime Grondavi
Telepathic Duct Receiver: Astropath – Terminus Ryza
Author: Commander Hamayeto
Input Date: 4255754.M39
Thought for the day: Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment
...............................................
Transmission report start: Research vessel Light of the Emperor transitioned out of warp duct 225A3-
F. Explorator sensor drones dispatched into nearby systems. Planetoid designated 223.092.MA shows
atmospheric and climatic readings that are well within tolerable levels for human habitation. Magnetic or
atmospheric conditions are hampering scans for signs of life. Unable to ascertain whether 223.092.MA
currently, or in the past, contains life. Marker Buoys 190.AA21.03 and 332.DA33.05 seeded near the
warp duct for future colonization vessels. No other planetary systems detected worth noting. Preparing to
enter warp duct 225A3-F to explore further areas of Segmentum Tempestus.
Transmission report end.

Addendum // 22.1258A3
Authorization: Fleet Commander Pike // Segmentum Tempestus
Coded Notation: 554.001
All contact with research vessel Light of the Emperor has ceased //
Last confirmed contact: 4505754.M39 //
Recorded missing: 4755754.M39 //
May the Emperor bless their souls //
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Mith’ler is a dying world.

Farseer Fyarl, of craft world Aun’Trave, could not understand how events had spiraled out of control so
quickly on the exodite world of Mith’ler. For years she had communed with the spirits of departed seers
of her craftworld and time after time the threads of fate had predicted that the forces of chaos would
descend upon the exodite world. The Council of Seers had agreed that Mith’ler could not be allowed to
fall to chaos for within this planet was housed the Ashet’Van, a device created to harness and amplify
the energies of the warp with the ability to destroy entire star systems. The Old Ones created this device
during the war in the heavens, a time when a galaxy-wide war was fought against the Necrontyr. The
decision to create such a device was not made lightly and it was with the understanding that once the war
was over that the device was to be de-activated and hidden on a planet on the far side of the galaxy. For
aeons the eldar of the exodite world maintained a psychic shield around the planet that hid all traces of
life on the planet so as not to draw attention to the planet. Any attempt to land on or explore the planet by
other races was met with swift resistance.

Mith’ler was once a beautiful planet, a bright gem that shone brightly in the darkness of space. Its forests
were an expanse of trees that grew to dizzying heights and the oceans sparkled with the deep blue
hues of Isha’s eyes. Now its skies were corrupted with the fires of war. The taint of the warp corrupted
the trees and vegetation. Oceans boiled and turned to the color of blood. The eldar forces, comprising
of the exodite warriors of Mith’ler, the aspect warriors of the Aun’trave and other craft world forces that
journeyed from all corners of the galaxy via web way portals were slowly being pushed back by the
forces of chaos. Hope was looking dim and as a last resort, the Council of Seers deemed that the device
must be destroyed rather than allowing it to fall into the hands of the enemy. Then they came. Due to
the warp anomalies created by daemonic summoning across the planet, neither side was aware of
the approaching tyranid fleet until it was upon the fleets anchored above the planet. The craft world of
Aun’trave suffered heavily and was forced to flee from the system. The chaos and tyranid fleets battered
each other without mercy and many ships were lost on both sides. Meanwhile, on the surface of the
planet, millions of spores rained down upon the land masses and oceans. The vanguard of the hive fleet

was making planet fall to scour the planet of all bio-mass. The Eldar and Chaos forces were now forced
to face a new enemy. The eldar were ill-equipped to handle this new threat and all resistance was soon
wiped away. The chaos forces were slowly becoming encircled but Dark Apostle Sorac dictated that he
would allow no one to leave without the device that they had come to find.

Elements of the 231st Host, the 347th Host and the 93rd Host of the Word Bearers legion had been
tasked with recovering an alien device that was believed to be hidden on this planet. The Dark Council
of Sicarus, the voice of Logar, had long heard whispers in the warp about a device, a device that would
bring an end to the reign of the corpse god and the empire of man, a device that would make the galaxy
burn. Dark Apostole Sorac, spiritual leader of the 231st Host was ordered to lead the planetary assault
and recover the device. Sorac knew that success would elevate his standing within the Council, the eyes
of the gods, and his beloved Primarch, Logar. He would not let the xenos eldar stand in his way from
recovering the device. When his forces arrived in system and made planet fall resistance was immediate
and brutal. At one point it looked as if his forces were going to be driven off planet, as if they eldar were
expecting them. How they know of his arrival mattered not for the combined Hosts of the Word Bearers
under the Dark Apostle Sorac would not be denied. Warp rifts tore the fabric of reality around the planet
like ugly knife wounds as daemonic forces were summoned to join the invasion. Let the dameons be the
anvil to the Word Bearers hammer. This planet and everything on it was going to die.

