The Siege of Death Mire ends – who won?

The Siege of Death Mire campaign is finally over after three weeks of furious battle, and after struggling in Week One and Week Two, it looks like the Orks have battled back from the brink of defeat…

That’s right – Ork players around the world rallied in Week Three to narrowly defeat the Imperials in the Hive Heart battle zone, with 53.7% of battles going to Ghazghkull’s horde. For all the Imperium’s preparations and dogged determination, the defenders of Hive Death Mire could not hold out against the overwhelming tide that bore down on them, and though it took some time for the Orks to butcher the last holdouts, the Hive Heart fell all the same.

And Ork players also came out on top in Warhammer stores, with the green tide overrunning the vital transport hub of Gallows Spaceport. With fast access to reinforcements cut off and the bulk of surviving Imperial forces now outside the city, commanders on both sides settled in for what would be a long and bloody struggle for the future of Hive Death Mire.

That means that the Siege of Death Mire has ended in a draw, dooming the Imperial city to a long, grinding war of attrition between the Orks and the forces of the Imperium.

But what does that mean to all of us? Well, to mark their victory in the Hive Heart battle zone, we were able to get some picts of the upcoming multipart Ork Boyz.

The Boyz are revelling in their ability to carry both a slugga and a shoota. The kit includes the full selection of upgraded dakka options – a big shoota, a rokkit launcha, and a burna – all of which can be included in a single squad without any of the ladz dropping their choppas. 

The Nob has loads of options, including a kombi-skorcha and kustom choppa or power klaw, or a two-handed big choppa. He also has a little squig friend, and the unit is accompanied by an ammo runt!

The campaign had started strongly for the Imperium in Week One, with the Space Marines blunting the initial enemy attacks against the Hive’s outer walls. They then retreated to a well fortified second line, ready for the next wave of Ork Attacks.

In Week Two, the Space Marines triumphed again, sweeping aside the resistance in The Cloisters battle zone and preparing for counter attack that would save the Hive from the alien menace.

But with the final two battle zones in the hands of Ghazghkull’s forces, we’re left at a stalemate. We promised when the campaign began that the overall winners would get a brand new detachment to commemorate their success, but what do we do if there are no winners?

No clear progress. Untold death and destruction on both sides. If that isn’t the most Warhammer 40,000 outcome possible, we don’t know what is, so it’s only right that both sides get their new detachments.

For the Space Marines, the Vengeful Hosts detachment evokes the image of avenging angels striking from the skies. It lets you make all of your jump pack-equipped infantry extra deadly on the turn they arrive. The army rule lets them re-roll all To Hit rolls of 1 whenever they ingress or charge, so whether they’re shooting or assaulting, they’re making it look easy. This would work especially well with melee-focussed armies like Blood Angels.

Meanwhile, the Orks draw upon the Equatorial Hordes for a detachment themed around the sneaky gits and raging beasts that inhabit Armageddon’s burning jungles. They use an extra scout move to bulldoze large mobs of Boyz and Kommandos into the enemy lines as soon as possible.

You can find the new detachments on the Warhammer Community Downloads page right now, and both cost 1 Detachment Point to use in your army. The detachments will be added to their respective Faction Packs (and the Warhammer 40,000 App) when the next rules update lands in the coming weeks.

Alas, just because the campaign is over, doesn’t mean the wars on Armageddon have abated. Hive Death Mire may be yet to have a final victor, but a whole new edition of Warhammer 40,000 lies ahead, and your battles in the 41st Millennium have only just begun.