After carnage undreamt-of, both Defenders and Ruin left the massive battle in the agrofields outside Scytulus III's major habs mostly frustrated: the stalwart bastion built by the Imperium to overwatch the verdant fields was flattened, and neither the Dragonriders tactical squad remaining in its wreckage nor the villainous Bloodthirster Kubrash assaulting them could claim to hold it uncontested; though an heroic effort by the Emerald Lions and Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Rhadamanthus Goh's pheromone-controlled Tyranid monster had driven off the forces of Ruin holding it, the food storage/processing facility holding the last resources collected before the daemonic invasion had been wrecked as well, and no Imperial defenders were in position to resecure it; the abduction attempt of the radical Daemonhunter Sunvale had been nearly accomplished but fallen just short of success; and the mysterious Necrons which arrived midbattle as Inquisitor Goh had predicted frustratingly phased back out before the Defenders could learn what secrets they possessed about what was befalling Scytulus III. In short--one objective was contested and three were unaccomplished, leaving the second major clash on Scytulus III an unresolved draw...
For the Defenders, however, it was something of a rally in the face of the relentless daemonic onslaught--and a moral victory in driving Ruin from the second objective with a monumental final turn effort. And the intelligence (that not all on Scytulus III is as it seems, that there are fell powers other than the invading daemons which will ultimately need reckoning with) brought from parts unknown by the Inquisitor Lord seemed confirmed with the Necrons' appearance.
And for Ruin...when all is smoke and flame and death, at the end of the day, carcasses and wreckage scattered across the battlefield and far more slain than living--that is a 'draw' Ruin will always count a victory...
Thanks to Madness Games for a terrific afternoon in a fantastic store and playing facility, and to all thirteen participants for getting almost 20,000 points into action on the tabletop, and for the bounty of memorable moments that are the sum of why Apocalypse is such a fun version of Warhammer 40,000 to play. Watch http://www.adeptusnorthtexas.com for your chance to join them in participating in the next chapter in the ongoing sage of the Seige of Scytulus III!
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