Cataclysm in the Abyss

Malik’s Damnation has returned to realspace, drifting silently toward the agri-world of Stygian Prime. Within its fused hulls lie lost kill teams, forbidden archaeotech, and the Gloriana-class relic Traitors Damnation.

Imperial forces, xenos raiders, and servants of Chaos converge once more on the lightless edge of the Hazeroth Abyss. What is reclaimed—or unleashed— will shape the fate of the Stygian System.

Phase 2 Countdown

Ends: Apr 11, 2026 • 2:00 PM ET (18:00 UTC)

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League Briefing

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Story

Continuing the aftermath of the 2023 Spec Ops league: Malik’s Damnation first appeared on the fringes of the Stygian System (Calixis Sector). Kill teams boarded, intelligence was recovered, and most never returned. The hulk vanished into the warp without warning—only to reappear three Terran years later with a sector-wide psychic pulse felt by every faction with the means (or curse) to sense it.

Now, larger forces are dispatched to gather enough intel to steer, commandeer, or destroy the hulk before it reaches Stygian Prime—while Xenos and Chaos-aligned fleets converge near the Hazeroth Abyss. Alliances will be unstable. Priorities will shift. You may not know whether your “comrades” are saving you… or using you.

Format

Campaign play using Crusade rules, unfolding across timed phases. Phase I begins as Boarding Actions to explore Malik’s Damnation and recover key assets. Later phases escalate to Incursion and Strike Force games as the system-wide situation deteriorates.

Crusade Rules

Phases & Hobby

This crusade uses the club hobby standard: Bolters Ready. It’s the baseline “table-ready” expectation for models in our events, and it’s defined in our general player packet, The One Packet (reference: boltersatdawn.com/events/the-one-packet/).

Each phase below includes: points level, mission format, and the required percentage of your list that must be Bolters Ready. If you don’t meet the requirement, you can still play — but you may have to play down points.

Phase 1 — Mar 14

Points 500
Mission Format Boarding Actions
Bolters Ready 50% (250 / 500)
Status Phase 1 Tracker
Mission Links Control CentreDeath in the Dark
Notes Search Resource Cache

Phase 2 — Apr 11

Points 1000
Mission Format Incursion
Bolters Ready 75% (750 / 1000)
Notes May include Boarding Actions depending on Phase 1 outcomes

Phase 3 — May 16

Points 2000
Mission Format Strike Force
Bolters Ready 69% (1380 / 2000)
Notes Supply limit increases to 2000 at kickoff

Phase 4 — Jun 13

Points 2000
Mission Format Strike Force
Bolters Ready 87% (1750 / 2000)
Notes Escalation continues — bring the heat

Finale — Jul 11

Points 2000
Mission Format Strike Force
Bolters Ready 100% (2000 / 2000)
Notes Doubles/teams possible — depends who survives

Objectives

Search Resource Cache: Phase I uses Boarding Actions with recoverable objectives representing comms devices or unknown archaeotech. In each player’s Command phase, a model that controls a resource cache marker can perform an action to search the cache. When this action is declared, roll a D3 and consult the following table.

If nothing is found, the resource cache may be searched again. If either comms or unknown archaeotech is found, the resource cache cannot be searched for the remainder of the game.

After Phase I, faction/team outcomes and recovered assets will determine how the space hulk story evolves. The faction with the most Comms receives a boon; the faction with the most Archaeotech receives a different boon.

FAQ

Any modifications to Boarding Actions detachments?

When are units with Deep Strike declared to be in Reserves for Boarding Actions?

How are we interpreting the Renowned Heroes requistion regarding detachment-locked enhancements?

What about Crucible of Champions?