TEXT: I WARHAMMER
  40000ч 
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  CAMPAIGN SUPPLEMENT
  
  INTRODUCTION
  Shield of Baal: Deathstorm is the second instalm ent in the 
  Shield of Baal series, presenting the next chapter in the 
  gore-soaked story of the war for the Cryptus System. The 
  Tyranids of Hive Fleet Leviathan have descended upon the 
  system in their trillions, feasting upon its worlds and cities 
  in a relentless tide of carnage and death. The armies of the 
  Astra M ilitarum and Adepta Sororitas have fought valiantly 
  to hold them  back, but they are hopelessly outnum bered by 
  their enemies, and one by one their defences have fallen.
  And yet there is hope. After days of fighting, the Blood 
  Angels have finally broken through the Tyranid blockades 
  tb come to the defenders’ aid. Amid the chaos of this new 
  invasion, another plot is unfolding. In the ruins of Phodia, 
  upon the war ravaged world of Asphodex, a pivotal battle is 
  about to begin between Space Marine and Tyranid over the 
  very future of the Blood Angels Chapter.
  WARHAMMER 40,000 SUPPLEMENTS
  This book continues the narrative begun in Shield of Baal: 
  Leviathan. It tells the tale of the next, bloody chapter of that 
  war, using evocative narrative and vivid imagery to bring to 
  life the battle between 1st Company Captain Karlaen and the 
  Broodlord known as}the Spawn of Cryptus. The book includes 
  full rules for using all of the finely sculpted Citadel m iniatures 
  found in this box, along with all the missions and datasheets 
  required to refight their brutal battle in the ruins of Phodia.
  HOW THIS SUPPLEMENT WORKS
  Shield of Baal: Deathstorm contains the following sections:
  • The Fate of Phodia: The story of the increasingly desperate 
  and violent battle between the Blood Angels Strike Force 
  Deathstorm and the Tyranid bio-horrors of the Phodian 
  Annihilation Swarm. It charts the bitter enmity that grows 
  between 1st Company Captain Karlaen and the Spawn of 
  Cryptus, as the fate of both Blood Angel and Broodlord 
  become inexorably linked. Behind their duel for survival 
  and victory lurks a secret that could unravel the Blood 
  Angels’ millennia-old curse, if only Karlaen can reach it 
  before it is devoured by the Hive Mind and lost for ever.
  • New Missions: A set of specifically themed missions that 
  depict the pivotal engagements fought as the Strike Force 
  Deathstorm explore ruined Phodia. Using these battles 
  you can enact each of these desperate battles and retell 
  Karlaen’s vital mission.
  • Full Gaming Rules: The up-to-date Army List Entries 
  describe Karlaen’s Blood Angels and the Tyranids of 
  Phodia in detail, including the Spawn of Cryptus and the 
  Captain himself; along with the included wargear rules, 
  they allow you to play games using all of the beautifully 
  detailed Citadel miniatures contained within the Shield of 
  Baal: Deathstorm boxed set. Unique Formation datasheets 
  also allow you to represent the specific strengths of these 
  two gathered forces on the tabletop.
  
  THE FATE DF PHDDIfl
  Hive Fleet Leviathan feasts upon the Cryptus System, its worlds and cities drowning under tides of void-spawned bio-horrors. 
  Scattered pockets of Imperial resistance stand grimly against the unimaginable numbers of the Tyranids. Coming to their aid, 
  the Blood Angels 1st and 2nd Companies descend upon the besieged system.
  Karlaen, Captain of the Blood Angels 1st Company, looked down upon the world of Asphodex. Beyond the shifting distortion of the 
  Battle Barge’s void shield he could see the planet’s heavy grey clouds shot through with sickly strands of purple, each one alive with 
  billions of tiny writhing shapes. As he watched, dark shapes drifted past the ship’s massive vista-port, each one a shining bloated 
  mass offlesh that faintly reflected the twin suns of Cryptus. As the bio-ships moved across the upper atmosphere of the planet, Karlaen 
  could see disturbances in the clouds below, like hurricanes viewed from above. The bio-ships were feeding, and soon they would strip 
  Asphodex of all life.
  The Captain had seen worlds in the grip of the Great Devourer many times before, and they seldom survived once the Hive Mind had 
  wrapped its coils around them. No, this was a doomed planet he looked upon, and there would be nothing but blood and death lurking 
  beneath its clouds. However, his orders were clear, handed down from Commander Dante on the counsel of Sanguinary High Priest 
  Corbulo. Though Karlaen held no enmity for Corbulo, he could not see the wisdom in sending 1st Company Terminators to perform 
  such a task. Already the first waves of the Blood Angels assault were preparing for their descent into the ruins ofPhodia, Asphodex’s 
  principal city. This side mission felt like a waste of his talents. If Governor Augustus Flax still lived, it would not be for long. Yet if it 
  was Karlaen s duty to find him, it would be done.
  His most trusted Brother-Sergeant, Alphaeus, stood beside him. Karlaen acknowledged Alphaeus with a nod, and led him into the 
  Battle Barge's teleportarium. Soon his brothers gathered around them -  a score of Terminators formed up on the platform, checking 
  their weapons and intoning oaths as Techmarines and Chapter serfs chanted prayers over the sacred machinery. There were few things 
  that stirred even the shadow of fear in Karlaen’s heart, but he loathed the use of the teleportarium. There was something intrinsically 
  wrong about how it worked. Yet it was a tactical necessity, and countless battles had been won by a sudden Terminator strike.
  Then there was no more time for thinking, as the field compactors hummed to life and the Techmarines’ prayers reached a deafening 
  crescendo. And then nothing but the void, and a sensory depravation so complete Karlaen forgot for a second he was a thing of flesh 
  and blood. Then his senses burst back into life in a sudden wave of sound and smell, and as one the Terminators went to war.
  THE SHIELD OF BAAL
  As a race, the voracious Tyranids are relative newcomers 
  to the galaxy. However, even in the short centuries the 
  Hive Mind has been assailing the Imperium, it has grown 
  into a threat on a galactic scale. Worlds and systems have 
  been scoured clean by the Great Devourer, and despite the 
  Im perium ’s best efforts, the Tyranids inch ever closer to 
  Holy Terra.
  One such alien assault has clawed its way up from below 
  the galactic plane: Hive Fleet Leviathan. Across an 
  immeasurably vast front, Leviathan has fallen upon 
  countless worlds across the Segmentums Ultima, Tempestus 
  and Solar. Now one of its tendrils draws close to Baal, home 
  world of the Blood Angels Space Marine Chapter. Should 
  the Tyranids be allowed to reach Baal in strength, it would 
  be nothing less than disastrous. The threat is so dire that 
  Com m ander Dante, Chapter Master of the Blood Angels, 
  has created a grand alliance of Space Marine Chapters and 
  sector lords to defend their home world.
  Across the Red Scar Sector, an area of the Ultima 
  Segmentum bathed in the baleful light of dying stars and 
  intense radiation, the Blood Angels fight system by system. 
  Each of these engagements is intended to buy time for the 
  £  defence of Baal and to weaken the Tyranids. Their hope is 
  ,* that the tendrils of Hive Fleet Leviathan might be cut off 
  and destroyed one by one.
  LEVIATHAN ASCENDANT
  The Cryptus System lies close to the Baal System, and both 
  are considered vital to the defence of the sector. W hen the 
  bow-wave of Hive Fleet Leviathan washed across the worlds 
  of Cryptus, the Im perium rallied to defend them. On its 
  many worlds, ranks of Astra Militarum, Adepta Sororitas 
  and Flaxian Dynasty PDF gathered beneath the twin suns 
  of Cryptus and steeled themselves for the assault to come. 
  The defenders were confident in both their numbers and 
  the formidable orbital defences arrayed across the edges of 
  their system.
  It was not enough. Hive Fleet Leviathan swarmed across 
  the system’s outer defences, defeating both celestial 
  barriers and massed gun lines with the alien physiology 
  of their millions of bio-ships. W ithin a cycle, spores were 
  darkening the skies of Cryptus’ five worlds: Tartoros, 
  Asphodex, Lysios, Ixoi and Aeros. Though the defenders 
  of the Im perium  fought bravely, they faced a foe seemingly 
  without number, and one by one, each planet fell.
  Into this maelstrom of total war, the Blood Angels and 
  Flesh Tearers Chapters descended in force. Too late to save 
  Cryptus from destruction, Dante ordered his warriors to 
  instead deprive the Leviathan of its feast, tearing apart 
  the aliens’ infrastructure and denying them their feeder- 
  organisms. If this system was lost, they could at least 
  dim inish the biomass the Tyranids might throw against
  
  Baal. Thundering out of the darkness, the Space Marine 
  fleet carved a path towards the core of the system. Pushing 
  through the still-burning remains of the Cryptus System’s 
  defence monitors, the fleet turned their bom bardm ent 
  cannons on the outlying bio-ships that stood in their way.
  However, unknown even to many amongst their own ranks, 
  the Blood Angels came not only to stay the advance of the 
  Devourer, or to save the people of Cryptus. The Chapter’s 
  Sanguinary High Priest, Corbulo, sought a cure for the 
  Red Thirst -  the hereditary curse that afflicted his battle- 
  brothers, dooming them to a blood-frenzy in battle and, 
  eventually, madness. Corbulo had followed shifting visions 
  in the Warp to the Satys System. There he discovered 
  the elixir satryx, a potent rejuvenate-infusion exported 
  throughout the Cryptus System to shield its people against 
  the destructive radiation of their twin red suns. Corbulo 
  believed the secrets which might cure his Chapter were 
  hidden within the elixir, as Baal too languished under 
  swollen red suns, its people touched by mutation. After 
  Satys fell to the Tyranids, Brother Corbulo rejoined the 
  Blood Angels fleet. There, he brought his knowledge -  and 
  the suggestion of a plan -  to Com m ander Dante.
  The Chapter Master saw the merit of Corbulo’s quest, 
  trusting in the priest’s wisdom in such matters, and his 
  knowledge of the Chapter’s genetic legacy. After hours of 
  council and discussion, Dante and his advisors summoned 
  Captain Karlaen. The 1st Company Captain joined his 
  lord in the arched tacticum-vaults of the Blade of Vengeance, 
  D ante’s flagship, as they made all haste for the Cryptus 
  System. By the flicking light of the hololith display, the 
  Chapter Master inform ed the Captain that he would not 
  only have the honour of leading the vanguard of their 
  assault, but also be the bearer of a very special mission.
  SECRETS IN BLOOD
  The world of Asphodex was almost eternally wreathed in 
  thick toxic clouds, cast into the firm am ent by the continent­
  sized city of Phodia. Beneath skies of roiling darkness, 
  billions of souls toiled in manufactorums and vapour-farms 
  under the lash of shadowy crime lords, who held the bulk 
  of the power on Asphodex. By contrast, Planetary Governor 
  Augustus Flax was seen as little more than a figurehead, 
  the aged ruler overseeing hollow ceremonies and pointless 
  pageantry as the world moved on without him.
  Corbulo’s research into Satys and its neighbouring systems 
  had revealed that Flax and his line carried a subtle 
  m utation in their genes which m eant they had no need for 
  satryx to survive. As the fleet approached Asphodex, the 
  Sanguinary Priest’s instructions to Karlaen were clear: he 
  was to find the governor or his children and bring them 
  back. If that proved impossible, a sample of their blood 
  would suffice.
  So, as the Blood Angels fleet began its assault upon 
  Asphodex, Strike Force Deathstorm teleported down to 
  the ruined city of Phodia. In a flare of arcing lightning, 
  Karlaen and four Term inator Squads materialised in a 
  vast plaza. The heavily arm oured figures stood before 
  the gutted remains of the Planetary Governor’s palace, 
  the building scarred by days of ferocious battle. Already, 
  Karlaen could see the signs of consumption upon the city. 
  Disturbing alien growths coiled around the ruins, while 
  fume-spewing spore chimneys had replaced much of the 
  Im perial grandeur of the city skyline. Among the rubble, 
  clicking feeder-beasts feasted upon the dead, as many- 
  limbed shadows moved at the limits of Karlaen’s vision.
  Fanning out across the plaza, they scanned a landscape 
  littered with rotting Im perial Guard corpses and the 
  burning remains of battle tanks. As the Blood Angels 
  moved, Karlaen checked his suit’s augurs, scanning for 
  signs of life. Long-range auspex-echoes from the fleet had 
  proved frustratingly vague. Much of the data the Blood 
  Angels had gathered upon Asphodex had been relayed 
  from the remains of orbital vox-arrays, its inform ation days 
  old at best.
  Even though the localised vox-traffic hissed and crackled 
  with interference from the hive fleet, Karlaen quickly built 
  up a picture of the Tribune District, at the centre of which 
  lay the plaza and palace. It seemed from the panicked 
  orders and pleas for aid drifting across the Im perial vox- 
  net that the battle had moved on, the plaza having been 
  abandoned over a day ago. Fighting now seemed localised 
  toward the Fabricae Districts, where the rem nants of the 
  Astra M ilitarum and Flaxian Dynasty PDF regiments were 
  making a desperate last stand. Activating the magna- 
  lenses on his bionic eye, Karlaen could see swarms of 
  winged bio-beasts swirling across the horizon toward the 
  manufactorum s like a great dark tornado of fangs and 
  claws. These were not his concern. W ithin a single day 
  the rem ainder of the Blood Angels 1st Company and the 
  full strength of the 2nd -  supported by elements of their 
  successors, the Flesh Tearers -  would be making planetfall, 
  and then the true war of annihilation would begin.
  Karlaen ordered his brothers to spread out into the ruins 
  of the palace, hoping to find sign of Augustus Flax or a 
  mem ber of his line. A line of crimson arm oured giants, the 
  Blood Angels advanced into the shadow of Phodian Gate, 
  the vast entrance to the palace. As they climbed the steps, 
  each one a hundred yards wide, Karlaen took in the utter 
  devastation. The Astra M ilitarum had made a final stand 
  here and the corpses of Guardsmen were piled ten deep 
  behind blood-soaked sandbag emplacements. Alien ichor 
  and charred weapon-beasts lay where they had fallen, a 
  tangle of claws and fangs. Karlaen stepped over the corpse 
  of an Imperial Guard officer, the dead man still defiantly 
  gripping his bolt pistol, and led his Terminators into the 
  darkened interior of the palace.
  Across the plaza, from beneath the broken remains of a 
  statue of the Emperor, a pair of alien eyes watched the 
  Blood Angels’ progress. With a single fluid movement, the 
  creature crept back into the ruins to gather its brood, its 
  long, taloned limbs clicking across the stone as a wave of 
  lesser creatures scattered before it.
  
