No one would have believed in the last years of the 41st Millennium that this galaxy was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro across the galaxy, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded our galaxy with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.

Five thousand years have passed since the dark days of the Age of Apostasy and the Imperium of mankind is once again a force of stability and power in the galaxy. But such a relative calm is not without its cost and countless minor conflicts are spread throughout mankind’s dominion. It was during one of these conflicts directed against a minor alien species known as the Tau, that contact was first made with the Hive Fleet codified Behemoth.

Behemoth smashed through the Eastern Fringe and was only stopped on the planet Macragge after the resourcefulness of the Ultramarines chapter of space marines and the combined efforts of the Imperial Navy and Imperial Guard. Though the Tyranids were clearly unprepared for the style of warfare favoured in the Imperium there very nature enabled them to adapt during the conflict and reap a terrible butcher’s bill from humanity. Even when finally defeated, hidden spores were sent out from the dying fleet in all directions, taking root on a dozen worlds including the fourth planet in the Ichar system. Though unaware that a terrible harvest had already been sown on Ichar IV, it was a young and dynamic agent of the Ordo Xenos named Kryptman, who postulated not only that the Tyranids were the greatest threat to the Imperium at this time, but also that Behemoth was but an initial strike designed to test humanity’s defences and probe for weakness...

ARMIES

This campaign weekend allows the following armies to be used.