A New Hobby and Nice Distraction

Chapter 1

*BOOM*

'Damn it.' Jaune thought as he pulled the hood of his favorite hoodie and jacket closer to his head.

Sighing, Jaune brought up his umbrella and opened it. Yet, as if fate wanted to make his life a living hell, a sudden burst of wind arrived, causing his umbrella to fly out of his hands. Not even bothering to let out his frustration, Jaune simply shoved his fingers into his coat's pockets. Bringing up his hand to his face, Jaune wiped away some of the water that landed on his face. Yet, no sooner than he did, the rain started to come down harder, and combined with the wind chill, he felt the cold seep into his bones. Times like this made Jaune wish his aura could also protect him from the cold. But, he couldn't 100% complain since the bitter sting the freezing temperatures brought helped remind him that he was alive and keep him focused.

Sniffling, Jaune kept his gaze locked on the road ahead. Looking up at the street signs, he saw that he was on the corner of Chalfont Grove and Kilmalcolm Close, meaning he was three miles away from one of his destinations. While Jaune never minded the rain, especially since it brought back some fond memories of him and his sister, Saphron, Jaune knew he had to get to one of them as quickly as possible, less he wanted to get sick. And while he has gotten sick before and typically gets over them in only a couple of days, Jaune did not want to deal with any of the problems that would bring, especially since some of those things would involve his... acquaintances and school work.

Blowing into his hands to warm them, Jaune picked up his pace. Despite the clouds blanketing the town in darkness, Jaune had no problem finding his way since he walked this path so many times. Granted, he did not know if that was a good thing because of the reason why. Shaking his head, Jaune focused on getting there and forgot why he was doing so in the first place.

*Grumble*

'Damn it.' Jaune thought, annoyed and nearly pissed. 'I forgot I didn't have breakfast or lunch. And I didn't bring anything with me.'

Bringing his head up, Jaune looked around for any place that was open so he could grab something to eat. Thankfully, despite the gloomy weather, it was only 1800 on a Friday, meaning most places were still open. Unfortunately, despite being a huntsman-in-training, albeit a crappy one, Jaune knew his budget was extremely tight. While huntsman-in-training do get paid decently and have frequent missions, that only applies to fourth-year students. Since he was a first-year student, Jaune, and the others rarely received missions. And the times they did, most of the lien went to basic necessities such as clothes, tools for their weapons, and other things, which, in the end, left them with very little or nothing at all. Luckily, Jaune has some lien saved up from some side jobs he did before coming to Beacon.

'Hopefully, there is a cheap place nearby.'

Blowing into his hands one last time, Jaune continued forward while keeping a lookout for anything that was within his budget. But for the first few blocks, the options were either way out of his limit, or he simply didn't feel like it at the moment. While Jaune wasn't a picky eater, especially considering how he grew up, he wanted something slightly better than fast food or just random junk. He had enough of that with Beacon's chefs. After about another ten minutes of walking and passing several places that were so expensive that he didn't know how they were still open, Jaune arrived at the newest restaurant in town.

'Rising Apple Farmhouse. Huh? So, there is the new restaurant.' Jaune thought, looking at the new place. While it didn't seem like much from the outside, it looked friendly and cozy on the inside. 'Might as well try it. I heard good things about it, like how the food is decent and the prices are affordable even to huntsmen-in-training. Hopefully, that part is true. And even if it isn't, I'll grab the cheapest thing they have.'

Blowing into his hands, Jaune was about to cross the street to get to the restaurant but stopped dead in his tracks by what he saw. Well, more specifically, what TEAM had entered the restaurant.

It was Team CFVY.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Jaune watched them get seated almost instantly. While he couldn't hear them, Jaune could tell they were laughing, having a great time, and enjoying spending time with each other. Fox was silently chuckling while Yatsuhashi was struggling to keep his composure. Coco was smirking as she looked at a mortified Velvet, who was trying her best to turn invisible from embarrassment. Yet, only a moment later, Velvet smiled before laughing along with her team. But then, to Yatushashi's and Fox's surprise, she turned the tables on her leader. Velvet said something that caused Coco to blush redder than a tomato. Coco even used her beret to hide her from everyone. It was a sight that everyone would find endearing.

But not for Jaune. While it was endearing, he found the scene heartwrenching. He found it pulling at his heartstrings. It was heartwarming and made him wish he could be in the same spot with his... teammates. But after what happened earlier, Jaune doubted it would ever happen. And if he were being honest with himself, he doubted they could remain a team for much longer. While Jaune didn't want that to happen, he knew that if none of them did anything, Team Jnpr would be no more.

"But not now. Another time. Hopefully, everything works out." Jaune said as he turned around so he wouldn't get spotted. "But right now, let me get something to eat before heading to my spot."

Blowing into his hands again, Jaune walked away from the restaurant. Forcing the memories away, he walked toward another place he saw not too long ago that he wanted to try.

Fifteen Minutes Later

"Here's your order, sir." The waitress said as she gave Jaune his meal, which consisted of a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup and grape soda on the side.

"Thank you." Jaune said, smiling. Nodding, the waitress left Jaune alone.

Looking down at his food, Jaune let all the fond memories it brought return to him. While most would see it as a simple, light meal, it meant a lot more to Jaune. It was one of the meals he had always looked forward to with his sister, Saphron, whenever they had the ingredients or had scraped together enough money to buy what they needed. All the other times, they ate whatever their parents 'graciously' filled the pantry and fridge with, which was never much.

Typically, this would set off numerous alarms for many people. And Jaune couldn't blame them since if he were in anyone else's position, he would be seeing numerous red flags. It wasn't that his parents were abusive or anything like that. It was just that they weren't the... most attentive people he knew. They were more concerned with what they wanted, which typically included partying like there was no tomorrow or simply exploring Remnant while it still stood. But that did not mean they never cared for their children. They did. It was just that he and Saphron were on the lower end of favoritism, meaning they were rarely ever given any attention.

*SIGH* 'What a life we had. Some might say we raised each other since it was practically just us most of the time. I'm glad Saphron now has her own life.' Jaune thought as he munched the sandwich after dipping it into the tomato soup.

Yet, no sooner than he thought that, Jaune remembered that another of his seven sisters also had their own life now. Moreover, she is a registered counselor in Vale. And honestly, after everything that has happened in the past three weeks, Jaune felt like he needed someone like that to talk to. However, they rarely could hold a conversation for longer than a few moments. Initially, Jaune thought the reason was that his sister was busy with work or her life. But, now, he wasn't sure.

'Might as well try and call Esmerelda. Perhaps this time will be different.'

Swallowing another bite of his food, Jaune took out his scroll and looked through the contacts for a few seconds before finding the right one. But Jaune hesitated for a moment, wondering if he was wasting his time. After a second, he decided to go through with it and contact his sister since the most he would end up losing was a few seconds. The scroll rang for a few seconds before it was finally picked up.

'Hello?'

"Hello, Esmerelda. It's me, Jaune."

'Oh, hey, Jaune. How are you?'

"Not so well. Listen. My team/friends had a pretty bad falling out. And I really mean it when I say it was pretty bad. I need some advice on how to fix it or take the first steps to fixing it. I don't want to lose them."

'Oh, that's too bad. Remember, every story has two sides.'

"Well, yes. Of course. There's always-"

'And that to give her some space. Or him if that's the case.'

"Well, I am giving them-"

'Don't forget it's not always about you.'

"Obviously. I-"

'Avoid saying always and never.'

"I mean... depending on the context, yeah. But that's-"

'When people tell you who they are, believe them.'

"Wait. What? Esmerelda. Are you even listening?"

'It's okay to let yourself off the hook. Learn a means of relaxation. Okay. I hope that helped. Listen, I got to go. Bye.'

*Click*

"Knew it." Jaune sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. 'Why did I even bother?'

"Is everything alright, sir?" The waitress asked.

"Yes. Everything is alright."

"Would you like anything else, sir?" Looking over his food and his scroll, Jaune thought for a moment before sighing.

'Fuck it. I need some comfort from everything that's been happening.' Jaune thought. "Yes. I'll have some Vacuo Poutine. But can you replace the pickled jalapenos with pickled habaneros?"

"Sure. I'll have that out in a few moments. And would you like a refill for your drink? Or would you like a different one?"

"Yes. Can I get a Roy Rodgers as well?"

"Of course. I'll be back." The waitress said before leaving.

'Today was a hell of a day. Thankfully, it is Friday. That means I have some time to cool down and think of a way to fix everything.' Jaune thought as he drank the last of his soda. But a stray thought soon entered his mind that he wasn't expecting. Yet, it didn't sound too bad. 'Or... maybe I could just leave. I doubt much would change, especially since I know Ozpin has been looking at me with a critical eye. I'm pretty sure it's only a matter of time before he kicks me out.'

Figuring it would be better to think about when he had a clear mind, Jaune pushed those thoughts to the side. Grabbing his scroll, he decided to play a quick game as he waited for his food to arrive.

Twenty Minutes Later

'Alright. The food was good, and the price was decent. I should come back here next time. If there is a next time, that is.' Jaune thought as he paid for his food.

Putting on his sweater and coat, Jaune zipped them up before bracing himself for the cold weather outside. Bracing himself, Jaune exited the restaurant and resumed his journey to his original destination. Thankfully, it wasn't too far away, and the rain and wind had lightened up slightly.

'I wish I had my headphones so I could at least listen to some music.'

Shaking his head, Jaune decided to focus on the lights of the city nightlife to pass the time. Even though he had been here during nights before when everything was... better, it was still a sight to behold. There was a reason why a lot of people came to Vale. It was beautiful and full of life. And while he was in the red-light district, which sent Jaune blushing, it was still amazing. Granted, he did have to speed up his pace when some... adult pleasers tried to 'persuade' him into coming into their establishment. While embarrassing, it did help keep what happened today out of his mind. However, it came rushing back when Jaune turned and saw the place where he had taken her for their first date.

'The Warden Theater. I want to say I can't believe that she did that. But, honestly, after everything that had happened, I'm not surprised at all.'

Sighing, Jaune held back a few tears as he left the place where he had taken Lapis for their first date a month and a half ago. He honestly never thought he would ever get into a relationship, considering his luck. Yet, to his surprise, he asked out Lapis, and she instantly agreed, which caught Jaune off guard. They went to The Warden Theater for their first date and saw a movie called Happy Death Day. And from there, everything went uphill.

Unfortunately, after the fifth date, it all fell apart. Jaune had not only caught her cheating but actively flirting with others. Initially, he did not want to believe it. Jaune just assumed it was a horrible dream and went about his day as if it had never happened. But the worst was last week when they had recently come back from their seventh date. Jaune assumed that after dropping Lapis off at her dorm, he would return to his. Yet, Lapis stopped him before he could do so. Jaune wondered what she wanted. But then, to his shock, she made a spectacle of breaking up with him. It was so bad that others had to intervene and stop her. Even Team CRDL stepped in, with Cardin checking in on him afterward. But despite what Jaune told Cardin, he felt just nothing at the point with everything else that had happened.

"I really need to get my mind off all this. Perhaps I can watch a movie once I get there. And maybe play a game afterward."

Sighing, Jaune pushed all those thoughts back and focused on getting to his destination. Luckily, he was pretty close already. Another ten-minute walk, and he would be there. Hopefully, there was nothing else that would slow him down since the rain and wind started to pick up again. While he could get a cab/taxi, he just didn't feel like it. Plus, the time it would take to get there by walking would at least give him a slim chance to clear his mind or find a way to repair his relationship with his team. Jaune wasn't lying when he told his sister he wanted to fix it. He just didn't know where.

"Perhaps I could get them gifts? No. That wouldn't work. Take them somewhere? No. That wouldn't work, either. We need to be at least on speaking terms for that to be an option."

Racking his head, Jaune tried to come up with some way to repair his relationship with his team and friends. Yet, they all failed because of one reason or another. Some would work if they were on speaking terms. While others could work, Jaune felt like they were cheap and half-assed. And despite not being on good terms with his friends and teammates, Jaune knew they deserved something a lot more than some random attempt he pulled out of his ass. Then, there was the option of asking others for help. But he couldn't ask Team Rwby for help since it already involved them, and they weren't on speaking terms either. While he could ask someone he knew, like Velvet, Jaune didn't want to bring her into this mess. Plus, her girlfriend and team leader, Coco, scares him shitless.

"Hopefully, I can come up with something soon. If not, then perhaps I can sign us up for team counseling sessions. I remember hearing some fourth-year students saying they were pretty good."

Figuring that was the best course of action he had at that point, Jaune sighed and focused back on the road since he was so close. And he might be able to think of something better when he had a clear mind. Crossing the street, Jaune continued along his path, wondering what he could do over the weekend. Thankfully, he didn't have any assignments to do. However, after crossing, a pleasant sound and the light humming of lights needing to be replaced caught his attention. Looking up, Jaune was surprised by what he saw.

"Mini Munchie Mania? What kind of store is this?" Jaune asked, confused. Figuring he had nothing to lose... again, Jaune decided to enter the store and see what it was all about. Grabbing the handle, Jaune opened the door and stepped inside, where nice, soothing music greeted his ears.

The sun gets down, we can bring a new day

The sun gets down, and you want me to stay

The sun gets down, we can bring a new day

The sun gets down

Looking around the store, the first thing Jaune noticed was how big it was. It was far bigger than he expected. There were rows upon rows of miniatures, books, and box sets lining the walls. Some seemed to be of people wearing some type of power armor, while others seemed to be weird creatures roaring. There were tables all over the place where people sat, played games with others, read some books, or seemed to be constructing some of the bigger miniatures. However, what caught Jaune's attention the most were some of the tables toward the back. Rather than just being sturdy wooden tables, they were metal and had several screens on them with various buttons and sliders beside them. There were metal walls on the sides as if to prevent anything from rolling off.

"Excuse me, kid. Can I help you?" A voice asked. Turning to it, Jaune saw that it came from a male who appeared to be in his fifties standing behind a counter. He had black comb-over hair, green eyes, and a goatee. He wore a red blazer with a long-sleeved black shirt underneath that had an image of wolves on it. And from what Jaune could see, the man also wore black trousers with scarlet piping.

