At the August 2018 Sydney Mournival Events day, I played a 1500 point Centurion game against the powerful hobbyist known to the Heresy/30K community as the Primordial Ednihilator. It was a great day, with many fine armies and gaming tables on display. Our battle took place in the outskirts of a ruined city, created by Mournival member Dom. Also present was Paul, who took the time to create a fantastic campaign map specifically for the event series.

I ran a rather crazy list of Solar Auxilia with Mechanicum allies, more a mixed bag of ceremonial bodyguards and esoteric warrior-constructs than a force of professional soldiers.

+Legate Commander- charnabal sabre & inferno pistol

+Veletaris- power axes

+Veletaris- power axes

+Charonite Ogryns x8

+Magos Dominus

+Tech Thralls x20- rite of pure thought, carapace armour

+Domitars x3

My Legate Commander, a veteran of decades of service in Rogue Trader explorator fleets, is an expert swordsman and a trusted leader of men. But is he up to the task of fighting Legiones Astartes warriors in open battle?

The majority of the army’s killing power is concentrated in my two expensive close quarters combat units, the Ogryn Charonites, and the Domitar-class battle automata. They are each very potent against the right targets, but it might be a struggle to get them into combat without taking damage. Due to the heavy investment in these two units, the force has almost no long-range firepower.

Opposing the Solar Auxilia and Mechanicum are the savage warriors of the Vlka Fenryka. The Rout, the VIth Legion, the Allfather’s chosen executioners. The Ednihilator took the following army:

+Varg the Savager (Custom Centurion)- frost axe and frost sword

+Speaker of the Dead

+Grey Slayers (10)- various power weapons

+Grey Slayers (10)- various power weapons

+Grey Slayers (10)- all (!) with heavy chainswords

+Contemptor Cortus- 2 close combat weapons

+Legion Terminators (6)- chainfists, plasma blaster

+Land Speeder Javelin (2)- missile launchers, multimeltas

The Speaker of the Dead joins the Terminators, granting them Fearless and Feel No Pain. They’ll be a tough nut to crack, but hopefully my Domitars or Ogryn Charonites are up to the task.

I’m actually more worried about the Grey Slayers. With their versatile assortment of power weapons and their sheer numbers, they’ll be able to easily hack through my Veletaris, and do plenty of damage to my big clumsy combat units before they strike. The heavy chainsword squad shown here will be particularly effective against the carapace armour of my Ogryns.

Another serious danger to the Ogryns is the Contemptor. Its many Strength 10 attacks will instant kill the clumsy abhumans before they can strike. I’ll have to ensure the Domitars punch it into the dirt before that happens.

The Javelins will be rather annoying too. They can lurk back spitting missiles at my forces, and I don’t have much to answer them with.

As well as the scary prospect of fighting the Vlka Fenryka, the scenario is somewhat intimidating. For this mission, my Warlord and his bodyguard unit is deployed out in the middle of the battlefield. I guess they were out collecting mushrooms or something? The Wolves have caught him away from the main force, and are trying to assassinate him. The rest of the Solar Auxilia army must deploy via ongoing reserve!

Luckily Ed has a very sporting attitude, and deployed his Rout warriors further back than is allowed, lining them up in the desert outskirts of the city. My Legate Commander and his small unit of bodyguard axemen take shelter in the ruined husk of a building, aware that they are not alone.

In the opening moments of the battle, the Astartes of the VIth Legion advance, covering ground rapidly with their hunter’s gait. All Sydney Mournival Events use the Points of Interest system pioneered by the guys at the Eye of Horus Podcast- an extra element added to games to generate random narrative shenanigans.

One of the Grey Slayer packs explores a point of interest at the base of a statute, revealing a lost tech adept.

“Stay out of the way,” one of the Wolves snarls, running past him.

The adept lurks back. If he survives until the end of the battle, he’ll grant the Wolves another victory point!

