Deest

I got to field my custom Sgt. Harker proxy Deest today. A beastman with a grudge to bear against the Tau.  I am really happy with how he came out.  

In progress

Once again it was a brief 500pt skirmish but it was as bloody and brutal as the last.  Most of the Tau HQ unit was decimated in the first turn by artillery fire and the rest of the army was swiftly mown down by las guns and Deest's heavy bolter.

A second tabled result for the Order Extermini!

Victory!  The surviving warriors.

Deest

Deest flexed his giant frame in the blazing suns of Santi. He was ready to face the Tau. His home world had refused to enter into the Tau agreement and their planet had been overrun and enslaved. For the greater good they said. Cracking his trunk of a neck he made his way towards his new leader. The time he had spent with humans so far had left him empty. They were a petty, destructive and bitter race. From a young age Deest had been educated to change, adapt and accept the differences of others. The heralds had taught them to accept even the most twisted and horrifying of their kin. On entering the command tent he remained underwhelmed. Before him sat a tiny, thin female human. Her open commissars coat revealing a tight mesh that spread over her bare flesh. He respected the lack of armour but knew enough about human customs to deem this display inappropriate and shameful. "You are Deest, a thinker from Standur. It's an honour to have you work alongside us," said the Lord Commissar. "Here for vengeance, revenge on the blue man." Said Deest clucking out the best human he could muster. "Proud day for me." "Well it's time to prove your worth. The Tau come at dusk." Letting out a chirp of approval the warrior spun around and left the tent. Picking up his equipment,the towering xenos stood on the hill top and waited. As the second sun began to set, the pallid bald men around him began to huddle into formations. He sensed they were different, like insects controlled as one. Ordering his unit to advance he began his decent as the Tau fleet came into view. Above them mortar rounds filled the sky, before the landscape erupted in front of them. Witnessing the destruction of the blue man fuelled Deest with a new lust for life. His days of peace and study had passed, but the horrors that he had read about were indeed true. The universe was ugly beyond what he could have imagined. Inquisitor Gob was correct in his goal. The Imperium and any other warmongering race had to be stopped. Raising the huge heavy bolter in his arms Deest pulled the trigger. It's shells tore through the foes before him. Purple mist erupting from the advancing Tau. The allies at his left and right were crippled by the enemy's retaliation. Carbine shots punched through the humans weak armour, bone and flesh. Their short compact commanders fell back towards the front line. Deest contemplated doing the same. His great frame trembled as he ran and his breathing became erratic. Conflict was new and no matter how much he had read about tactics and the horrors of war, it hadn't prepared him for conflict. The Tau sirens for retreat sounded. He witnessed the large suit in front of him go to fall back. It's arms sending a torrent of molten death into his unit. His men threw themselves before him, screaming, blistering and popping. Tears falling down his sinewy cheeks Deest swung his fire arc around, emptying his hvy bolter into the armoured villain. It wasn't until he heard the rasping voice of his Lord that he let go of the trigger. "The battles over Thinker. You proved your worth." Deest looked around at the dead at his feet. Falling to his knees he began to cry and wail into the skies. He wasn't cut out for war, he longed to be back in his library.

Order Extermini vs Tyracorns

I had my first game using Astra Militarum under the banner of the Order Extermini.  It was a bloodbath. Wyverns are excessively strong for 65pts and in a small 500pt game there was not much stopping them.

My Lord Commissar Harris took to the battlefield today.  She was a stocking filler gift for Christmas and a Wargames Exclusive model.  I was impressed with the sculpt and she was a delight to paint.  Once finished she looked a bit ridiculous bare-chested, so I gave her a fishnet body stocking.  Still ridiculous for battle but it looked more fitting.  

In the 500pt game I did also pay for two power fists, making her a very costly unit indeed.  She got to use them though and it made a great end to a brief but brilliant skirmish.

In other news, these beauties are three rhinos that were snagged on ebay for £20.  I'm using the custom turrets for hydras or wyverns in my games.

