--- title: "Pariah Nexus battle report 5" subtitle: "Overwhelming dread" author: Seth publish_date: 2025-11-22 00:01 date: 2025-11-22 00:01 hero_classes: text-light title-h1h2 overlay-dark-gradient hero-large parallax hero_image: book_pariah-nexus.webp show_sidebar: true show_breadcrumbs: true show_pagination: true taxonomy: category: gaming tag: [ wargame, report ] --- I'm playing through the missions in the **Pariah Nexus** Crusade book, in order of appearance. The fifth mission is called **Overwhelming dread**. Another typical capture-the-objective mission, this one adds in an environmental effect as a complication. I'm not convinced the complication is as severe as the book believes it is, at least not for how I play. I can't know until I try, though. ## Story The Blood of the Omnissiah regiment has [broken through the defenses](https://mixedsignals.ml/games/blog/blog_battle-report-pariah-nexus-1) of a Genestealer Cult on the very day of its ascension. The adepts have raided a [dig site](https://mixedsignals.ml/games/blog/blog_battle-report-pariah-nexus-2) and disabled [quantum shields](https://mixedsignals.ml/games/blog/blog_battle-report-pariah-nexus-3) only to be [outflanked and ambushed](https://mixedsignals.ml/games/blog/blog_battle-report-pariah-nexus-4). Their recent defeat has shaken the regiment just enough for a strange effect to take hold. Incoming vox transmissions from nearby Imperial troops call it the Stilling. Its source is unknown, but the whole of the Nephilim sector seems to be effected. People succumbing to the Stilling are lethargic, unfocused, sometimes almost entirely entranced to do _nothing_. It's a mental and physical haze that not even the light of the Emperor seems to be illuminate. Stranger still, even the Tyranid Cult appears to be subject to the Stilling. If the Blood of the Omnissiah hopes to uncover the treasures they've come here to find, they must fight the Stilling and hold back their vile enemies. ## Armies This detachment of the Blood of the Omnissiah is a Skitarii Hunter Cohort, which gives Skitarii units several boosts and provides a few interesting stratagems. Learning from my recent mistake, and to leverage the detachment rules focusing on Skitarii, I'm adding a Technoarcheologist as the leader of a new Skitarii Vanguard unit and a Tech-Priest Engineseer to a new Skitarii Ranger unit. Technically, the Skitarii Hunter Cohort enhancements apply only to a Skitarii Marshall but I don't own any Skitarii Marshall models, so I'm changing "Skitarii Marshall" in the rules to "Leader of a Skitarii unit", which frankly seems like the intent anyway. I'm leaving my Armiger Warglaive behind in the interest of testing my Tech-Priests as Leaders. * 1 Technoarcheologist [Battle-ready] * 10 Skitarii Vanguards [Blooded] * 1 Tech-Priest Engineseer [Battle-ready] * 10 Skitarii Rangers [Battle-ready] * 2 Kastelan Robots [Blooded] * 1 Cybernetica Datasmith [Blooded] My **Tyranid Cult** army is same as last game, and I'm using the **Insidious Infiltrators** Compat Patrol rules from White Dwarf 497 along with the default Genestealer Cults detachment rules. * 1 Neurolictor (Death's Shadow) [Blooded] * 1 Lictor [Blooded] * 10 Neophyte hybrids [Blooded] * 10 Neurogaunts [Battle-ready] * 1 Reductus Saboteur [Blooded] * 5 Aberrants [Battle-ready] ## Strategic footing **Pariah Nexus** has a fun subsystem for deciding which player is Attacker and which is Defender. First, each player secretly chooses an Aggressive, Balanced, or Defensive strategic footing. Then you cross-reference the intersection of the 2 choices in the Strategic Footing matrix on page 105. The Adeptus Mechanicus know that they must strike back against the Tyranid Cult, so they choose to be Aggressive for this mission. The Tyranid Cult chooses Defensive. That means the Adeptus Mechanicus is the Attacker. The Tyranid Cult gains the mission's Advantage: > Before the battle, select an objective marker to be unaffected > by the Stilled Nodes or Disruption mission rules. Mechanically, the effects of the Stilling is expressed as penalties on Battle-shock tests and Aura effects. Get too close to an objective, and you lose abilities. Looks to me like the book is officially giving me permission to _forget_ **Warhammer 40,000** rules. I don't want to brag, but I feel like they've come to the right guy. ## Round 1 The 2 armies deploy on opposite sides of the battlefield, and so the Tyranid Cult chooses the nearby northeastern objective to be exempt from the Stilling. I have a custom rule that, lacking targets within 12", a Tyranid must attack the nearest Genestealer Cults unit. Conveniently, all Genestealer Cultists have Deep Strike, so all of them deploy safely in Reserves. Tyranid Cult rolls high for initiative, so the Adeptus Mechanicus activate the Protector Imperative, granting their weapons the **Heavy** keyword and -1 to