"Oh. Sorry. I was just wandering around town and saw this place. And I decided to see what it was about since I never saw it before." Jaune explained.

"It's alright, kid. Need any help, though?"

"N- I mean, yes. What do you sell?"

"I sell just about everything you can imagine, from miniatures to books and everything in between. From the Chapter Approved - The Book of the Astronomican all the way to the most recent Codex Entry."

"Uh, Codex Entry?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Right. All this falls under the Warhammer 40k series."

"Warhammer 40k? What's that about?"

"Warhammer is a series set in the distant future, where a stagnant human civilization is beset by hostile aliens and supernatural creatures. But that's the lore part. It is also a tabletop wargame played with miniatures."

"Oh, that's neat."

"I can tell you're a little confused about the whole thing." The man said, chuckling.

"A little."

"Don't worry. The series had gotten so big that it's now overwhelming for many. Just take a look around and see what you like. After all, you don't need to know everything about something to enjoy it."

"True. Thanks... Uh..."

"The name is Carmine Solis. What's yours?"

"Jaune Arc."

"Well, Jaune, have fun. Just be careful since some things are a little fragile." Carmine said before going back to whatever he was working on.

Nodding, Jaune began to look around the store. First, he started with the various books. Some seemed cool, like the ones with people in armor firing some weapons or fighting with others. But others seemed like it was ripped straight out of a fantasy game, like the skeleton machines that had a green glow emanating from them. Yet, the ones that caught his eye the most were the books that had a soldier wearing a gas mask standing in front of an explosion on the cover. They reminded him of those warfare movies he saw a while back.

'They all look cool. Granted, I have no idea what or who any of them are.' Jaune thought, smiling.

Turning around, Jaune went to another section and was amazed at all the art items there were. There were so many different colours and types of paints for different purposes that he didn't know existed. Although some of them seemed so similar that Jaune wondered if the company behind it was trying to sell the same paint colour but under different names like Praxeti White and White Scar. However, it was one thing that caused Jaune to wince.

'The price for that paint is ridiculous, especially for the amount. Maybe for the professionals, it might seem worth it, but I doubt it for anyone else. I should probably look somewhere else for cheaper paints if I ever decide to do this.' Jaune thought as he left the art section and headed to where the miniatures were.

Looking them over, Jaune couldn't help but be amazed by them. Some of them were so detailed despite their size and being made out of plastic. A couple of them were pretty small, which was understandable considering they were 'people.' However, others were surprisingly big, like a massive tank that had about eight turrets aside from its primary one. Yet, the main one looked like it could melt anything it hit. But, as with the paints, some of the prices were expensive. Yet, unlike the paints, Jaune felt the prices were more appropriate here, especially for the bigger ones.

'If only I had the lien, I would buy some of these figures. Granted, I would have to keep them in my spare apartment and not the dorm since they seem somewhat fragile.' Turning to his left, Jaune was about to move to the next section of the store but stopped dead in his tracks, shocked by what he saw. 'Woah.'

What he saw was about a two-foot-tall figure. It was a machine with lots of heavy outer armor plating. It had something like a crusader helmet on its head. Its arms were three blue tubes that seemed to fuel a very powerful attack. But that was just the arms. Going around it, Jaune saw several other weapons on it, each one looking like it could wipe out an army with a single attack from any of them. There were also some pieces that looked like some kind of generator, possibly to power the machine itself, its weapons, or something else. It looked menacing and ready to take on the worst the universe could throw at it. But in the back of his mind, Jaune knew that if it were real and were attacking, Remnant would become a dusty apple from a single attack.

"Still. Damn. This looks amazing." Jaune said, moving to stand in front of it.

"Well, it ought to be, considering it nearly took me a year to print, build, and paint the damn thing." A voice said before chuckling.

Turning to where it came from, Jaune noticed it came from someone who was sitting at one of the futuristic-looking tables. He had dirty blonde messy hair and gray eyes. He had fair skin, a slender build, and was rather tall despite being roughly around Jaune's age. He wore a black, sleeveless puffer vest with a black tank top underneath and black pants. Lastly, on his head was a grey bandana.

"Wait. You build this thing?"

"Yup. It was a pain in the ass to make, but it was worth it. Especially since I get to see people's shocked faces when they lay their eyes on it."

"I can imagine how difficult it was to make. But how about painting it? And how much did it cost?"

"Painting was slightly easier since I mostly used spray paint, except for the tiny parts or finer details. As for the price, let's just say I would rather not think about it. But honestly, if you ask me, price never matters when it comes to something you really love. If you really want it, work and save up lien for it so you can do it. Just try not to screw yourself over so you have enough to live and pay your bills."

"True. But expenses come first, especially when your only current source of income isn't that much."

"Yeah. Unfortunately, with all these rising prices, it's hard for people to enjoy their hobbies without bankrupting themselves, especially since their wages didn't increase either. But it's harder when some hobbies are so damn expensive." The guy said, chuckling while shaking his head. "Anyway. The name's Grayson Carlyle. But you can just call me Gray. What's your name?"

"Jaune. Jaune Arc."

"Well, Jaune. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Jaune said as they shook hands.

"So, what brings you here, Jaune?"

"I was just passing by when I saw this place and decided to check it out."

"So, what do you think of the place so far?"

"It's interesting... and expensive."

"Yeah. Some things here are expensive, even with discounts. But are you thinking about getting into Warhammer?"

"Probably. Again, it seems interesting. But I wouldn't know where to start since it seems massive."

"It is massive. It has been going on for nearly three years at this point. And there's a lot of lore, with a lot of retcons. So, just try not to overwhelm yourself with it or try to understand all of it at once."

"Do you know a good spot where to begin with the lore?" Jaune asked, curious.

"That would depend on what exactly you want to start with and your preferences. A basic primer that comes very highly recommended is Dan Abnett's Brothers of the Snake. But if you want giant robots, then his other tale, Titanicus, also comes highly recommended. Yet, if you are into horror, then I would suggest Fire Caste or Accursed Eternity. They are pretty good horror books."

"What about just regular people, since those seem to be a bit... much for me now."

"Brothers of the Snake is an excellent place for beginners, so you shouldn't have any trouble understanding it. But if you want a story about regular people, then I would suggest Cadian Blood, which is part of the Honour Imperialis anthology. It's about regular human soldiers of the Imperial Guard and the various horrors they fight against."

"Then I might get those two books once I save up enough lien."

"Well, that's if you want to really get into the lore. But you don't need to know everything to enjoy a series. There's a group called The Angels of Fire, which I hardly know anything about. And I have no interest in reading anything about them. But that single group doesn't stop me from enjoying the series, especially the miniatures or the games."

"Makes sense. But speaking of games, do they have any games?" Jaune asked.

"Games, as in video games, Warhammer has quite a few, with some being far better than others. I believe the most recent one was Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. However, it is more well known for its tabletop game."

"How many types are there?"

"Technically, there is only one type. But there are different versions of it."

"Like?"

"There is the narrative version, which consists of crusade and legendary battles. There is matched play, which is the tournament style of playing that consists of a specific point list. And depending on how you look at it, there are specialist games like Kill Team. There is also a Horus Heresy version of it that is pretty popular. There's also Open Play. But an important thing to keep in mind is that there are different editions of the game. By edition, it just means an updated version of the game."

"So, what version is the game up to?"

"Well, the 10th edition just dropped a couple of months ago. That's the current we are on. Granted, some things still need to be carried over from 9th edition to this edition." Grayson said. "Care to try a game?"

"Sure. I always like something new. But... I don't know anything about it, remember?"

"Don't worry about that. The game isn't terribly difficult to learn, but it can be hard to master." Grayson answered as he motioned for Jaune to take a seat across from him, which he did. "Have you ever played DND?"

"A few times. Is it kind of like that?"

"Nope. Not in the slightest."

"Then why did you compare it to that?" Jaune asked, confused.

"There are two things that DND can help you with this."

"What are they?"

"One is being familiar with rolling dice and being accustomed to rolling for almost everything. In Warhammer, you pretty much have to roll for everything."

"Fair point. What's the other thing?"

"Having to keep track of so many things. You know how you have to keep track of your health, your spells, your weapon's stats, your inventory, etc. Here, you have to keep track of a lot of things. So, being used to it helps a lot."

"Alright."

"So, what do you say? Care to try a game?"

"Sure. But... uh... you're going to need to show me step-by-step how everything works and goes."

"Of course. I'll show you how the game works. And don't be afraid to ask any questions you have, even if you already asked it." Grayson said, smiling. He then flipped a few switches on his side, which turned on the table.

"So, where should we start?"

"Well, first. We need to set up our armies. I have a preset of mine that I use whenever I'm helping others get used to the game. So, we just need to make up your army."

"How do I do that?" Jaune asked as Grayson moved to sit next to him.

"When making your list, press this button here." Grayson said as he pressed a red button with the image of a sword and shield on it. The screen in the center flickered on with a list appearing on it. "After you press it, the computer will bring up the list of all available factions in 10th edition. Now, take your pick."

"Uh..." Jaune said as he looked over the list. While some sounded cool, he didn't know any of them.

"Need some help?" Grayson asked, chuckling.

"Yes, please."

"Alright. While a few armies are a little complicated, the rest are somewhat easy to play outside of their unique playstyle. But the one I would recommend is the Space Marines. They don't have anything too complicated, and even at their worst, they can still perform somewhat decently. They are definitely the most beginner-friendly."

"Alright. I will choose them."

"Okay." Grayson said as he showed Jaune how to select the Space Marines, which opened up all available units of the Space Marines.

"Woah. That's a lot of options." Jaune said, surprised at the list.

"Not really." Grayson said, laughing. "Honestly, the Space Marines have fewer options than most other factions. But if you are talking about serious play, then that's a whole different story."

"Alright. But can you tell me what Battleline, characters, and Epic heroes are?"

"Sure. But first, I have to tell you what type of game we are playing."

"Alright."

"We're playing a modified version of the Matched Play, as that's the best way to teach newer players. Crusade is another option, but that is essentially a campaign that typically includes at least several battles."

"Okay. So, how is it?"

"First thing's first. Warhammer is a game of points. This means that you could defeat your opponent's entire army and still lose. The Objective is to outscore your opponent by the end. And depending on the mission, the way you score points can differ. The one we will be using is Take and Hold. Here, you must control an objective to score points. It's basically King of the Hill, except there are multiple control points."

"Alright. Wait. Can't I eliminate my opponent's army and then capture more points to win?"

"Nope. There are five rounds in the game. And the game ends when the player who goes second finishes their fifth turn or when someone loses their entire army. So, if that does happen, the game immediately ends."

"That makes sense."

"Now, for the options in the army. For the Space Marines, there are nine categories. However, only one is mandatory to take. And you can choose between Epic Hero and Character. But for this Battle, you can choose only from the Character section. The reason is that everyone's army needs a Warlord. And only one Character unit or Epic Hero can be a Warlord."

"Is there any purpose to having one?" Jaune asked, curious. "Like, mechanical purpose?"

"Outside of a few things, which I will explain when or if they come up, not really. Honestly, outside of those few things, it is mostly for flavor. It's like having a leader for your army."

"Okay."

"Another thing to note is Allied Units and Fortifications. While you can take them, I would not recommend Allied Units just yet since they can cause a bit of confusion. And think of Fortifications as support bases. You can take them if you want, but some still have their stats to be brought to 10th edition."

"Alright. Yeah, I don't want to complicate things, so I won't take any Allied Units. But I probably might take a Fortification if it has its stats."

"Next are Vehicles. This category is basically anything that is a machine. It contains robots, aircraft, turrets, etc. These typically contain your heavy hitters. But don't confuse it with Dedicated Transported, which serves to get your Infantry, Battleline, and Characters to a different location faster."

"But what about Mounted? Is that like people on horses or in vehicles?"

"Yes and no. Well, more yes than no. Mounted is a relatively new keyword for bikes and cavalry. They are not Vehicles, but they are also not Infantry. It is kind of like a middle ground between Infantry and Vehicles. They are not as durable or as hard-hitting as some vehicles, but they are faster than Infantry and can sometimes use special weapons or hold special abilities. There is another thing, but I will get to that in a moment."

"Yeah, that makes sense. You need something faster than people on foot but not as bulky as bigger vehicles."

"That's one way to look at it. Next is Infantry. And depending on your faction and playstyle, Infantry typically makes up the bulk of your army. Think of an average military you might see in a video game or a movie. They have scouts, snipers, people who use heavy weapons, etc. You can find them under this category."

"Okay. But what separates them from Battleline? Are they like some special units?"

"That is a whole can of worms that I don't want to get into now since it involves previous editions. In this edition, Battleline units are supposed to be the most proficient units at taking and holding objectives, which is how you score points. However, to score points using this type of mission, all you need to do is have one of your units be on the Objective. And it can be any unit. Well, any unit, as long as they have an OC of one or more. But I will get to that bit in a moment."

"So, kind of like a search and destroy in the game Battle on the Field. Anyone can heal others, but to revive someone, you need to be a certain class."

"Kind of. But you're getting the idea. On paper, Battleline units are supposed to be the best at taking objectives. But in practice, they kind of failed at that. But this is just for the Space Marines and some other factions. There are some that benefit from having Battleline units, but for different reasons."

"What about contesting an object?"

"Okay. I was saving that for later, but I will tell you now. Depending on the unit chosen, it will determine how many models are in that unit. However, each model shares the same stat line if you didn't change it by giving it a different weapon or giving it an additional ability. On each model's stat sheet, there is something called an OC followed by a number. OC stands for Objective Control. So, if you have ten models in a unit with an OC of 2, that would mean it would have an Objective Control score of twenty. However, if an enemy's unit is also on the Objective but has a total Objective Control of thirty, they would control the Objective. But if you eliminate their models so their score becomes lower than yours, then you gain control of the Objective. Just keep in mind that this only occurs when your unit and an enemy's unit are on the same Objective."

"Oh, so basically, the more OC your unit has, the better of a chance you have of controlling that objective if your opponent also has a unit on that same objective."

"Pretty much. But that only comes into play if both plays have units on that Objective."

"Okay. Is there anything else I need to know about Batteline?" Jaune asked as he tried to remember everything.

"About the Battleline category, no. However, all units have special abilities. And I will explain them when you choose them. There are also some other stats that I will go over with you in a moment."