Some pics of the battle

Lord Commissar Harris

Her face bore the weight of many conflicts. Eyes sunken and skin as pale as the bleached bone beneath her feet, her visage was that of a nightmare. She had witnessed even hardened men wince at the sight of her twisted and scarred flesh. Often they would turn away or fix their gaze upon her hat, rather than the bloodshot stare beneath it. Commissar Harris' time in the trenches had been rough. She had risen quickly through focused determination and a lust for violence. It was here she discovered the Imperium's flaws and how to exploit them. Commissar was a title generally given to the Noble classes, but in combat, duels and eventually banquets she'd earned her title. During the Battle of the Black Reach she had lost both of her arms to an Astartes. A brutal and accidental moment of friendly fire. Her entire force was wiped out, their home World destroyed and erased from all records. Hidden by Inquisitor Gob and given a new title of Lord Commissar Harris escaped death. After six months recovery she took to the battlefield again. The tyranids had been a constant threat in their system. In order to win favour with the Canis Aureus and the Brotherhood of the Star Blessed she had to eradicate some in battle herself. Taking her remaining loyal men, three Wyverns and one of Gob's most accomplished xenos lieutenants, the Commissar took to the war zone. Voxing orders through her built in headset, she ordered her men to hold position in the ruins. Out of the moons dust they came. Shining horrors of the darkness, sparkling in pinks and white. The first artillery bombardment shot wide as the xenos advanced. Turning her attention to the armed termegants Harris ordered her units to fire. Erupting in a sparkling lurid mist they were torn apart. Screaming and thrashing the survivors pressed on. Slowing it's heart rate and focusing its gaze the lone termagant fired at the soft targets before it. Feeling the live ammunition tear from the barrel of it's devourer it felt a brief lurch of satisfaction. As the biomass impacted into her unit, three men fell screaming and writhing in agony. Seeing the incoming Hive Tyrant Sgt. Woo broke into a run. Lurching forward the Commissar grabbed him with both of her powerfists before dragging him into the ground. "Take down that bastard or you'll all eat the dirt maggots!" Blazer ordered, thrusting his custom las rifle towards the charging giant before them. Finding their target the Wyverns obliterated the swarms. The twisted engineseer clucked and chirped with glee blessing the vehicles with his worship. Feeling inspired by his alien ravings the crew of the Zant fired its heavy bolter into a nearby warrior, chipping away at its carapace. Identifying it's weakness the veterans signalled to their leader. Having released a large wave of psychic energy the Tyrant collapsed to the ground letting out a roar of agony. Seizing the opportunity Harris signalled the charge. Bounding on her reinforced legs she propelled herself into the fray. Clutching their already seeping heads, she trust them both into the ground. Cracking under the might of the servo motors their bodies thrashed no longer. "Bury them. You did well today." She said to her remaining men, before climbing into the nearest Wyvern. "We're done here. Move on out!"

The Order Extermini

Due to the recent acquisition of the Imperial Agents codex I have started yet another army.  This has led me to collecting all of my armies under the same cause: The extermination of the Imperium in the uncharted regions of space.  Led by a cabal of traitor inquisitors, they are mustering any faction they can to try and gain power, while struggling against the constant onslaught of Tyranids and Tau.  

Below are some of the models I have started with and their reasons for being in the Order.

Kaltos Gob is an Inquisitor who was put under investigation for harnessing chaotic artefacts, communicating with daemons and the alleged ritual sacrifice of a planet.

Psyker and Jackal Lord, Faustus Bridge agreed to the cabal's terms and offers the support of his Ancient Astartes in return for aid against the Tyranid threat that destroyed their homeworld.  His methods and worship of The Wolf Mother are not only accepted by the Order but held in high esteem and chapels of worship have been built in her name.

Lord Commissar Harris offers her leadership, insight and political connections to aid the Order's mission. Rebuilt after a horrible friendly fire incident during the Battle of the Black Reach, she joined the Order Extermini and remains a devout follower.

The Convent of the Hoof is an experimental offshoot of the Imperium.  Founded in an attempt to harness xenos abilities in order to benefit the Imperium, the Convent was soon "shut down" by higher authority.  Now this handful of xenos assassins carries out the work of the Order assassinating obstacles to the cause across the reaches of space.

The Squats of Corthax.  Surviving their races genocide by tyranids, this 143 million strong fighting force thrived in the deep mines of their planet. They hold a deep resentment of the Imperium, Eldar and Orks who all refused to aid them in the final days.  Now they serve as acolytes, engineers, vehicle crews and in Astra Militarum regiments across the expanse of uncharted space.

 The Beastmen of Santi were originally a peaceful race that knew only their home world.  They were visited by Tau.  Refusing to let go of their ideas and worshipping rites, the Tau soon enslaved the race and wiped any trace of Tzeentch that they could find.  Naturally strong, intelligent and capable, the Beastmen made ideal recruits for the Order, mainly filling in leadership positions within the ranks of the Astra Millitarum. Here they are allowed to continue with their worship and hold on to their ideals.

The Brotherhood of the Star Blessed are a xenos cult. Somewhere in their gene code is an error. Survive and propagate is a greater calling than that of the Hive Mind.  The Patriarch's will is to spread and grow but for it's own benifit, not the hive mind itself.  Understanding "The Great Ones" will, their head Magus Janet has arranged to loan the manpower of the Brotherhood to aid the Order, in return for an expansion agreement for their race.