the Armour Penetration of their enemies. But wait, the [modified] Skitarii Hunter Cohort detachment allows a Tech-Priest to select a Skitarii unit within 12" and grant it _both_ the Protector and Conqueror Imperative at the same time, so the Tech-Priest Engineseer selects the Skitarii Rangers. The Skitarii Rangers use Scout to advance out of the deployment zone, and claim the northwest objective. All the Tyranids on the battlefield are Infiltrators, so the neurogaunts have a claim on the northeast objective. The Neophyte Hybrids Deep Strike on the battlefield around the southeast objective. They open fire into the Skitarii Vanguard ranks and kill 2. Aberrants Deep Strike in near the northwest objective and Charge toward the Skitarii Rangers. The Reductus Saboteur also Deep Strikes in near the Skitarii Rangers. And finally, the Neurolictor Charges the Skitarii Rangers. The entire squad is wiped out, aside from the Tech-Priest Engineseer, who scrapes by with just 1 Wound. The silver lining to this dark cloud is that the Tech-Priest Engineseer manages to pass his Battle-shock test even with the effects of the Stilling weighing down on him. On the Adeptus Mechanicus turn, the Kastelan Robots move in and blast the Aberrants with fire and phosphor. Because the Aberrants are basically indestructible, 5 Wounds out of 11 Attacks get through and only remove 1 Aberrant from the board. The Skitarii Vanguard cautiously move forward and remove a stunning 6 Neophyte Hybrids. Better still, Scipio Ω5-Quintus has **Cogitative Instincts**, which prevents Reinforcements from being set up within 12" of her. No more Neophyte Hybrids are going to appear next Round, or any Round unless they get away from the Technoarcheologist. The Neophyte Hybrids lose the southeast objective due to which models were removed, but the Skitarii Vanguard also aren't close enough to claim it. The Tech-Priest Engineseer makes a Desperate Escape attempt and would have failed (died) but for a Command Re-roll. He's actually strongest in melee, but not against Aberrants _and_ a Neurolictor! * **Adeptus Mechanicus**: 10 VP (1 objective, Battle-shock test at an objective) * **Tyranid Cult**: 15 VP (2 objectives, plus a bonus for controlling more than the enemy) ## Round 2 The Adeptus Mechanicus rolls high for initiative, and activates the Conqueror Imperative because the Protector Imperative turns out to be useless. I'd been playing it wrong prior to this mission, and instead of applying -1 AP to the enemy I'd been applying -1 to Hit. What a huge difference. The Conqueror Imperative grants their weapons the **Assault** keyword and applies -1 to Armour Penetration. But wait, the [modified] Skitarii Hunter Cohort detachment allows a Tech-Priest to select a Skitarii unit within 12" and grant it _both_ the Protector and Conqueror Imperative at the same time, so the Tech-Priest Engineseer selects the Kastelan Robots in hopes of boosting defences against those Aberrants. Speaking of Aberrants. The Kastelan Robots bombard them with fire and phosphor blasts, reducing them down to just 2 Aberrants. That's still a bundle of 6 Wounds and something like 8 potential Attacks with AP, but it's progress. The Cybernetica Datasmith hangs back a little to hold the southwest objective, which frees the Skitarii Vanguard to storm the southeast objective. They do, slaughtering all but 1 Hybrid Neophyte in the process. However, they're now very much open to the sneaky Lictor hiding behind some nearby terrain. The Tech-Priest Engineseer bravely runs past the Aberrants and the Neurolictor to claim the northwest objective. On the Tyranid Cult turn, the Reductus Saboteur pops out of some nearby woodlands and tosses his one-use Demolition Charges at the Tech-Priest Engineseer. It's overkill, but definitely a kill, and the Neurolictor claims the northwest objective. The Aberrants rush toward the Kastelan Robots and the Lictor Charges the Skitarii Vanguard. One robot takes 3 Wounds of 7, and in the bedlam of melee the other robot smashes an Aberrant with his Power Fist. Only 1 Aberrant remains. The Lictor removes just one Skitarii Vanguard, so they continue to hold the southeast objective. * **Adeptus Mechanicus**: 20 VP (+2 objectives) * **Tyranid Cult**: 25 VP (+2 objectives) ## Round 3 Initiative is a draw, so initiative flips over to the Tyranid Cult. The Adeptus Mechanicus activates the Conqueror Imperative, but the Skitarii Vanguard are granted both the Protector and Conqueror Imperative by the Technoarcheologist. The lone Aberrant manages to deal another 3 Wounds to its Kastelan Robot foe. That robot has only 1 Wound remaining, and fails to deal any damage during the melee. The Lictor removes 4 Skitarii Vanguard. The forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus are looking awfully thin now. They just don't have enough troops to claim more objectives than the