Horus Heresy Board Game Report: A Traitor Victory

The Horus Heresy Board Game can be played in a variety of modes across six different missions.  This is a report from one of the advanced scenarios entitled "Cry Havoc".  The main difference between the later scenarios and the earlier ones are the extent and power of the event cards and the way in which the game is set-up.  In this scenario, there are multiple game board areas that are inaccessible to both sides.  This means that each player needs to plan out their moves in a bit more chess-like detail in order to navigate through the maze to their desired destinations.

The set-up is similar to previous games otherwise, but it did take a bit of time to get it all done.  As the traitor player, I had Angron and Fulgrim on the planet's surface supported by the rank and file of their respective legions ... ready to pounce.  The Loyalist player had Dorn an the Imperial Fists tucked up in a nicely fortified looking palace.  Meanwhile, the Khan kept to the out-field with his legion. 

As I made a move to attempt to secure one of the space ports in the game, the Khan swept in from nowhere (one of his special abilities) to completely lightning strike Fulgrim's forces out of the way.  In the image, you can see the Khan gloating over his victory with his troops, supported by a loyalist tank company.  To the upper left, you can see some traitors looking quite isolated and weary.  They were the next units to be elimiated by the Khan.  Fulgrim himself even fell to the Khan by two thirds of the way through the game.

However, the "real" battle (if I'm allowed to call it that) was not taking place in the out-field where the Khan was amassing victory after victory over the traitors (poor Fulgrim!)... but rather: it was nearer to the palace walls itself.  Pictured, Angron has secured one of the Space Ports through an overwhelming force of World Eater legionaires, titans, and daemons.  The Blood Angels who were nearby got slaughtered and those that survived limped back to the Imperial Palace, routed.  Sanguinius himself fared little better.  Although some Loyalist marines can be seen surrounding the space port (Imperial Fists top left, White Scars top right), their numbers were far too small to do anything about Angron in full fury.  Indeed, I let Angron assault the palace himself whilst Mortarion and his Death Guard served to back them up and mop up the remaining resistance around him. 

Of course, the Emperor himself was holed up in his fortress / palace all along.  By the time Angron was a few board squares away from tackling the Emperor, a powerful event card was drawn: the loyalist fleets that were in the Warp on transit to holy Terra were lost -- Horus' prayers to the darker powers had paid off!  In game terms, this meant that the Loyalists could no longer "hold out" until their reinforcements arrived.  Help wasn't coming and a drawn game wouldn't mean victory for the Emperor.  Hence, the Emperor took a gamble and teleported on the the Vengeful Spirit -- Horus' battle barge in orbit.

Taking with him several squad of custodians and what remaining troops he could, the Emperor encountered both Magnus the Red and Horus aboard the catacombs of the battle barge.  Still a little bit miffed about the whole Nikea thing, Magnus really took it out of the Loyalist forces.  The Thousand Sons were glorious: accounting for multiple units of custodians and army regiments.  The daemons that they had allied with also helped change things up.  Desipte wounding Horus himself, the Emperor was alreaded greviously wounded himself from Magnus' assault.  Horus then came along to join the party.  A few combats later, and the Emperor was dead.

The shields immediately were raised over the battle barge once more, leaving Angron and Mortarion to mop up the remaining resistance on the planet-side.  The Khan and the Fabricator General escaped, but Dorn and Sanguinius were both gone; their legions shattered.  Horus had won.  An new era beckoned.