  THE TRIBUNE CHAMBER
  Captain Karlaen led his squad into the ruins of the sprawling Flaxian Palace prefecture, seeking out Governor Flax and his 
  kin. In the darkness, the Hive Mind was stirring, its massive consciousness focussing upon the Blood Angels. Meanwhile, an 
  unseen alien presence was following his advance as it planned to strike.
  THE UNQUIET DEAD
  The interior of the palace was just as much a mess as 
  the plaza outside. As the Terminators advanced down 
  shadowy corridors, their stab-lights picked out the signs of 
  ferocious battle. Walls once covered in exquisite artworks 
  were stitched with lasgun blasts and cratered with heavy 
  shellfire. The floor was thick with the dead, both Tyranid 
  and hum an, forming a carpet of bloody flesh and bone. 
  Everywhere there were signs the Hive Mind was starting its 
  wholesale consumption of Asphodex: swarms of Rippers 
  worked to devour the heaped corpses and vast, bubbling 
  digestion pools awaited the feeder-beasts’ bounty.
  Karlaen gave the order for his Term inator Squads to 
  spread out and look for the governor’s remains, personally 
  taking comm and of Squad Alphaeus. As each of the other 
  squads vanished into the darkness, the Captain led his own 
  Terminators deeper into the ruins.
  The Captain pushed his way through a heavy bolter 
  emplacement, the headless gunner still draped over the 
  gun. Karlaen entered what must have once been the 
  governor’s Tribune Chamber, where he held audience 
  with his district lords. Large enough to land a squadron of 
  Stormravens, the cham ber was ringed by tum bled statues 
  and twisted ruins, its floor littered with debris and the 
  remains of hundreds of Im perial citizens lying in great 
  gory mounds. High above, the vast domed ceiling was lost 
  in shadow. Karlaen felt a familiar pricking on the back of 
  neck: there were enemies approaching, even if his senses 
  hadn’t found them yet. For a mom ent Squad Alphaeus 
  stood at the threshold to the chamber, scanning the dead 
  with augurs and gun barrels. Then Karlaen m otioned for 
  the Blood Angels Terminators to move out -  somewhere 
  here they might find the remains of Flax.
  EYES OF A VENGEFUL GOD
  The Broodlord hung suspended from a girder thirty feet 
  above the Blood Angels as they moved into the assembly 
  room. Its flat crimson eyes followed their progress among 
  the bodies as its psychic will seeped into the Tyranid 
  creatures throughout the ruined palace. The Broodlord 
  had lived upon Asphodex long before the coming of the 
  Leviathan. The people of Phodia knew it as the Spawn of 
  Cryptus, believing it to be the vengeful son of their solar 
  god, who, unable to gaze through the world’s thick clouds, 
  sent instead his child to visit justice upon the wicked. 
  Though most citizens of Phodia dismissed the Spawn as 
  a ghost story, told to explain the fate of those who had 
  vanished in the night, those who had crossed its path knew 
  better. Sadly, few of these lived to tell their tales.
  Crimson tongue flicking out to taste the air, the Broodlord 
  crawled down into the chamber. Its alien thoughts lanced 
  tlirough the minds o f nearby Tyranids, and with a great wet
  scraping, the bio-creatures of the palace stirred. H eeding 
  the Broodlord’s wordless call, broods of many-limbed 
  horrors moved within the rubble, converging upon the 
  Tribune Chamber.
  Karlaen reached the first pile of mangled corpses and 
  pushed aside the nearest bodies, hoping to ascertain 
  whether Flax’s men had died here. As their mangled 
  remains tum bled raggedly to the floor the Blood Angel 
  triggered the bio-augur lens in his bionic eye. Through a 
  green haze of auspex data Karlaen watched a shadowy life- 
  ghost moving beneath the bodies. It was at that moment 
  the Captain realised where he stood: surrounded not by 
  piles o f the dead, but by a brood o f hidden Genestealers.
  Roaring out a warning to his brothers, Karlaen unloaded 
  a roaring stream of bolter fire into the corpse pile. The 
  Genestealer that burst out from under its covering of 
  bodies was torn apart in a purple mist, but others soon 
  appeared nearby. Over the sound of thundering storm 
  bolters, the Captain could see the mounds bursting 
  apart all around him. From their remains, ichor-stained 
  Genestealers charged toward the Terminators.
  BONDS OF BLOOD
  The air stank with the sharp smell of prom ethium  and 
  burning xenos. The squad’s heavy flam er had turned 
  several Genestealers into pillars of fire, and yet the Tyranid 
  assault was far from beaten. Karlaen had seen no sign of 
  any larger creatures, but the Genestealers kept leaping out 
  from all around them with such disregard for their own 
  lives that it could only be the influence of the Hive Mind. 
  The Blood Angels could not hope to see their mission 
  through under such conditions.
  The Captain ordered his men to fall back to one of the 
  cham ber’s side tunnels, out of the Tyranids’ trap. As the 
  1st Company veterans withdrew, they filled the air with 
  bolt rounds, the storm of mass-reactive shells blowing 
  ragged chunks out of the fallen bodies and bringing down 
  those few scuttling beasts that appeared. Karlaen tried 
  to signal for the other Term inator Squads as his brothers 
  retreated. However, as he scanned through the frequencies 
  he discovered the vox drowned in white noise. For now, it 
  seemed Karlaen and his battle-brothers were on their own.
  The Terminators bulled their way toward the tunnel, but 
  as their guns fell silent, hissing Genestealers darted in and 
  out of their formation with terrifying speed. The creatures 
  hurled themselves at the Blood Angels, and though some 
  were cut down by ham m ering storm bolter fire or rent 
  apart by power fists, here the speed of the xenos far 
  outstripped their opponents. Most darted away before the 
  cumbersome Terminators could bring their weapons to 
  bear, only to lunge in and strike again.
  
  Then Brother Aphrae fell to a knee as a Genestealer lunged 'Щ 
  under his guard and drove a wickedly curved talon through 
  the gap between his ceramite leg plates. At that same 
  moment the roof came alive with a cacophony of hissing.
  W hat the Blood Angels had taken for a dome hidden in 
  shadow had in fact been more Genestealers hiding among 
  the shadows of the ancient glass ceiling.
  Karlaen tried to fight his way to A phrae’s side but 
  Genestealers were dropping down from above to fill the 
  space between them. The Captain could only watch as the 
  Term inator was borne down under the weight of xenos 
  horrors. Karlaen spared a last look at where Aphrae had 
  fallen and then pressed into the side tunnel. With every 
  second that passed, the Genestealers gathered behind him.
  The Terminators took stock as they entered the darkness 
  beyond the arched entrance way. Their arm our was caked 
  in gore, and many plates had been cracked or scored by 
  chitinous claws. Their storm bolters glowed red-hot from 
  constant firing, and the fuel tanks of Brother Bartelo’s 
  heavy flam er were dry. Karlaen could hear a constant 
  noise now, a cacophony of hisses, screeches and clicks 
  announcing the Tyranid swarm massing outside. In 
  moments the swarm would pinpoint their location and the 
  xenos would come crashing down upon them, drowning 
  them in a sea of claws and fangs. Karlaen voxed again 
  hoping to contact the rest of his Term inator Squads or the 
  other forward elements of the Blood Angels invasion force 
  on Pliodia. However, all he could hear over the transm itter 
  was the hiss of static and alien whispers.
  BLOOD ANGELS
  The Blood Angels are one of the oldest Chapters of the 
  Adeptus Astartes. Fearsome and determ ined in battle, they are 
  outwardly paragons of duty to the Em peror and faith in the 
  Im perium . Each one is akin to a god made flesh, the perfection 
  of their bodies andf their skill at arm s m atched only by the 
  reputation for greatness they bear. Founded over ten thousand 
  years ago, theirs is a Chapter steeped in honour and glory. At 
  every great event in the Im perium ’s history the Blood Angels 
  Chapter has stood against the enem ies of the Emperor, pure 
  and true, and brought only ruin and death to his many foes. 
  D uring the H orus Heresy, it was Sanguinius himself, Prim arch 
  of the Blood Angels, who gave his life protecting the Emperor, 
  and it is for this fallen father that the C hapter fights.
  However, under their perfect facade there is darkness in the 
  heart of every Blood Angel. It is a hereditary flaw, a side-effect 
  of the genetic gift from Sanguinius that grants them  their 
  superhum an strength, speed and endurance. Though they are 
  long-lived and flawless to look upon, every Blood Angel suffers 
  from two irrevocable genetic im perfections. The first exhibits 
  itself as a battle m adness known as the Red Thirst -  literally a 
  hunger for blood. This can come upon a Space M arine in the 
  heat of battle, overwhelming him  with a b|pod madness as he 
  struggles to kill his enemiesTThe second is the Black Rage. This 
  is an insanity and sickness of the spirit that few Blood Angels 
  ever recover from. W hen it takes them , they are overcome by 
  m emories of their fallen Prim arch and his demise upon Terra, 
  filling them with a w rathful frenzy that only ends in death.
  
  HUNTERS IN THE DARK
  The Hive Mind had awoken and Squad Alphaeus soon found itself assaulted from all sides. Driven by the will of the Spawn of 
  Cryptus, the Tyranids poured forth from the ruins of the palace, intent on ripping apart the Blood Angels. However, even as 
  the Blood Angels Terminators face unimaginable odds, Captain Karlean is unrelenting in his duty.
  THE BEAST AWAKENS
  Everywhere the ruins crawled, hissed and screamed. Lit 
  by the flashes of explosions on the distant horizon, the 
  Tyranids scuttied through the darkness,, blurs of snapping 
  jaws and shining claws.
  Karlaen’s squad had fallen back into one of the 
  processional entrance corridors running off the Tribune 
  Chamber, to gain some cover. The Genestealers moved 
  through the ruins around them like inky shadows, the 
  fluidity of their movements terrifying to behold. The Blood 
  Angels tried to track them with their weapons, but as often 
  as not the creatures would dart away into cover before the 
  Term inators’ fire could find them. It was to be a battle 
  of speed against strength, where only the Blood Angels’
  Term inator arm our kept them alive.
  With the confines of the corridor pressing in from both 
  sides, Karlaen led his brothers in a running battle away 
  from the Tribune Chamber and deeper into the ruined 
  palace. At times half a dozen Genestealers scuttled out of 
  the darkness to snap and claw at them, while at others the 
  beasts would keep their distance, drawing fire and waiting 
  for the Terminators to expend more of their precious 
  amm unition. However, Karlaen rem ained focussed on his 
  mission, and even as he tried to guide his brothers through 
  the gauntlet of alien stalkers, he was still searching for the 
  governor’s whereabouts.
  ГF
  RATTY POINT ALPHA
  Even as Karlaen fought back the Tyranid W arrior brood, 
  his mind was working on a way to turn the tables on the 
  xenos. The primal warrior part of his m ind focussed on 
  the swirling melee, while his tactical brain took in the 
  shadowed ruins surrounding him. The predesignated 
  fallback point for his vanguard force was the plaza. If his 
  squad could reach the plaza, they would have a clear area 
  to bring their firepower to bear, and they might also be 
  able to link up with the other squads. However, to reach the 
  grand gates of the palace and the plaza beyond, they would 
  have to retrace their steps through the Tribune Chamber, 
  unless the Captain could find another way.
  Karlaen plotted a straight line from their position to the 
  plaza, ordering his brothers to form up on him. With 
  a mighty yell, the Captain charged toward the wall. At 
  the last mom ent he brought the H ammer of Baal down, 
  smashing open a gaping hole. Room by room, his squad 
  fought and smashed its way through the ruins, the Blood 
  Angels leaving a trail of broken masonry and several 
  mangled Tyranid Warriors. Finally, with a devastating blow 
  of his hammer, Karlaen led his squad out into the Plaza of
  L 
  the Em peror Ascendant.
  Crashing into the remains of a palace security hub, Karlaen 
  finally found what he sought. The remains of a marble 
  skinned servitor flailed on the floor, its forehead marked 
  with the icon of the Flaxian Dynasty. Ripping free the 
  servitor’s head, he hung it on his belt to investigate iater.
  Suddenly a crystalline shell streaked out of the darkness, 
  blasting Brother Bartelo off his feet. Three Tyranid 
  Warriors loomed out of the ruins, one levelling a long 
  bio-cannon for a second shot. The long-legged beasts 
  crashed through the fallen statues and debris of the palace, 
  snaking bio-whips and bone blades lashing out at the Space 
  Marines. The Blood Angels’ Term inator arm our was proof 
  against many blows, but not all. Brother Bartelo had only 
  just climbed to his feet, a smoking rent in his armour, 
  when a gore-drenched bone sword suddenly erupted from 
  his chest. Brother-Sergeant Alphaeus turned in time to 
  lay the beast low with his power sword, but it was too late 
  for his brother, Bartelo falling into the dust to join the 
  countless Im perial dead littering the palace. Karlaen could 
  see it plainly now: if they stayed here the Tyranids would 
  overwhelm them. Wordlessly, the Captain pledged his 
  resolve. He would not fail Comm ander Dante.
  TYRANIDS
  The Tyranids are an alien race of hyper-evolved predators 
  from  beyond the edge of the galaxy. Centuries ago, the first 
  Tyranid hive fleets began appearing in the Im perium , these 
  vast flotillas of bioships having slept away the aeons between 
  galaxies until they sensed new prey to feed upon. Com prised 
  of teem ing swarms of bio-horrors, the arm ies of the hive fleets 
  exist for a single purpose: to consume all biological life.
  Tyranids do not have individual conciousnesses as hum ans do, 
  but rather are part of the gestalt known as the Hive Mind. This 
  vast psychic presence crosses light years of space to guide all 
  of the creatures within each hive fleet, connecting countless 
  trillions of creatures on thousands of worlds. Such is the m ight 
  of the Hive Mind that it creates a vast disturbance known as the 
  Shadow in the Warp, which disrupts the abilities of psykers and 
  makes W arp travel near-impossible.
  