"Alright. And Characters?"

"Characters and Epic Characters are typically single model units. There are some exceptions, though. They mainly serve to give buffs to a unit they are leading. And the units are typically Battleline or Infantry Units. But that can differ with some of the other factions. Each Character or Epic Hero can only lead specific units. However, there are some that cannot lead units. The reasons for that differ, especially from faction to faction. Some Characters/Epic Heroes want to be alone. Others have an ability that benefits units that typically cannot be led. Again, there are exceptions."

"Man. This is a lot to take in." Jaune said.

"It is. But just do your best, and don't be afraid to ask questions." Grayson said. "Now. Are you ready to assemble the army?"

"I think so."

"Don't worry, you'll get it eventually. Just pick what you want. But keep in mind that each unit has a cost, which is displayed next to their name. And this game will have a one thousand-point limit for the army. Don't worry about keeping track, as it will do it for you."

"How high can the total point limit be?"

"I'm not entirely sure. The most I have seen for a regular game was 8000 points."

"Wow."

"Yeah. So, go ahead and start making your selections. Also, for most units, there are options to change the loadout of their weapons. Ignore it for the moment. After you are done, we will go over that, as it will also lead us to the other stats for the units. And if you want to see the abilities of each unit, just tap on their names. Then, if you have any questions about them, just ask me."

"Alright." Jaune said, still unsure of everything.

Looking over the list, Jaune feels his anxiety rise. There were just so many options in the Character section alone. Even though Grayson explained most of what each category was, it still left him with so many questions. While clicking each unit did give Jaune a detailed outline of what they can do and their stats, half the things there made no sense to him. Some abilities and 'keywords' definitions were pretty straightforward, while others seemed like they revolved around a mechanic that Grayson hadn't covered yet. And that wasn't even including the different weapons or what unit a Character can lead.

'Oum, this is a lot.' Jaune thought as he struggled to select anything. But then he remembered something he did when he played an RPG game long ago. While he didn't know what the troops specialized in, he tried to create a balanced army that covered every aspect it might need. And even though it didn't work in the end, and he got his ass kicked multiple times when going against others, it helped Jaune learn what each unit did. 'Maybe I could do that here. But it will mostly be based on their names.'

Looking over the list, Jaune decided to select a few units from each category or until he ran out of points. First, he decided to get a Character for his army. Searching through the options, Jaune settled on getting the Captain and selecting him as the Warlord. After all, who better than someone with the rank of Captain? But Jaune chose the one in Terminator Armor since not only did it sound cool, but he figured the armor would protect it more.

Moving on to the Battleline section, Jaune figured it would be best if he had two units from that category. After looking at each of their abilities and getting somewhat confused again, Jaune figured he would take the Tactical Squad and the Intercessor Squad. He figured he could split the Tactical Squad so he would have more units to send to each Objective. And the Intercessor Squad would allow him to keep control of the Objective if Grayson manages to eliminate his units from range.

'Okay. That's 340 points already. I don't think I will have enough to select from everything.' Jaune thought.

Closing the Battleline section, Jaune moved on to the Infantry section. But after going through the list, he could hardly make heads or tails of only a couple of them. Some had restrictions, like the Company Heroes Unit, or needed a specific Character to work like the Astartes Servitors. And that did not even include some of the abilities others had, which only confused him more. After a couple of more minutes of looking through the list, Jaune settled on choosing the Terminator Assault Squad, Suppressor Squad, Eliminator Squad, and Aggressor Squad. While the Battleline units seemed to be the ones that were supposed to lead the charge, Jaune figured having two other units that seemed to focus on dealing damage would greatly help. And while they led the charge, he could give them covering fire with the Suppressor Squad and Eliminator Squad as they seemed to be snipers of some kind.

'Okay. That's 805 points. I still have 195 points remaining. I don't think I will choose any Fortifications or Mounted units since Vehicles look expensive, and I need to pick one since Grayson said they are mostly heavy hitters.' Jaune thought as he looked over his list so far. But once he did, he realized he had forgotten the most crucial thing that every army needed. "Grayson."

"Yes?" Grayson asked.

"Is there like a medic option that I could select?"

"For the Space Marines, yes. I believe every faction has access to some type of healer, with some being separate units or part of the unit. But they all fall under different names. For the Space Marines, it is the Apothecary. When attached to a unit, during the start of your turn, you can bring back one destroyed model from that unit. But it only goes off during the start of your turn, and you must have a model that was destroyed. And it does not restore health points. So, if a unit has three hit points but lost one, nothing happens."

"Well, better something than nothing." Jaune said as he added the Apothecary to his army.

"True."

Closing the list, Jaune moved to the Vehicle section. But he immediately saw that he couldn't select most of them since they cost more than his remaining 145 points. Eventually, with his now limited options, he settled on what was called a Dreadnought, which sounded cool.

"Done?" Grayson asked.

"I think so. But I still have ten points remaining. Is there anything that costs ten points?"

"Nope. But you don't have to make your army 1000 points exactly. I remember one time I played against someone whose army only went up to 800 points. And with Crusade style of play, not reaching the limit is good as there are ways to increase the limit."

"Okay. So, now what?" Jaune asked, curious.

"Now, we go over your army and select your loadouts."

"Do they cost points to change?"

"In older editions, yes. This time, no."

"Okay."

"Let's start with your Characters. First off, and I should have mentioned this, but Characters and Epic Heroes have access to what is called Enhancements. For a small cost of points, they can gain a buff that would help them in the game. But it is optional."

"Can my Characters gain an enhancement?"

"Yes, but considering you only have ten points remaining, only your Captain can gain the Rites of War Enhancement. And that only improves his OC by one, and the option to improve the OC of his unit by one for a single round."

"Do I have to take Enhancements?"

"Nope. They are optional."

"I think I will take it."

"Alright." Grayson said as he gave the Captain in Terminator Armor the Rites of War enhancement. "Alright, back to your Apothecary. He does not have any options for loadouts, and you reached the point limit for your army, so you can't give him an Enhancement. But your Captain in Terminator Armor does. And I see you made him your Warlord."

"Yup. A Captain is usually a leader, so I made him the Warlord."

"That makes sense, but you don't have to restrict yourself to that. Any Character or Epic Hero can be your Warlord, including your Apothecary." Grayson said as he pulled up the Datasheet of the Captain's weapons. "Alright. Now, let's go over how weapons work in Warhammer."

"Okay."

"Ignoring Keywords as I will go over them in a moment, there are six stats every weapon has. The first two are their range and how many attacks you can make in a single turn with that weapon. That is pretty much self-explanatory, right?"

"Yeah, you have to be in range to shoot something, and the number of attacks also makes sense."

"The next one is Ballistic and Weapon Skills. Ballistic is for ranged attacks, while Weapon Skills are for melee. But to keep it simple, you never have to remember that since the datasheets will tell you if the weapon you're looking at is melee or ranged."

"So, what does it do?" Jaune asked.

"Basically, the number that appears underneath it is the number you must roll on the die in for your attack to hit. For the Combi-Weapon, it has a Ballistic Skill of 3+. That means a three or higher on the die will mean that your attack hits."

"Oh, I get it. It's basically like the roll to hit in DND."

"Pretty much. But like in DND, there are modifiers that can make it harder or easier to hit your enemy. And I'll explain each one whenever they come up."

"Alright."

"Next comes the Strength of a weapon. In Warhammer, even though you hit an enemy, that does not mean you damaged it. First, you would need to compare the Toughness of a unit to the Strength of a Weapon to determine what you need to Wound/damage the enemy unit."

"How do you determine the wound?" Jaune asked.

"Well, it is to wound. And it is rather simple. When you compare the Strength and Toughness, you see how far apart they are. If they are the same, you have to roll a four for the attack to wound. If the Strength is less, then it is a five. But if it is below half of the Toughness of a unit, then it Wounds on a six. And the opposite would also apply. If your weapon's Strength is greater than the Toughness, then it Wounds on a three. But if it is twice the Toughness, then it Wounds on a two."

"The greater a Weapon's Strength score, the easier it is to wound an enemy unit. And the lower, the harder."

"That's right. For example." Grayson said as he brought up the Apothecary's Datasheet. "Your Apothecary has a Toughness of Four. And the Combi-Weapon has a Strength of Four as well. That means..."

"It will Wound on a four?" Jaune hesitantly answered.

"Yes. That is correct. It would Wound on a four. Granted, this is without any other effects or modifiers coming into play."

"That seems simple and straightforward. I would just have to keep the stats open or remember them."

"Well, you can just always pull them up. You don't have to remember it."

"Okay. After determining the Wound Roll, then the damage goes through?"

"Not yet. After a successful Wound Roll, the enemy unit has to do what is called an Armor Save." Grayson answered as he pulled up the Apothecary's Datasheet again. "Okay. On every model's Datasheet, there is a section called SV. SV stands for Save. You roll this every time an attack passes the Wound Roll. The Apothecary has a Save of 3+. This means that you roll one D6, and if you land on a two or higher, your Apothecary does not take any damage."

"Can anything change it?"

"Yes. Most weapons have a stat that is called AP, which stands for Armor Penetration. Essentially, this stat will increase the difficulty for an enemy unit to pass their Armor Save. Let's say a weapon has an Armor Penetration of zero. That would mean the Apothecary's save is still a 3+. But if a weapon has an Armor Penetration of -2, then the Armor Save would become a 5+. And that is just looking at the Armor Penetration of a weapon without adding anything else. Then, finally, if it fails the Armor Save, the unit takes the Weapons' Damage, which is located under the letter D."

"It sure is. But after a few battles, it will come naturally and be rather quick."

"And I take it that W on the Apothecary's datasheet is how much health it has."

"That is correct. The T stands for Toughness. SV is for Saving Throw. W is for Wounds or Health, depending on how you see it. M stands for Movement. Each model can move up to that much on the battlefield. But it does not have to use all of it. And OC is Objective Control."

"What about LD?" Jaune asked, curious.

"That stands for Leadership. It is what you need to pass when you need to take a leadership test. There are several reasons why you might need to make one. But the most common one is a Battle Shock test. This can again be caused by a variety of reasons. But the main one is when your Unit is below half-strength. A unit becomes below half-strength when its Wounds are below half or when a unit with multiple models now has only half of them. To perform the test, you roll 2d6. Then, you see the LD value of that unit/character. If you roll equal or above it, then nothing happens. But if you roll below, then that Unit becomes Battle-Shocked."

"What does it mean?"

"When a Unit is Battle-Shocked, they cannot capture objectives; they cannot benefit from something called Strategems, which I will explain when we start, and must make a Desperate Escape if they decide to fall back."

"Oh, so they become too shocked to do anything."

"Something like that." Grayson answered. "Now that you have a vague idea of what each stat means. Let's fill out the rest of your squad's weapons."

"Does changing their loadout make them more expensive?"

"Yes and no. Changing a weapon does not affect the cost, but you can change something about that unit that does make it more expensive. One example is increasing the size of a unit. Some come with five models by standard, but you can increase it to ten. But that also increases the cost of having them as part of your army."

"That makes sense."

"Do you want help with selecting them, or do you want to try on your own?"

"Let me try myself."

Looking over his list, Jaune started with his Battleline Units. But he immediately wanted to try another unit when he saw how many weapon options they had. And even though Grayson explained it in an easy way to understand, jaune struggled to remember all of it. Plus, most of the weapons had keywords he was not familiar with. While the explanations at the bottom did help, they did not tell him everything he needed/wanted to know.

'I need to stop overthinking this. Grayson did say not to try and understand everything all at once. I should just do my best and choose what looks the best and seems cool. Once I get more familiar with this, then I will try and give them the best options.' Jaune thought.

Looking back at the Intercessor Squad, Jaune noticed that the sergeant could equip either two melees or a ranged weapon and a melee. Seeing that it would be essential to have both, Jaune looked over the options and decided on settling on giving the sergeant a Bolt Rifle, which had the best range, and a Chainsword, which just sounded awesome. While the Thunder Hammer also sounded cool, it reminded him of Nora, and he did not want to have any reminders at the moment.

Moving to the Tactical Squad, Jaune decided to give their sergeant a Plasma Pistol since it reminded him of a weapon in a different game. Plus, it seemed decent, as it had some Armor Penetration. As for their melee, he gave them a Power Fist as he just imagined the sergeant punching to death his enemies. While there was an option for Special and Heavy Weapons, Jaune decided not to get any this time since he thought it would increase the cost of the Tactical Squad.

'That's the Battleline done. Now the Infantry.' Jaune thought.

Moving to the Infantry section, Jaune let out a sigh of relief when he saw that the Suppressor Squad didn't have any options for their weapons. As for the Eliminator Squad, since Jaune planned on having them provide covering fire for the other units, he gave them the Las Fusil weapon as it had the best range. For the Aggressor Squad, Jaune gave them the Flamestorm Gauntlets as it seemed like the better option since they would be helping the Battleline Units.

'Oooh. Twin Lightning Claws. That sounds cool and devastating. And... a better option than a reminder.' Jaune thought as he gave the Terminator Assault Squad Lightning Claws. 'Now, all that is left is the Dreadnought.'

Seeing as this was a Vehicle and meant to be his heavy hitter, Jaune decided to give it the weapons with the most damage. But also, because he felt like it also needed some form of melee, he decided to give it one as well. After some thought, Jaune gave the Dreadnought a Dreadnought Combat Weapon w/ Heavy Flamer. As for the Heavy Weapon option, he settled on giving it the Twin Lascannon.

'Hopefully, I didn't mess this up too bad.' Jaune thought.

"Done?" Grayson asked.

"I believe so."

"Don't worry. If anything comes up, we'll fix it together. Don't think of this match as anything serious. Think of it as a tutorial where you're slowly learning how everything works."

"Alright."

"Now. We'll start the match." Grayson said as he moved to his side of the table and sat down.

Grayson then flipped a few switches, causing the center of the table to light up. After a second, some of the area turned black while the remaining turned green. However, that also only lasted a second as it changed to take on the appearance of a grassy field. It was about 40" wide and 60" long. Soon, five black markers about 40 mm in diameter with a five-inch outer circle around it. One was at the center of the map, which was labeled E. The four were in identical positions, about fifteen inches away from Jaune's edge and Grayon's edge. Two of them were ten inches away from the right side of the table, while the other two were ten inches away from the left side of the table. The ones near Grayson were labeled C and D, while the ones near Jaune were labeled A and B. Then, small piles of flaming scrap appeared all over the map. Finally, two barriers appeared ten inches away from Grayson and Jaune.