“Coryphaus Kol Holak, report…” barked the Dark Apostle. “We are nearing the temple ruins that house
the device” replied the Coryphaus. “All eldar resistance appears to be gone but scouts have reported the
presence of tyranids in the forests ahead.”

 “That matters not Coryphaus. See that the device is recovered or your soul will become the plaything for
nurglings” stated the Dark Apostle as he cut the transmission. Sorac trusted his Coryphaus. They had
fought as battle brothers during the great crusade. They stood together in solemn ranks as the Emperor
and his accursed lap dog Guilliman forced them to watch the destruction of Monarchia. They fought
together on Calth and killed many of Guilliman’s sons that glorious day. He knew that Kol Holak would
retrieve the device, or die trying.

Kol Holak tried to peer through the foliage to see if he could catch a glimpse of the tyranids but since their
arrival the atmosphere became choked with spores that caused the vegetation to grow voraciously in a
matter of hours. The trees and plants of this world, recently tainted by the warp and now by the tyranid
spores, suddenly grew to enormous proportions. This impeded the movements of the detachment as his
men became entangled in the vines and vehicles were rendered useless. Flamers worked for awhile but
the foliage grew back within the hour, filling in the path created by his forces…

As the obliterator squad began to advance into a small clearing, a huge, winged beast appeared out of
the spore-choked skies and showered them with a grey mucous like material that clung to their armor.
Larval beetles tried to burrow through the corrupted armor but the obliterators burned them off quickly
with a quick burst of promethium before they could do much damage. A trio of hive guard appeared over
a small ridge in front of the chaos forces and fired at the rhino containing elements of the 87 th coterie.
The living spears dislodged some of the armor plating on the front of the rhino.

Drak'lar, one of the Council of Sorcerers in the 231st host flexed his newly formed wings. The gods had been pleased with his service of late and leather wings sprouted from his power pack, fusing it to his body permanently.  Since the metamorphosis, Drak’lar was allowed to take command of the 45th Raptor Coterie. As the giant beast fired on the Obliterators, Drak’lar summoned the power of the warp to enhance the abilities of his squad but as he uttered the enchantment he doubled over in pain and blood began to flow from
his eyes and ears. Was something affecting his ability to draw from the warp? As the feeling of nausea
passed, he ordered his coterie to jump clear of the small hill in front of him.

Further up ahead and tear in the air formed and the hulking form of a Soul Grinder appeared. It vomited a ball of warp energy on some termagants and they slowly dissolved as if drenched in acid. A group of Pink Horrors also appeared in a small clearing, pointing and laughing as they lobbed balls of fire at the hive guard.  Kol Holak took this as a sign that the dark gods were pleased with his progress…

Suddenly two leathery spores slammed into the ground, one on each side of Kol Holak and the 73 rd
Havoc Coterie. A swarm of termagants pour out of one and four armed genestealers pour forth from the
other. Behind his line a huge monstrosity erupted from the ground. The trygon quickly shook off the earth
on its head and looked down at the tiny men below it. Nearby on a small hill to his right flank, just recently
vacated by the raptors, vomited forth hulking genestealers that must have been concealed in the dense
vegetation. His squad had just walked into a trap. Further back behind the trygon, another creature, easily
the size of a land raider, came crashing through the trees and vegetation. The towering trygon and the
spore pods discharged energy bolts into the havocs, killing four of their number before the genestealers
jumped into combat.

 Before Kol Holak could react, the remaining members of the 73rd Havoc coterie
were slain and a couple of deep gashes were gouged into his terminator armor. Blood gushed from his
wounds and with a roar of anger Kol Holak swings his daemon mace and slays the charging stealers.