  As the Captain emerged, his vox came alive once more, free 
  of the interference of the palace ruins. Crackling replies 
  came from other parts of the burning city, his squads 
  reporting in over the bark of gunfire and alien screams. 
  Karlaen quickly established that there would be no 
  im mediate support for Squad Alphaeus; his battle-brothers 
  were hard pressed by the foe themselves, but none had yet 
  found sign of Flax. However the mission would continue, 
  and Karlaen led his men out into the plaza.
  In the open ground, the Terminators gathered before 
  a fallen statue to the Emperor, fanning out as the first 
  Genestealers spilled out of the hole Karlaen had left in 
  the palace wall, the creatures hissing before darting off 
  into cover and scuttling forward. Ancient memories stirred 
  in Karlaen’s m ind at the sight of the Sons of Sanguinius 
  fighting in the shadow of the Em peror’s statue. Pushing 
  aside the dark anger that rose within him at the sight of 
  the fallen Emperor, the Captain set about comm anding 
  his brothers. Interlocking fire patterns and close combat 
  protocols repelled each alien assault, the Blood Angels 
  now able to hold both Tyranid W arriors and Genestealers 
  at range. Finally the xenos attack ebbed away, and an eerie 
  quiet fell across the plaza.
  The Blood Angels used the mom ent of respite to reload 
  weapons and take stock of the fallen. Karlaen took the 
  time to activate the servitor head, plugging power cables 
  from his arm our into its dripping neck stump. The head 
  came alive with alarm, spouting warnings. Piece by piece, 
  the Captain unravelled the tale from the servitor, which 
  it seemed had been on its way to the governor’s undercity 
  fortress when the Tyranids had struck. The governor was 
  alive, it said, and it knew where Karlaen would find him.
  AN UNNATURAL INTELLIGENCE
  While the Blood Angels planned their next move, the 
  Broodlord watched from the darkness. Reflected in the 
  creature’s shining carapace, the distant horizon was aflame 
  with the fires of battle. The faint booms of explosions 
  carried on the night wind, attesting to the ferocity of the 
  war being waged hundreds of miles away as the Hive Mind 
  threw its forces against the battered rem nants of Phodia’s 
  Astra M ilitarum and Flaxian Dynasty PDF regiments.
  Even from this distance, the Spawn of Cryptus could see 
  that the Terminators were preparing to move out again, 
  the line of crimson warriors making their way once more 
  toward the palace ruins. The Blood Angels’ minds were 
  also open to the creature, their thoughts drifting up to it 
  like the scent of prey carried upon the night wind. Calling 
  to its children once more, the Broodlord crept closer.
  It was barely past m idnight when the Genestealer brood 
  struck again. This time, however, things were different. 
  Karlaen realised it as soon as he saw the creatures 
  scuttling through the rubble. There was more purpose 
  to their assault than in the palace, and they came at the 
  Terminators from all sides. They moved low through the 
  cover of the rubble and used the shadows to their greatest 
  effect so that only a flash of chitin or smooth rounded head 
  were ever glimpsed. Even so, Karlaen gave his orders and 
  the Terminators took position to repel them once more.
  Ju^t before the Genestealers broke cover, Brother-Sergeant 
  Alphaeus and his squad faltered, staggering back from 
  the line. It was as if an invisible web had been thrown over 
  the Blood Angels and they fought against these unseen 
  bonds to raise their weapons. The Brother-Sergeant was 
  screaming and mumbling over the vox, som ething about 
  alien voices. And then Karlaen felt it too. It was in his 
  m ind, a powerful psychic presence, distinctly xenos, but 
  horrifically hum an as well.
  The Captain scanned around for the source of the mental 
  assault, his augur-lens probing the darkness. Then he 
  saw it. A Broodlord, larger than any he had seen in all 
  his decades of fighting Tyranids. The beast was hunched 
  atop the statue of Psylanna, patron of the blessed insane. 
  Its psychic presence was horrifically powerful, and it took 
  every ounce of Karlaen’s will to keep it out of his head.
  As Karlaen raised his storm bolter to fire, the Broodlord 
  seemed to vanish. The Brother-Captain cursed. This was 
  merely another psyker’s trick, and he would not suffer it.
  All around Karlaen the Blood Angels were fighting 
  claw and blade against the Genestealers. In places the 
  Terminators pushed back their enemies; then, rattling 
  bursts of storm bolter fire and the roar of the squad’s 
  heavy flam er filled the dark. Genestealers leapt through 
  the darkness to impale Blood Angels on their talons. Some 
  aliens struck home in showers of blood and ceramite, 
  while others were blasted from the air by streams of bolter 
  fire. Those xenos that got close fell to crackling power 
  fists, their bodies bursting apart in showers of viscera. Yet 
  Karlaen’s brothers also fought against the brutal psychic 
  dom ination of the Broodlord, and this was a battle they 
  were slowly losing.
  
  STORM OF BLOOD
  The Spawn of Cryptus had shown itself, and Karlaen’s company stood surrounded by the beast and its children. The psychic 
  presence of the creature assailed the Blood Angels, tearing at their minds just as the claws of its children tore at their flesh. 
  Karlaen hunted for the Broodlord, determined to end its dominion.
  WRATH OF THE BROODLORD
  Karlaen charged into the darkness toward where he had 
  last seen the Broodlord. The creature’s psychic trickery 
  still hid it from his sight, though the Blood Angels Captain 
  strained to drown out the incessant alien whispers that 
  filled his brain. Fortunately for Karlaen, he did not have to 
  rely upon his mind alone, and triggered the data-capture 
  spirits within his augur-lens. Through a haze of blinking 
  after-images, the Captain saw the Broodlord leap from the 
  statue, hurtling through the air toward him. With a flicker 
  of thought, Karlaen slaved his augur-lens to his storm 
  bolter’s opti-scope and let out a long blast of fire.
  Mid-lunge the Spawn of Cryptus twisted out of the way, 
  rolling through the rubble and coming up to tower over 
  the Space Marine. Alien muscle struggled against Adeptus 
  Astartes might as Karlaen parried a series of blinding claw- 
  strikes with his hammer. Even so, such was the B roodlord’s 
  unnatural speed that more than once its claws tore across 
  his chest plate and shoulders, leaving long, ragged furrows.
  Several times Karlaen came close to landing a telling blow 
  upon the Broodlord, but each time the creature rolled 
  out of the way. It leapt from fallen statue to wreckage pile, 
  landing raking blows upon Karlaen as the two combatants 
  duelled across the ruined plaza. One vicious strike at a 
  time, the Broodlord was wearing the Blood Angel down.
  A second’s miscalculation was all it took. Karlaen lunged 
  to counter-attack as the Broodlord scurried back toward a 
  of statue of Psylanna. Too late, he saw his ham m er would 
  strike the statue’s bullet-scarred legs, and even as he 
  turned, it came crashing down upon him. Trapped under 
  Psylanna’s massive outstretched arms, Karlaen watched as 
  the Spawn of Cryptus crept toward him.
  DEATH FROM THE SKY
  Karlaen could see his reflection in the Broodlord’s flat red 
  eyes: the defiance etched into his expression mingled with 
  anger at being bested so. Then his gaze caught something 
  else. Beyond the beast, high up in a sky only now lightening 
  with the first hints of dawn, he saw dark shapes falling 
  to earth. At first he thought they were more spores, the 
  commencement of another Tyranid assault. Then they 
  began to resolve themselves into black arm oured Drop 
  Pods, and warriors riding wings of flame. Finally Karlaen 
  could see them for what they were: the Death Company.
  J As if plucking the thoughts from the C aptain’s head, the 
  Broodlord twisted around to watch the Death Company 
  descending from above. With a blur of motion, the creature 
  drove a claw into Karlaen’s chest, the Captain grunting at 
  the sudden pain. But it did not kill him. Instead, its long 
  tongue darted out to lick the blood from its claw, before it 
  vanished into the pre-dawn gloom.
  The Genestealers were now swarming over Squad Alphaeus, 
  and a desperate melee had erupted in the centre of the 
  plaza. The savage hisses and alien screams of the Tyranids 
  were suddenly drowned out by the sound of bolter fire 
  and the howl of chainswords. In a storm of black armour, 
  the Death Company joined the fray, the brutality of the 
  Genestealers paling in comparison to the fury of the Blood 
  Angels. Adamantium teeth tore apart chitin in vivid sprays 
  of purple gore, and crackling fists and hammers reduced 
  alien limbs to formless ruin.
  Brother-Sergeant Raphen led the Death Company, his face 
  distorted by the Black Rage, his mind filled with the holy 
  wrath of the Primarch. Raphen gave no orders, for none 
  were necessary, but his brothers formed up alongside him 
  nonetheless. Part of Raphen’s mind clung to the fact that 
  he and his black arm oured brethren were fighting for their 
  absolution, though this part was steadily drowning under a 
  sea of ten thousand year old memories.
  CAPTAIN KARLAEN
  As Captain of the 1st Company, Karlaen com m ands the might 
  of the C hapter’s veterans. He has served the Blood Angels and 
  the Im perium  for hundreds of years, and Dante him self was 
  responsible for the C aptain’s training. An exceptional fighter 
  and fearless leader, Karlaen is also a tactical m asterm ind, and 
  it was this latter quality that prom pted Dante to grant him 
  com m and of the 1st Company, and the honorific ‘the Shield 
  of Baal’.
  Known as the Archangels, the 1st Company num ber the 
  greatest heroes am ongst a Chapter replete with valorous 
  warriors, and have access to the Blood Angels’ finest weapons 
  and wargear. Am ong the most prized articles made available to 
  them  are suits of Term inator arm our, each one a precious relic.
  Captain Karlaen has led his veterans against the Tyranids 
  in dozens of gruelling defences and surgical strikes. He was 
  responsible for the destruction of the space hulks Divine 
  Purgatory and Twilight Aegis, and was lauded for m asterm inding 
  the Denial of Balor’s Hope. Time and again, he has proven to 
  C om m ander Dante his ability to keep up with the changing 
  tactics of the Hive Mind. During the cam paign against Hive 
  Fleet Leviathan on Asphodex, Karlaen would find his talents 
  tested to their fullest.
  
  MIGHT OF THE IMPERIUM
  The Death Company set about laying waste to the Tyranids 
  circling the plaza, landing their blows with indiscriminate 
  fury. A second ago the Blood Angels had been set to 
  make a last stand, their backs pressed against the fallen 
  m onum ent to the Emperor. Now it was the Tyranids 
  that were pushed back, as the Death Company pressed 
  onwards towards the palace, smashing apart the retreating 
  Genestealers and hacking at the spore chimneys that 
  protruded from the nearby ruins.
  Brother-Sergeant Raphen soared up over the ruins on his 
  jum p pack, taking in the vista below. Through his eyes the 
  caved-in remains of the palace took on a different cast, 
  and as the dull light of day hit it, the scene appeared as the 
  Em peror’s Gate on Terra. O ut of the rubble, Traitor Space 
  Marines seemed to materialise, their skittering movements 
  and the wet hiss of their war cries doing nothing to dispel 
  the image in Raphen’s mind. Snarling out a challenge in 
  the name of the Emperor, the Brother-Sergeant attacked.
  Then a deafening bellow echoed across the plaza and a 
  hulking beast the size of a Rhino crashed out of the ruins. 
  Levelling a massive bio-cannon at the closest of the Death 
  Company, the huge weapon-beast fired a living round. The 
  horrific projectile burst into a tangle of constricting thorns 
  that lashed around the Space Marines, dragging them to 
  the ground. One black arm oured warrior threw him self 
  at the beast, his chainsword gripped in two hands, but the 
  air around the beast’s mouth began to shimmer and filled 
  with the low roar of boiling plasma. In a blazing flash of 
  superheated fluid, the Space M arine vanished as he tried 
  to land a blow, incinerated where he stood.
  The Terminators formed up, ready to receive the creature’s 
  charge, but at that mom ent another combatant joined the 
  fray. The Death Company Dreadnought Cassor lum bered 
  out of the ruins, smashing aside rubble and xenos corpses 
  with consummate ease. The Carnifex turned to face 
  this new arrival, letting out an inhum an scream before 
  barrelling across the plaza. Karlaen watched as machine 
  and beast duelled among the rubble, the creature’s huge 
  claws ripping at the D readnought’s arm our while in turn 
  it im paled the m onster with its crackling blood talons.
  Then the Carnifex drove a long curved claw deep into 
  the Dreadnought, pinning it in place. Slowly the monster 
  opened its maw, the glow of boiling plasma spilling out 
  from within. However, before the m onster could disgorge 
  its bile, the D readnought brought up its wrist-mounted 
  meltagun. With a dull hiss, the back of the beast’s head 
  vanished in a cloud of smoking fluid.
  With the death of the Carnifex, the fighting finally ebbed.
  The gore-spattered survivors of the Death Company, 
  having cleared the plaza, entered the palace ruins. Cassor 
  m arched forward after them, the war m achine’s weighty 
  footsteps fracturing the stone slabs of the plaza.
  Karlaen, having freed himself, paused and took stock.
  Several battle-brothers had been slain and several more 
  were severely wounded. However, Karlaen’s job was not 
  yet complete, and time was swiftly running out. Soon the 
  Hive Mind would bring the full force of its swarms down 
  upon the reinforced Strike Force Deathstorm, and not 
  even the Death Company would be able to save them from 
  destruction. If he was to locate Governer Flax and make his 
  brothers’ deaths meaningful, it would have to be soon.
  ЖЛ
  