Tyranids, so their only hope for victory is to deny objective control. But to do that, they need to remove Tyranids and I'm not sure they have the firepower for it. A change in tactics is required. The Kastelan Robots smash the last remaining Aberrant, and the Scipio Ω5-Quintus obliterates the Lictor. This doesn't entirely level the playing field, but it helps. Now the Tyranid Cult has basically 3 units capable of claiming objectives (the Neurolictor, the Neurogaunts, and the Reductus Saboteur) and the Adeptus Mechanicus still only has 2 (the Kastelan Robots and the Skitarii Vanguard.) Better odds than at the start of the round, anyway. * **Adeptus Mechanicus**: 30 VP (+2 objectives) * **Tyranid Cult**: 35 VP (+2 objectives) ## Round 4 Tyranids win initiative. They're actually in a tough spot. They're great in melee, but to engage in melee they'd have to abandon objectives. The only ranged unit remaining is the Reductus Saboteur, so he sneaks behind some barricades and sets off some remote explosives that fail to penetrate the Kastelan armour. The Adeptus Mechanicus opens fire at the Neurogaunts, and remove 5. Only 1 remains, and there are 3 adepts with pistols of varying Strengths to remove it. Thanks to the most outrageous series of critical fails I've seen in a long time, the Neurogaunt is still alive by the end of the Round and controls its objective. Good news for the Adeptus Mechanicus, though. Having lost 4 Skitarii Vanguard in the previous Round means they must pass a Battle-shock test. Well, they fail BUT they spend 2 Command Points on Insane Bravery. This feels controversial, but the text of **Insane Bravery** says "Your unit is treated as having passed that test" so it seems to me that this counts as a success. In this particular mission, that triggers a bonus Victory Point condition. * **Adeptus Mechanicus**: 55 VP (+2 objectives, plus Battle-shock test passed) * **Tyranid Cult**: 55 VP (+2 objectives) ## Round 5 This is the final round, and the Adeptus Mechanicus rolls high for initiative. Scipio Ω5-Quintus manages to take out the last remaining Neurogaunt, which is a pretty big deal. The Kastelan Robots burn the Reductus Saboteur to a crisp in probably an explosive blaze of glory, considering all the demolition charges he's carrying. With only the Neurolictor remaining on the battlefield, there's not much for the Tyranid Cult to do on its turn. The Neurolictor chooses to Charge the Kastelan Robots, but fails to wound them thanks to their Protector Protocol. * **Adeptus Mechanicus**: 70 VP (+2 objectives, plus a bonus for holding more objectives than the enemy) * **Tyranid Cult**: 55 VP ## Post-game administration In the end, the Adeptus Mechanicus was victorious. It really didn't seem possible up until the last moment, so I do feel that it should have actually been an exciting game, but I have to admit this mission felt like a slog. Maybe it's just my gradual realisation that the Adeptus Mechanicus needs big robots or walkers or Imperial Knights to succeed, or maybe it's just the boring mission design. The mission is bog standard objective control, with weirdly ineffectual debuffs as its only twist. I can't imagine ever playing this one again. ### Adeptus Mechanicus The Army gains 3 Requisition Points (1 for the battle, 2 bonus for winning this specific mission) Each unit gains 1 XP for taking part in the crusade. Because they won, they also get to roll for archeotech. They need a 5+ to find archeotech, so of course they roll 4. To be fair, they were kept pretty busy during this battle and probably didn't have much time to dig around for spare parts. I'm awarding the Scipio Ω5-Quintus the **Marked for Greatness** bonus 3 XP, because seeing his take down a Lictor almost single-handedly (well, and mechadendrite) was easily the highlight of this mission for me. In total, here's where the army is: * **Army**: 4 Requisition Point, 7 Blackstone fragments * **Armiger Warglaive [Battle-hardened]**: 16 XP * **Skitarii Vanguard [Blooded]**: 15 XP * **Kastelan Robots [Blooded]**: 11 XP * **Cybernetica Datasmith [Blooded]**: 9 XP * **Technoarcheologist [Battle-ready]**: 5 XP * **Tech-Priest Engineseer [Battle-ready]**: 2 XP ### Tyranids The Tyranids get 1 Requisition Point and 1 XP for partaking in a battle. A list of the Crusade Forces that have seen action so far, whether they were in this battle or not: * **Army**: 10 Requisition Point, 3 Blackstone fragments * **Neophyte Hybrids [Blooded]**: 13 XP * **Aberrants [Battle-ready]**: 5 XP * **Death's Shadow [Blooded]**: 10 XP * **Lictor [Blooded]**: 10 XP * **Von Ryan Leapers Omega**: 3 XP * **Von Ryan Leapers Chi**: 3 XP * **Neurogaunts**: 3 XP #### Downgrades Everybody passes their Out of Action tests. No Battle Scars. ## Next mission The next mission is [Unstable Archeotech](https://mixedsignals.ml/games/blog/blog_battle-report-pariah-nexus-6).