Today was the day of the the much anticipated 'Big Game II'. 8 Players, 10,000 pts a side in an all out Marine and Daemon fest.
It must be said that the Chaos force started with a distinct, if not literal advantage, as a few last minute substations meant that 2 of the 4 Imperial generals were only recruited a day or so before that battle. More to that one of those answering the call was in only his second ever game.
However so nervous were the Chaos side about this game, that no chances were being taken and the opening turns were a full on assault. Luck also played its part with almost 3/4 of the Chaos reserves arriving in turn 2 and not a single mishap between them. This initial and unexpected surge of Daemons and Marines put the Loyalists on the back foot with those generals that were able to bear the initial onslaught having to commit their own valuable resources to the weaker parts of the line.
As the third turn passed there was a sense that Imperial force would now struggle to claim outright victory. Strong pockets of resistance still held out, but much of the line was now home to groups of rampaging Daemons and Terminators. It was also impossible to ignore the still considerable volume of Chaos troops still advancing and yet to be thrown into the fight.
As the fight closed, the attention shifted to the individual vendetta's and battles that had cropped up during the game. Special characters were hunted down, resilient vehicles we finished off and in a few places small victories were won against chaos as key units finally succumbed themselves as they went for a 3rd or 4th target. The 2nd wave was also committed to fully lock down the key objectives to ensure a victory.
As the dust settled and everyone looked back on the battle the talk was more of individual moments than the game as a whole. Chaos had won the day but with the Daemon advantage now fully exposed and many lessons learned, any future encounter would be a much harder proposition!