  His forces supplemented by the arrival of the Death Company, Karlaen headed for the undercity in his search for Planetary 
  Governor Flax. However, the Captain was not alone in seeking out the missing governor, and what he discovered beneath 
  Phodia’s streets led him to question if his mission was worth his brothers’ many sacrifices.
  LOST SONS OF CRYPTUS
  The Blood Angels stalked forward through the stale air, 
  their bolters scanning for targets, their senses alert for 
  danger. It was then that Karlaen heard the strains of music 
  drifting through the still air, a haunting melody extolling 
  the glories of the Flaxian Dynasty. Following the sound, the 
  Captain came upon a huge central garden filled with wilted 
  alien flowers, form ing a riot of strange, cloying scents and 
  faded colours. In the centre of this garden, surrounded 
  by porcelain-skinned slave-servitors, an ancient man 
  reclined on a floating bed of silks and cushions. Karlaen 
  m otioned for his brothers to hold their ground, and taking 
  only Brother-Sergeant Alphaeus, strode forward to meet 
  Planetary Governor Augustus Flax.
  It was only when Karlaen reached Flax’s side that he 
  saw that he stood not in a garden, but the remains of a 
  decadent feast. Everywhere, noble men and women lay 
  senseless among the grass, bottles of rare intoxicants and 
  billowing obscura censers scattered around them. As the 
  golden-haired giant loomed over Flax, the m an’s eyes 
  slowly focused upon Karlaen. A fleeting moment of terror 
  reflected there, quickly chased away by something else.
  CLAWS OF CRYPTUS
  into the enemies’ lair, Raphen did not hesitate. The 
  Captain keyed the hidden crypt-lock in the centre of the 
  cham ber and a section of the floor irised open, triggering 
  a brief avalanche of dismembered bodies. Weapons raised, 
  the strike force descended into the darkness below.
  For over an hour, the Blood Angels trekked through the 
  undercity, a mass of ruins, canals and tunnels, all dripping 
  with water from above. Every so often they came upon a 
  heavy plasteel blast door covered by turreted autocannons. 
  At each such juncture Karlaen held up the severed servitor 
  head, the re-coded creature babbling in binary whispers to 
  the gateway’s machine spirits and allowing them to pass. 
  Finally, the Blood Angels stepped through a vast vacuum- 
  lock, the cog-toothed blast door rolling aside to reveal 
  Planetary Governor Flax’s undercity fortress.
  After the gloom of the sub-city, it took Karlaen’s autosenses 
  a moment to adjust to the gothic splendour of what he saw. 
  Outside, the city was a rain-soaked ruin hunched under 
  spore-choked clouds and thick with Tyranid infestation, 
  but here there was no sign of the aliens. Long-neglected 
  buildings lined empty, broken streets, while overhead 
  a dull glow illum inated the subterranean ruins as if a 
  golden Terran sun hung overhead. Karlaen paid the faded 
  grandeur of the crum bling city little mind, and set about 
  finding Augustus Flax.
  The Blood Angel wasted no time, and with only the bare 
  minim um of deference to Flax’s position, asked him to 
  accompany his brothers back to the plaza and from thence
  LABYRINTH OF SHADOWS
  Using the inform ation he had gleaned from the servitor 
  head, Captain Karlaen set off into the ruins of the 
  G overnor’s Palace to find the entrance to the undercity. 
  At his side gathered the survivors of Squad Alphaeus, 
  reinforced with the rem nants of other Terminator Squads 
  as they returned from the ruins.
  As they advanced into the ruins, the Terminators could see 
  the handiwork of the Death Company; fresh alien corpses 
  lay reeking in the dust. Entering the Tribune Chamber 
  once more, the Captain came face to face with Brother- 
  Sergeant Raphen and the Death Company D readnought 
  Cassor. The survivors of the Death Company stood knee 
  deep in the hum an and Tyranid dead, their black arm our 
  spattered in dripping alien viscera. For a mom ent Karlaen 
  met Raphen’s gaze, seeing the insanity and rage dancing 
  behind the sergeant’s cold blue eyes.
  Through a haze of madness, Raphen recognised the 
  Term inator Captain, though he could not say from where. 
  Maybe they had fought together on the walls of the 
  Em peror’s Palace, or perhaps they were about to embark 
  upon the assault of the Arch-traitor’s Battle Barge. In either 
  case, when the Captain ordered him to lead the advance
  -
  
  to the evacuation fleet. The governor shook his head and 
  sighed. He could not escape this place, for a beast held the 
  keys to his freedom and would brook no one interfering 
  with its prize. And so it was that the sordid tale of the 
  Spawn of Cryptus came to light.
  Many decades ago, Flax’s parents had travelled to Satys on 
  a trade mission, and when they returned his m other was 
  carrying a child, which they told Augustus was his brother. 
  Sadly, it was like no child the governor had ever seen 
  before, and though his parents doted upon the horror, Flax 
  could not. For decades the monstrous child was hidden 
  below the palace, and rum ours were rife among the palace 
  servants of criminals and dissidents being led down into 
  the dungeons, never to return. On the day that Flax’s 
  father died and Augustus ascended to control of Asphodex, 
  the newly appointed governor went to the sub-levels to kill 
  his brother, but discovered he was gone -  vanished into the 
  undercity of Phodia. Thus was born the Spawn of Cryptus.
  As the tale drew to a close Flax told them that his ‘brother’ 
  had only spared him to see him suffer and if he tried to 
  leave, his life was surely forfeit. Karlaen had no time for 
  this. Gathering up the old man, the strike force prepared 
  to depart. At that moment, the slave-servitors began a 
  cacophony of warnings. Their impassive pearl faces related 
  security breaches in flat tones: void-gate epsilon open -  void- 
  gate gamma open -  western defence grid: offline.
  And then the lights went out.
  THE NIGHTMARE RETURNS
  Karlaen flicked a therm al lens down across his bionic eye, 
  and suddenly the darkness was filled with glowing images. 
  Beyond the warm blaze of the nobles and Blood Angels, 
  the Captain could see cold multi-limbed shapes moving 
  through the streets of the district. Karlaen issued a quick 
  series of orders to his brothers -  the Death Company would 
  hold the Genestealer brood at bay while the Terminators 
  made for the tunnel back to the plaza with Flax in tow.
  In the darkness, the sky hidden by the foundations of the 
  city above, the Death Company charged forward to engage 
  the invaders. They were hungry to whet their blades again, 
  and their reckless fury would buy time for Karlaen and 
  his squad to retreat and ultimately complete their mission. 
  Raphen plunged into the tangle of Im perial buildings, 
  laying about him self with his crackling thunder hammer. 
  Every Genestealer the Death Company killed was one less 
  that could make it to the Terminators and the path back to 
  the surface. Even so, some of the creatures slipped through 
  the line of black arm oured Space Marines, and soon the 
  screams of dying nobles joined the din of battle.
  DEATH COMPANY
  age is a fate that awaits almost all Blood Angels 
  should they live long enough. H idden within their genetic 
  heritage are the memories of their Prim arch, Sanguinius, and 
  his final bloody hours during the Siege of Terra. It was here 
  that the Prim arch fell defending the Em peror from the traitor 
  Horus. W hen the Black Rage afflicts a Blood Angel he relives 
  this terrible time, and is completely overcome by memories of 
  terror and blood. There is no coming back from this madness, 
  and only in death can his soul be cleansed.
  This is the foundation of the Death Company -  a group form ed 
  of those Blood Angels consum ed by the Black Rage, and sent 
  into battle to die. They are always given the most dangerous 
  missions and foes, as it is considered a blessing should they 
  fall in the service of the Emperor. Once a battle-brother is 
  inducted into the Death Company’s ranks, there is no return.
  A battle-brother in the grip of the Black Rage is a true horror 
  to behold, the Blood Angel shrugging off m ortal wounds and 
  falling upon his foes with a boundless ferocity. Should a Blood 
  Angel survive to the completion of his mission he will either 
  succumb to his injuries, or accept the Em peror’s mercy from 
  Astorath, the Redeemer of the Lost, whose task it is to grant the 
  final peace of death to thole taken by the Black Rage.
  Their stab-lights dancing wildly as they lum bered through 
  the ruined buildings, the Terminators withdrew toward 
  the gate they had entered by, Flax shielded between 
  them. W hen a Genestealer scurried into view, thunderous 
  volleys of storm bolter fire drove it back. Yard by yard the 
  Terminators withdrew, Karlaen determ ined to get the 
  governor back to Corbulo.
  Then great sewer sluice gates which ran from the city above 
  ground open, unleashing both alien invaders and a torrent 
  of water onto the battle below.
  Waterfalls of dark rain came crashing down as gloomy 
  daylight illum inated the gore-soaked garden. Amid the 
  downpour, a hulking siege-beast, its head discoloured 
  where new flesh had healed over a ruinous wound, 
  advanced into the ranks of the Death Company. From the 
  edges of the ruins, Tyranid Warriors appeared, their rain- 
  slicked blades gleaming in the light. The Dreadnought 
  Cassor held the line against these larger beasts, its 
  talons pulverising the first xenos to reach it. Once again, 
  D readnought and Carnifex were soon locked in a death 
  grip, metallic talons trading blows with razor claws.
  Seeing a Genestealer slip past the Death Company’s line, 
  Karlaen sent Alphaeus with Flax to reach the gate, while 
  the Captain moved to block the alien’s path. Bolter rounds 
  streaked across the shadowed street, the beast rolling out 
  of the way as it closed with blinding speed. Moments before 
  the creature struck, one of Karlaen’s shells hit home and it 
  exploded into gore. However, in that instant, the Spawn of 
  Cyptus descended upon Alphaeus and Flax. Karlaen turned 
  in time to see the Broodlord hurl the Brother-Sergeant 
  aside and scoop up the screaming governor. The Captain 
  charged toward the gate as the Spawn vanished inside, and 
  just before it closed, he followed the alien into the dark.
  
  A BLOODY RECKONING
  Captain Karlaen stalks the Spawn of Cryptus through the darkened tunnels under the palace. Alone, the Captain hunts down 
  the Broodlord and Augustus Flax, the spectre of past failure burning in his memory. In the darkness, the Children of Cryptus 
  gather, and before long the hunter becomes the hunted.
  CAPTAIN OF THE FIRST
  It had not been by mere chance that Karlaen had been 
  chosen to lead the mission to recover Augustus Flax.
  While Com m ander Dante had decided to hold most of 
  the 1st Company in reserve to reinforce the Blood Angels 
  landings, it had been Sanguinary High Priest Corbulo 
  who suggested the squads sent to find the governor be led 
  by the 1st Company Captain. The priest was well aware of 
  Karlaen’s tactical genius and pragm atic approach to war. 
  However, it was Karlaen’s history that interested Corbulo 
  more. Once, long ago, Karlaen’s leadership had led his 
  brothers into a massacre, the Captain alone emerging alive. 
  Dante had forgiven the failure, but Corbulo knew Karlaen 
  had never truly forgiven himself.
  It was this memory that drove Karlaen on as he marched 
  alone into the labyrinthine tunnels under the palace, the 
  shadowy foundations rising up around him like a second 
  city, reflected from the one above. Somewhere below, 
  water rushing through the sewers of Phodia could be 
  heard, while everywhere rain dripped down from above. 
  Keying off his stab-light, the Captain hunted using his 
  augur-lens alone. At the edges of his vision, ghostly blue
  shapes danced in the darkness, flitting from one ruined 
  foundation to the next. These were the B roodlord’s 
  children, and this was their domain. Checking his storm 
  bolter he noted less than half a clip rem ained; he would 
  have to use the weapon sparingly. Instead he hefted his 
  thunder hammer, the brutal weapon more than capable of 
  pulverising a Genestealer.
  Two creatures came at him  as he reached the first gene- 
  lock. Scurrying out of the dark they tried to attack from 
  both sides at once. With precise movements Karlaen 
  parried the first with his ham m er and let the other wrap 
  its claws around his free hand. In that same moment, 
  as the two Tyranids enveloped him, he triggered the 
  ham m er’s power field and ram m ed his free hand toward 
  the bulkhead. The first Genestealer exploded in a shower 
  of smoking gore as the field caught it, while the second 
  was pinned against the wall. Turning his attention to the 
  trapped beast, Karlaen wrapped servo assisted fingers 
  around its neck and squeezed. For a long moment the beast 
  hissed and snapped at him  until, with a wet crunch, it went 
  limp in his grip. Casting the remains to the ground, the 
  Blood Angels Captain triggered the door.
  
  WRATH OF CRYPTUS
  The Children of Cryptus attacked Karlaen several more 
  times as he made his way through the ruined foundations. 
  Each time they came in twos and threes, lunging out of 
  the darkness or dropping down from above. Each time 
  Karlaen’s augur-lens allowed him to track their approach 
  and ready his hammer. Yet the xenos attacks were wearing 
  him down, one bloody ambush at a time. Blood flowed 
  from a half dozen rents in his arm our, and Karlaen felt the 
  Red Thirst stirring deep down within him. His anger and 
  rage were pushing their way to the surface. Focussing his 
  mind, the Blood Angel Captain channelled this hunger 
  into his desire to find the Broodlord, and tear it into 
  bloody pieces.
  As with the city above, the streets below were slowly 
  succumbing to the influence of the alien invaders. Sewer 
  channels that once carried filthy rainwater from the 
  streets above were now choked with strange barbed weeds 
  and their waters writhed with half-seen creatures. The 
  crum bling buildings that were once the foundations of the 
  city on the surface were now coiled with new and disturbing 
  xenos growths. These were the hungry flesh-tubes of the 
  hive fleet, digging deep into the earth to feast upon the 
  very blood of Asphodex.
  More than once, swarms of Rippers spilled out from the 
  ruins, drawn by the scent of Karlaen’s passing. Each time 
  the Blood Angels Captain dissuaded them from their meal 
  with his ham m er and heavy ceramite boots.
  Finally, Karlaen staggered out into a crossroads between 
  towering foundations. Here four bridges crossed a gap in 
  the darkness; above lay the ruined remains of the palace, 
  below, the thunderous roar of Phodia’s sewers. Standing 
  where the bridges met, the Spawn of Cryptus hunched 
  over an unconscious Augustus Flax, stroking the old m an’s 
  blood-matted hair with its claws. Karlaen could see other 
  shapes lurking in the surrounding ruins and hanging 
  under the bridges’ spans -  more Children of Cryptus. If he 
  took a shot at the Broodlord, Karlaen would risk destroying 
  the platform where the bridges intersected and thus losing 
  the Planetary Governor to the void, and so he advanced 
  slowly toward it, ham m er ready at his side.
  As he walked onto the connecting bridge the Broodlord 
  snapped its gaze in his direction and unleashed a brutal 
  telepathic assault. This time Karlaen was ready. Despite 
  his wounds, his will was undim inished, and the Blood 
  Angel fought back the flood of alien whispers. He fixed his 
  eyes upon the beast, and the Space Marine stared it down
  as it tried futilely to get into his mind. All this passed in 
  the space of half a dozen heartbeats, but as soon as the 
  Broodlord’s psychic assault failed, its broodm ates swarmed 
  up to rip Karlaen apart.
  The Blood Angel fought with a focussed fury, letting his 
  anger flow from him, but trying to keep the Red Thirst 
  in check. Genestealers leapt onto the bridge only to be 
  smashed aside by the C aptain’s mighty hammer, their 
  mangled remains tum bling away into the darkness below. 
  Two Genestealers scuttled up the sides of the bridge, one 
  falling to his hammer, the other cut down mid bound 
  by his thundering storm bolter, but the smoking weapon 
  clicked empty even as the creature spiralled raggedly away 
  into the rushing water below. Leaving behind the prone 
  body of Flax, the Broodlord leapt forward to m eet the 
  Captain on the bridge.
  HAMMER AND CLAW
  Space M arine and Tyranid duelled ham m er against 
  claw. Karlaen fought like an arm oured juggernaut, the 
  Broodlord twisting away from his blows but unable to 
  pierce the Space M arine’s arm our in return. Restricted by 
  the close confines of the bridge, Karlaen had no room to 
  deliver a proper attack or the killing stroke he strived for. 
  Soon beast and man grappled, Karlaen’s two arms against 
  the Broodlord’s four, vainly trying to hold the beast at bay. 
  With terrible finality, the Tyranid’s horrific strength slowly 
  forced the Blood Angels Captain to one knee.
  Karlaen gritted his teeth, and snarled into the Broodlord’s 
  face. Inches away, the creature’s flat crimson eyes showed 
  nothing of what lurked in its alien brain, and with painful 
  slowness the Spawn opened its maw. Drawing upon a 
  reserve of strength, Karlaen dropped his grapple, ignoring 
  the terrible claws as he smashed his empty storm bolter 
  upwards into the beast’s gaping jaw.
  The m om ent’s distraction broke the Broodlord’s grip, and 
  Karlaen was able to push it away, raising his ham m er once 
  more. This time, however, he aim ed his blow not at the 
  Tyranid but the bridge beneath its claws. In a shower of 
  twisted metal, the thunder ham m er obliterated part of the 
  gantry. With a scream of tortured steel, a great section of 
  the bridge gave way, sending the Broodlord tum bling into 
  the darkness below. It was silent as it fell, its limbs grasping 
  mechanically at nothingness, but it craned its neck to stare 
  back up at Karlaen before it vanished into the rushing 
  torrent of the sewers. For a mom ent the Space Marine 
  paused, his hearts ham m ering in his chest, and blood 
  running down his armour. Then, he edged around the 
  gaping hole in the bridge to reach Flax’s comatose body 
  and lifted the old man onto his shoulder.
  