 Over to his left flank, the flying tyrant swooped over the hell brute and rips deep gashes into its armor and
sarcophagus. It then discharges more living ammunition into the hell brute. The savagery of the attack
is more than its armor can take. The body of Kon Grenda, a coryphaus himself from back when he led
a charge against the gates of the Emperor’s palace on Terra over 10,000 years ago, was interred within
the hell brute. During the assault on Terra he was struck down by a plasma burst but life refused to leave
him so he was granted the privilege to continue his crusade against the false emperor by being interred
into the hulking metal beast. Today, that crusade would end as his remains are slowly consumed by the
burrowing beetles that squirm through the rents in his armor. The obliterators and members of the 87 th
and 113th coterie all fire into the beast, ripping huge chunks of flesh from its armor plated body. The beast
screams in pain and flies off into the woods.

The soul grinder, getting a feel for working its mechanical legs in the material realm, lurches through the brush and assaults a group of termagants being led by a tyranid prime. The bio-weapons of the termagants and prime can do little against the lumbering daemon engine as it sweeps its mighty claws across the front of the hoard, killing some in the process. As the fight continues in earnest, a group of bloodletters, Khorne’s chosen warriors, and a herald of Khorne flash into existence in the material plane. With a mighty roar the herald moves towards the hive guard on the hill while the bloodletters lope around the hill to attack from the opposite direction. Drak’lar sees that his coryphaus is surrounded and attempts to draw from the warp again to strengthen his squad but his body buckles in pain again. He feels the claws of daemonic entities clawing in his mind and darkness swiftly overtakes him. He falls dead at the feet of his coterie…

With an earth-shattering roar, a tyrannofex breaks through some ruined arches and assaults the soul
grinder, tearing a deep gash on its mechanical frame. Responding in kind, its daemon–forged sword
strikes a blow and severs a section of the bio-cannon embedded on its back. Over in the Word Bearers
line, Kol Holak sees the termaganuts fire more bio-weapons into the rhino of the 87th coterie and the
vehicle shudders to a halt as the members of the coterie jump out.

He can only guess that the crew inside must be dead. He has little time to see anything else as the gargantuan trygon slithers towards him, along with the genestealers to his left.

The obliterators, seeing the Coryphaus surrounded, go to assist him
while the members of the 87th and 113th coteries move towards the charging tervigon. Meanwhile, the
champion of the raptor coterie prods his unit towards the termagants that just destroyed the rhino and lay
into them with bolter fire and flame. Many of their number die and the remainder attempt to flee into the
woods. The raptors jump to intercept them before they can make it and cut the last of them down. Hefting
his mace, Kol Holak prepares himself for impact. As the trygon nears, Kol Holak swipes the mace against
the side of the beast but does little damage. The genestealers see an opening and charge in, shredding
the Coryphaus to ribbons…


Between the flames of war, drifting spores, and the approaching darkness of night the marines of the
213th Host and their daemonic allies lay into the tyranids that stand between them and their objective.

After killing the termagants the raptors regroup and look to where they can fight next. Suddenly a
huge gust of wind buffets them from behind as the hive tyrant, still bleeding black ichor from a dozen
wounds, hovers behind them. It levels its guns at the raptors and with a sound similar to tearing flesh,
the devourers convulse and disgorge living ammunition at them. The raptor champion and melta gunner
go down as the larvae work themselves in the joints of their armor. As the remaining raptors turn their
attention to the tyrant, the genestealers attack. A few of the genestealers are killed but not before the
raptor squad ceases to exist.

Over towards the flaming wreckage of the rhino the trygon moves to intercept the Obliterators. One of their number scores a wound on the beast but is torn in two in return. The other two Obliterators, pinned between a large tree and the wreckage of the rhino, opt to pull back and try to regroup where they can bring their weapons to bear against the beast that just cut down one of their number.

The pink horrors lob more incandescent flame into the hive guard and at last bring one
of their numbers down as the bloodletters charge in to finish off the rest. The herald of khorne charges
towards the tyrannofex, hoping to sink its daemon blade into the beast, but it is intercepted by the tyranid
prime. Before he can even react to the prime’s sudden movements, its head is shorn from its body and
then both the head and body dissolve back into the warp. The soul grinder swings again with its sword
and crushing claw and brings the tyrannofex down. It then turns its attention back to the tiny bugs around
it….

