March for the Eternity Gate

A couple of weeks ago we marched to Kuopio, where the local gaming crew KuoFi had organized a narrative Horus Heresy event centered on the drama arc of the Eternity Gate during the Siege of Terra. Before the journey I had been hard at work pushing the World Eater roster to 3000 points, adding another Assault Squad and (a bit reluctantly to fill the points...) a Contemptor Dreadnought to the existing army. Unfortunately my painting time just ran out before I got to convert the Lascannon sponsons on my Javelins, but these will for sure feature in the next army list iteration. When we reached the event venue the World Eaters got to perform violent drop operations against two robust Imperial Fist armies and the knightly Dark Angels in the asymmetric scenarios during the weekend, recording to wins and a narrow defeat. Good times and the siege for the Imperial Palace has now begun! 

Player: Teemu Valve

Army: XII World Eaters 308th Void Assault Brigade

Rite of War: Berzerker Assault

Allegiance: Traitoris Perdita

HQ1: Khârn the Bloody, Gorechild, Warlord [210]

HQ2: Legion Warmonger, Berzerker, Twin Lightning Claws, Meltabombs [150]

HQ3: Legion Master of Signals, Chainaxe [95]

ELITE1: The Red Butchers, Add Terminator, Chainfist, Twin Lightning Claws [315]

ELITE2: Contemptor-Cortus Dreadnought, Power Fist, Conversion Beam Cannon [195]

ELITE3: The Red Hand Destroyers, Add 2 Destroyers, Jump Packs, Artificer Armour, Lightning Claw, Thunder Hammer, Chainaxes [225]

TROOP1: Despoilers, Chainaxes, Power Axe, Artificer Armour, Power Fist [130]

TROOP2: Despoilers, Chainaxes, Power Axe, Artificer Armour, Power Fist [130]

TROOP3: Assault Squad, Chainaxes, Power Axe, Power Sword, Artificer Armour, Power Fist [180]

TROOP4: Assault Squad, Chainaxes, Power Axe, Power Sword, Artificer Armour, Power Fist [180]

TROOP5: Recon Squad, Chainaxes [85]

FAST1: Javelin Attack Speeder, Chainaxe, Multi-melta [100]

FAST2: Javelin Attack Speeder, Chainaxe, Multi-melta, Hunter-Killer Missile [105]

FAST3: 2 Proteus Speeders, Multi-Meltas, Grav-Guns, Hunter-Killer Missiles, Chainaxes [200]

HEAVY1: Legion Caestus Assault Ram "Commodus" [350]

HEAVY2: Legion Caestus Assault Ram "Coliseus" [350]

The narrative missions really put the pressure on the brave Loyalists defending the Eternity Gate and Traitors took the upper hand in many occasions. My first game against the Imperial Fists was especially memorable and we had a proper nail-biter in a scenario where renewing waves of Traitors tried to take over the defenders' deployment area. The battle culminated in the final rolls where the World Eaters would have earned a round victory for the Traitor side if the last two Imperial Fist Tactical Marines would have either died to three missile launcher shots or failed their Leadership 7 Morale Check. This time luck was on the Terrans' side and the brilliant game ended in a draw!

All in all the event was well organized and the amazing spirit of the Finnish Horus Heresy scene was ever present - the "hobby first" attitude in army painting and the relaxed, casual army lists made sure all participants had a great time. Thanks to all participants and the hardworking KuoFi crew for a quality wargaming experience. The World Eaters will return!

Contemptor-Cortus "Crossbones", enslaved by the 308th Void Assault. I combined a classic Chaos Space Marine sarcophagus with the modern Contemptor kit for a ramshackle, field-repaired look. A couple of unfortunate Assault Marines have also lost their chainswords trying to bring the Dreadnought down.

I wanted the mechanics of the Contemptor appear unconventional and like the construct was put together in haste, with all kinds of wiring and inner workings exposed on the backside. The Conversion Beamer felt like a proper space warfare gun and not as optimized choice as some of the other Contemptor loadouts.

The Assault Squad was built with a dual purpose in mind, our thinking was that they could also be used as World Eater Rampagers in the future. The sergeant is probably my favourite model in the unit.

We kitbashed the modern Khorne Berzerkers with Necromunda Corpse Grinder Cult armament to create Caedere Weapon specialists with a bit of a gladiator feel.

The Berzerker kits combined with angled basing elements made for quite dynamic poses. The excess chaos trim was scraped off from the armour surfaces before the primer went down.

The entire unit had to be painted in one sitting to meet the tournament deadline, so I relied on our usual army painting techniques powered by airbrush basecoats, strong contrast colours and oil washes.

These warriors can't wait for the next deployment, and neither can I! Luckily the traditional War Head Civil War looms in the horizon.