The Ur’veil mini-campaign so far (Fiction / First games)…

The enemy and their drones had pursued them underground. Father dispatched the brethren in pairs. Each was tasked with a simple mission. Find the steam valves and sabotage them. The geothermal energy of this planet, whatever it was now called by the new conquerers, was impressive. Father wanted as much pressure as possible to build in this part of the subterranean manufactorum. The enemy leadership were nearby. If he could disrupt them, then he could move the Grandsire in safety. The Brotherhood were not ready for a full uprising yet.

Here’s a quick overview of the campaign and reports from the first two games…

Ur’veil Mini-campaign

The first couple of games we played were for Colin to get his head into Kill Team and didn’t play a direct role in the campaign (other than establishing a name for Ni’loc, the T’au leader). Inspired by the February White Dwarf we decided to play a sequence of three further games that would determine whether the Genestealer Patriarch, the Grandsire, could escape the attention of the T’au as their grip on the newly-name Ur’veil tightened. Here’s an outline of the games:

Game 1: Vital Supplies (P6 of Kill Team: Nova Open 2018). This mission represents the two teams attempting to secure the venting controls of the subterranean Manufactorum. Outcome: the winner of this mission may either :

  • use an (additional) Adaptive Tactics tactic (P76 of the Kill Team Core Manual) on any model in their Kill Team without spending Command Points in the last game of the campaign; or
  • use the Cut Off The Head tactic (P55 of the Kill Team Core Manual) without spending Command Points once in the last game of the campaign.

Game 2: Pivotal Point (P8 of Kill Team: Nova Open 2018). This mission represents the Genestealer Cults attempting to secure the point where they wish to extract their Patriarch. Outcome:

  • if the T’au win the Patriarch loses D3 wounds at the start of the last game of the campaign (this represents the strain of having to replan and guide the Brotherhood);
  • if the cultists win the Cult Ambush ability occurs on a 4+.

Game 3: Cut Off The Head (P108 of Kill Team: Commanders). This is the final mission and the Genestealer Cultists are the defenders. If they win the Patriarch successfully escapes to ensure the continued growth of The Brotherhood. If the T’au win they have taken down the most immediate threat to Ur’veil.

Game 1

Here are some notable moments from this game:

  • The T’au, led by Ni’loc, set up a defensive position, but this limited their ability to get out and score some mission objectives.
  • The ‘Veteran’ Genestealer got a first turn charge on Ni’Loc, but failed to injure him, and he fell back.
  • The Genestealers were surprisingly ineffective in melee, but they kept an eye on the mission and secondary objectives and started to outscore the T’au.
  • A second Genestealer charged Ni’loc, but the T’au leader managed to munch it in the face (it saved!) and fall back again.
  • A Neophyte with the flamer showed the Genestealers how it is done and scorched Ni’loc!
  • The game ended 15:8 to the Genestealers.

A badly scarred Ni’loc was dragged away from scene of the skirmish by a Stealth Suit, his team forming a protective barrier to cover their fallback. The monstrous enemy did not pursue. Whatever they had been seeking to achieve seemed to have been successful. The manufactorum began to creek and groan, steam hissing ominously from the joins in pipes. A second XV25 swooped in to help carry Ni’loc and the team picked up the pace. The hiss of the venting steam grew to a shriek. As if in response concussive explosions roared from the direction where they had just fought…

Game 2

The Brotherhood are now seeking to secure an extraction site for the Grandsire. Here are some of the pivotal moments:

  • The Genestealers swarmed towards the T’au. This was a sight to behold and while they were all in danger of being shot, there were a lot of them!
  • An Acolyte managed to charge Ni’loc, but he killed it in melee!
  • The Stealth Suits moved out to try to secure more mission objectives and to hunt for Father.
  • Father fled with an amazing 12″ advance!
  • Two Genestealers charged Ni’loc and he wasn’t so lucky this time.
  • As the scramble for mission objectives neared an end, the Neophyte Heavy managed to hit and wound a stealth suit… and somehow the shot bounced off of its armour!
  • The Genestealer Cults won 14:7.

Ni’loc limped, blood leaking out from under his armour. This had been a bad day, but he needed to get back to command. The depth and density of machinery in the manufactorum was blocking his communications. They needed to know. The cultists were planning something. He had witnessed all of their activities today and they were orchestrating something. The explosions had been diversions to something bigger. He needed reinforcements…

So, the outcome after two games is that the Genestealer Cultists will be taking their pre-game ambush moves on 4+ and one more model may make a free, pre-game move (usually limited to a Veteran tactic).

Roll on Game 3 and the emergence of the Grandsire!

Until next time,

Owen