"Wow. That's amazing." Jaune said, shocked.

"It sure is." Grayson agreed, chuckling.

"But... what about our army? Do we have to use some of the miniatures?"

"Before, yes. You had to use the miniatures as that was the only way to play unless you were doing it online. But with these guys, that's now a thing of the past. They project holograms of your army. It saves everyone a lot of hassle and is one of the few things the Atlas Kingdom has ever done that's considered good."

"Yeah, I can imagine, considering the prices of some of these figures."

"And if one breaks, then you often have to get a new one. And that's even more money. Now, with these guys, that's a thing of the past."

"So, how do we start a match?"

"First, we bring up our armies." Grayson answered as he inputted a command for the table to create the holograms of their armies. Jaune was immensely impressed by the level of detail each one had and how they looked so real and lifelike. "Then, we both for deployment. By that, I mean we roll to see whoever gets to place their army on the field first. Then, we roll to see who goes first."

"Okay. How do we roll?" Jaune asked as he looked at the console on his side of the table.

"On your left side of the console, there are two buttons shaped like dice. One has a 3, while the other has a 6. In Warhammer, you only need two types of dice: the D3 and D6. The one with the 3 is for a single D3, while the one with the 6 is for a single D6. But next to them is a digit pad where you input how many you need/want to roll. For now, you just need a single D6. So, press the button once."

"Okay." Jaune said. Pressing the button, a screen popped up over his side of the field where it showed a single D6 roll and landed on a four. Looking over to Grayson's side, he saw that same thing happening with his die landing on a five.

"Okay. Since I won the roll, I get to decide who deploys first. I will deploy first."

Looking over to Grayson's side, Jaune saw that he was deploying numerous types of units near the barrier that appeared ten inches in front of him in a straight line. Yet, some of them were on the objectives instead, while three were not on the field. But what caught his attention was how they all looked like alien bugs or monsters. Some had wings, and others didn't. A couple looks like some animals he saw in movies but changed to look extraterrestrial. A few were holding strange weapons while the rest bared their teeth, fangs, and claws. Yet what worried Jaune the most was just how many there were.

'I'm definitely outnumbered here. I think he has a five-to-one advantage over me.' Jaune thought. "What is your army, anyway?"

"I'm using Tyranids. Have you ever seen the movie Alien?" Grayson asked.

"Yes. I have."

"Think of the Xenomorphs. Remember how they are, in a sense, space bugs? Tyranids are essentially space bugs but far more dangerous."

"So, what models are you using?"

"The one on objective D is called a Lictor. The one Objective C is called a Neurolictor. And the six on objective E is called the Von Ryan's Leapers. Typically, during deployment, you can only deploy in your Deployment Zone. However, if a unit has the Infiltrator Keyword on its Datasheet, that means it can deploy anywhere on the field as long as it is 9" from the enemy's Deployment Zone and 9" away from any enemy model."

"What about the ones not on the field yet?"

"Those. Yes. The three on the left that kind of look like snakes with horrifying mouths are called Ripper Swarms. The one on the right with a horn and wings is called the Winged Tyranid Prime. And the ten smaller ones are called Gargoyles. The reason why they are not on the field yet is because they have the Keyword: Deep Strike. This ability allows them to go into reserves and then be deployed anywhere on the field from round two onward. But, like with Infiltrators, they have to be 9" away from enemy models."

"Do any of my models have any of those abilities?" Jaune asked.

"Yes. Your Suppressor Squad, Terminator Assault Squad, and Captain in Terminator Armor have the Deep Strike ability. And your Eliminator Squad has the Infiltrator ability. But one thing to keep in mind about Deep Strike and other such abilities is you can only have up to twenty-five percent of your total army in reserves."

"Okay."

"The rest of my army, going from left to right, consists of three Venomthropes, five Barbgaunts, the Broodlord who is leading/attached to the ten Genestealers I have, ten Hormagaunts, and ten standard Termagants." Grayson said as he finished moving the last ones into position. "Now, you get to deploy your units. Also, who is your Captain and Apothecary leading?"

"The Apothecary will be leading the Intercessor Squad. And the Captain in Terminator Armor will be leading the... Terminator Assault Units." Jaune said after pulling up their data sheets.

"Okay. Are you going to put the Captain and Terminator Assault Units in reserves?"

"Y... es. I will put them and the Infiltrator Squad into Deep Strike."

"The Eliminators don't have the Deep Strike ability. They have the Infiltrator Ability. The Suppressor Squad has the Deep Strike Ability."

"Right. Also, how do I move the units to where I want them?"

"On your screen, select the unit you want to move. Then, use the joystick next to it to move them to wherever you want. Also, they will turn a different colour if you move them to a spot they cannot be in or move them more than their movement speed allows."

"That's convenient since I'm sure I would have forgotten their max movement speed. But for that to be the case, I would have needed to know what they are in the first place, which I don't."

"Don't worry. It'll come to you in time." Grayson assured.

Nodding, Jaune moved his Captain in Terminator Armor and his five-man Terminator Assault Squad into the black area along with the Suppressor Squad so they could be in reserves. Then he moved his Eliminators so they would be on Objective A. Once he had that done, Jaune placed the rest of his army on the field. From his left to right, it started with the Aggressor Squad, Intercessor Squad with Apothecary, Tactical Squad, and finally, the Dreadnought at the edge of the barrier.

"Also, before we begin, you need to decide if you want to split up your Tactical Squad. Do you want to keep them together or split them into two groups of five?"

"I will split them up." Jaune answered as he used the console to split the group into two groups of five.

"Okay. Now, there are a few things I forgot that we need to set up before we can actually start."

"What are they?"

"First, there are two things you need. The first is something both players can use, which is Stratagems. Think of them as strategies that can help you push your advantage, protect your units, counter whatever your opponent is doing, or simply help you out of a tight spot."

"Oh. I get it. They are like little boosts for your army."

"Well, yes. But you consider what I will show you next as the actual boost to your army."

"But I take it that these Stratagems are not free."

"No. There is something called Command Points. We both start with zero, but we both gain one during both player's turn. You use them to buy the Stratagems once you meet the conditions and feel like you could use them. However, I should mention that you should read how each one works carefully. Some last a full phase, while others last only one attack. Not to mention, some require units with specific keywords to work."

"Can you give me an example?" Jaune asked.

"Yes. The Grenades Stratagem requires a unit with the Grenade Keyword. If you pull up a unit's Datasheet, the keywords will be next to the name. And if it has the Grenade Keyword, then you can use that Stratagem with that unit."

"How many times can I use a Stratagem?"

"You can use as many as you want in a battle, but you cannot use the same Stratagem more than once in the same phase. However, there are exceptions. Some units have an ability that lets them use a specific Stratagem for no cost or be able to use it an additional time during the same phase. Your Captain in Terminator Armor allows you to select a unit from your army and apply any Stratagem to it for free, even if it has already been used."

"Oh, that's handy."

"It is."

"Is there a cap to the Command Points? And are there other ways to gain Command Points?"

"There is no cap to Command Points. And there are ways to gain additional Command Points. An example would be my Neurolictor and Lictor. I gain a Command Point if they destroy one of your Character Units."

"Alright. What's the other thing?"

"Detachments. Detachments offer bonuses to how you want to play your army. If you want to be stealthy, bring only vehicles or go all out; they will help you with that. Space Marines have access to several Detachments."

"Wait. Then shouldn't you have told me that in the beginning?" Jaune asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Technically, yes, since that would have made you think about what units you want to take. But since you're learning all of this, and I didn't want to overwhelm you, I decided to leave it until now." Grayson explained.

"Yeah, that's fair. This is already a lot to take in." Jaune said, smiling. "So, what do they do?"

"They provide boosts to your desired playstyle. There are both active and passive boosts. The passive ones are just applied all the time. But for the active ones, you have to pay Command Points to use them. They are essentially more Stratagems for you to use, but locked behind a specific Detachment."

"Okay. So, which one do you think I should use?"

"Considering your army is more mixed than anything as you tried to cover some bases, I would say that the GLADIUS TASK FORCE detachment is the best one for you."

"Okay. Where do I-" Jaune began before seeing a button to bring up the Detachments on his console. "Nevermind. Uh... do you use a Detachment?"

"Yes. But the one I am taking is specific for Tyrannids." Grayson answered.

"Okay. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"Nope. We can finally get started after we roll to see who goes first."

"Oh, thank Oum. This is starting to get too much." Jaune said.

"Yeah. It is. But after the third or fourth match, it will start to get a whole lot easier. And you will be able to plow right through it."

"Hopefully. So, shall we roll?"

"Yes." Grayson answered. Pressing the D6 button, the hologram screen appeared for both of them with a D6 rolling onscreen. Grayson's die landed on a three, while Jaune's landed on a one. "I'll go first."

"Alright."

"However, before the first round officially starts, there's another ability my army has that I will use. And that is the Scout ability. If every model in a unit has this ability, then before the first round begins, they can move up to that amount specified. My Broodlord and Genestealers have Scout 8". They are at the center of the field, which is the twenty-inch mark, so they will move eight inches toward Objective D to help the Lictor out."

Selecting his Genestealers and Broodlord, Grayson had them move toward Objective D.. But they were still two inches away from being on top of the marker but were still counted as being near enough to control it. Yet, what impressed Jaune was how the table made the holograms move as if they were alive.

'Woah.' Jaune thought, impressed.

"Now that that is done, the first round now begins. Now, there are five phases to each battle round. The first is the Command Phase. Here, several things happen, or only one, depending on the circumstance. First, we both gain a Command Point."

'Okay. I should probably save those until I have enough.' Jaune thought when he saw a zero change to a one on a screen that was under the letters CP.

"Then, you roll for any units that are Battle-Shocked. Since this is the first round and none of my Units are below half-strength, I do not need to roll for this. Next, you look at your Detachments. Some will ask you to choose a passive ability that will affect your army or specific units within your army for the battle round. For me, I will be using the Swarming Insects Hyper-Adaptation. And before you ask, Hyper-Adaptation is simply how they label them. For Space Marines, they are called a different name."

"So, what does your... Adaptation do?" Jaune asked, curious.

"When a Tryanid's unit I control attacks as Swarm of Infantry unit, they gain the Sustained Hits 1 ability. Sustained Hits mean that when I roll to hit, if a die lands on a six, that will count as two hits instead of one. But I would still need to roll the Wound Roll."

'Yeah. This might hurt. Hopefully, they don't have too many attacks initially.' Jaune thought, worried. "What about the Enhancements to the side of the Detachment?"

"Don't worry about those. They are optional most of the time. Besides, they cost points, and we don't have enough remaining."

"True." Jaune said, relieved.

"Now, when you have all that done, it becomes the Movement Phase. Here, unless your Units are in Engagement with another enemy, they can move up to their Characteristic's Movement, Advance, or remain Stationary. By Engagement, I mean they are in melee with an enemy unit. Advance means that you roll a D6 to gain additional movement inches. However, if you do that, you can shoot or declare a charge this turn. But there is an exception to that, which I will get to in a moment."

"What about Remaining Stationary? I feel like that is supposed to help with something?"

"Well, yes. If a weapon has the Heavy Keyword, it makes hitting your enemy with that specific weapon easier. But it only goes off if that Unit did not move during the Movement Phase. So, if it needs to roll a three or higher, then it would only need to roll a two or higher. But that's just with that. You can choose to Remain Stationary if you feel like your units are in a good spot or if moving them would put them in harm's way."

"Okay."

"Now, I will move the rest of my army."

Selecting his Ten Hormagaunts, Grayson had them move 9" so they were next to the Broodlord, Genestealers, and Lictor. But he then rolled a D6, which landed on a 3, so they were now in front of the Objective. Then he moved his Ten Termagants 6" so they were behind the Lictor by two inches. Grayson then selected his Barbgaunts and moved them 6" toward Objective C, placing them two inches short of being on it. Next, he moved his Venomthropes 5" to join the Barbgaunts. Lastly, he moved his Lictor 8" toward Objective A, with 12" remaining between them.

"Finally, I will move my six Von Ryan's Leapers 8" so they are two inches away from your Eliminators." Grayson said as he moved his Von Ryan's Leapers. "And that would conclude my Movement Phase."

'I should have kept my Eliminators with the rest of my army.' Jaune thought. "So, what's next?"

"Well, first, at the end of the Movement Phase is the Reinforcement Phase. Here is the part where you can have your Units in Reserve come in. But they cannot move during the turn they come in. However, they can still shoot and declare a Charge this turn."

"Alright. That makes sense. Otherwise, they would be able to capture Objectives or deal blows a bit too easily."

"Right. Next comes the Shooting Phase. And it is pretty self-explanatory. You shoot the targets you want to shoot with the Units you want to use as long as they are in range or if there are no restrictions in place, like not having Line of Sight. However, one thing to note is that if a Unit has multiple weapons on them, they must declare where all attacks are going before resolving any of them."

"What if an enemy unit dies, and you still have attacks from different weapons available?" Jaune asked, curious.

"Then you declare a new target. There's no penalty for that."

"Can you shoot targets that are in my Deployment Zone?"

"Yes, you can shoot enemy units while they are in their Deployment Zone."

"Okay. Now, most of my Tryannids do not have ranged weapons. And the ones that do are out of range."

'That's good.' Jaune thought.

"Now comes the Charge Phase."

"Wait."

"Yes?" Grayson asked, curious.

"I just checked the Stratagems. It says here that when an enemy's unit finishes its movement, I can use this Stratagem to attack with another unit I have that's at most 24" away. Can I use that here or not yet?"

"Yes, you can. But you should have said it when a unit finishes its movement. But I'll allow it since you're still learning, and this is your first game." Grayson said, slightly impressed. "This means that you don't have Command Points until the start of your turn when you regain one. Now, would you like to attack with your Intercessors or your Aggressors?"

"I will choose my... Aggressor Squad."

"Alright. And they have the Flamestorm Gauntlets, right?"

