After Day Report: Badab War: Battle for the Old City - Galen IV [Part 3/3]

 The last of our coverage of the Battle for the Old City, Galen IV.

Howling Griffons terminators appear in a swirl of octarine

We've been talking about the Badab War day, hosted by Combat Company and organised by the Badab War Reenactment Society. So far, I had one astonishing victory and one crippling loss, with the Secessionists fighting hard for victory - but it was all to play for in the final game of the day. Sweaty, lunch-filled, and tired, we looked over the board.

GAME TWO: RECAPTURE THE INDUSTRIAL ZONE:
MANTIS WARRIORS VS HOWLING GRIFFONS

Lost to the overwhelming numbers and treachery (I have no idea what the previous game was), the Industrial Zone had fallen to the loyalists. The Mantis Warriors volunteered to retake the vital supply site, pressing against Alex's beautifully painted Howling Griffons - themselves still smarting from their losses at the Governor's Palace. 

The final mission was a beautiful, simple, 12"-in deployment; objective in a building in each 'zone which gave the defending side +1 cover save in that spot. I think I... yes, I forgot a deployment shot. I'm sorry! It's summer!

Mantis Warriors line up for... some reason.

I did get (most of) my side. I clustered the Devastators and Librarian in the ruin, lined up the Tactical squad for some fucking reason, and had the snipers read to hopefully sprint into that cover and then hold the centre, while the vehicles and dread would go around the flank. The other Rhino and bikers (not visible) would go around the left. Not a... great plan. I also forgot that you are supposed to hold objectives with Line troops, but Alex and I decided to ignore that because he's very cool and handsome.

why the fuck did I line up in a big row

The Howling Griffons were a Land Raider Helios (you've already seen it but it's below A Lot), two Tactical squads, a squad of assault terminators led by a Chaplain, and some veterans with a Librarian. A good list, which Alex admitted was points-heavy so he had less to paint. The crazy motherfucker started the project when the day was announced - so less than three months before the event! He even had a themed, laminated list to show opponents.

He won Best Painted: Loyalist, by the way.

Howling Griffons Land Raider (Helios pattern)

Howling Griffons tactical marines hunker down to defend their objective

oh yeah and a dread

Alex got first turn and pushed forward, his Terminators in orbit. He hurt Nimcha and killed several snipers, correctly recognising them as an annoying threat. I countered by being useless, as well as swinging Tactical II and their Rhino way too far out to be effective. I should have used it as LoS blocking against the 'Raider and pushed the squad directly across that killing zone.

Mantis Warriors armour assets

I did severely deplete one squad, but not really enough to be effective. Alex would eventually wreck both Nimcha and the Land Speeder, while I would kill his Rhino - but never do more that scratch that magnificent Helios. Luckily, the Helios rockets failed to kill a damn thing, and the lascannons weren't much better!

a battered Tactical squad

I played pretty poorly, I'll admit, but I'm not kidding about being cooked. I'd changed into shorts by now and had a too-expensive burger, but I'd already played two more games than I manage most months and I was beginning to feel it. Alex was an absolute champion, though. I hope we can have a grudge match at the next one.

I hate the assault terminators bcuz of the Invul save, they was disgusting,
i hate them with my life, they does not leave the lizard alone

The terminators came down just as I was beginning to think that I could still turn this around, forgetting that like half his army wasn't even on the board yet. (This was Turn Two.)

see them? they're dead.

Lucky for me, this game Redth's mind-numbing energy worked, and I was able to keep the Terminators away from my lines the whole game. However, they did absorb basically every single shot I fired into them - lascannons, heavy plasma cannons, stormbolters - everything. Distraction Carnifex success.

Meanwhile, Howling Griffons took apart my other units piecemeal.

Tacticals were misdeployed, misused, and too late. Look good though.

Eventually, I had very little left; Kamacuras made it to the Tactical squad and went down in a hail of overwatch fire, while Tactical Squad 'Renegades' were killed by the Librarian and his guard. It wasn't quite the catastrophic loss as against the Salamanders - just a regular kind of bad game, ha. 

Howling Griffons triumphant!

It wasn't quite the catastrophic loss as against the Salamanders - just a regular kind of bad game, ha. Great opponent, though, with a beautiful army on good terrain. Fantastic way to end the day.

MANTIS WARRIORS DEFEAT

So, let's talk results. My own results were a 1-2, but as I expected to go 0-3, this is great! Wow! One of my best results ever! (I hardly ever game and this wasn't actually a tournament but still).

For the results for the day, I'll quote Andrew Leigo, one of the major officers of the Badab War Reenactment Society from his summary post. Andrew is a great guy, and a tireless admin of the community - plus he flew up from goddamn Adelaide to play games with us:

Over the course of the day, over 20 games were played to decide the fate of Galen IV!

Starting the day firmly in the hands of the Tyrant and his erstwhile allies, the Loyal Imperial forces threw everything they had at the Secessionists in an attempt to break their grip on the planet. Landing forces via the Old Town space port and locking down the Hab Zones to control the population.

Several times it looked as if the Imperials might have the upper hand as they were able to take ground and capture territories of value such as the Industrial Zone, Armoury, and Orbital Defense Array. However, the Imperial forces were never able to crack the Governor's Palace, finishing the day tied up in the blasted ruins of the palace, the one territory needed to cement control over the planet.

As the bolters fell silent and the cries of the wounded and dying began to fade, it was clear that the Tyrant's forces had successfully repulsed their enemies, fighting them to bitter victories, the slaughter on both sides and throughout the civilian population making it clear that this conflict would continue to rage on for years more on Galen IV.

