Somethings are best left buried...

Papa Nurgle sends his regards!

With both the Incandescent Coyotes and Adeptus Mechanicus still smarting over their previous clash, both sides pulled back to lick their wounds and plot the next moves. The Coyotes kept a close eye on their adversaries, trying to discern their unseen motives. There appeared to be a techno-archeological operation in progress, and soon enough scout surveillance intercepted several garbled and seemingly frantic communications amongst the admech units.

Some things are best left buried...

It appeared as though combat was taking place within the dig site and so the Coyotes offered assistance in dealing with whomever the unseen assailants were. Having previously attacked Mechanicus forces unprovoked, the Mechanicus refused aid with a simple binary blurt that was translated to: Piss off!

Overflights of the excavation area spotted an unearthed temple of some sort and the legions of Nurgle battling over and around with Skitarii security detachments. Seeing traitors was all of the incentive needed, and their assistance wanted or not, the Coyotes entered the fray!

This game kind of came together at the last moment, and as such Mike & I were running carbon copy lists from our last game. That is, with the sole exception of him switching the useless assassin out for one of those ugly, admech chicken-walker things. Since this was to be a 3-player free-for-all this go round, we opted for a central objective (the center of the temple complex) as the objective. 

It would be worth 1 VP if controlled uncontested in the player's command phase. We also used random initiative for each round which jumbled the turn order around a bit. Lastly, we allowed shooting into hand-to-hand combat so long as your own troops weren't in said combat, with randomized hits. 

My deployment, with scouts and assault marines in reserve. 

Rob marshaling his forces of Nurgle.

Surprised at being photographed during our last battle, the Adeptus Mechanicus was a bit more camera-shy this week. 

turn 1 and the Rhino rush is on! 

BLARRGH! 

(I've been fighting against this bastard for more than a decade now)

Leading the charge Rob's daemon prince advances with all sorts of auras and shenanigans going on around him. Meanwhile the Nurgle/admech crossfire quickly took out my transports. In return my massed bolter fire maybe inflicted a mere wound or two on the approaching daemon prince. 

However, 2 Krak missiles later and he was down for the count!

The slowly advancing horde of Nurgle. I/we chewed up that dread a good bit, but never managed to take it down. 

Deep striking out of nowhere, the assault marines charge into the Nurgle lines from the rear! Whilst they died to a man while inflicting no actual damage in return (typical, this is why I haven't fielded assault marines in three or so editions of the game), they did at least draw the plague marines away from the objective. 

Helping me to capture the first victory point!

But then...the cheesy as fuck Night Shroud Terminators arrived on the scene. 

HOLD THE LINE!

Surprisingly they did...sorta.

Thru some sort of techno-magical chicanery, the marshal and Kataphron servitors teleported into the Nurgle backfield, and the previously distracted plague marines forgot about the central objective entirely (no doubt confident that the termies would be fine on their own). 

My LT & wounded apothecary joined the scrum up on the objective whilst the other tac. squad and scouts pummeled the little gribblies, reducing them down to just one.

Seems like a fair fight, right?

Yeah, not so much. The beleaguered sergeant held his ground though!

Not themselves involved in the scrum up on the objective, the Mechanicum decided to weigh in with some long-ranged fire support, killing my lone surviving marine sergeant and irritating the Termies. However Rob's turn was next up, and he gained a victory point thanks to the Admech's interference. Due to the vagaries of turn initiative, Rob would gain a 2nd VP for holding the objective as he was the last to go in one round, only to then start the next!

Elsewhere, having failed to kill that last little gribbly, the dead rose from the ground re-entered combat, only to all be cut down once again!

This extended slog in the backfield would slowly grind both sides down, though ultimately was an inconclusive draw.

In total, the Termies would grab 2 victory points before being gunned down in the crossfire. Having tore the last little gribbly to pieces, my troops consolidated back onto the objective, but alas it was the last turn and I wouldn't be able to claim another VP. 

Not that that mattered as long ranged fire from the Admech lines swept the objective clear of my marines, killing all eight of them! 

In the end, Rob's forces of Nurgle had two VPs, I had one and the Mike's Mechanicus had zero. Thus the only coarse of action left for my Coyotes, was board their transports and once departed order the strike cruiser to bombard the planet from orbit!