Invasion of the Stygius Sector
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The Invasion of the Stygius Sector was a major battle fought by the Imperium, sometime after the Thirteenth Black Crusade.[1]
Overview
The invasion began after the creation of the Great Rift, during the Thirteenth Black Crusade, when the Chaos God Tzeentch grew jealous of its Brother Nurgle's newly acquired domain of the Scourge Stars. While Tzeentch began to underman Nurgle's control of the Scourge Stars, the Chaos God also wished to corrupt a realm of space for itself and selected the Imperium's Stygius Sector to be its domain. This was due to the fact that Stygius Sector was still awash with Warp Storms created by the Great Rift's opening and as a result, the light of the Astronomicon could no longer be seen there; all of which, made the Sector an inviting target for the Chaos God's forces.[1]
The opening phase of the invasion saw Cult uprisings begin across a score of the Sector's isolated worlds and the actions of the Changeling added to the Sector's troubles, as the Daemon traveled from world to world, spreading havoc and confusion. However, it was only when the Stygius Sector's worlds were seething with rebellion that the true invasion began, as Tzeentch's Daemons and Chaos Space Marines were unleashed upon the Sector. With the Daemon Primarch Magnus and his Thousand Sons, along with the Lord of Change M'Kachen and its Great Changehost, among Tzeentch's forces, three of the Stygius Sector's Systems were swiftly taken; with only the Imperium world Mordian being able to resist the Chaos God's invasion. Shortly afterwards though, the light of the Astronomicon, began to miraculously reach the Sector and its beleaguered defenders immediately sent out a request for aid.[1]
When the Imperium received the request for aid, the Stygius Crusade was hastily assembled and sent to defend the Sector, but when it arrived seven sub-sectors had already fallen into Tzeentch's hands. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Stygius Crusade immediately fought to stem any further losses to the Chaos God's invasion and launched attacks to reclaim the worlds already claimed by Tzeentch's forces. The battles that followed were epic in size and savagery, but though the Crusade was able to break Tzeentch's siege on Mordian, they were hit with several devastating setbacks. Chief among them, was that due to the Great Rift and local Warp Storms, the worlds of the Stygius Sector began to mutate into nightmarish realms and several of the Crusade's fleets were lost, when they were seized by the Warp and hurled into the distant past or future. The Warp also claimed the Imperium world Dakidda and with it, the entire 44th Necromundan Regiment which had just combat dropped onto the invaded world. This was just the start of the Stygius Crusade's downfall, as Tzeentch's hordes began to overwhelm the Crusade's forces and even the ghosts of the dead rose up to aid the Chaos God's conquest of the embattled sector.[1]
However, just as the Crusade began to fall to Tzeentch's might, a large strike force from the Craftworld Ulthwe arrived in the Sector without warning and began to push back the Chaos God's forces. The Eldar did not arrive to aid the Crusade against the forces of Chaos though. Instead, the Craftworld's Seer Council contacted the Crusade's commanders and told them they could not save the Stygius Sector and staying there would not aid the Imperium. Indeed, the Seer Council claimed the visions they had received, showed only the Crusade's destruction if they stayed and warned that Magnus knew this as well. Despite the mistrust the Imperium had for the Eldar, the Crusade's commanders agreed to retreat and evacuated what forces they could, as Ulthwe's strike force acted as a rearguard against Tzeentch's hordes. Eventually though, the Crusade and Eldar were both forced to retreat and the Stygius Sector became the first of the domains, Tzeentch planned on claiming for itself.[1]