  SHADOW OF THE BEAST
  The Hive Mind finally unleashed its might upon the Blood Angels in a tide of ravening bio-horrors. Karlaen and his surviving 
  battle-brothers faced their final challenge; to protect Planetary Governor Augustus Flax against all odds until reinforcements 
  could come to their aid.
  THE TRIBUNE’S LAST STAND
  Captain Karlaen em erged into the ruins of the palace 
  and beheld a vision of carnage. Fire washed across the 
  city, filling the ruins with towers of dancing flam e and 
  waves of billowing smoke. Tyranid organisms hissed 
  and screamed as they burned, fleeing before the rising 
  inferno. In the distance Karlaen could see shuddering 
  m ushroom  clouds and flashes in the sky as the ground 
  shook beneath his feet. The Captain didn’t need to listen 
  to his vox-net to know what this meant: the Blood Angels 
  fleet had begun its prelim inary bom bardm ent of Phodia, 
  and soon the first landings of D ante’s m ain force 
  would commence.
  W ithout men or autom ated systems to stop them, the 
  fires from the barrage were spreading out of control 
  throughout the devastated city, incinerating Im perial 
  defender and xenos invader alike.
  Shielding Flax from the flames, Karlaen forged a path 
  toward the Plaza of the Em peror Ascendant. Everywhere 
  Tyranids were spilling out of the smoke-filled ruins, and 
  those that strayed too close or tried to bar Karlaen’s path 
  soon felt the hard face of his hammer. As yet, the Tyranid 
  swarms were uncoordinated, but this would not last. Soon 
  the Hive Mind would exert its will upon its swarms, and 
  then the real attack would begin.
  By the time Karlaen reached the plaza he could see broods 
  of Gaunts and flights of Gargoyles circling in the smoke. 
  However, of his brothers there was no sign. Hiding Flax 
  under the Em peror’s fallen statue, Karlaen sought out 
  an Adeptus Astartes signal. Beamed from high above, he 
  found the channel he sought, and through a link cracking 
  with static relayed his situation. Several tense moments 
  dragged by, until a response came back giving the order to 
  hold until the extraction plan could be executed.
  Hefting his hammer, Karlaen scanned the sea of smoke 
  for foes. Behind the veil of grey cloud dark shapes were 
  moving, larger outlines indistinct behind swarms of smaller 
  ones. Then, from out of the haze, a lone Genestealer 
  materialised, hurling itself at the Captain. His storm bolter 
  still spent, Karlaen swung his ham m er around his head in a 
  brutal blow that smashed the creature to the gore-spattered 
  ground. At the same time he could see other multi-armed 
  shapes emerging into the plaza in ever increasing numbers. 
  It would not be long before these Tyranids turned from a 
  trickle into a tidal wave of claws and fangs.
  EDGE OF OBLIVION
  Long, bloody minutes dragged past, and Karlaen soon 
  stood in a circle of mangled Tyranid corpses. The smoke 
  had thickened, cutting vision down to less than a hundred 
  yards. W hat little sunlight there was had now been almost 
  completely obscured. The weariness of battle had also 
  brought with it a new danger, and Karlaen could feel the 
  rage that he had so long suppressed fighting to free itself. 
  Through the pain of his wounds and the thick grey clouds 
  cloaking the plaza, Karlaen observed his enemies massing 
  once more. From among the smoke and falling embers 
  a malign shape emerged from the gloom, and Karlaen 
  watched with a grim resignation as the Spawn of Cryptus 
  crept into view. Even though its carapace was cracked 
  and covered in filth, it still moved with a fluid grace and 
  terrible strength. In its shadow, a brood of Genestealers 
  skulked, slowly spreading out to surround the Captain.
  Karlaen raised his ham m er and prepared for the final 
  battle. At that moment, fire engulfed the rearmost 
  Genestealers as the air came alive with the crack of bolter 
  rounds. Like vengeful demigods, Squad Zachreal emerged 
  from the ruins of the palace, firing into the swarm. In their 
  wake, Cassor thundered forward, its mighty arm our freshly 
  scarred. From above, turbines howled as Raphen and the 
  surviving Death Company descended on trails of flame. 
  Still, the Blood Angels num bered but a handful against the 
  L 
  Tyranid horde, which grew with each passing second.
  TERMINATORS
  T erm inator arm our, also known as Tactical D readnought 
  Armour, is the zenith of the Im perium ’s personal defensive 
  technology. The peerless protection afforded a Space M arine 
  by Term inator arm our makes units of Term inators ideal for 
  boarding actions and vanguard assaults, where they can bull 
  their way through enemy defences and torrents of small arm s 
  fire. The size and strength of Term inator arm our also allows 
  them  to carry heavier weapons, stabilised by the suit’s integral 
  targeting augurs and suspensor systems. This allows their 
  wearers to lay down a w ithering storm  of fire as they m arch 
  remorselessly toward their foes.
  However, suits of Term inator arm our are rare and precious 
  artefacts, even within the ranks of the Adeptus Astartes, 
  and as a result are alm ost always reserved for Com m anders, 
  Captains and the Veterans of the 1st Company. During the 
  fighting on Phodia, units of veteran Space M arines wearing 
  Term inator arm our were deployed during the initial landings 
  to secure secondary objectives. Brother-Captain Karlaen led 
  one such form ation, Strike Force D eathstorm , though it was 
  later reinforced by his power-arm oured brethren. During the 
  fighting, the Captain would come to rely on his arm our time 
  and again, its protection fending off the worst of the Tyranids’ 
  attacks and saving him  from  the blows of the Spawn of Cryptus.
  
  From the surrounding city bio-horrors poured into the 
  plaza, the Blood Angels fighting them in a ragged line 
  around the Em peror’s fallen statue. Amid the melee 
  Karlaen sought out the Broodlord, screaming out a 
  challenge as he battered his way into the swarm. Bounding 
  down from the ruins, the Spawn of Cryptus answered this 
  call, tearing into Karlaen both physically and psychically, 
  with fury unlike either of their two previous encounters.
  In the space of a few seconds the Blood Angel was driven 
  back, his Term inator arm our barely warding off the 
  Broodlord’s mighty blows. All of Karlaen’s control was 
  focussed on trying to fend off the creature’s claws and keep 
  it from his mind, so much so that his grip upon his own 
  emotions was slipping. The Red Thirst surged up within 
  Karlaen and all his rage and hatred boiled to the surface. 
  With an incoherent cry the Captain felt his reason slip away 
  and rage take him.
  THE FINAL BLOW
  Blood Angel and Broodlord tore at each other, the 
  creature’s unrestrained fury m atched by the Captain’s 
  reckless hate. Karlaen’s arm our was pierced in a dozen 
  places but he paid it no heed, striking at the Tyranid with 
  ham m er and fist.
  Unseen by the Captain, the Death Company sold their 
  lives to destroy the xenos, and the rem nants of his squad 
  held back the ceaseless waves of Tyranids. Raphen saw 
  only endless ranks of frenzied traitors charging at him 
  out of the smoke. With each ham m er blow he screamed 
  out his Prim arch’s name, sending his enemies crum bling 
  to the ground among the drifts and piles of the dead. 
  Reaching the centre of the plaza, the former Brother- 
  Sergeant gazed upon the fallen form of the Em peror’s 
  statue and wept openly that the Master of M ankind had 
  been defiled so. Turning his deepening sorrow into rage, 
  Raphen stood before the statue with his brothers, wielding 
  his undim inished fury like a weapon. A brood of hulking 
  Tyranid Warriors stalked towards them, and Raphen 
  smashed the leg of the first before launching him self over 
  its body to strike at another. As he swung his ham m er two- 
  handed to pulp the alien’s drooling bio-cannon, a wickedly 
  curved bone sword slipped beneath his guard and bisected 
  his hearts. For a second Raphen lived on, and before the 
  darkness took him, the Blood Angel saw his killers for what 
  they really were, their alien maws and ripping claws covered 
  in his blood.
  High above the melee, a Stormraven Gunship tore down 
  through the atmosphere, the burning city of Phodia 
  spread out beneath it like a vision of hell. Through eddies 
  and whirlwinds in the clouds, the pilot saw Harpies and 
  Gargoyles rising up to meet him. Voxing a quick message 
  to the Blood Angels Terminators fighting below, the 
  Stormraven tipped its blunt nose toward the planet and 
  screamed down into the Tyranids with guns blazing.
  Meanwhile the battle raged on below. The D readnought 
  Cassor now stood alone against hulking bio-beasts spilling 
  out from the flame-shrouded ruins, the ground littered 
  with the ragged remains of Death Company and xenos 
  alike. Through the madness of the Black Rage, Cassor saw 
  Karlaen borne down to the ground under the bulk of the
  Broodlord. Thundering across the plaza, the war machine 
  slashed one of its blood talons across the creature’s back, 
  the force of the blow flinging the beast aside. However, in 
  that mom ent of fury, Cassor was undone. The Carnifex, 
  still bearing the scars of its previous encounters, tore into 
  Cassor from behind. From the ground Karlaen watched as 
  alien claws plunged through the Dreadnought.
  The Captain, still burning with mindless rage, pulled 
  him self to his feet, and, failing to find trace of the 
  Broodlord, turned upon the Carnifex still tearing at 
  Cassor. His first thunder ham m er blow stunned the 
  creature before it could extract its claws from the ruined 
  D readnought, while his second, third and fourth turned 
  its snarling head to a mangled gory stump. Turning to seek 
  out more prey, Karlaen saw the shadow of a Stormraven 
  descend through the smoke, at the same time as he saw the 
  wounded Spawn of Cryptus limping back toward the ruins 
  of the palace. For a moment Karlaen turned to give chase 
  to his hated foe, but then som ething within him  stayed his 
  hand. He could not save Flax and kill the Broodlord both. 
  With that thought, the Red Thirst died within him, and his 
  duty became clear.
  With a final look at the cursed creature, the Captain 
  retreated to Flax’s hiding place and his surviving battle- 
  brothers. A round them, a roiling sea of xenos flesh closed 
  in. H urrying the Planetary Governor into the waiting 
  gunship, Karlaen and his men charged aboard.
  The last thing the Blood Angels Captain saw before the 
  ram p closed and the Stormraven took to the sky were two 
  red eyes glaring at him through the smoke.
  Captain Karlaen stepped down the Stormraven’s assault 
  ramp and onto the landing platform at Port Helos, a fog of 
  engine fumes coiling around his ceramite boots. To Karlaen s 
  surprise, the golden figure of his Chapter Master stood before 
  him, and refexively the Captain fell to a knee.
  ‘Rise and report, Captain,’Dante commanded, his tone 
  revealing nothing of the man that lurked behind the gold 
  death mask.
  In short, precise sentences Karlaen explained what had 
  transpired within the ruins, even as Chapter serfs led the 
  bewildered Flax away for transport into orbit where the fleet 
  were waiting. Only once or twice did Dante interrupt to ask 
  questions about the strange Broodlord. Even so, Karlaen 
  could tell other things were weighing on his lord’s mind, and 
  though the Captain wanted to ask for permission to hunt 
  down this aberrant beast, he held his tongue.
  ‘You have done well, Captain. Corbulo will be pleased you 
  have secured his prize. ’ Dante paused, looking out beyond the 
  port walls to the burning city beyond. ‘I  wish I could offer you 
  some respite, but I  have need of you once more. ’
  Karlaen bowed his head in respect as he replied, ‘Speak your 
  will, my lord, and I will see it done. ’
  
  1st Company Captain Karlaen bears the blood drop 
  symbol of his Chapter in many places on his arm our 
  and weapons. This crimson teardrop reflects the 
  dedication of the Blood Angels’ artificers and gives 
  the impression that Karlaen’s wargear is part of the 
  arsenal reserved for the C hapter’s veterans.
  The Terminators of Squad Alphaeus each wear the Crux Terminatus upon their left shoulder pads, identifying them as 
  veterans of the 1st Company. Each battle-brother also has a scroll or banner upon their arm our bearing their name, a great 
  honour given the rarity of Term inator armour.
  Alphaeus, shown here, has his name upon his right shoulder pad under the winged 
  £ 
  ^  icon of the Chapter. The Sergeant is also bareheaded so we can see his determ ined
  ** expression and the service stud above his right eye.
  