As night descends on Mith’ler the battle is nearing its end. Many of the marines are either wounded or
dead as the daemonic allies wreck havoc on the remaining tyranids. The tervigon’s body shudders as
more termagants pour forth from the birthing sacs and charge towards the Obliterators. The tervigon
and other termagants charge into the remnants of the 87th and 113th coterie and quickly cut many of
their number down but the marines do not go down without a fight. Scores of termagants are killed as
well. The remaining members of the 113th squad pull back, reassessing the situation. They finish of the
remaining termagants and head towards that area where their Coryphaus was last seen. The newly
spawned termagants fire at the Obliterators, bringing down one of them. The last Obliterator ignores them
and moves on towards the tervigon and shoots, scoring a wound on the beast. The bloodletters, standing
amongst the bloody remains of the hive guard, are looking for more opponents but find none nearby.
Suddenly the flying tyrant swoops down and kills a few of their number before swooping back into the
night sky.

The soul grinder finishes off the tyranid prime and roars in anger that there are no other foes in
sight while the pink horrors, laugh and leap in amusement as they continue to lob flaming balls of warp
magik into the night. One of their number sees the tyrgon slithering in the darkness and they lob volleys of
bale fire into the beast. They whoop and holler as the monstrous being comes crashing down…

The tervigon and obliterator collide and the obliterator shrugs off the scything talons of the beast and
pulverizes its head in a gory spray of blood. Strings of blood and brain matter sizzle on its powerfist as
he slowly looks around for further prey.

Elated at the terror they are causing, the pink horrors continue to celebrate their success of bringing down the trygon by lobbing bale fire into the nearby woods. They are too busy to notice the tyrant before he swoops down and kills 4 of their number. They quickly react by lobbing more fireballs in the beast and to their amusement they bring down the monstrous flyer as well. The genestealers cannot pick up any psychic trace of the hive tyrant or prime and realize that they are on their own. Their instinctual survival guide kicks in and they burrow beneath the roots of a nearby tree to escape the murderous fury of their foe. With no foe left, the survivors of the detachment of the 213 th Host make their way into the ruins to locate the device. Deep within the ruins they find that the eldar farseer and her entourage are in the process of trying to dismantle the device but fail in their attempt and are cut down by bolter fire and flame. The body of their Coryphaus, or what remained of him, is gathered up to be interred into the Hall of the Righteous on Sicarus. As the storm talon lifts off with the remnants of the detachment, ripper swarms erupt from the undergrowth and began to feed on the bodies of the fallen. Soon the DNA of their foes will be absorbed by the hive mind.

The quest had cost the Word Bearers dearly. Scores of their brothers were dead or wounded but the
device was in the hands of the Dark Apostle Sorac and soon he would deliver it to the Dark Council. As
word of the loss made its way back to the eldar farseers, they shuddered to think of what plans the forces
of chaos would unless upon the galaxy. Already they were scrying the threads of the future to see what
could be done to stop its use. Unbeknownst to the rest of the galaxy, no one else would ever know what
had transpired in this remote corner of the galaxy that day.

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Commit to: Imperial Record CHT 34/290
Crossfile to: Planetary Colonization Segmentum Tempestus
Transmitted: Colonization Vessel: Emperor’s Blessing
Telepathic Duct Transmitter: Astropath – Prime Octavius
Telepathic Duct Receiver: Astropath – Terminus Syomoto
Author: Commander Rieken
Input Date: 3489999.M41
Thought for the day: Vigilance is the brother of truth
...............................................

Transmission report start: Colonization vessel, the Emperor’s Blessing transitioned out of warp duct
225A3-F with 500,000 colonists to settle and bring forth the world of 223.092.MA into the light of the
Emperor. However, no planetary body fitting the description noted by Exploratory vessel Light of
the Emperor was found. Only a barren planetoid that held no traces of life was found. Buoy markers
190.AA21.03 and 332.DA33.05 were found to verify that this is the correct location. Awaiting response for
next course of action.
Transmission report end.

Inquistion Intercept Code: 225.01.78A
Input Date: 3689999.M41
Transmission: All matters regarding 223.092.MA are to be expunged from Imperial records and
quarantine markers are to be placed marking this sector as off limits. Inquisition agents verified the
location and confirmed the destruction of colonization vessel Emperor’s Blessing.
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