Game 2: Whose Artifact?

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GSC scavenges Mechanicus casualties from game 1 battlefield
By analyzing the looted cybernetics, the GSG learn that the relic passed through here, and see what the cultists who have it look like, and where they were last headed.

Using psychic scrying to predict the path of the relic towards the Hive, the GSG sets up an ambush to try to seize the relic.



Slaanesh Revolutionary Cultists attempt to bring the Relic into the Hive
The Keeper of Secrets continues to wake up, and as Zhe comes back into the fullness of Zer power as an Exalted Greater Daemon, the Manifest lubed fist of Slaanesh penetrating fully through into human reality, the already thin fabric of the materium is stretched even thinner, and Zhe can see further with Zer Scrying and Zer Warp Sight.

Zhe can hear further as well, and faintly detects the dreaming slumbrous thoughts of other Slaaneshi Daemon Weapons and Artifacts from the Age Long Past, newly woken by the psychic scream and calling out to be found and returned to service. These dreaming lost souls call out to Zer through the warp, perhaps made easier to hear by the singing of the glorious revolutionary songs of the happy and exultant cultists, as Zhe and Tynzer-Snip march the relic along the foreseen route to the Hive Primus.



All the forces of the Revolutionary Militia of Slaanesh converge on the Hive and towards scattered strategic locations around the Hive, such as the armory, largest transmitter, hive spire, PDF hoverpads and hangars, secret bases in abandoned sections of the Hive, and command centers.

But most cultist militia were hiding out in the surrounding wastelands, except for a number of spies inside the Hive keeping an eye on the situations and balances between their rival cults, gangs, and PDFs, so they won't be the first to the advantageous positions around the Primus Hive area.

Zylda-Hinte was shocked and hurt by being banished back to the Warp when the Dominus's Axe smote her tiny human frame, but the next child of the cultist leaders in the agreed upon and hard-negotiated ordered list to become vessels to the glory of Slaanesh, is driven inside another captured Leman Russ Battle Tank to join the column of gathering Cult forces, and the thinning materium allows the immaterium to more easily poke through into our reality, and Zylda-Hinte slips more quickly and easily than she has ever has through before into the body of the cultist boy who had dyed his hair blue when he was told he was next in line to be the Glorious Host of one of the Instruments of our heroic revolution of unifying Love!

As they march in a growing throng of dirty but ecstatically eager would-be martyrs and guerilla warriors, Zhe senses a disturbance in the force, perhaps detecting the remote scrying warp sight gaze of a progenitor or patriarch Genestealer Cult leader, or by observing the warp disturbances of the communication between GSC forces as the Ambush is foreseen and prepared.

Whose foresight could see deeper and truer into the future? Could the Ambush be Foiled, or would the powerful GSC psychic presence see better through the fog of probability?

Scenario Crunch Details
Let's play a modified version of the new Relic Mission, hammer and anvil deployment as the new rules suggest. Slaanesh starts with the Relic in their own deployment zone, and may nominate an Infantry model to be carrying it. Slaanesh wins a Major Victory if they can carry the Artifact off the GSC side of the table: 90 pts for Slaanesh moving it off the GSC table edge.

If GSC gets control of the relic, they can also win a major victory by carrying it off the Slaanesh side of the table: 90 pts for GSC moving it off the Slaanesh table edge.

Play on an Incursion (small) sized 44" x 30" battlefield, with one of my city corner ruins on each side of the board (each partly in the deployment zone on it's side of the board), and the smaller wall sections in the other two quadrants.

GSC deploys all units first, and then takes the first turn, no seize attempt allowed (end of 8th edition, fast-deployment style)

The game goes for up to seven turns, or until resignation by either side, cause we REALLY want to see who holds the relic when the battle is over.

Because of the scarcity of Heavy Weaponry in this theater of war, each side gets 20 points for destroying a Vehicle keyword model of the other side.

Each side gets 20 pts for slaying the Warlord of the other side. Each side must nominate a warlord. The GSC big warlord with 4 chosen perks can be present, but Slaanesh is still working with only local warlords (1 warlord trait, one relic).