"Hold on. Let me... see. Yes. They do."

"Okay. That means they are just in range of attacking."

"Okay. So, how many attacks do I get?"

"Each Aggressor Unit has D6+1 attacks with the Flamestorm Gauntlets. So, roll 3d6. Add them all together, and then add another three."

"Alright." Jaune said as he raised the amount of die he wanted the console to roll. Once it was at the correct number, he pressed the D6 button and watched 3d6 on the hologram screen roll. After a moment, two die landed on a five while the last one landed on a one. "Fourteen attacks."

"That's a pretty good roll."

"Now, how do I roll to it again?"

"Actually, you don't with these weapons."

"I don't?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Yes. Your Aggressors' Flamestorm Gauntlets have the Torrent Keyword. Weapons with that Keyword do not need to roll to hit. They automatically hit. But you still need to roll to wound."

"That's good. And my weapons have a... I need to check the Strength, right? And that is under the S, right?"

"Yes. Then you compare it to my Unit's Toughness."

"Okay. My Flamestorm Gauntlets have a Strength of 4."

"Alright. My Von Ryan's Leapers have a Toughness of 5. That means you need to roll a 5 to wound for each attack. That means you need to roll fourteen dice."

"Wow. That's a lot."

"No." Grayson said, chuckling as he shook his head. "That's nowhere near how many dice you can roll in a single attack. The real amount is just ridiculous."

"I'm almost afraid to ask." Jaune said as he had the console roll the dice. "Seven die landed on a five or six."

"Now, because your Flamestorm Gauntlets have the Twin-Linked Keyword, you can reroll all the dice that failed to roll a five or higher once."

"All of the ones that missed one time, right?"

"Yes."

"And only one more rolled a five."

"Okay. Now, because they have an Armor Penetration of -1 due to their effect, my Von Ryan's Leapers need to roll a five or higher in order not to take any damage." Grayson said. Inputting the correct amount, eight dice appeared on the hologram screen. They rolled with only two die passing the save requirement. "Okay. They failed pretty badly. They passed two saves, meaning they took a total of six damage. You destroyed two of them."

'That's good. At least now it seems like my Eliminators might have a chance to survive whatever Grayson will attack them with.' Jaune thought.

"Now, back to what I was saying. After the Shooting Phase comes the Charge Phase. Here, you select a Unit to charge into an Enemy Unit. However, unlike the Movement Phase, you need to roll 2D6. If you roll what is necessary to reach the Enenmy Unit, then it goes through, and those two Units are now in Engagement with each other. But if you don't, then nothing happens. And you can only do this with Units that have a chance at making it. Also, Engagement only happens when Units are within a one-inch range of each other."

"Oh, so if there is a chance they can make it, they are eligible to do so. If not, they are excluded from this, right?"

"Yup. Now, my Von Ryan's Leapers will charge into your Eliminators. But since minimum gets them in, I do not need to roll. My Lictor has a chance of making it, but it is 12", which is unlikely to happen. Since no one else can charge, it is now the Fight Phase. This is where all the melee attacks occur."

"Okay. Who goes first, then?"

"Typically, it would be whoever Charges can go first. Then, for Units already in Engagement, it would be the turn player who goes first. However, with specific Units, it does not matter. My Von Ryan's Leapers, for example. They have the Fight First Ability. This lets them attack first during the Fight Phase regardless of how it is."

"But if they didn't have that ability, they would still attack first, right? And during my turn, if, again, they didn't have that ability, my Eliminators would have attacked first, right?"

"That is correct. Now, my remaining four Von Ryan's Leapers have six attacks each. That means there will be twenty-four attacks heading toward your Eliminators that all hit on a three or higher. And since they have a Toughness of four with my Reapers attacks having a Strength of five, they will be wounding on a three."

"How many attacks are going through?"

"Because of the Swarming Instincts Hyper Adaptation I chose, their attacks have the Sustained Hits 1 Keyword. A few landed on a six, meaning twenty-three attacks went through. And after Wound Rolls, eighteen attacks will Wound. Now, because each attack has an Armor Penetration of -1, you need to make eighteen Armor Saves of four or higher. For every two fails, that is one dead Eliminator."

'Oum, help me.' Jaune thought as he inputted the number into the console. Eighteen dice appeared on the hologram screen. They rolled, and, to Jaune's disappointment, only five saves succeeded."So, uh. Are they gone?"

"Yup. My Von Ryan's Leapers wiped your squad twice over." Grayson said as he had the console move the holograms off the field.

"So, what's next?"

"That's it for my turn. Now it is your turn. And we both gain a Command Point."

"My turn. I check the Detachment first, right?"

"Yes. And choose which Doctrine you want to use for this round."

"Okay." Jaune said as he looked over his options. However, now that he knew slightly more, none of them seemed that good for his army. 'But maybe a Stratagem might help.'

"Do you need help?"

"I think I will choose the Devastator Doctrine."

"Okay. All your units can shoot if they Advance. However, they cannot declare a Charge this turn."

"That's fine. First, I will start by moving my Dreadnought 6" toward Objective B."

Grabbing the joystick, Jaune had his Dreadnought move toward Objective B. Then, he had half of his Tactical Squad move 6" to be close to the Dreadnought. Jaune then made the other half of his Tactical Squad move 6" toward Objective A, with the Apothecary and Intercessor Squad moving to be next to them. Finally, he moved his Aggressor Squad up only 4" inches.

"Okay. Now, I believe it is the Shooting Phase."

"Yes. But I forgot something that your Space Marines have."

"What is it?"

"It's called Oath of Moment. During your Command Phase, you select one enemy unit and select it as your Oath Target. Until your next turn, you can reroll all missed to hit dice."

"Okay." Jaune said as he looked over Grayson's army. "I will choose the ones that destroyed my unit. What were they called again?"

"They are the Von Ryan's Leapers. And alright. Every failed attack roll can be rerolled."

"Now, I will attack them."

"Who are you going to attack them with first?"

"I will choose my Aggressor Squad."

"Okay. Then that is 3d6+3 attacks."

Nodding, Jaune inputted the number into the console. The dice appeared on the hologram screen and rolled, with the total number being twelve. And adding the +3 makes the total amount of attacks fifteen.

"Okay, and because of your Aggressors' ability, their weapons gain a -1 to Armor Penetration."

"No. A -2. I will use the Storm of Fire Stratagem on them."

"That normally just gives your weapons the Ignore Cover Keyword. But since you are under the Devastator Doctrine, they gain the -1 to Armor Penetration. So, my Von Ryan's Leapers need a six to pass the Armor Save." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "Well. Okay. That happened."

"What happened?" Jaune asked.

"I passed three Armor Saves. That means they take twelve damage in total. But that is enough to take all of them out. However, I will use one of my Stratagems. I will be spending one Command Point to use Rapid Regeneration."

"What does that do?"

"It grants them the Feel No Pain ability. For each Wound that would have been lost, I roll a D6. For each six I roll, one damage is ignored."

Taking one of his Command Points, Grayson selected his Von Ryan's Leapers to benefit from the Feel No Pain Ability. Then, twelve dice appeared on the hologram. They rolled and landed with three landing on a six.

"Okay. Three passed. That means one Von Ryan's Leaper is still alive."

'Damn it.' Jaune thought.

"Who's shooting next?"

"Does my medic shoot separately from his unit or not?"

"The Apothecary shoots with the Intercessors. But he has his own weapons."

"Okay. I will shoot with him first."

"Alright. The Apothecary has two weapons to use. The Absolver Pistol and The Reductor Pistol. Which do you want to use first?"

"The Reductor Pistol."

"Alright. Typically, you need a three to hit. But the Von Ryan's Leapers have a Stealth ability. Any ranged attack directed at them is now harder to make. So, now you need a four and a five to wound."

"This is getting tougher. And I got a two. Damn."

"Don't forget. You have Oath of Moment. You can reroll the hit."

"Right." Pressing the button again, Jaune groaned when it landed on a two again. "Same number."

"Yeah." Grayson chuckled. "That's the way the dice roll. Now, the Absolver Pistol. It hits on a four and wounds on a four."

"Okay. The first was a two. And the second was a four."

"That hits. Now you need a four."

"Divide that by two, that's what I got." Jaune said, causing Grayson to laugh.

"Well, it looks like my Von Ryan's Leaper does not want to die. Now, the Intecessors." Grayson said. "They have three weapons. There's the Bolt Rifle, Bolt Pistol, and a Grenade Launcher. They are all in range."

"I will start with the Bolt Rifle."

"Okay. That's ten attacks. All of them hit on four and wound on a five."

"Hopefully, this one goes better." Jaune said as he inputted the command, with ten dice appearing and rolling. "Okay. That's seven hits. And... two wounds."

"Okay. And they have an Armor Penetration of -1. So, my Von Ryan's Leaper is saving on a 5+." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "He passed one with a six but failed the other as he rolled a one. So, he takes a point of damage. He is still up with two wounds."

"Now the Bolt Pistol."

"That's five attacks. They hit on a four and wound on a five."

"Three attacks hit. And... two wounds."

"Okay. Since it does not have Armor Penetration, I need a 4+." Grayson said as he rolled his dice. "But he failed both. He got a one and a three. So, you finally defeated my Von Ryan's Leapers."

"And avenged my eliminators."

"Are you going to attack with anything else?"

"Are any of my units within range?"

"Let's see." Grayson said as he pressed a red button with a ruler on it, causing a tape measure to appear on the field. He then used the joystick to measure the distance between his Neurolictor and Jaune's units. "Okay. Some of your weapons can hit some of my Units. But the ones they hit can have the Lone Operative Ability. That means they cannot be hit by ranged attacks from more than twelve inches away."

"So what can I hit?"

"Your Dreadnought can hit my Venomthropes, Barbgaunts, and Termagaunts with its Twin Lascannon. But if you choose the Venomthropes, you will need to roll a four instead of a three."

"Okay. I will attack your Venomthropes. And I got a five this time. What do I need to roll to wound?"

"You need a two since the Twin Lascannon has a Strength of twelve while my Venomthropes have a Toughness of five."

"That seems easy... and I rolled a one. Oum, damn it." Jaune said, letting his head drop.

"It is Twin-Linked. You can roll again." Grayson said, chuckling.

"Right. And this time... I got a six."

"That wounds. And you automatically take one out since I cannot roll to save it."

"Why not?"

"Your Twin Lascannon has an Armor Penetration of -3. My Venomthropes have an Armor Save of 4+. That means I need to roll a seven to save them. But I cannot roll a seven on a D6. While I could use a Stratagem to possibly save it, I will not. So, roll for damage. It is a D6+1."

"Okay." Jaune said as the console rolled a D6. "I got a two. So that's three damage."

"That's enough to kill one of them. So, I have two remaining Venomthropes."

"Can I shoot anything else?"

"Nope. Everything is either out of range or has the Lone Operative ability."

"Okay. Then I will end my turn."

"Back to my turn. And we both get a Command Point. You have one, while I have two."

"Wait. Because we each have an Objective under our control, don't we gain points?" Jaune asked, confused.

"Not yet. For this type of mission, we don't start gaining points until the end of the Command Phase of the second battle round. So once I finish my Command Phase, I will earn points. And you will earn points at the end of your Command Phase."

"Okay. I got it."

"Now, unlike your Detachment, I cannot change my Hyper-Adaptation. I'm stuck with Swarming Insects until the end of the Battle. But I would have chosen it again anyway. Anyway, that concludes my Command Phase. Now, I gain points."

"How many points do we get? And is there a limit to how much we can gain each round?"

"Yes. You gain five Victory Points, or just points, for each Objective you control. But you can only gain a maximum of fifteen points each round."

"Okay."

"Because I control Objectives C and D, I gain ten points. Now, the Movement Phase."

Using the joystick, Grayson made his Lictor move 8" toward Objective A, which landed him right before it. Then he rolled a six on a D6 to add 6" to the Hormagaunts' movement, putting them six inches away from the Apothecary and Intercessors. Next, Grayson moved his Genestealers and Broodlord 8" closer to Objective E, putting them four inches short of controlling it. Grayson then moved his Neurolictor up 3" with his three Venomthropes moving 6". Lastly, he moved his Termagants up 3" so he remained in control of Objective D.

"And to end this part of the Movement Phase, I will move my five Barbgaunts 4" so they are on Objective C. Next comes the Reinforcment Stage. This is when I will bring in my Units in reserve." Grayson said as he finished moving his units.

"Do you put them in your Deployment Zone?" Jaune asked, curious.

"Yes and no. You can deploy them anywhere on the field you want as long as it is 9" away from any enemy Unit. I will deploy my Winged Tyranid Prime and the Gargoyles at the center distance between Objective C and B. Then I will Deep Strike my Ripper Swarms in the same manner but on the opposite side of the map."

"But they can't move, right?"

"No, they cannot. But they can still shoot and declare a charge. Now, my Shooting Phase. First, my Gargoyles will attack your Tactical Squad. And because of my Winged Tyrannid Prime, they gain the Sustained Hits 1 Keyword."

"How many attacks are going to hit my Tactical Squad?"

"Ten attacks. They hit on a four and wound on a three." Grayson answered as the console rolled the dice. "Five hits. And four attacks will wound. There is no Armor Penetration, so your Tactical Squad needs to roll a 3+. Every two fails is a dead Tactical."

"Hopefully, none will die." Jaune said as the console rolled the dice. "Three passes and one fail."

"Alright. The attacks were only one damage each. So, only one Tactical Marine took damage, but he is still up."

"That's good."

"Now, the Barbgaunts. They will also be going for your Tactical Squad. There are five of them, and each of them has D6 attacks." Grayson said as the console rolled 5D6. "That means eighteen attacks. But this weapon has the Blast Keyword. Weapons with this Keyword gain an additional attack for every five models in an enemy unit. So, nineteen attacks now. They also have Sustained Hits 1 due to my Detachment, meaning even more hits if I roll a six. And all the attacks will hit on a four and wound on a three."

"Eleven attacks total, with three dice having landed on a six. And seven managed to wound. They do not have Armor Penetration, so again, a 3+ save from you."

"Alright. And five passes, but two failed."