Solar Auxilia and Mechanicum reinforcements arrive, running to protect the isolated Legate Commander. Though it was tempting to spread out, I chose to keep my Domitars and Ogryn Charonites close for mutual support. Im terrified of getting my Ogryns stuck in combat with the Contemptor, when they have no way of scratching its Armour 13 front plating.

The big unit of lobotomised Tech Thralls marches onto the field nearby. I don’t expect them to achieve much in terms of dealing damage, but the fact that they are Fearless may enable me to take a charge with them, then set up a good counter-charge with the Ogryns or Domitars.

Knowing that remaining in the building is suicide, the Legate Commander and his men begin to run back to friendly lines.

One of the Grey Slayer packs bounds up alongside the building like hungry hounds, trying to cut off the Auxilia officer’s escape.

Another pack of Grey Slayers pursues him through the building. They try to charge into combat and bring matters to a quick end, but they are obstructed by rubble.

As the rest of the Wolves advance, the Javelins fire fragmentation missiles into the distant Tech Thralls, blasting apart several in showers of shrapnel.

As the second unit of Veletaris axemen march onto the battlefield, they investigate a mysterious sound coming from near an industrial platform. This point of interest is revealed to be a small unit of Silent Sisters laying in ambush!

For a brief moment, the axemen and the Soulless Vigilators stare at each other in surprise. Then they raise their weapons and charge. Without breaking stride, the Legate Commander orders his bodyguard unit to attack from behind, unintentionally ambushing the ambush. He tries to slay one with a shot from his inferno pistol, but misses.

The lines meet with a ringing clash of swords on axes. Striking first, the Sisters slay two Veletaris. The Legate Commander barks out a challenge, which is accepted by the Vigilator Mistress. She aims a piercing longsword thrust at his torso, but he slaps the blade away with his charnabal sabre, pivots, and slices off her head. He must have been warmed up by running away from the Wolves!

Cheering for their leader, the Veletaris hook in with their long axes and hack the rest of the outnumbered Sisters of Silence apart.

There’s no time to savour this small victory, however. The Rout continue their relentless pursuit, moving through the streets and ruins. The Javelins boost up above the buildings to get a clear line of fire.

In the middle of the wide street, one of the Grey Slayer packs led by Varg the Savager confronts the Tech Thralls. They clumsily fire their laslocks at the oncoming warriors, doing negligible damage.

Urged on by Varg, who howls from beneath his leather knotwork mask, the Grey Slayers pounce on the Thralls, knocking them down with the sheer mass of their armour-plated bodies. Augmentic limbs are lopped off, semi-organic craniums are split. Varg reaps a huge toll, hewing around him with his axe and sword.

My hopes that the Thralls would hold up the Wolves long enough for a counter-charge are dashed. The Javelins reduced their numbers enough that the were all slain in a single round, leaving nothing but metal scraps and smears of bloody engine oil.

The Legate Commander and his unit run gratefully into the protective lines of the main Solar Auxilia force. His remaining combat assets are together, ready to fight, but they are completely surrounded, with no room to manoeuvre.

Like the unyielding iron jaws of a bear trap, the massed Wolves close in. I hoped to gain the benefits of charging, but it looks like the Rout will charge me instead. It’s easy to underestimate how quick the Grey Slayers on foot can be.

Oh well. There’s nothing left to do but fight or die!

With a series of feral howls, the VIth Legion Astartes charge. There is a teeth-rattling impact as the opposing forces make contact. Varg’s unit of Grey Slayers rain frenzied blows on the Domitars, assisted by their brothers wielding heavy chainswords. The towering battle-automata are dented and battered, but not broken. In return they swing shattering blows at the Wolves with their graviton hammer-fists. A few of the Rout are crushed and maimed, but others jump up to take their place, chopping into the Domitars with reckless abandon.

Another Grey Slayer unit runs between the Domitars and Ogryn Charonites to hunt down the Legate Commander and his axemen. Knowing he has no choice but to face his foe, the brave swordsman answers the Huscarl’s challenge.