  The Death Company adorn their arm our with red saltires 
  as a symbol of their succumbing to the Black Rage. These 
  crosses appear on helmets, shoulder pads and weapons.
  Though their arm our has been painted black, the Death 
  Company retain many common icons of the Blood Angels, 
  including winged blood drops and the chalice.
  Cassor the Damned bears many of 
  the same icons as his smaller Death 
  Company brethren. In addition, 
  he sports scrolls with the names of 
  battles in which he has fought, such 
  as the campaign upon the broken 
  world of Enosh, im mortalised 
  under the sigil of the golden 
  chalice and haloed blood drop.
  Squad Raphen is nam ed for its Brother-Sergeant, seen here wielding a deadly thunder 
  upon his armour, including clusters of purity seals and a flapping scroll affixed before
  hammer. Raphen has extensive detail 
  battle.
  19
  
  The Beast of Phodia has a worn, pitted looking carapace, the result of days of fighting before the arrival of the Blood 
  Angels. The creature also has the distinctive yellow stripe markings of the Phodian A nnihilation Swarm, which typified the 
  organisms fighting in the ruins of the once-great city of Phodia.
  I
  These Genestealers, the Children 
  of Cryptus, are all posed to give 
  a dynamic sense of movement. 
  Talons raised and legs coiled 
  under them, they look as if 
  they are leaping and bounding 
  through the ruins of Phodia, 
  hunting the Blood Angels through 
  %  «£ the darkened streets and tunnels, 
  e- awaiting the moment to strike.
  
  The Spawn of Cryptus is an impressive 
  model -  posed atop a spiny Tyranid 
  growth it is ready to pounce upon its 
  next victim. Distinctive details of the 
  Broodlord include its rows of needle­
  like teeth and long barbed tongue, 
  which appears to have a mind of its 
  own as it writhes out of the creature’s 
  open mouth, seeking out prey to feed 
  upon. The Broodlord’s eyes are also 
  indicative of its alien nature; squinting 
  from above its oversized maw, they 
  convey a hint of the potent psychic will 
  the beast projects upon its foes.
  Each of the Phodian Tyranid W arriors carries an impressive array of bio­
  weapons. This warrior is arm ed with a bonesword and lash whip, which we 
  can see coiling out ready to strike or snare its prey. The creature also has 
  toxin sacs attached to its sword arm, the vile growth covered in shining 
  green blisters, hinting at the caustic fluids contained within.
  
  GAME RULES & MISSIONS
  On the following pages you will find all of the rules and 
  inform ation that you need in order to use the Citadel 
  m iniatures from Shield of Baal: Deathstorm in games of 
  W arhammer 40,000. We have also included a selection of 
  new missions based on the events that took place in the 
  Flaxian Palace on Asphodex, and which can be fought 
  using the Citadel m iniatures included with Shield of Baal: 
  Deathstorm. This means that, as long as you have Warhammer 
  40,000: The Rules, you can start playing as soon as you get 
  the m iniatures assembled!
  MISSIONS
  This book includes several W arhammer 40,000 missions 
  inspired by the pivotal battles fought as Karlaen’s Blood 
  Angels encountered the Tyranids. All of the missions can 
  be fought using just the m iniatures provided with Shield 
  of Baal: Deathstorm, or can be expanded to use additional 
  Citadel m iniatures from your collection if you wish.
  There are several ways in which you can use the missions. 
  The first is simply to select a particular mission you are 
  excited about and fight it out using the Citadel miniatures 
  provided with Shield of Baal: Deathstorm. The Armies section 
  of each mission provides guidance on the forces present so 
  that you can replay the battles using the units, characters 
  and Formations described in the background section of 
  this book.
  A nother way to use these missions is to play a campaign. 
  You can do this by simply playing through the missions 
  sequentially. If you do so, keep a note of your cumulative 
  Victory Points, and the w inner of the campaign is the 
  player with the highest score. If you are playing a campaign, 
  we suggest you m aintain the same side (the Blood Angels or 
  the Tyranids) throughout the course of the campaign, but 
  upon its completion swap roles and see how much better 
  (or worse) you fare when fighting for the other side.
  DATASHEETS
  The Datasheets section includes background and rules 
  inform ation that describe the forces used by the Blood 
  Angels and Tyranids during the Phodian campaign -  their 
  warriors, their vehicles or monsters, and the characters 
  that lead them to battle. Each unit of models included with 
  Shield of Baal: Deathstorm has a datasheet. Each datasheet 
  contains a detailed description of the unit along with all 
  the following rules inform ation to use it in your games of 
  W arhammer 40,000:
  Faction: The u n it’s Faction will be shown with a symbol. 
  The symbols for these Factions are defined in Warhammer 
  40,000: The Rules. The units described in this book have 
  either the Blood Angels or Tyranids Faction.
  Battlefield Role: The u n it’s Battlefield Role is shown 
  with a symbol. The symbols for these battlefield roles are 
  defined in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.
  Unit Name: At the start of each Army List Entry you will 
  find the name of the unit alongside the points cost of 
  the unit.
  Unit Profile: This section will show the profile of any 
  models the unit can include.
  Unit Type: This refers to the unit type rules in Warhammer 
  40,000: The Rules. For example, a unit may be classed as 
  Infantry or Vehicle, which will subject it to a num ber of 
  rules regarding movement, shooting, assaulting etc.
  Unit Composition: This will show the num ber and type 
  of models that make up the unit. If the Unit Composition 
  includes the word ‘U nique’, then you may only include one 
  of this unit in your army.
  Wargear/Weapons 8c Biomorphs: This details the 
  weapons, equipm ent and upgrades the models in the unit 
  are arm ed with. The cost for all these models and their 
  equipm ent is included in the points cost listed next to the 
  unit name.
  Warlord Traits: If a character has a specific Warlord Trait, 
  it will be listed on its datasheet.
  Relic of Baal: Any unique item of wargear the model has 
  will be detailed on its datasheet.
  Special Rules: Any special rules that apply to the models 
  in the unit are listed on its datasheet. With the exception 
  of Synapse Creature, Shadow in the Warp, Instinctive 
  Behaviour and Tyranid psychic powers, which are 
  described on page 39, a special rule that is not explained 
  on the datasheet will be explained in the Special Rules 
  section of Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.
  D e a t h s t o r m  F o r m a t io n s
  This book includes two new Formations 
  that you can use in any of your games of 
  W arham mer 40,000. These are denoted by 
  the icon shown here.
  W a r g e a r , W e a p o n s  &  B io m o r p h s
  The weapons and wargear used by the Blood Angels and 
  Tyranid forces included with Shield of Baal: Deathstorm can 
  be found after the datasheets in their respective sections.
  If an item of wargear is not explained in either the Blood 
  Angels or Tyranid wargear sections, its rules will be found 
  in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.
  
  HUNTERS IN THE DARK
  p m
  —
  Whilst searching the ruins of the Flaxian Palace to find the Planetary Governor, Captain Karlaen and Squad Alphaeus 
  are ambushed by a swarm of Genestealers. If the Blood Angels are to achieve their mission they will have to fight their 
  way through a great shadow-haunted corridor, into which Genestealers flood through with every second that passes 
  whilst yet others descend from their hiding places concealed in the ceiling above.
  THE ARMIES
  One player commands the Blood Angels, the other the 
  Tyranids. Each player takes the following models:
  B l o o d  A n g e l s  A r m y
  Captain Karlaen 
  Squad Alphaeus
  T y r a n id s  A r m y
  The Children of Cryptus
  (Do not take the Spawn of Cryptus in this mission. The 
  Tyranids army does not have a Warlord in this mission).
  THE BATTLEFIELD
  Use the deployment map included with this mission. Set 
  up terrain as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.
  DEPLOYMENT
  The Blood Angels player deploys first. He must deploy 
  all his units within 6" of the Blood Angels table edge.
  In this mission, the models in Squad Alphaeus are 
  all individual units, and so move, shoot, charge etc. 
  independently. No unit can be placed in Reserve.
  The Tyranids player deploys second. He deploys his 
  units anywhere that is more than 18" away from any 
  Blood Angels model. In this mission, the models in the 
  Children of Cryptus are also individual units.
  FIRST TURN
  GAME LENGTH
  The game continues until Captain Karlaen is either 
  removed as a casualty or exits the battlefield.
  VICTORY CONDITIONS
  At the end of the game, the Blood Angels player scores 
  5 Victory Points if Captain Karlaen has exited the 
  battlefield (see below), and the Tyranid player scores 
  1 Victory Point for every Blood Angels model that was 
  removed as a casualty. The player who has scored the 
  most Victory Points is the winner. If both players have 
  the same num ber of Victory Points, the game is a draw.
  MISSION SPECIAL RULES
  Hidden in Shadow: The maximum range for any line of 
  sight in this mission is 18".
  Out of the Darkness: If Captain Karlaen starts his 
  Movement phase within 6" of the table edge labelled 
  ‘Exit Point’, he can exit the battlefield.
  Surrounded and Outnumbered: Each time a 
  Genestealer is removed as a casualty, an identical 
  replacem ent is placed into Ongoing Reserves, which 
  will arrive in the Tyranid player’s next turn. W henever 
  a Genestealer arrives from Ongoing Reserves, roll a 
  D6: On a 1-2 that Genestealer arrives from the Blood 
  Angels table edge, on a 3-4 it arrives from the table edge 
  labelled ‘Exit Point’ and on a 5-6 it arrives using the 
  rules for Deep Strike.
  The Tyranids player goes first unless the Blood Angels 
  player can Seize the Initiative (see Warhammer 40,000: 
  The Rules).
  
  STORM OF BLOOD
  шшшшшшшшшшшшшшяяяшшшпшяшшшшшшшшияняшяшшшшшшяяшшшашаяшшшшшшшшшшяшшшшяшшяшяшшшшшшшшиишш
  Whilst engaged in a desperate duel, Captain Karlaen has become trapped beneath a fallen Ecclesiarchal statue. 
  Though Squad Alphaeus stand guard near their fallen lord, their minds are still reeling from a brutal psychic 
  onslaught, leaving Karlaen dangerously vulnerable in the face of the approaching Tyranid broods. Unless aid arrives 
  soon, the Blood Angels Terminators will be overrun and tom to pieces.
  THE ARMIES
  One player commands the Blood Angels, the other the 
  Tyranids. Each player takes the following models:
  B l o o d  A n g e l s  A r m y
  Squad Alphaeus 
  Raphen’s Death Company 
  Cassor the Damned
  T y r a n id s  A r m y
  The Beast of Phodia 
  Phodian Hive Warriors 
  The Children of Cryptus
  (Do not take the Spawn of Cryptus in this mission. The 
  Tyranids army does not have a Warlord in this mission).
  THE BATTLEFIELD
  Use the deployment map included with this mission. Set 
  up terrain as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.
  O b j e c t iv e  M a r k e r s
  After setting up terrain, place a single Objective Marker 
  in the centre of the table.
  DEPLOYMENT
  The Blood Angels player deploys first. He must deploy 
  Squad Alphaeus within 6" of the centre of the table. 
  Raphen’s Death Company start the game in Deep Strike
  Reserve. Cassor the Damned starts the game in Reserve.
  The Tyranids player deploys second. He deploys his 
  units anywhere within 6" of the Tyranids table edge. The 
  Beast of Phodia starts the game in Reserve.
  FIRST TURN
  The Blood Angels player goes first.
  GAME LENGTH
  This mission uses Variable Game Length (see 
  Warhammer 40,000: The Rules).
  VICTORY CONDITIONS
  At the end of the game, the player that controls the 
  Objective Marker scores 5 Victory Points and wins 
  the game.
  MISSION SPECIAL RULES
  Psychic Horror: Until the start of their second turn, 
  Squad Alphaeus are Pinned.
  Crash through the Ruins: W hen Cassor the Damned 
  and the Beast of Phodia arrive from Reserve, they may 
  move on from any table edge.
  a.
  
  Captain Karlaen and the survivors of his strike force have rescued Governor Flax and fought their way back to the 
  world’s surface. Now they must hold out against the waves of Tyranids long enough for the Chapter’s Stormravens to 
  arrive from orbit and extract them and their prize. The Spawn of Cryptus has sensed its prey’s attempt to flee, and has 
  urged every Tyranid under its command to attack, intent that its quarry will not escape.
  THE ARMIES
  One player commands the Blood Angels, the other the 
  Tyranids. Each player takes the following formations:
  B l o o d  A n g e l s  A r m y
  Strike Force Deathstorm
  T y r a n id s  A r m y
  Phodian A nnihilation Swarm
  THE BATTLEFIELD
  Use the deployment map included with this mission. Set 
  up terrain as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.
  DEPLOYMENT
  The Tyranids player deploys first. He must deploy his 
  units within 3" of any table edge. The Children of 
  Cryptus can deploy using their Infiltrate special rule.
  The Blood Angels player deploys second. He must 
  deploy all his units within 6" of the centre of the board. 
  Neither player can place any units in Reserve.
  FIRST TURN
  The Tyranids player goes first unless the Blood Angels 
  player can Seize the Initiative (see Warhammer 40,000:
  The Rules).
  Tyranids Table Edge
  GAME LENGTH
  This mission uses Variable Game Length (see 
  Warhammer 40,000: The Rules).
  VICTORY CONDITIONS
  At the end of the game, the Blood Angels player scores 
  3 Victory Points if Captain Karlaen is still alive and 1 
  Victory Point for each other Blood Angels unit that is 
  still alive. The Tyranid player scores 3 Victory Points 
  if Captain Karlaen was removed as a casualty’ and 1 
  Victory Point for each other Blood Angels unit that was 
  completely destroyed. The player who has scored the 
  most Victory Points is the winner. If both players have 
  the same num ber of Victory Points, the game is a draw.
  MISSION SPECIAL RULES
  The Edge of Oblivion: Each time a Tyranid unit is 
  completely destroyed you can immediately place a new 
  unit into Ongoing Reserve that is identical in terms of 
  the original num ber of models, weapons and upgrades 
  to the unit that was just destroyed. The only exception 
  is the Spawn of Cryptus who, if slain, will not return 
  (although its Genestealers will). Tyranid units arriving 
  from Ongoing Reserves enter play from any table edge.
  The Red Thirst Rises: In this mission Captain Karlaen 
  has the Rage special rule.
  3"
  Tyranids Deployment Zone
  3 n
  Blood Angels 
  Deployment 
  Zone
  