"So one Tactical Marine goes down. And the rest are fine. But that ends the Shooting Phase since everyone else does not have a weapon or is out of range. Now, the Charge Phase. I will need a twelve-inch charge from my Tryanid Winged Prime and Gargoyles to get into Engagement with your Tacticals." Grayson said. "And I make both somehow. So, they are now in melee range. Next, the Lictor needs a six-inch charge, while the Hormagaunts need an eight-inch charge to get into melee with your Intercessors and Tacticals."

'This won't end well.' Jaune thought. "I will use my Command Point to use Fire Overwatch again."

"Okay. They both make it. And who are you using?"

"I will use my Aggressors on your Lictor. Wait. Can I do so?"

"Yes, you can. He is eight inches away from your Aggressors. Roll to for your number of attacks. Remember, 3D6+3."

'Come on.' Jaune thought as he had the console roll the dice. "Fourteen attacks total."

"They are Strength four with my Lictor's Toughness at five, so they will wound on a five. And don't forget they are Twin-Linked."

"Okay. And I got... ten wounds after rerolling."

"Not bad. And they are Armor Penetration-1 due to their ability. So I am saving on a 5+." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "Six fails and two passes. And that would be enough to kill him. But since it is treated as your shooting phase, I will use the Rapid Regeneration Stratagem to give them a 6+ Feel No Pain."

Subtracting one from his pool of Command Points, Grayson had the console 6D6. But to Jaune's relief, none of them landed on a six. However, he became confused when Grayson rerolled one of them, which landed on a 6. This meant that the Lictor was still up with one Wound.

"Why did you reroll?" Jaune asked, confused.

"There is a Stratagem called Command Re-Roll. And outside of a few niche circumstances, this allows you to reroll any dice roll once. I did it, which allowed my Lictor to survive on one Wound point." Grayson explained.

'Great. They are probably not going to survive.' Jaune thought. "But that means you are out of Command Points."

"Yes, for now. Because they are still up, my Lictor and Hormagaunts enter melee with your units. The Lictor will be in melee with your Aggressors while my Hormagaunts will be in melee with your Apothecary and Intercessors."

"Are any other Units going to charge?"

"No. They are all out of range." Grayson answered. "Now the Fight Phase. My Lictor will attack first. He has six attacks. They hit on a two and wound on a three."

"Wait."

"Yes?"

"I noticed your Lictor has the Precision Keyword. What does that mean?" Jaune asked.

"Oh, right. Precision means that when a weapon with that Keyword successfully wounds a Unit with a Character model attached to it, I can choose to allocate the damage to that Model instead of the Bodyguards."

"Wait, I thought you could choose who takes the damage?"

"Well, yes and no. I should have explained it. When a Unit takes damage, the owner of the Unit gets to determine which model takes the damage. And the owner also gets to determine which model is destroyed and removed from the field."

"Can't the... attached models block the damage?"

"Well, they already do that. When a Character model is attached to a Unit, that Unit becomes the bodyguards of that Character. And unless you have a weapon with Precision and line of sight with that Character, the only way to damage it is to get rid of the bodyguards."

"Oh, so Precision just lets you bypass the bodyguards."

"Pretty much." Grayson said as he made the console roll his dice. "Alright. Six hits because two of the dice landed on a six. And four of them wound. Your Aggressors will need to make a 5+ Armor Save. Every two fails is a dead Aggressor Model."

"Three fails. One pass."

"Okay. So that is two dead Aggressors and probably one very dead Lictor."

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.

"No matter whose turn it is, during the Fight Phase, both players get to attack. When one finishes attacking, the other player gets to swing back with their Unit. And your Aggressors have -2 Armor Penetration for their melee attacks, meaning I would need to roll a six to save him. Plus, the Lictor is at one remaining Wound. So, you just sneeze, and he's dead." Grayson said, chuckling.

"Well, let's see if that comes true."

"Three attacks. Hitting on a three and wounding on a three. Plus, they are Twin-Linked."

"Wait. Don't my Aggressors get an additional Armror Penetration because the Lictor is the closest enemy model?"

"No, that only applies to ranged attacks."

"Alright. And all hit. And all Wound."

"Let's see if he survives... and my Lictor does not. He rolled a four and two threes. You dealt him his full health as damage."

"So, he's dead?"

"More than that. He is now just a red mist in front of your remaining Aggressor. He only had one Wound remaining." Grayson answered, causing the both of them to chuckle.

"Who is attacking next?"

"My Hormagaunts will attack your Intercessors. This might be a bit more harsher."

"How so?" Jaune asked, slightly worried.

"I have ten Hormagaunts. And each of them has three attacks that hit on a four and wound on a five."

"Oh, so not so bad, except for the amount of attacks."

"Not really. Your Intercessors will most likely survive this. And your Apothecary will be able to revive one during your command phase." Grayson said as the consol rolled the dice. "Alright. Three dice landed on a six. So that is eighteen hits. But only five wound. You need to make five 4+ saves."

"Okay. And I only got two passes."

"They are only one damage each, so one Intercessor goes down while the other is barely standing. Now, your Intercessors can swing back."

"What weapons do they have?"

"Let's see. Your Intercessor commander has a chainsword while the others have a close combat knife."

"I thought I gave all of them the chainsword?"

"Nope. Sometimes, when given the option to modify a Unit's loadout, it only affects the commander."

"Okay."

"So what do you want to attack with first?"

"The combat knife."

"Alright. That will be fifteen attacks that hit on a three and wound on a three."

"Wow. Ten hits."

"Nice. That was better than I was expecting."

"But..." Jaune began before sighing. "Only three wound."

"That sounds about right. And I save two of them. So one Hormagaunt goes down from that." Grayson said as he removed the Hormagaunt from the field. "Now, the chainsword. Five attacks. They hit on a three and wound on a three."

"Okay. Five rolls. But only three make it. And only one wounds."

"But I fail that Armor Save. I got a four when I needed a six due to the chainsword having an Armor Penetration of -1. So, I have eight Hormagaunts remaining. Now, your Apothecary's turn."

"What melee does he have?"

"He also has a close combat weapon. Four attacks. Hitting on three and wounding on three."

"Hopefully, he has a better chance at hitting them." Jaune said as the console rolled the dice. "Three hits. And they all wound."

"Okay. And I failed two rolls. So I have six Hormagaunts remaining."

"That went better than I expected."

"Yeah. But now comes the Winged Tyranid Prime and his Gargoyles. And they will be attacking your Tactical Squad."

"Who's hitting first?"

"The Gargoyles. They each have one melee attack. So that is ten attacks that hit on a four and wound on a five." Grayson answered as the console rolled the dice. "Eight attacks hit with two of the dice landing on a six. And five wounds go through. They have no Armor Penetration, so you need to make five 3+ Armor Saves."

"Okay. Three fails and three passes."

"That is one dead Tactical and one injured one. Now the Winged Tryanid Prime. He has six attacks that hit on a two and wound on a three." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "That is four attacks hitting because one die landed on a six. And all wound. Now you need to make four 4+ saves. Each fail is a dead Tactical Marine."

"I failed three of them." Jaune said, slightly annoyed.

"Okay. So the one that is injured goes down, and another two also go down."

"Wait. Wouldn't another be injured cause it was six damage, and one of my Tacticals only had one health remaining."

"No. Let's say a Unit has five models with each model only having one health. And I attack them with a weapon that deals five damage. While it would be enough to wipe out the Unit, only one model goes down, and the rest are fine. However, there is such a thing called Mortal Wounds. With Mortal Wounds, the damage does spill over. So, the five damage will spread to the whole unit, wiping them out. My Winged Tyranid Prime does not have Mortal Wounds. He just has regular damage." Grayson explained.

"Okay. Will it say if a weapon has Mortal Wounds?"

"Yes. Anything that deals damage will state whether it deals Mortal Wounds or not."

"Alright."

"Now, it's your turn to swing back at the Gargoyles. And because you chose to keep the commander, he attacks with a Power Fist. That's two attacks, hitting on a three and wounding on a two."

"Alright. One hits, and it wounds."

"Okay. And it is Armor Penetration -2, so I can't make a save. One Gargoyle goes down since the Power Fist deals two damage, and they only have one wound."

"If the save goes above a six because of Armor Penetration, then the damage just goes through, right?"

"Yes. Unless there is an Invulv Save, a Feel No Pain, or something protecting them, the damage just goes through. There is no Armor Save." Grayson answered.

"Now, who is attacking?"

"No one. All Units went already. So it is your turn."

"Okay. So... it is my... Command Phase, right?"

"Yes. You pick a new Doctrine to use, and it can't be the Devastator Doctrine. Also, choose your new Oath Target."

"Alright. I will choose your Gargoyles. And I will choose the Tactical Doctrine."

"Okay. That means a Unit you control can declare a charge during the turn it Fell Back. And Fell Back means your units can retreat from Engagement up to their movement characteristic. But they cannot shoot or declare a charge. But this allows them to charge." Grayson explained. "Also. Your Apothecary revives the dead Intercessor. So bring him back."

"Right." Jaune said as he used the joystick to bring his model back.

"Now, your Aggressors and Tacticals need to make a Battle-Shock test."

"2D6, right?"

"For your Tacticals, you need a six. As for your Aggressor, you need a six as well."

"Okay." Jaune said as he had the console roll the dice. "The Tacticals got an eight. And the Aggressors got a six."

"Okay. They both passed, so nothing happened. And before I forget, we also gain a Command Point. So we are both back at one."

"Do I gain my points now?"

"Yes. But you only gain Five Points."

"Why not ten since I have two objectives?"

"Combined, your Dreadnought and remaining Tactical Marine on Objective B only have an Objective Score of five. My Tryanid Prime and Gargoyals have an Objective Score of nineteen. So, I control that objective."

"And Objective A?"

"I have six Hormagaunts, which gives me a total Objective Score of twelve. Combined, your Aggressor, Intercessors, and Apothecary have an Objective Score of twelve. That would tie us. But your other five Tacticals give you another ten points, which gives you control of the Objective."

"Alright." Jaune said as he looked over the field. "Can I shoot something that is melee with another Unit of my army?"

"That depends. Units that are in Engagement cannot fire their weapons unless their weapons have the Pistol Keyword. Monsters and Vehicles can fire and be fired upon while in Engagement. But that is just them, and there is typically a restriction or penalty that would be explained on their Datasheet."

"Since I think I am done, I will move to the Movement Phase."

"Alright. Who are you moving?" Grayson asked.

"I will move my single Aggressor up 5" so he would be in range of the... snakes that you Deep Strike with."

"My Ripper Swarms."

"Yes. Them."

"Alright. Who else are you moving?"

"I will move my Tactical Squad up 6" so they can fire their... I think Boltguns on your... skeleton-looking bugs."

"Yes. They are called Boltguns. And those skeleton-looking bugs are the Broodlord and Genestealers."

"Yeah. Those." Jaune said as he moved his Tactical Squad up. "And I can't shoot if I Fell Back, right?"

"Yes. You can't shoot or declare a charge. But your Doctrine allows you to ignore the second part."

"Your other... Lictor has that... ability that does not let me hit it, right?"

"Yes. My Neurolictor cannot be attacked with Ranged Attacks that are greater than 12" away." Grayson answered. "But you can target my Venomthropes, Barbgaunts, Termagaunts, and Genestealers."

"And what was the range of my Dreadnought's weapons?"

"Your Dreadnought has a Twin Lascannon and a Heavy Flamer. The Heavy Flamer has a 12" range, while the Twin Lascannon has a 48" range."

"Alright. I will have my remaining Tactical member move back 6", while my Dreadnought will move up 6"."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"Ah... no. But since I am not moving anything else, can I bring in my other units?" Jaune asked.

"Yes. But you cannot bring them in within 9" of any of my units." Grayson answered.

"Alright. My Supressor Squad will Deep Strike next to my 5 Tactical Squad and the... Terminator Assault and Captain will appear behind your Broodlord and..."

"And Genestealers."

"Yes. They will appear behind them, where your Deployment Zone was."

"Alright. But they cannot move since Deep Strike counts as them having used their move characteristic."

"Okay. So... now's the Shooting Phase."

"Yes. Who are you targeting?"

"I will choose your... Barbagaunts."

"Alright. You can also shoot my Gargoyles with their Bolt Pistols."

"Okay. I will do that."

"Which are you shooting first?"

"The... Gargoyles."

"Then that will be three attacks that hit on three and wound on three. And you reroll any To Hit rolls that failed."

"Okay. All... hit. And all wound."

"They don't have Armor Penetration, so I can make a save this time. But only one passes. So, they are down to seven Gargoyles."

"Now they will fire at the other units."

"The Barbagaunts with their Accelerator Autocannon. That is nine attacks that hit on a four and wound on a two."

"Okay. Five attacks make it. And all of them wound."

"The Barbagaunts have an Armor Save of 4+, but your weapon has Armor Penetration of -1. So, they are saving on a 5+." Grayson said as the consol rolled his dice. "Two passes while three failed. That is three Barbagaunts down, so I have two remaining. And your Suppressor Squad has an ability that makes them suppressed."

"What does suppressed do?" Jaune asked, curious.

"That is just the name. There are generally one or two units in every faction that has this ability, just under different names. Basically, whatever Unit is hit by this attack, it makes it harder for them to attack others. My Barbagaunts typically hit on a 4+. But because they are now suppressed, they hit on a 5+."

"That's good, at least."

"Not necessarily."

"Why?"

"Their ranged weapons have the Heavy Keyword. So, if I don't move next turn, they will still hit on a 4+."

"Still... better than a 3+."

"True. So, who is shooting next?"

"I will shoot with my Captain in Terminator Armor. I think he has a gun."

"He... does. He has a Storm Bolter. Who are you firing at?"

"I would say your Genestealers."

"Okay. Now, because they are 9" away, you get four attacks with the Storm Bolter due to it having the Rapid Fire 2 Keyword. Rapid Fire lets you attack additional times if a unit is within half-distance. The Storm Bolter has a 24" range."

"Nice." Jaune said, smiling.

"Now, they hit on a two and wound on a four."

"All hit. And... all wound. Wow."

"Yeah. But it does not have Armor Penetration, so I have a 5+ save to make." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "I failed two. That means one Genestealer is dead. What else?"

"Can I use a Strategem?"

"Yes. Do you want to have your Captain give it to you for free?"