Order of Battle
Imperial-Eldar[1]
On Mordian
- Imperial Guard
- Mordian Iron Guard - 26 Regiments
- Tetrachs Guard - 12 Regiments
- Nigrellum Guard - 8 Regiments
- Mordian Defence Force - 18 Regiments
- Mordian Penal Battalions - 3 Regiments
- Mordian Super-Heavy Battalion - 5 Companies
- Inquisition
- Ordo Xenos contingent
- Ordo Hereticus contingent
- Ordo Malleus contingent
- Adeptus Astra Telepathica
- Astropath Corps - 3 Companies
- Miscellaneous
- Hive Gangs - Unknown
Mordian relief force:
- Space Marines
- Space Wolves - 9 Great Companies
- Iron Hands - 7 Companies
- Dark Angels - 6 Companies
- Angels of Redemption - 3 Companies
- Adeptus Mechanicus
- Skitarii - 5 Legions
- Legio Cybernetica - 2 Cohorts
- House Mundast - 2 Households
Assault on Tarkan
- Space Marines
- Space Wolves - 7 Great Companies
- Iron Hands - 5 Companies
- Dark Angels - 4 Companies
- Sons of Medusa - 3 Companies
- Imperial Guard
- Tarkan Longrifles - 10 Regiments
- Mordian Iron Guard - 7 Regiments
- Tarkan Roughriders - 1 Company
- Misc. Imperial Guard - 12 Regiments
- Tarkan Brutes - Manufactorum Enforcers
Operation Prismata
- Space Marines
- Space Wolves - 2 Great Companies
- Iron Hands - 4 Companies
- Brazen Claws - 4 Companies
- Dark Angels - 5 Companies
- Angels of Vengeance - 5 Companies
- Consecrators - 5 Companies
- Grey Knights - Unknown
- Sisters of Silence - Unknown
Disaster at Rimenok
- Imperial Guard
- Rimenok Ice Warriors - 12 Regiments
- Rimenok Heavy Armour - 3 Companies
- Rimenok Beast Trainers - 1 Company
- Mordian Iron Guard - 5 Regiments
- Space Marines
- Space Wolves - 4 Great Companies
- Iron Hands - 3 Companies
- Dark Angels - 3 Companies
- Ecclesiarchy
- The Faithful - Zealot band
Eldar forces
- Ulthwe
- Seer Council
- Black Storm - 4 Warhosts
- Lileath's Blade - 1 Skyhost
- Serpent Striking - 1 Aspect Warrior Warhost
- Duality of Purpose - 2 Revenant Titans
Chaos[1]
On Mordian
- Chaos Space Marines
- Coven of Many Eyes - Sorcerers
- Coven of Nine - 6 Exalted Sorcerers
- Night Lords - 5 Warbands
- Knights of the Silver Tower - 3 Companies
- Oracles of Change - Warband
- Lost and the Damned
- Benedictian Guard - 13 Regiments
- Nochfell Black Guard
- Engines Arcana - 12 Batteries
- Spellcannon of Tlaxx - 3 Batteries
- Morphius Conflock - 9 Tzaangor Warflocks
- Pact of Nine Promises - Seercult
- Masked Brotherhood - Warcult
- Cult of the Whispered Word
- Reign of Lies - Subverise Division
- Daemons
- Conflagral Host - Flamer Legion
- Skyscreamers - 3 Screamer Legions
- Capering Cohort - 9 Legions
- Cracklehost of T'zarr - 9 Legions
- Pyroclastic Conclave
- Warpchild - Massive summoned entity
On Dhobash, commanded by Magnus the Red
- Chaos Space Marines
- Thousand Sons - Bulk of Legion
- Daemons
- Host of a Thousand Names - 9 Legions
- Congregation of Flame - 9 Legions
- Unbound - 9 Legions
- Doom Wings - 5 Wings
- Talons Iridescent - 5 Wings
- Dark Mechanicus - 6 Legions
- Chaos Knights
- House Chromatic - 9 Households
- Bastions Crystalline - 9 Fortresses
On Prismata
- Coven of Nine - 2 Exalted Sorcerers
- Cult of Bluefire
- Cult of Coldflame
- Changebringers - 4 Companies
- Plogg'cha Conflock - 9 Tzaangor Warflocks
- Dark Mechanicum - 3 Legions
- Legio Proditor - Legion
- House Arcanus - 3 Households
On Rimenok, commanded by Fateweaver
- Thousand Sons - Bulk of Legion
- League of Change - Daemonic coven
- Banner of Many Eyes - 9 Legions
- Takons of Change - 9 Legions
- Mutagenics - 9 Legions
- House Chromatic - 9 Households
- Warriors Resplendent - 5 Companies
- Talons Iridescent - 5 Wings
- Traitor Guard of Tarkan - 5 Regiments
- Coven of Disbelief - Chaos Cult
- Bolts Arcanite - Chaos Cult
- Conjurers of Fear - Chaos Cult
Source
- 1: Warhammer 40,000 8th Edition Rulebook, pgs. 164 - 165 - War Zone: Stygius