  Captain Karlaen
  Unit Type
  Infantry (Character)
  Unit Composition
  1 (Unique)
  WARGEAR:
  • Terminator armour (pg 31)
  • Storm bolter
  • Iron halo (pg 31)
  SPECIAL RULES:
  • And They Shall Know 
  No Fear
  • Counter-attack
  • Furious Charge
  • Independent Character
  WARLORD TRAIT: 
  Strategic Genius: This 
  Warlord possesses a natural 
  ^ 
  gift for planning and executing 
  wars, his knowledge of military 
  strategy second to none.
  You add +1 to any Seize the 
  Initiative roll. In addition, 
  whilst your W arlord is alive, 
  you can re-roll any Reserve 
  Rolls (failed or successful).
  RELIC OF BAAL
  The Hammer of Baal: This exquisite weapon was forged 
  by master-artisans several millennia ago. It was entrusted 
  by Dante himself into Karlaen’s custody when he took up the 
  mantle of Captain of the 1st Company. Since that day it has 
  been the doom of traitors and aliens beyond counting.
  Range
  Melee, Concussive, 
  Master-crafted, 
  Specialist Weapon, 
  Unwieldy
  CAPTAIN KARLAEN
  T h e  S h ie l d  o f  B a a l
  At the battle of Forlorn Falls, it 
  was Karlaen’s Terminators that 
  led the counter-attack that broke 
  through the fortifications of the 
  Iron Warriors. On Ivald XII 
  Karlaen held the line against 
  the Orks of the Shattered Fang 
  tribe, foiling their attacks one 
  after another. Karlaen has also 
  fought the creatures of the hive 
  fleets many times before, having 
  personally led a dozen missions 
  to destroy infested space hulks.
  For all these reasons Karlaen 
  was chosen by Corbulo for 
  the mission to Phodia. The 
  Sanguinary High Priest has 
  complete confidence in the 
  Captain’s strategic acumen and 
  his utter dedication to duty.
  Captain Karlaen commands 
  the 1st Company of the Blood 
  Angels and has earned a 
  reputation as a formidable 
  warrior and brilliant tactician 
  over centuries of service. Trained 
  by Commander Dante himself, 
  Karlaen has distinguished 
  himself time and again in the 
  two centuries he has held the 
  rank of Captain within the 
  Blood Angels.
  
  kMi
  SQUAD ALPHAEUS
  215
  POINTS
  WARGEAR:
  • All models have Terminator armour (pg 31).
  • Alphaeus has a storm bolter and power sword.
  • 1 Terminator has a heavy flamer and power fist.
  • 1 Terminator has a storm bolter and chainfist.
  • 2 Terminators each have a storm bolter and power fist.
  Brother-Sergeant Alphaeus is an old comrade of Captain Karlaen, and has served at his side on many hundreds of missions. However, this is 
  not the only reason the Captain chose Alphaeus and his squad to accompany him to Phodia. Alphaeus has a well-earned reputation fighting 
  the creatures of the Hive Mind. In his time aboard space hulks and upon the xenos ravaged battlefields of the Imperium, the Brother-Sergeant 
  has mastered the methods of killing even the largest Tyranid bio-beasts, and for this reason favours arming his squad with a heavy flamer; this 
  is the ideal weapon for thinning out the ranks of a Tyranid swarm. On Phodia, Alphaeus and his squad would prove their worth, surviving 
  against the brutality of the xenos where countless others were destroyed.
  WS BS
  S
  T
  W
  I
  A Ld Sv
  T erm in ato r
  4
  4
  4
  4
  1
  4
  2
  9
  2+
  A lphaeus
  4
  4
  4
  4
  1
  4
  2
  9
  2+
  Unit Type 
  Unit Composition
  Infantry 
  4 T erm inators
  Infantry (C haracter) 
  1 (U nique)
  SPECIAL RULES:
  • And They Shall Know No Fear
  • Furious Charge
  • Preferred Enemy (Tyranids) (A lphaeus only)
  
  ш
  RAPHEN’S DEATH COMPANY
  Before every battle a few amongst the Blood Angels will inevitably succumb to the Black Rage, the inescapable madness that can only be cured 
  in death. With such a large proportion of Chapter fighting on Phodia, it was only to be expected that many more battle-brothers would fall 
  prey to the Black Rage. Among these were Raphen and his brothers, sent down from the heavens by Dante to support Karlaen’s force in their 
  mission. In battle the Death Company are completely consumed by the visions and ancient memories that tear at their mind, often confusing 
  past and present or perceiving foes that have long since been vanquished. For all their madness, though, they are deadly fighters that can only 
  be defeated in death.
  Unit Type 
  Unit Composition
  Ju m p  Infantry 
  4 D eath C om pany M arines
  Ju m p  Infantry (C haracter) 
  1 (U nique)
  WS BS
  D eath C om pany M arine 
  4 
  4
  R aphen 
  4 
  4
  A Ld Sv
  2
  8
  3+
  3
  9
  3+
  SPECIAL RULES:
  • Fearless
  • Feel No Pain
  • Furious Charge
  • Rage
  • Relentless
  WARGEAR:
  • All models have power armour (pg 31), jump pack (pg 31), 
  frag and krak grenades.
  • Raphen has a bolt pistol and thunder hammer.
  • 1 Death Company Marine has a bolt pistol and power fist.
  • 1 Death Company Marine has a bolt pistol and power sword.
  • 1 Death Company Marine has an inferno pistol 
  # 
  and chainsword.
  • 1 Death Company Marine has a bolt pistol and chainsword.
  
  CASSOR THE DAMNED
  POINTS
  Sometimes even Blood Angels Dreadnoughts succumb to the Black Rage, their minds infected with the same spiritual sickness that can afflict 
  their mortal brethren. Cassor the Damned is one such tragic individual: having served for almost three centuries within the hull of his war 
  machine, his mind was finally broken during the battle of Lowfang. Those that saw Cassors fall from sanity say it was the wings of the 
  Sanguinary Guard as they passed overhead, blotting out the sun, that triggered the rage. Since that day the sound of beating wings is the 
  only way to rouse the Dreadnought from his madness long enough for a Death Company Chaplain to direct him at his foes. When so released, 
  however, his battle-fury is terrifying to behold, and countless foes have fallen to his razor-sharp blood talons.
  Г Armour 1
  WS BS F 
  S 
  R 
  I 
  A HP 
  Unit Type 
  Unit Composition
  C assor th e D am ned 
  4 
  4 
  1 2 1 2  10 
  4 
  3 
  3 
  Vehicle (W alker, C haracter) 
  1 (U nique)
  WARGEAR:
  • One blood talon (pg 31) with 
  built-in meltagun
  • One blood talon (pg 31) with 
  built-in storm bolter
  • Magna-grapple (pg 31)
  • Searchlight
  SPECIAL RULES:
  • Furious Charge
  • Rage
  None Can Stay My Wrath:
  Cassor the Damned ignores the 
  effects of Crew Shaken or Crew 
  Stunned damage results (but 
  still loses a Hull Point).
  
  ф ф STRIKE FORCE DEATHSTORM
  ф Ф
  As Commander Dante’s Blood Angels fleet reached high orbit above Asphodex, he sent down forward assault squads to secure key resources, 
  clear vital landing zones and assess the size and strength of the ground swarm. Among these were squads of the 1st Company and elements of 
  the Death Company. Karlaen led one of his Terminator Squads into the heart of the ruined Governor’s Palace to complete the mission bestowed 
  upon him by Corbulo, and, in the course of the fighting, battle-brothers of the Death Company and even the Dreadnought Cassor the Damned 
  would come to Karlaen’s aid when his own command was hopelessly overrun. Together Strike Force Deathstorm would take a bloody toll upon 
  the Tyranids, and help the 1st Company Captain to return with Corbulo’s prize intact.
  SPECIAL RULES:
  Against all Odds: All units in this Formation have the 
  Fearless special rule. Models that already have the Fearless 
  special rule instead gain the Counter-attack special rule.
  Bloody Toll: Once per game, at the start of any Assault 
  phase, Captain Karlaen can call for a Bloody Toll. On the 
  turn he does so, all units in this Formation re-roll all failed 
  To W ound rolls until the end of that phase.
  FORMATION:
  • Captain Karlaen (pg 26)
  • Squad Alphaeus (pg 27)
  • Raphen’s Death Company (pg 28)
  • Cassor the Damned (pg 29)
  RESTRICTIONS:
  None.
  
  BLOOD ANGELS WARGEAR
  M e l e e  W e a p o n s
  Profiles for the following Melee weapons are listed in 
  the Reference (pg 40). Their full rules can be found
  in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules:
  Chainfist 
  Chainsword 
  Power fist 
  Power sword 
  Thunder ham m er
  B l o o d  T a l o n
  The blood talon echoes the Space Marine lightning claw writ large. 
  Where power armour or Terminator armour can mount a set of 
  foot-long powered blades, each blood talon boasts claws as long as 
  a Blood Angel’s arm. Forged from adamantium, energised using 
  reserves from the Dreadnought’s power plant, and blessed by both 
  the Techmarines and Chaplains of the Chapter, these weapons are 
  truly lethal. With a single swipe of a blood talon, a Blood Angels 
  Dreadnought can scythe down a whole swathe of foes, cutting 
  through the thickest armour as though it were parchment. Equipped 
  with a pair of these weapons, a Dreadnought can plough through 
  the ranks of the foe, leaving nothing but red mist and butchered 
  corpses in its wake.
  Range
  AP
  т УРе
  x2
  Melee, Shred, 
  Specialist W eapon
  R a n g e d  W e a p o n s
  Profiles for the following ranged weapons are listed 
  in the Reference (pg 40). Their full rules can be 
  found in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules:
  Bolt pistol 
  Heavy flam er 
  Inferno pistol 
  Meltagun 
  Storm bolter
  A r m o u r
  S p e c ia l  I s s u e  W a r g e a r
  Rules for the following wargear can be found in 
  Warhammer 40,000: The Rules:
  Frag grenades*
  Krak grenades
  * See assault grenades
  I r o n  H a l o
  Echoing the flickering war-halo of the Primarch himself, the iron 
  halo projects a protective energy field around its honoured bearer.
  An iron halo confers a 4+ invulnerable save.
  J u m p  Pa c k
  Jump packs allow the wearer to leap through the air in short, 
  controlled bursts of flight, a deployment method particularly 
  beloved of Sanguinius’ sons.
  Models equipped with jum p packs gain the Jum p unit type 
  as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.
  V e h ic l e  E q u ip m e n t
  Rules for the following vehicle equipment can be 
  found in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules:
  Searchlight
  M a g n a -g r a p p l e
  Consisting of a potent gravitic magnet and a spooled length of 
  adamantium chain, a magna-grapple can clamp onto vehicular 
  hulls before hauling the Dreadnought towards its target at speed.
  A model equipped with a magna-grapple has the Move 
  Through Cover special rule. In addition, a unit containing 
  a model with a magna-grapple can re-roll failed charges 
  when attem pting to charge a vehicle.
  P o w e r  A r m o u r
  Made from thick ceramite plates and electrically motivated fibre 
  bundles that enhance the movement of the wearer, power armour is 
  the standard protection for Space Marines.
  Power arm our confers a 3+ A rm our Save.
  T e r m in a t o r  A r m o u r
  Terminator armour is the best protection a Space Marine can be 
  equipped with. Its reinforced plates can withstand almost any blow, 
  providing the wearer with the resilience of a walking tank.
  Term inator arm our confers a 2+ A rm our Save and a 5+ 
  invulnerable save. Furtherm ore, models in Term inator 
  arm our have the Bulky, Deep Strike and Relentless special 
  rules, and may not make Sweeping Advances.
  
  ш
  ьЭБл
  THE CHILDREN 
  OF CRYPTUS
  The Spawn of Cryptus and his brood have haunted the Phodian undercity for decades, preying upon the lost and the unwary. Raised in the 
  heart of the governor’s palace, the Broodlord is a terrifying and cunning foe that knows the city of Phodia like a true native. This knowledge 
  allows the Children of Cryptus and their progenitor to move about the city unseen, slipping away from battle or springing sudden ambushes. 
  The Spawn of Cryptus is an especially vile specimen of the Tyranid Broodlord genus. Its unique telepathic power, combined with its genetic 
  ancestry, grants the beast a disturbing understanding of the human mind; this was something the Blood Angels would discover when first the 
  Broodlord was revealed.
  Genestealer 
  Spawn of Cryptus
  s
  T
  W
  I
  A Ld Sv
  Unit Type
  Unit Composition
  4
  4
  1
  6
  2
  10 5+
  Infantry
  8 Genestealers
  5
  5
  3
  7
  4
  10 4+
  Infantry (Character)
  1 (Unique)
  WEAPONS 8c 
  BIOMORPHS:
  • Rending claws (pg 38)
  • Scything talons
  (Genestealer only) (pg 38)
  WARLORD TRAIT: 
  Innate Understanding 
  (Spawn of Cryptus only):
  This Warlord has been 
  engineered so that it 
  instinctively knows the best 
  methods of defeating its enemies.
  This Warlord has the 
  Preferred Enemy 
  special rule.
  SPECIAL RULES:
  • Bulky
  (Spawn of Cryptus only)
  • Fleet
  • Infiltrate
  • Move Through Cover
  • Psyker (Mastery Level 1)
  (Spawn of Cryptus only)
  • Stealth
  PSYKER:
  The Spawn of Cryptus 
  knows The Horror and 
  Dominion psychic powers 
  (pg 39).
  