"Yes."

"Alright. What Stratagem are you going to use?"

"I will use the Grenade Stratagem."

"Okay. So, your Apothecary, Intercessors, Tactical Squad, and Suppressor Squad can be targeted by this Stratagem. Who are you choosing? And remember, they can only hit targets that are at most 8" away."

"I will choose my Tactical Commander and have him chuck it at the Gargoyles."

"Alright. Roll 6D6, and for every 4+, the Gargoyles suffer one Mortal Wound."

"That is two fours and one five." Jaune said after the console rolled the dice.

"Okay. That is three more dead Gargoyles. They are now down to six."

"Now my Dreadnought will fire everything it has into the Venom...thropes."

"Okay. Are you using the Heavy Flamer or Lascannon first?"

"The Heavy Flamer."

"That will be D6 attacks that wound on a four."

"Five attacks. And three go through."

"It has Armor Penetration -1. So, I need a 5+." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "Two fails. But they have three wounds each, so they are still up, albeit one is severely injured."

"Now the Lascannon."

"That will hit on a 3+ and wound on a two."

"A miss. I rolled a one."

"Okay. Who's next?"

"My Aggressor will fire into your swarms."

"My Ripper Swarms. That's a D6+1. And you are wounding on a two."

"Two attacks. And both wound."

"Okay. That is AP -1 since they are the closest eligible target. So, I can't save it. But they have four wounds, so none of them go down."

"Damn." Jaune muttered. "My other five Tacticals will fire into the Gargoyles."

"Okay. They are just out of range for their Bolt Pistols. But they can fire their Boltguns."

"How many attacks?"

"That's ten attacks that hit on three and wound on three."

"Eight attacks hit with rerolls. And seven of them wound."

"Alright. No Armor Penetration. So, I am saving on a 6+." Grayson said. "And I make five of them. So I only lose one Gargoyle."

"They just don't want to die, do they?"

"Seems like. Now, all that is left is your Intercessors and Apothecary. But they can only fire their pistols."

"How many attacks?"

"That will be five attacks. They hit on three and wound on three."

"Three hits. And two wounds."

"No AP, so I need a 5+. And I make one, so one more Hormagaunt goes down. I am down to five." Grayson said. "Now. The Apothecary. He has two pistols. Which do you want to use first?"

"The... I think it is the reducer pistol?"

"The Reductor Pistol." Grayson said, chuckling. "That is one attack. It hits on a three and wounds on a three."

"I got a one."

"Doesn't hit. Now the Absolver Bolt Pistol. The same thing. Hits on a three and wounds on a three."

"Hopefully, this one goes better."

"I got a four to hit. And a six to wound."

"That wounds. But I make it. So, none of them go down."

"Great." Jaune sighed. "Now, the Charge Phase, right?"

"Yes. Your Aggressor can charge into my Ripper Swarms. The single Tactical and Dreadnought can charge into my Gargoyles and Winged Tryanid Prime. The Dreadnought can also charge into the Neurolictor and Venomthropes. And your Captain and Terminator Assaults can charge into my Broodlord and Genestealers. But you have to use a 2d6 for each charge."

"Okay. This is for the Aggressor. He gets an eight."

"That is enough to put him into Engagement." Grayson said as Jaune moved his Aggressor unit. "Who's next?"

"My Dreadnought will charge into your Gargoyles. And I will use this Stratagem called Tank Shock with it."

"Right. You still have one Command Point left because of your Captain. Alright. Make the charge. You need a five to make it."

"I got a six."

"That makes it. Now, roll twelve D6. And because your Strength is greater than my Gargoyles' Toughness, you roll an additional two. So, fourteen dice. Every five or higher, the Gargoyles suffer one Mortal Wound."

"Wow. Okay." Jaune said as he had the console roll the dice. "Two fives and four sixes."

"Okay. That is enough to wipe out my Gargoyles." Grayson said as he removed his Gargoyles.

"Nice. Now, my Captain and Terminator Assaults will charge your Genestealers." Jaune said before sighing. "They got a seven, so they don't make it."

"You can reroll it. Your Captain lets you do it."

"Looks like I made the right call in picking him." Jaune said as he had the console reroll the dice. "Ten inches."

"They make it. And I need to make a Battle-Shock test because of your Terminator Assault's ability." Grayson said as he had the console roll 2D6. "But I make it."

"Now, the Fight Phase. My Aggressor will attack first."

"Alright. That is three attacks that hit on a three and wound on a two."

"All hit. And two wound."

"Reroll that that didn't wound because of Twin-Linked."

"Right. And it still misses."

"That is four damage then since I can't make a save because the attacks had AP -2, and my save was already on a six. So, that is two Ripper Swarms gone." Grayson said as he removed two of them. "But now it is their turn to swing back. They have six attacks and hit on a five and wound on a six."

'I'm just realizing this was a mistake.' Jaune thought as the dice rolled, with two landing on a six while another two landed on a five.

"That is six attacks because of Sustained Hits from my Detachment. And for their Wound Roll, three passed. You need three 3+."

"Okay. That is easy enough." Jaune said, only to groan. "Two twos and one one."

"Alright. Your Aggressors are gone. Who is next?"

"My Intercessors and Apothecary."

"Because your Apothecary also has a Close Combat Knife, we will just lump his attack with your Intercessors. That is sixteen attacks that hit on a three and wound on a three."

"Okay. Ten hits. And seven go through on Wounds."

"Alright. AP minus nothing, so I need a 5+." Grayson said. "Two fails. So, two more Hormagauts go down. Now, your Intercessor Commander's chainsword. Five attacks that hit and wound on a three."

"Three attacks hit, and two go through."

"So, I need two 6+ saves." Grayson said as he had the console roll the dice. "I failed both. So that is two more dead Hormagaunts."

"But now they get to swing back."

"Yes. Six attacks, hitting on a four and wounding on a five." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "Five hits because one die landed on a six. And three wounds. Three Armor Saves of 4+."

"One failed. And two passed."

"Alright. One is injured but still up. Who's next?"

"My Dreadnought."

"That is five attacks, hitting on a three and wounding on a two."

"Damn it. Two attacks hit. And neither wound. I got two ones."

"Now, my Prime attacks back. He has six attacks that hit on a two and wound on a five. Let's see how he does."

'Please don't make it.' Jaune thought.

"Five attacks hit. And all wound. Luckily, they only have AP -1. So, you need to make five Armor Saves at 3+."

"Oh, that's easy." Jaune said, relieved. Yet, it went away by what he rolled. "Three passes. Two dice landed on one."

"Wow. That's unlucky."

"So is my life recently." Jaune sighed.

"That is four damage. Your Dreadnought is now at four health. Who is fighting next?"

"My Captain and Assault Terminators."

"Okay. In response, I will use my Rapid Regeneration Stratagem on my Genestealers. Now, your Terminator Assaults have five attacks each. They hit on a three and wound on a three. They are also Twin-Linked. So you reroll all failed To Wound rolls."

"Twenty-Five attacks. That's a lot." Jaune said as he inputted the number into the console before having it roll. "That is seventeen attacks. Ten of them wound. And I reroll the ones that failed. Two more passed. So, that is twelve wounds."

"Not bad. But my Genestealers have a 5+ Invulve Save. That means they save on a 5+ instead of a seven."

'Hopefully, they die.' Jaune thought.

"I make six Invulve Saves. Now, the Feel No Pain. I make two. So, that is eight wounds ignored. And that is two more Genestealser dead. I have seven remaining. Now, your Captain. He has six attacks, hitting on twos and wounding on threes."

"Five attacks hit. But only one wound."

"And I make my Invulv Save. So no damage."

"Damn. So, your Unit now swings back, right?"

"Yes. And they have twenty-eight attacks in total, not including any gained from my Detachment. And they reroll all To Hit rolls of one."

'Oh, no.' Jaune thought. "What do they hit on?"

"They hit on a 2+ and wound on a five. So a whole lot of attacks."

"I have a feeling they might not survive."

"We'll see."

"Well, at least from looking at their datasheet, my Terminators also have an Invulv Save."

"Yes. But my Broodlord gives them the Devastating Wounds Keyword. This makes any Critical Wounds go through, and you cannot make a save against it, even with an Invulv Save."

"That's not good."

"Alright. That is thirty-four attacks hitting because of a few sixes."

"That's even worse."

"Six are Dev Wounds, and twelve others are regular. So you need twelve Armor Saves and remove two Terminator Assaults. Every three fails is a dead Terminator. They also have AP -2. So it is a 4+ save."

"Yeah. This won't turn out well for them." Jaune said as he removed two Assault Terminators from the table while the console rolled the dice. "Six fails. So that is two more dead Terminators.'"

"Now, the Broodlord. He has five attacks that are also Dev Wounds and are Twin-Linked."

"Yeah, this might be bye-bye for my Assault Terminators."

"They hit on a 2+ and wound on a three." Grayson said as he had the console roll the dice. "Five hits. Two are Dev Wounds, and I reroll two others because of Twin-Linked. So, that is your Assault Terminators gone. And because these are Mortal Wounds, one spills over to your Captain. He now had five Wounds remaining. Now you need to make two Armor Saves of 4+."

"Alright. He passes both."

"So he takes no damage. Anything else?"

"No, I think that is it."

"Back to my me then. And we both gain a Command Point." Grayson said as their Command Point value increased by one. "Now I need to make two Battle-Shock tests. One is for my Barbgaunts, and one is for my Hormagaunts. But my Barbgaunts failed while my Hormagaunts passed. Granted, they won't live past this turn."

"So you don't gain points this turn?" Jaune asked.

"No, I do because of my Termagants. I gain five points, which brings me up to twenty points, while you only have five."

"Alright."

"Now the Movement Phase."

Grabbing the joystick, Grayson moved his remaining Ripper Swarm up 6" so it was closer to Objective A. Then he moved his Neurolictor and two Venomthropes up 6" so they could be close to Objective. But they were one inch short of being considered on it. Lastly, he moved his Termagants up 2".

"And I will use Fire Overwatch again on your Venomthropes with my Suppressor Squad." Jaune said.

"Alright. Since this is the first time you are using it without a Torrent Keyword weapon, I should warn you that all attacks will only hit on a six, regardless of any modifiers."

"I'll chance it."

"Alright." Grayson said as he took away a Command Point. "Roll for all their weapons since they are in range of everything."

"Okay. My Autocannons first." Jaune said as he had the console roll the dice.

"That's nine attacks."

"Wow. Two hits."

"Alright. You're wounding on a three with that."

"One five and one two."

"Okay. One goes through, so I need to make one save." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "But I failed. It takes two damage. But since it has three wounds, so it is up by one."

"Was worth a shot."

"Yeah. But now it is my Shooting Phase. My two Barbgaunts will fire at your Suppressor Squad. While they are suppressed, they also have the Heavy Keyword and didn't move this turn. So, they are still hitting on a four and wounding on a three."

"How many attacks?" Jaune asked.

"2D6 attacks. But after rolling, they only get three attacks." Grayson answered before having the console roll again. "Two hits and one wound. Make a 3+ save."

"I got a four."

"Alright. So you don't take any damage, but they are now disrupted. Now, whenever they move, you subtract two from it."

"Okay."

"Now, my Termagants. They have twenty attacks. They hit on a four and wound on a four."

"This might hurt them."

"Eleven attacks because two were sixes. Four attacks wound. You need four 3+ saves."

"One failed."

"Okay. One Suppressor marine is injured, but he is still standing."

"That's good. Are you going to shoot with anything else?"

"Nope. I don't have anything else to shoot with. And since all eligible units are already in Engagement, I will move to the Fight Phase."

"Alright. And you attack first, right?"

"Yes, since it is my turn. I will start with my Winged Tryanid Prime on your Dreadnought. Six attacks hitting on a two and wounding on a five." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "All hit. And three wound. You need three 3+ Armor Saves. If you fail two of them, your Dreadnought is gone."

"Okay." Jaune said, praying his Dreadnought would survive as the console rolled the dice. "Alright. One failed, but the two others passed."

"Alright. Now your Dreadnought can swing back. Five attacks hitting on a three and wounding on a two."

"That is more like it. All my attacks hit. And four of them wound."

"That's pretty good. I need a 6+ save. If I failed two, then my Prime is dead." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "And I failed exactly that. So my Winged Tyranid Prime is gone."

"YES!" Jaune cheered, causing Grayson to chuckle.

"Now, the Hormagaunts. They will probably not do anything. But who knows? They have six attacks, hitting on a four and wounding on a five."

'Good. Only three attacks hit.' Jaune thought.

"And no wounds. Now, your Intercessors and Apothecary can swing back with sixteen attacks. They hit on a three and wound on a three."

"Ten attacks hit. Six attacks wound."

"Now, I need five 5+ saves. But I made only one. So that's the Hormagaunts gone."

"That's a relief. Now what?"

"My Genestealers and Broodlord against your Captain."

"As much as I don't like to say this, he is probably not going to survive."

"We'll see."

"Wait. I'm going to use my Captain's ability to give him Armor of Contempt."

"Alright. That makes it easier for you to pass your Armor Saves."

"That's what I wanted. So, how many attacks?"

"Without counting Sustained Hits, that is twenty-eight attacks." Grayson answered. "But with Sustained Hits and the ability from the Genestealers to reroll Hit Rolls of one, thirty-six attacks are heading toward your Captain."

"That's... a lot." Jaune winced. "So, is there a chance he lives?"

"Nope. The Broodlord gives the Genestealers Dev Wounds. And you cannot make saves against them. The Genestealers got three Critical Wounds, which is just enough to kill your Captain in Terminator Armor."

"Damn it."

"Your turn. And we both regain a Command Point. You have one, while I have two. And before I forget, this is Round 3."

"Okay. And I need to make a save for my Dreadnought, right?" Jaune asked.

"Yes. You need to roll a six or more. And your Tactical near your Dreadnought."

"I got a three for my Dreadnought. And an eleven for my Tactical."

"Alright. Your Dreadnought is Battle-Shocked, and your Tactical is fine."

"Now for my Doctrine. I will choose the Assault Doctrine since it is the only one I did not choose."

"Okay. And you gain five points, bringing you up to ten, because you control Objective A. Also, select your Oath Target."

