Spear of Konor Campaign: The Iron Warriors win the day in a daring assault

At 1700 points on a 6' x 4' board, this was going to be a gripping contest

On the Spear of Konor, the Iron Warriors' new Praetor Varyk Morghalis devised a daring plan to wrest back the initiative from the Ultramarines' defenders.  He put together a large assault force: 6 Tyrant Siege Terminators, 6 Cataphractii terminators, 5-strong heavy support unit with Volkite culverins, a 10-strong Breacher squad and two fifteen-man tactical squads.  He would personally lead this force into one of the Spear of Konor's armament bays, in which he hoped to establish a new forward HQ.

The Ultramarines were well-prepared and had a Deredeo Dreadnought guarding the bay, along with a tactical squad and and their own 6-strong unit of Cataphractii terminators.  In reserve they had their own tactical and Breacher units, a Contemptor dreadnought and a 10-strong unit of Suzerain Invictarii.

The Ultramarines' Dreadnought Kratos the Destroyer unleashes a withering volley at the Traitors

Although the Ultramarines' Deredeo's autocannon vaporise two of the Iron Warriors' Tyrant siege Terminators, the Traitors manage to finish off the dreadnought with their cyclone missile launchers

Both legions sought to eliminate the other's most potent threat as they sought it as early as possible in order to gain a tactical edge.  This saw the Iron Warriors' Tyrant Siege terminators and the Ultramarines' Deredeo Dreadnought, Kratos the Destroyer exchange volley after volley at each other.  Luck prevailed for the IVth Legion and Kratos was felled, allowing the Iron Warriors' Siege Tyrants to establish a stranglehold in the centre of the armament bay.

But the battle was still far from over.  The tactical and breacher squads established footholds but suffered heavy attrition as they exchanged fire with each other. The 31st Grand Company's Heavy Support squad found themselves face to face with the Ultramarines' Contemptor Dreadnought, Vemeter the Relentless, a fight they soon found they could not win.  However, it was the close combat between the Ultramarines' Invictarus Suzerain squad, who had already cut down the last of the Tyrant Siege Terminators, and the Iron Warriors' Cataphractii that settled the battle in the IVth Legion's favour.  Morghalis' gamble had paid off.  The battle had cost the Iron Warriors more than the Ultramarines, but they had secured their tactical objectives.

The Ultramarines' Suzerain Invictarii arrive, shielded by a wall of tactical marines

Firefight among the Heavy Ammunition Crates, as the Suzerain attempt to maneuver into a position from which they can charge the Iron Warriors' Tyrant Siege Terminators

The Iron Warriors' Praetor Varyk Morghalis is assailed by the last survivors of the Ultramarines' First Tactical Squad

The XIIIth Legion's Invictarus Suzerain squad tear into the Iron Warriors' Tyrants with their Legatine axes

The XXth Chapter's Contemptor Dreadnought makes short work of the Iron Warriors' tactical marines