  PHODIAN HIVE WARRIORS
  POINTS
  Swarms of Tyranid weapon-beasts infest the city of Phodia, crowding its streets and crawling through its ruins. Among these lesser beasts stride 
  the Phodian Hive Warriors, generals and shock troops of the Hive Mind. Armed with an impressive range of bio-weaponry, each Tyranid 
  Warrior is a formidable opponent. These bio-warriors were common in the ruins of the Palace District, stalking among the lesser Tyranid 
  creatures as they sought out specific prey. Perhaps the most terrible aspect of the Phodian Hive Warriors was their connection to the Hive 
  Mind, allowing them to influence the broods around them. On Phodia this extended to the very ruins themselves, which were overgrown with 
  Tyranid bio-organisms.
  P hodian Hive W arrior
  WS BS S T W 
  I 
  A Ld Sv 
  Unit Type
  5 
  3
  4
  4
   
  3 
  4 
  3 
  10 4+ 
  Infantry
  Unit Composition
  3 P hodian Hive W arriors (U nique)
  WEAPONS 8c BIOMORPHS:
  • All models in the unit have toxin sacs and 
  adrenal glands (pg 38).
  • One model is equipped with a pair of scything talons and a 
  venom cannon (pg 38).
  • One model is equipped with a pair of scything talons and a 
  pair of boneswords (pg 38).
  • One model is equipped with a pair of rending claws and a 
  lash whip and bonesword (pg 38).
  SPECIAL RULES:
  • Shadow in the Warp (pg 39)
  • Synapse Creature (pg 39)
  • Very Bulky
  Infested Ruins: Phodian 
  Hive Warriors do not suffer 
  the penalty to their Initiative 
  for charging through ruins 
  but fight at their norm al 
  Initiative. Furtherm ore,
  models without the Tyranids 
  Faction treat all ruins 
  terrain within 12" of a 
  Phodian Hive W arrior as 
  dangerous terrain.
  
  Bio-plasma (pg 38) 
  Stranglethorn 
  cannon (pg 38) 
  Scything talons (pg 38)
  Living Battering Ram: W hen 
  this model charges, it inflicts D3 
  H am m er of W rath Attacks, rather 
  than just 1.
  THE BEAST OF PHODIA
  170
  POINTS j
  It is unclear whether or not the Beast of Phodia, as the defenders knew it, was a single Carnifex or many. Certainly, during the course of 
  Captain Karlaen’s mission he would report the creature returning many times, in each encounter the scars of its previous demise readily 
  apparent. Whether this is the result of rapid regeneration or some other altogether more alien means of resurrection, the Beast proved to be 
  practically unkillable. Armed with razor-sharp talons and a massive bio-cannon, few foes could stand against the Beast and live for long. 
  Against those who did, the Beast would spew forth vile torrents of burning plasma from its toxic innards, able to bum through flesh and 
  armour with equal ease.
  WS BS S T W 
  I 
  A Ld Sv 
  Unit Type 
  Unit Composition
  T he Beast of P h o d ia 
  3 
  3
  9
  6
  4
  2
   
  3 7  
  3+ 
  M onstrous C reature 
  1 (U nique)
  WEAPONS & 
  BIOMORPHS:
  SPECIAL RULES:
  • Fearless
  • Instinctive Behaviour (Feed) (pg 39) 
  •It Will Not Die
  
  When the Blood Angels descended upon Phodia, its defences had all but been overrun. The Hive Mind had turned from conquest to 
  consumption, and the ruins thronged with swarms of digestion organisms. However, broods of Tyranids still remained, hunting down and 
  devouring the remaining survivors. The Blood Angels classified these beasts as the Phodian Annihilation Swarm, and it was these bio-horrors 
  that gathered to repel their invasion. In the shadow of the ruined Planetary Governor’s Palace, the Annihilation Swarm consisted mainly of 
  the Children of Cryptus and those larger bio-creatures that stalked the rubble. When the Blood Angels 1st Company Terminators arrived, these 
  deadly swarm-beasts crawled from the shadows to tear them to pieces.
  FORMATION:
  ► The Children of Cryptus (pg 34)
  ► Phodian Hive Warriors (pg 35)
  * The Beast of Phodia (pg 36)
  RESTRICTIONS:
  None.
  SPECIAL RULES:
  Crawl from the Shadows: All models in this Formation 
  have the Stealth special rule. Models that already have the 
  Stealth special rule also have the Shrouded Special rule.
  Unnatural Intelligence: Whilst the Spawn of Cryptus is 
  alive, all units in this Formation have the Preferred Enemy 
  special rule.
  
  TYRANID WEAPONS & BIOMORPHS
  M e l e e  W e a p o n s
  Designer’s Note: Tyranid Melee weapons come as pairs. For 
  game purposes, each pair is treated as a single Melee weapon. 
  This means that Tyranid models must fight with two pairs 
  of any Tyranid Melee weapons to gain a bonus Attack in 
  close combat for fighting with two weapons. For example, a 
  Carnifex armed with a single pair of scything talons does not 
  gain a bonus Attack, but a Genestealer with a pair of rending 
  claws and a pair of scything talons does.
  BONESWORDS
  Boneswords are living monomolecular blades that can drain the I 
  force of their victims.
  Range
  AP
  т УРе
  User
  Melee, 
  Life Drain
  Life Drain: Any To W ound roll of a 6 made by this weapon 
  has the Instant Death special rule.
  R a n g e d  W e a p o n s
  B i o -p l a s m a
  Some Camifexes can generate a roaring ball of bio-plasma within 
  their bodies and vomit forth the resultant energy as an incandescent 
  gobbet of fire.
  Range
  AP
  Type
  12"
  Assault 1, Blast
  St r a n g l e t h o r n  C a n n o n
  These weapons fire seed pods that grow to maturity in seconds, 
  spreading out hooked tendrils in all directions.
  Range
  AP
  т УРе
  36"
  Assault 1, 
  Large Blast, 
  Pinning
  V e n o m  C a n n o n
  These powerful bio-weapons fire salvoes of corrosive crystals at 
  tremendous velocities which shatter on impact to shred the foe.
  Range
  AP
  Type
  36"
  Assault 1, Blast
  L a s h  w h ip  a n d  B o n e s w o r d
  Some Tyranid creatures wield a bonesword in a deadly symbiotic 
  combination with a lash whip; a cord of muscle that moves at 
  lightning speeds to slash their prey.
  Range
  AP
  Type
  User
  Melee, Life Drain, 
  Swifts trike
  Swiftstrike: A model attacking with this weapon has a +3 
  bonus to its Initiative during the Fight sub-phase.
  R e n d in g  C l a w s
  The diamond-hard tips of these claws can tear through thick armour 
  with frightening ease.
  Range
  AP
  Type
  User
  Melee, Rending
  S c y t h in g  T a l o n s
  Scything talons are long, razor-edged claws of serrated chitin.
  Type
  Melee
  B io m o r p h  U p g r a d e s
  A d r e n a l  G l a n d s
  Adrenal glands saturate their host’s body with chemicals that boost 
  the creature’s metabolism to a hyperactive state of frenzy.
  A model with the adrenal glands biom orph has the Fleet 
  and Furious Charge special rules.
  T o x in  Sa c s
  These parasitic glands secrete vile fluids, coating the Tyranid’s 
  claws, fangs and talons with a lethal variety of alien poisons.
  If a model has the toxin sacs biomorph, its close combat 
  attacks have the Poisoned special rule.
  
  TYRANID SPECIAL RULES AND 
  PSYCHIC POWERS
  SYNAPSE CREATURE
  Some Tyranids serve as synaptic conduits or nodal relays through 
  which a portion of the Hive M ind’s iron will flows, overriding the 
  natural instincts of the swarm.
  Models with the Synapse Creature special rule have a 
  synapse range of 12". Friendly models with the Tyranids 
  Faction within this synapse range, including the Synapse 
  Creatures themselves, have the Fearless special rule. If 
  a unit with the Tyranids Faction is falling back and at 
  least one of the unit’s models is within a friendly Synapse 
  C reature’s synapse range before the unit moves, the unit 
  automatically Regroups.
  SHADOW IN THE WARP
  The unfathomable presence of the Hive Mind radiates out from its 
  synapse creatures, smothering the ability of the psykers who stand 
  before them to draw upon their mystic powers.
  All enemy units and models with the Psyker, Psychic Pilot 
  or Brotherhood of Psykers special rules suffer a -3 penalty 
  to their Leadership whilst they are within 12" of one or 
  more models with the Shadow in the Warp special rule.
  TYRANID PSYCHIC POWERS
  Many Tyranids are also Psykers. They do not draw power 
  from the W arp in any fathomable way, but rather they 
  harness a fraction of the Hive M ind’s gestalt will. This 
  makes no difference for game purposes and these models 
  follow all the norm al rules for Psykers -  a Perils of the 
  W arp attack they suffer instead represents massive cerebral 
  traum a or synaptic feedback. Tyranid Psykers use the 
  Powers of the Hive Mind, which is treated as a psychic 
  discipline for all rules purposes.
  D o m i n i o n  
  W a r p  C h a r g e  1
  The Tyranid uses its prodigious psychic strength to channel and 
  amplify the will of the Hive Mind.
  Dominion is a blessing that targets the Psyker. Whilst this 
  power is in effect the Psyker adds 6" to its synapse range. If 
  the Psyker does not have the Synapse Creature special rule, 
  it gains it for the duration of this power and has a synapse 
  range of 6".
  T h e  H o r r o r .............................................. W a r p  C h a r g e  1
  The terrifying psychic presence of the Hive Mind radiates from the 
  synapse creature, flooding the minds of the Tyranids’ enemies and 
  causing them to quail and panic.
  INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOUR (FEED)
  Unless controlled or coordinated by the domineering will of the Hive 
  Mind, Tyranid organisms will revert to their baser instincts.
  At the beginning of each of your turns, if the Beast of 
  Phodia is outside of the synapse range of any friendly 
  Synapse Creatures (see above), it must take a Leadership 
  test unless it is engaged in combat or has arrived from 
  Reserve this turn. If the test is passed, the Beast of Phodia 
  acts normally during this turn. If the test is failed, the 
  Beast of Phodia must roll a D6 on the Instinctive Behaviour 
  (Feed) table below. The effects of the result rolled last until 
  the beginning of your next turn.
  INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOUR (FEED)
  D6 
  FEED RESULT
  1-5 
  Devour: Driven by its instincts, the Beast of Phodia 
  hurls itself at the closest prey it can find.
  In the Shooting phase, the Beast of Phodia cannot 
  shoot or Run. In the Assault phase, if the Beast of 
  Phodia is able to declare a charge, it must do so 
  against the closest viable enemy unit. If the Beast 
  of Phodia cannot declare a charge, it does nothing 
  in the Assault phase.
  6 
  Kill: The Beast of Phodia’s ravenous hunger sends it into 
  a murderous frenzy.
  This follows all the rules for Devour (above).
  In addition, the Beast of Phodia gains the Rage 
  special rule.
  The Horror is a m alediction that targets a single enemy unit 
  within 24". The target must immediately take a Pinning test 
  (as described for the Pinning special rule in Warhammer 
  40,000: The Rules) with a -2 m odifier to their Leadership.
  
  Range 
  S
  Blood talon 
  - 
  x2
  Chainfist 
  - 
  x2
  Chainsword 
  - 
  User
  Power fist 
  - 
  x2
  Power sword 
  - 
  User
  T hunder ham m er 
  - 
  x2
  Range 
  S
  Bolt pistol
  12"
  4
  Boltgun
  24"
  4
  Heavy flam er
  Template
  5
  Inferno pistol
  6"
  8
  Meltagun
  12-
  8
  Storm bolter
  24"
  4
  MELEE WEAPONS
  AP 
  Type__________
  5 
  Pistol
  5 
  Rapid Fire
  4 
  Assault 1
  1 
  Pistol, Melta
  1 
  Assault 1, Melta
  5 
  Assault 2
  Melee, Shred, 
  Special Weapon 
  Melee,
  Arm ourbane,
  Specialist Weapon,
  Unwieldy
  Melee
  Melee,
  Specialist Weapon,
  Unwieldy
  Melee
  Melee,
  Concussive, 
  Specialist Weapon, 
  Unwieldy
  RANGED WEAPONS
  REFERENCE
  SPECIAL ISSUE WARGEAR
  Range 
  S 
  AP 
  Type
  P o w e r  A r m o u r
  Power arm our confers a 3+ A rm our Save.
  T e r m in a t o r  A r m o u r
  Term inator arm our confers a 2+ A rm our Save and a 5+ 
  invulnerable save. Furtherm ore, models in Terminator 
  arm our have the Bulky, Deep Strike and Relentless 
  special rules, and may not make Sweeping Advances.
  ARMOUR
  Krak grenade
  - Shooting 
  8" 
  6 
  4 
  Assault 1
  - Assault 
  - 
  6 
  4
  -
  Frag grenade 
  8" 
  3 
  - 
  Assault 1,
  Blast
  I r o n  H a l o
  An iron halo confers a 4+ invulnerable save.
  J u m p  P a c k
  Models equipped with jum p packs gain the Jum p unit 
  type as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.
  RANGED WEAPONS
  Range
  Bio-plasma
  Stranglethorn
  Venom cannon
  12 "
  36"
  AP
  тУРе
  Assault 1, Blast 
  Assault 1, 
  Large Blast, 
  Pinning 
  Assault 1, Blast
  BIOMORPH UPGRADES
  A d r e n a l  G l a n d s
  A model with the adrenal glands biom orph has the 
  Fleet and Furious Charge special rules.
  T o x i n  Sa c s
  If a model has the toxin sacs biom orph, its close combat 
  attacks have the Poisoned special rule.
  MELEE WEAPONS
  Bonesword 
  Rending claws 
  Lash whip and 
  %  ^  Bonesword
  e- Scything talons
  User
  User
  User
  User
  Range 
  S 
  AP
  
  WARHAMMER
  40,000v
  The ruined city of Phodia burns in the fires of war as 
  the Hive Mind devours the world o f Asphodex. Into this 
  cauldron of alien horror, Blood Angels Captain Karlaen 
  leads Strike Force Deathstorm upon a mission which 
  could potentially be the salvation of his Chapter: the 
  rescue of Asphodex’s Planetary Governor, Augustus 
  Flax. However, Karlaen is not the only one hunting 
  the governor, and from the shadows of the Phodian 
  undercity an ancient evil has stirred, awoken by the 
  coming of the hive fleet.
  A supplement for
  ISBN 603-101990203
  You will need a copy of 
  Warhammer 40,000: The 
  Rules in order to use the 
  contents of this book
  60310199020
  ENGLISH 
  Printed by: C&C 
  LANGUAGE 
  in China
  games-workshop.com 
  WORKSHOP
  Icmroia
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Warhammer/40k/1st-8th Editions (Prior)/7th Edition (2014)/Campaigns and Expansions/Shield of Baal/03. Shield of Baal - Deathstorm.pdf