"I will choose the Venomthropes. I will now move to the Shooting Phase since I don't think moving would be a good idea."

"That's fair. Who are you shooting first, and with whom?"

"I will shoot your Venomthropes with my Suppressor Squad."

"The pistols or the Autocannon first?"

"Pistols."

"Three attacks hitting on a four because of Stealth and wounding on a five."

"Two attacks hit after rerolls. And one wounds."

"And I save it. Now, the Autocannons. Nine attacks hitting on a three because of the Heavy Keyword, and wounding on a three."

"Okay. Eight attacks hit after rerolls. And five of them wounds."

"They have AP -1, so I need a 5+ save. But I only make two. So that's the Venomethropes gone."

"That's good."

"Now, who are you shooting?"

"My Tacticals will shoot your Ripper Swarms with their Boltguns."

"That's ten attacks that hit on three and wound on two."

"Four attacks hit. And two of them wound. Wow, that was terrible."

"It was. And I make one Armor Save. It has three wounds remaining."

"Now the Bolt Pistol."

"Five attacks. Hitting on three and wounding on a two."

"Hopefully, this goes better." Jaune muttered as the console rolled the dice. "Three attacks hit. And they all wound."

"And I fail all of them. So the Ripper Swarm is gone. Who is shooting next?"

"My Dreadnought will attack your Neurolictor."

"Alright. And because it is within 12", it can use its guns. Which are you using first? The Heavy Flamer or the Lascannon?"

"The Heavy Flamer."

"Roll a D6 to see how many attacks."

"Five attacks."

"They wound on a four."

"Two wounds."

"Alright. And my Neurolictor has a 4+ Invulve save. He passes both of them. So, no damage."

"Okay. Now, my Lascannon."

"Now, because your Dreadnought is Battle-Shocked, my Neurolictor's ability activates."

"What does it do?"

"While a Battle-Shocked Unit is within 12" of the Neurolictor, you subtract one from the Hit Roll of any weapon of that Unit. So your Lascannon is hitting on a four instead of a three."

"And I only get one shot. So, let's see how this goes." Jaune nervously said as the console rolled the die. "A miss. I got a three."

"Who's next?"

"My lone Tactical Commander."

"He has a Plasma Pistol. Now, this brings up another thing. Some weapons have the Hazardous Keyword. This means that this weapon has a chance of destroying its wielder. If you choose to shoot it, you roll a D6 afterward. If you get a two or higher, nothing happens. But if you roll a one, a model in that Unit is destroyed. Your Plasma Pistol has two ways of firing: the standard way and the overcharged way. The overcharged way has the Hazardous Keyword. What do you choose?"

"What's the benefit of overcharging it?"

"It is more likely to go through and has more damage."

"Okay then. I will risk it."

"One shot, hitting and wounding on a three."

"Okay. I got a five to hit and a four to wound."

"Since it is AP -2, that means my Invulv Save will come into play again. And I failed, so it took two damage. Now make the Hazardous Check."

"Alright." Jaune said as the console rolled the die. "And I got a one."

"So your commander blew up." Grayson said, chuckling.

"Great." Jaune said, rolling his eyes. Yet, he could not help but smile. Despite how complicated it was and how nearly overwhelmed he was, he was still having fun.

"Who's shooting next?"

"My Intercessors."

"Okay. They can either shoot the Genestealers, the Termagants, or the Barbgaunts."

"I will fire everything into the Termagants."

"Okay. Your Bolt Rifles and Grenade Launcher can fire. Which one first?"

"The Bolt Rifles."

"Alright. That is ten attacks. They hit on two because of Heavy and wound on three."

"Seven attacks hit. And four of them wound."

"So four 6+ I need to make. And I make two. So, two go down. I have eight Termagants remaining."

"Now, the Grenade Launcher."

"Frag or Krak?"

"Frag."

"D3+1 attacks because of Blast."

"Blast was..."

"For every five models in an enemy unit, you gain an extra attack."

"Alright. That is three on the die, so four attacks."

"They would on a three."

"Two attacks wound."

And they are AP nothing, so a 5+. One passed, and another failed. So, I have seven remaining Termagants. What next?"

"I believe that is it."

"So, the Charge Phase. Are you going to charge with anyone?"

"Yes. I will charge my Dreadnought into your Neurolictor. And I will spend my Command Point on Tank Shock again."

"Alright. Roll fourteen D6 after your roll for your charge. You need a four-inch charge to get in."

"I got a five."

"You're in."

"Wow."

"What happened?"

"Only two dice rolled above a five. Everything else was below a five."

"That was bad luck. So, my Neurolictor takes two Mortal Wounds. He has three remaining."

"Okay. Now, the Fight Phase."

"Five attacks, hitting on a four and wounding on a two."

"Four attacks hit. Three wound."

"I make two of my Invulv Saves. So, he takes three damage. My Neurolictor has only one wound remaining."

"So close. He attacks now, right?"

"Yup. Six attacks, hitting on a two and wounding on a five." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "Five attacks hit. Four wounds. You need an Armor Save of 4+."

"I failed all of them." Jaune sighed after rolling.

"Alright. Your Dreadnought is now destroyed. Roll a D6. It has the Deadly Demise ability. When it is defeated, you roll a D6. On a six, it explodes and deals one Mortal Wound to all nearby units."

"Six."

"Okay. Your Dreadnought takes out my Neurlictor."

"I can imagine the pilot saying: If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me." Jaune chuckled.

"Yeah. The pilot might have a few... colourful words if that happened." Grayson said, remembering how Dreadnoughts were essentially walking coffins with tons of guns. "Anyway. Anything else?"

"No. That would be it."

"Okay. My turn, and we gain a Command Point. And I need to make a Battle-Shocked test for my Barbgaunts." Grayson said as the console rolled. "And they passed. So I gain ten points, bringing me up to thirty points."

"This is round four, right? And there are five rounds?"

"Yes. There are five rounds, and we are on round four."

"Alright." Jaune said. 'I don't think I will be able to outscore him at this point.'

"My Movement Phase now. My Genestealers and Broodlord will move 8" toward your Apothecary and Intercessors." Grayson said as he made his units crawl toward Jaune's units. "Now the Shooting Phase. I will shoot your Suppressor Squad with my Barbgaunts."

"How many attacks?" Jaune asked.

"Seven attacks. They hit on three because of Heavy and wound on three." Grayson answered as the console rolled the dice. "Seven attacks because of two sixes. And five wounds. Five 3+ saves."

"Alright. Three fails and two passes."

"Okay. One was already injured, so he is gone, plus another." Grayson said while Jaune removed two Suppressor Marines.

"I still have one, at least."

"Now, my Termagants will attack your Tactical Squad. Fourteen attacks, hitting on a four and wounding on a four."

"Alright."

"Seventeen attacks due to five dice landing on a six. And eight of them wound. So eight 3+ saves."

"Three fails and five passes."

"Alright. So that is one Tactical marine dead and another injured."

"Not too bad."

"Now my Charge Phase. My Broodlord and Genestealers will charge into your Apothecary and Intercessors." Grayson said before rolling. "They needed a five-inch charge, and they got a nine. So they make it."

'They are probably gone.' Jaune thought, worried.

"The Fight Phase. Twenty-eight attacks, hitting on two and wounding on four." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "That is thirty attacks after rerolls and Sustained Hits. Okay. Five of them are Dev Wounds. And seven are regular wounds."

"They are two damage each, right?" Jaune asked.

"Yes."

"I think that kills my entire Intercessor Squad."

"Let me check." Grayson said as he pulled up the Datasheet. "Yup, that kills them."

"So, what do I need to roll for my Apothecary?" Jaune asked as he removed his Intercessor Squad.

"Nothing. Those attacks went into the Intercessors. So he is safe from their attacks."

'That's good. But he is probably going to die from the Genestealer's leader.' Jaune thought.

"Now, since your Apothecary's Unit was destroyed, roll a D6. On a 2+, you gain one Command Point."

"Okay. And I got a three."

"Alright. You have two Command Points. Now, the Broodlord's attacks."

"Wait. I will use the Only in Death Does Duty End Stratagem. And I will target my Apothecary."

"Alright. Five attacks, hitting on a two and wounding on a three." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "Four attacks due to Sustained Hits. One hits, but the rest miss. However, they are Twin-Linked so I can reroll them. Now, three wound. You need three 5+ Armor Saves."

"Okay." Jaune said he had the console roll. But his head dropped by what he saw.

"What happened?"

"I got a five."

"That's good. You passed one save. What about the others?"

"No. You misunderstood me."

"What do you mean?" Grayson asked, confused.

"I got a total of five from all three rolls."

"Ah."

"So, how much damage?"

"That will be six damage in total."

"Yeah. My Apothecary is dead. He only has four wounds." Jaune said. "Those Genestealers seem a bit overpowered."

"Not really, since they need to get into melee to do anything. They have almost no protection against ranged attacks or weapons with lots of attacks. They are almost a must-pick."

"Still." Jaune said. "So, what's next?"

"Your Apothecary attacks my Genestealers due to the Stratagem. Four attacks, hitting on three and wounding on four."

"Alright. All hit. And... all wound."

"Okay. No AP, so a 5+ save." Grayson said. "And they all failed. So your Apothecary takes down two Genestealers as he goes down."

'At least he did something as he went down.' Jaune thought.

"It is your turn now. We both gain a Command Point. And you need to do a Battle-Shock test for your Suppressor Squad."

"Okay. And they got an eight. I take it that is a pass."

"Yes."

"Alright. I have two Command Points, right?"

"Yup. You have two Command Points."

"Alright. I will use one for the Adaptive Strategy Strategem to change my Doctrine back to the Devastator Doctrine."

"Okay." Grayson said, curious about where Jaune was going with this.

"Now, I will move to the Shooting Phase. And I will use my last Command Point on the Storm of Fire Strategem and use it on my Suppressor Squad."

"Oh, so going with a hail mary?"

"Yup. Now, my Suppressor Squad will attack your Barbgaunts."

"Alright. Three attacks, hitting on three and wounding on a two."

"All hit. And all wound."

"Okay. So, I need three 6+ saves." Grayson said as the console rolled the dice. "But they all failed. So that's my Barbgaunts gone."

"Now, my Tactical Squad. They will shoot into your Genestealers."

"Alright. Eight attacks, hitting on three and wounding on four."

"Five attacks hit. And four wounds."

"Alright. Four 5+ saves I need, but I failed three of them. So, another Genestealer goes down, and a second is injured."

"Now the Bolt Pistols."

"Four attacks, hitting on a three and wounding on a four."

"Three attacks hit. And three wounds."

"Alright. But my Genestealers passed all three. So, no damage."

"That sucks. I guess I will end my turn since rushing into them seems suicidal. And I don't want them to die like that."

"True. They wouldn't survive. So, do you want to call the game?" Grayson asked.

"Yeah. I don't think I can do anything. Maybe the Tacticals can take out one, maybe two Genestealers. But they would die to the rest, along with my single Suppressor."

"Still. You did a lot better than I expected."

"Yeah, even though I fumbled through everything and still don't understand half of what is here and forgot what another third does."

"But as I said, don't try to take it all in at once. It took me like eight games to really get the hang of it. And to this day, I am still finding new rulings and strategies that I didn't think of before." Grayson said. "But the most important thing is that you had fun. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah. I actually had a lot of fun. I mean, I was confused most of the time, but I had fun." Jaune answered, smiling. "I always like the games where you lead others."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I didn't get to play many video games when I was growing up because of... reasons. But two of my favorites were Mount & Blade: Bannerlord and Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde."

"Then you will love this game. It is confusing. And can be overwhelming at times. But it is so much fun. You get to customize an army to your liking and play how you want. And with 10th edition, there are detachments that can support most playstyles. But even then, there are so many ways to play this game." Grayson said as he powdered down the table/console. "That is if you are interested in having another game."

"Yeah. I wouldn't mind another game. Although, I would still need a lot of help with setting my army up and understanding a lot of things."

"Don't worry. I got you." Grayson said before reaching down his side. When he straightened himself, Jaune saw that he had a book in his hand. "Here. Take this book. It doesn't have everything you need to know, but it has most. It should help you out."

"Thanks, Grayson."

"You're welcome, Jaune."

"Well, I got to go. It is..." Jaune began as he took out his scroll to check the time. But he was shocked at what time it was. "... somehow already ten-forty when it was roughly seven-thirty when I came in."

"Yeah. These games can take a while. 1000-point games are generally a bit quicker, but this took a little longer since I did not want to rush you."

"How long can these games last?"

"That depends on a couple of factors like how big the game is, how experienced the players are, what armies they are using, etc. But the longest I have ever seen took around seven hours to complete."

"Damn. Did they take breaks or something?"

"Only a half-hour break to use the bathroom and eat something. But that I did not include that in how long the game took."

"I don't think I could handle something like that."

"Yeah. Not many would even think about doing something like that. But it was a promotional event, not a regular thing. So, it is not common."

"Still. I think I would stick with a one-thousand-point game for now."

"Yeah. Those are quicker, a lot more digestible, and a hell of a lot easier."

"Anyway. Thanks for the game, Grayson. Also, when are you here?"

"I'm here Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from around three to eight. And I am here on the weekends from twelve to nine. So, I'll be here tomorrow."

"Alright. I'll look over the book and return it tomorrow."

"Take your time with it. And yeah, we can have another game tomorrow."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow. I have to get going now I need a break after what happened..."

*BOOM*

"...Today." Jaune sighed as it began to pour outside. "Yeah. I should have seen that coming."

"Especially since it was raining earlier." Grayson chuckled as he stood up. "How far do you live from here?"

"About six blocks away. Not that far."

"If you want, I can give you a lift since I'm about to leave as well."

"I would appreciate it, Grayson." Jaune said.

"No problem. Come on. Let's get going." Grayson said as he grabbed his stuff before they exited the store.

'This is going to be fun.' Jaune thought, looking forward to the next game and wondering if he could try a different army. And maybe make it to the end, regardless of whether he won or lost.

Notes:

A story where Jaune gains an interest in the Warhammer series, and it becomes a hobby of his.

Fun Fact: When my friend first tried to get me into this game, we played Tyrannids and Space Marines. But... he tabled me turn two (He went first) and said his army severely underperformed.