So in accordance with ancient tradition, I hosted a game on New Year's Day. We've had some really fun ones in the (fifteen or more?) years I've hosted them, but the best ones were those that my late wife Pam helped organize. While I'd plan the game, she would plan a menu appropriate to the setting. Operation Sea Lion? British pub food and the best pork-and-apple pie I've ever tasted. Winter War? Finnish cuisine, but delicious meatballs and such, not disgusting herrings kept in a jar under the stairs for a year. Chicago gangster skirmish? Why deep-dish pizza of course. And there were many more. The meals were always awesome and it was so much fun to have the boys' spouses come by after the game to visit and enjoy the food. Now it's typically pizza, which is great, but working together with Pam on planning the game and food is just another one of the innumerable things I miss.
Anyway... this year I wanted to have a 5th Ed Warhammer 40K game. I've written here before that for me, 5th Ed is the best edition of 40K. We played a lot of it back in the day and the rules come back to mind pretty quickly. Also there's no mind-numbing Command Points, Strategems, or other mind-bending complications apparently lifted from competitive card gaming. Just pretty straightforward miniatures gaming. Yes there's some special rules, and we always forget some in the course of the afternoon, but nothing too taxing on the noggin. Plus it lets me get out the old metal models from my favourite period of 40K history.
I also wanted to inaugurate the Cathedral shown in the picture above... so it made the most sense to have a game where a couple units of Sisters were holding out against an Ork horde while both sides' reinforcements came on from Reserve. The scenario was based on one in the Bolt Action 3rd Ed rulebook that we've played before. It was a pretty big game too - just about 10 points shy of 2,000 points a side.
Half of the Orks came on in the first turn and the rest were in Reserve. Conscripts Mike and Hugh ran the Ork side while Dave and Chris played the Sisters. They chose a squad of Battle Sisters and a Retributor (heavy weapons) squad to start in the Cathedral while the rest would come on later. The Orks sent two Battlewagons (one carrying the Mega-Nobz, Warboss Ugrod Neksnappa and Big Mek Tarik Gutsmirk, and the other with a mob of 15 Boyz), another mob of Boyz, the Stormboyz, and a Deff Dread straight towards the Cathedral. You can see them in the first picture at the top of the post.
The Orks got to deploy their Kommando squad as Infiltrators and Scouts which was fun. They started on the far side of the Cathedral.
Eventually more Sisters arrived, followed by an Ork Deff Dread that appeared uncomfortably close to the Exorcist. Unfortunately for the Orks it was only able to immobilize the vehicle.
A buggy squadron also came on from Reserve on the same short table edge!
Meanwhile the Seraphim dropped in from Deep Strike to take on the Ork Stormboyz.
Back on the south side of the table the Penitent Engines charged the Deff Dread... while we all expected the Dread to be annihilated it actually took out one of the Engines!
The Seraphim were overwhelmed by the Mega-nobz with some help from the Kommandos.
Meanwhile north of the Cathedral things were going little better for the Sisters as a squad was charged and wiped out by a 15-strong mob of Boyz...
On the second-last turn of the game, though, Uriah Jacobus and nine Arco-Flagellants arrived and they were looking to get stuck in...
On the last turn the ideal opportunity presented itself with a mob of 15 'Ard Boyz just on the other side of the Blasted Terrace. The Arcos just needed a decent charge roll to get into close combat.
Back up north the Tankbusta Mob disembarked from their looted Rhino and started blasting away, while the Sisters who'd come in behind them set up a gunline.
You can see the charge roll for difficult terrain at the top of the photo... four inches was enough to get the Arco-Flagellants stuck in.
It wasn't even a contest. With Uriah Jacobus' Banner of Sanctity and the charge the nine Arcos added two more attacks to the four already on their profile... so that's 54 WS5 S4 attacks, plus four more from Uriah himself. Even with 'eavy armour giving them a 4+ save, the 'Ard Boyz were never gonna stand up to that.
Here's some more pictures of the battlefield at the end of the game:
Each side scored one VP for each enemy unit completely destroyed. As always happens in that kind of game there's always a couple units that are just barely hanging on with a couple of models left alive... but those son't count for any VPs. The final score was Orks 5VP, Sisters 3VP.
Although Conscript John visited before the game and Conscript Hugh had to leave near the end, we had a good visit and a fun game. Above (L to R) you can see me, Chris, Dave and Mike.
I love hosting the New Year's Day game and it was unfortunate that some of the guys were sick and couldn't make it. But I have resolved to try and host more games this year so we'll see how that goes.
Happy New Year and all the best in 2026!
Half of the Orks came on in the first turn and the rest were in Reserve. Conscripts Mike and Hugh ran the Ork side while Dave and Chris played the Sisters. They chose a squad of Battle Sisters and a Retributor (heavy weapons) squad to start in the Cathedral while the rest would come on later. The Orks sent two Battlewagons (one carrying the Mega-Nobz, Warboss Ugrod Neksnappa and Big Mek Tarik Gutsmirk, and the other with a mob of 15 Boyz), another mob of Boyz, the Stormboyz, and a Deff Dread straight towards the Cathedral. You can see them in the first picture at the top of the post.