Even the arrival of warring Mechanicus forces was not enough to swing the conflict towards the Imperials. Cybernetic forces clashed with loyal Imperial Guard regiments throughout the city as Astartes annihilated each other in running battles, rivers of transhuman blood washing the streets of old town red.

In the void around the planet the Imperial forces fared better, breaking the Secessionist blockade and punishing the Secessiont fleet in high orbit. However, clever use of suicide fire ships and orbital defences stymied and hurt the Imperials, with very few landing craft making the surface of Galen IV. The Imperial planetside left to fend for themselves after the initial assault phase.

Once the dust settled, Huron's forces had secured a marginal victory, but raise their banners over a blackened, ravaged Old Town.

Oh, and thanks to the generosity of Combat Company and the tickets, we had three prizes given away.

Best Painted (Loyalists): Alex's Howling Griffons (above)

Best Painted (Secessionists): Me.

Best Painted (Battlefleet Gothic): Tom's Howling Griffons

Tom's a really nice guy as well (everyone there was! what the hell!). He has a YouTube channel where he talks about Battlefleet Gothic, and he talks about the Galen IV day here.

I've already spent my prize money on some more armour for the Mantis Warriors, don't you worry.

Here are some more photos from the day to close us out:

Battlefleet Gothic

A complex, four-player game for the big final event in space!

Astral Claws circle the planet defensively

neeaeeewrrr

couldn't get enough of these Mechanicus armies

here they are fighting some Astral Claws

who doesn't love a Fucken Drone

this guy? he's going here. i don't care if you're standing there.

Absolutely incredible day. Can't believe I won a best painted. I must have looked like a dying fish; I swear I gaped.

If you haven't burned your Facebook account, go join the Badab War Reenactment Society. Great folk. I'll see you all at the next one. Continue to defy the Empire.

After Day Report: Badab War: Battle for the Old City - Galen IV [Part 2/3]

 Last time on unjust still...

Niijima and her scouts butcher a heavy weapon squad

Last time, I talked about the Badab War Day on 29 November, with photos from my first game. This was the high water mark for my player skill for the day - but I didn't expect to win any games, so I was having a great day.

At the start of the second round, the Secessionists controlled most of the territories of value, including the Governor's Palace -- but would they continue to hold? Alex's Howling Griffons moved into the Palace, trying to take it from... I forget, but I think it was the all-bike Executioners. In orbit, Mantis Warriors were defeated by Howling Griffons, putting the pressure on the ground war below.

After Day Report: Badab War: Battle for the Old City - Galen IV [Part 1/3]

 That's so many subheadings.

Theatre Map: Galen IV 'Old Town'
Modified by Andrew Legio for the Badab War Reenactment Society, 2025

On Saturday 29 November, a small part of Sydney was transformed into a bloody battlefield, re-enacting a gore-soaked conflict of the Badab War.

One of the more fleshed-out parts of the Warhammer 40,000 background, the Badab War was expanded from a two-page spread in Rogue Trader's Warhammer 40,000 Compendium supplement into a two-book series during Forge World's short-lived Imperial Armour series. These books were the precursors to what became the sprawling Horus Heresy series. They included detailed examinations of the factions involved, maps, art, supplements for then-current game (6th edition), and since have become a firm fan favourite.

a handful of Warriors, painted for a 1st-edition Kill Team

When I came crawling back into the hobby at the tail-end of 7th edition and decided to paint my very first Space Marine, this was the space I joined. I vacillated between a few choices, settled on a Mantis Warrior, and haven't looked back. (I've looked sideways a lot - I have so many projects - but not back.)

III Squad - I think he's one of the guys in the back.

That first Space Marine is still in the army, although he didn't make it to Saturday's game.

The Badab War Reenactment Society has been intending to run game days, campaigns, and other events for years. For once, this community is actually based in Australia and, while I do not live in Sydney, this means that I am more able to attend. (Well, depending on child care responsibilities!) So when an event was announced for November, I jumped at the chance.

1500 points of Mantis Warriors

The rules were simple enough, as mentioned last time. Either bring a Battlefleet Gothic fleet or 1500 points of 28-mm scale warriors. The rules are Heresy 2.0, using custom-built lists - which is great, as it meant that I didn't waste too much money on the Heresy 2.0 rules, given that I played very few games of it. While I do have a BFG fleet, it's not-yet-painted, so ground soldiers it was. I brought together a list of 'neat stuff that everyone in the Facebook group liked' rather than 'good' or 'strong', and away I went.

One of the first Battlefleet engagements; Howling Griffons engage Mantis Warriors 

We weren't told of the day's missions ahead of time, to help reflect the confused state of affairs on the ground, although we did know a) that the space conflict could affect the ground; b) that there would be some kind of map system; c) that it wasn't intended to be competitive, but narrative (although we could bring special characters).

As the final week approached, we were told that each map would have some special features and would start under the control of each faction. These were the Governor's Palace, Industrial Zone, Alpha & Beta Hab Zones, Space Port, Orbital Defense Battery, and Armoury. Controlling a given territory would give advantages - for instance, controlling the Industrial Zone could give one player (in the whole day, not just on that board) It Will Not Die 5+ to any non-AV-14 vehicle to represent improved repair facilities; that entire faction would also gain +1 to Reserves die. A faction had to control the Governor's Palace in order to win the campaign day, otherwise the best to hope for would be a (bloody) draw.

In the end, my Mantis Warriors didn't wind up using any of the map-based advantages, although I heard from the shouts and chaos of other tables that my allies certainly did.