If the Relic hasn't moved off either edge of the board by end of turn 7, whoever is carrying or in control of the Relic at the end of turn 7 gets 30 pts, 60 if they control or carry it in the enemy's deployment zone at the end.

So probably whoever holds the relic at the end wins, but there's a little wiggle room, as the pts from destroying vehicles and warlords could potentially overcome the 30 pts the relic holder gets if they haven't moved it into the enemy deployment zone.

Given the primacy of the Relic, none of the secondary objectives make narrative sense.

Battle Report Fluff and Outcome
The KoS in the Artifact saw many possible futures, most of which ended with one or both of the possessed cultist children slain by sniper fire. Both the powerful psykers striving to see deeper into the web of probabilities knew where the ambush would take place, so the Slaaneshi column stopped and deployed mostly out of sight of the waiting Genestealer cultists.

But the mob of autogun cultists were exultant and knew no fear, and refused to stay back in cover, so the battle began with a volley of GSC heavy weapon fire killing 7 cultists, leading another 8 to flee.

With their protective screen of cultists scattering around them, Zylda-Hinte and the KoS were forced to play their trump card early, and signalled their allies waiting inside the hive that now was the time to strike. The herd of Chaos Spawn ran forward intending to charge the ridgerunners that had cut down so many cultists, and provided a distraction while a Tide of Traitors emerged from the hive behind the GSC ambush, and their huge volley of autogun shots cleared out the GSC squads that had thinned the first mob of cultists.

At the end of T1, things looked very good for Slaanesh, with the Chaos Spawn smashing one of the ridgerunners, and few remaining GSC elements left in the battle.

But half of the GSC ambush was still Lying in Wait, and now that the Slaaneshi forces were overextended, they made easy prey for the second phase of the ambush. This moment the KoS had failed to foresee...

A group of many-armed Acolytes with demolition charges and hand flamers popped up behind the captured Leman Russ and the heavy weapon teams! Their powerful explosives badly crippled the Russ (leaving it at 1 wound), while their hand flamers completed immolated the Slaaneshi missile launchers and burned the face off of Tynzer-Snip's child host.

Meanwhile Alia the Jackal vanished into the shadows, while two more powerful GSC characters appeared in the ruins. A squad of neophytes foolishly charged into combat with the Choas Spawn as the remaining ridgerunner quickly zipped out of combat and into hiding.

Suddenly it looked like the Progenitor of the GSC had seen deeper into the future, and the Slaaneshi forces were in grave danger! Zylda-Hinte and Tynzer-Snip ran for their lives, putting as much distance between themselves and the acolyte's flamers as possible, and attempting to link back up with the Tide of Traitors mob of cultists that had emerged from the hive. The melee in the center continued, with the Chaos Spawn finishing off the last of the neophytes.

The crippled Russ was destroyed by the remaining ridge runner, and the mob of autogun cultists, aided by the sorcery of Zylda-Hinte and the guidance of Slaanesh, was able to clear the GSC kellermorph and sanctus who were sniping from the ruins. Things were moving fast, but looking up for Slaanesh! It looked like Zylda-Hinte would be able to escape with the Artifact into the Hive-

But suddenly Alia the Jackal emerged from hiding, and quickly lined up a headshot on the sprinting Zylda-Hinte! A 6+ mortal wound and a dmg role of 2 left the child host body with a huge bloody hole in it's skull, and only the animating possessive power of the sorcerous herald kept the (1 wound) host body on it's feet.

As the cultist mob reacted to the appearance of Alia, she gunned the motor on her dirt bike and drove off into the dust and shadows. The bitter taste of defeat filled her mouth, knowing that she had done her best, made her headshot into the body of the creepy cultist boy carrying the relic, the sort of perfect shot that would have felled even a veteran company commander of the local PDF forces she had contended with all her life, but had still come up short against the magic of Slaanesh!

The GSC held the ambush site when the dust settled, after the cultist mob followed the possessed cultist children into the Hive, fleeing before the flame-spewing many-armed acolytes, but the relic had narrowly slipped through their beautiful ambush. As they counted the numerous shredded and burned cultist bodies, with heavy casualties on both sides, one consolation to Alia and the remaining Acolytes was that the disabled Leman Russ looked like it could be repaired and returned to service...