The raging Rout warrior swings his enormous axe. Instead of cutting his human prey in two, the axe hits nothing but air. The Legate Commander ducks another wild strike, then darts in with his charnabal sabre, hoping to decapitate his second enemy of the day. Unfortunately his attack is foiled by the Huscarl’s shield. The duel ends in a stalemate, but the other Grey Slayers surround and kill ALL the Legate’s bodyguard. Dismayed, he tries to fall back, but is dragged down by the Wolves before he can get clear. Alas, baseline humans are no match for the ferocity of the VIth Legion!

The other two Grey Slayer packs continue their protracted struggle against the Domitars. Axes and swords ring off the tough metal chassis, but some of the Wolves armed with power fists manage to crush vital leg joints and rip away bundles of power cables.

Working with his men, Varg the Savager manages to tear one of the automata down, standing astride it and splitting open its core processing unit. Nearby, the remaining unit of axemen and the Ogryn Charonites charge the Grey Slayers who killed the Legate Commander.

The Rout hunters deal light damage to the chemically-enhanced abhumans, but are unable to kill one outright. Lumbering forwards, inexorable, the giant Ogryns raise their hissing Charonite Claws…

Each to hit roll of a six is resolved at S6, AP2, Instant Death! Triangular blades punch into power-armoured chests, bursting apart in eruptions of gore. Screaming ripper-saws grind and tear, shredding ceramite plating like paper. All ten Grey Slayers are utterly destroyed, wiped out before the Veletaris can even swing their axes!

Shocked and overwhelmed by the violence of the Ogryn assault, the axemen consolidate towards the ongoing combat with the Domitars. The circling Javelin speeders pick a few of them off with missile fire.

With only three attacks each without charging, the Domitars are unable to kill the ravening Wolves fast enough to get clear. Each of the big robots are swarmed, dragged down, and punctured with dozens of small wounds.

Varg the Savager faces the completely unprepared Magos Dominus, who swings his power axe at the relentless horde.

Despite my best efforts, The Primordial Ednihilator manages to get his Contemptor-Cortus into combat with the Ogryn Charonites. The old Rout fighter interred within the Dreadnought body wades into the ranks of the Charonites, then swings his huge energised axe in a deadly horizontal arc.

Four Charonites are slain instantly, sending a haze of red mist into the air. split segments of armoured bodies flop to the ground, lifeless. The Wolves press on, merciless, with the Legion Terminators arriving to join the combat against the remaining Ogryns.

Stubborn to the end, the few Charonites left ignore the rampaging Contemptor and plough into the masses of Grey Slayers. Their powered talons and piston-driven blades shear off heads, or crimp whole bodies into shapeless ruins.

Despite the horrendous damage wrought by the Ogryns, they cannot survive the combined assault of the Grey Slayers, the Dreadnought, and the Terminators. The Speaker of the Dead slays one with his frost axe. One of the Cataphractii pulverises an Ogryn’s skull with a chainfist. Eventually, all the Charonites are ground down and killed.

Varg murders the Magos Dominus, finally ending the long combat between the Wolves and the Mechnicum. He turns to survey the field, biomechanical lubricant fluid dripping from his paired blades.

Nothing but a lone Veletaris axemen remains, wandering in a daze, his sanity blasted by the extremity of the slaughter.

The Rout leader steps up to face the Veletaris. Though they are enemies, Varg acknowledges that the man and his kin have fought to the limit of their abilities.

“Until next winter,” he growls, and puts mercy into his sword-stroke.

A comprehensive Ednihilation, and a clear victory for the Wolves of Fenris. It was an enjoyable game against a beautifully army, with a definite atmosphere of hunters pursuing prey.

I dithered around with my units, afraid to commit to combat, which enabled Ed to surround me and charge in a coordinated attack. If I was to play through the scenario again, I think I’d risk advancing earlier and go on the offensive, at least netting a few early kills before I got bogged down.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out Ed’s inspiring Instagram if you haven’t already.