Rikkhard's Gambit - a 2nd edition 40k battle report

A recording of this battle report is available at: https://youtu.be/s5jJGK3n03k

Wolf Lord Rikkhard gestured towards the landing pad. “Olve, my old friend, what can you tell me about their forces?”

Rune master Olve Hrafnmadr turned and held his hand skywards. The psyber raven took off, circling the industrial complex. Olve closed his eyes and the raven’s opened.

“The landing facility is at the centre of their base. The Ultramarines Thunderhawk is serviced and ready. I do not deem it quite flightworthy, but its armaments are activated. To the East, a corrupted Predator lurks behind a bunker. Foul chaos spawn dwell within, brandishing heavy weapons. To the west, another bunker, occupied by Terminators, though few in number. A Dreadnought stands behind. The lord of this foul host commands the centre, with a further bodyguard of Terminators.”

Olve opened his eyes. “That is all I can tell. They have a sorcerer amongst them, and he has sensed my presence. We must be prepared for witchcraft”

On Rikkhard’s word, the Space Wolves began to deploy. Grey Hunters held the central ground, near the entrance to a refinery complex. They were flanked by Asgeirr the Stout, a venerable brother entombed within a formidable Dreadnought. Behind, the Land Speeder Jarngandr hovered in the jungle, ready to speed forwards and attack the bunkers.

Besides the Grey Hunters, Rikkhard led half of his Blood Claws. The Sun Swallowers were brash, and filled with confidence, ready to ignite their jump packs. On the Eastern flank, the bikers of Pack Howling Storm revved their engines and started to advance, flanked by the Attack Bike Atfaradyr.

Before Rikkhard could order the advance, a superheated bolt of blue plasma burst from the Chaos lines and roiled across Asgeirr’s sarcophagus. The veteran within screamed as he was boiled alive within the suit, and the Dreadnought stumbled, collapsing into a nearby cactus.

Simultaneously, on the other flank, the Chaos Predator had drawn a bead on the lead bike, and its autocannon rang out. A hail of high caliber shells struck the bike, damaging its wheel mounting.

Unperturbed, the Grey Hunters advanced through the refinery, Olve accompanying them to ensure psychic protection. The Sun Swallowers and Rikkhard ignited their flight packs, and sailed across the refinery, as a shell from the Thunderhawk’s battle cannon blasted apart 3 Grey Hunters caught in the open, with another brother falling to the shells from the Thunderhawk’s auxiliary armaments.

The Land Speeder Jarngandr lifted over the jungle, and sailed towards the eastern bunker, it’s multimelta glowing. An incandescent burst of heat washed over the bunker, causing the Terminators within to duck. On the other flank, the Long Fang Pack “Eyes of the World Wolf” strode form the jungle and climbed a rocky outcrop, having been delayed by diminutive greenskins swarming amongst the plants. As the bikers in front of them accelerated towards the bunker, the Chaos Veterans of Squad Havoc within let loose with their weapons, blasting one biker out of the saddle with a heavy bolter burst and damaging the controls of another. A lucky bolt round flipped the riderless bike into a rock. The Biker’s returned fire, but their rounds spattered against the rockcrete walls of the bunker.  Atfaradyr’s multimelta roared, knocking the veterans from their feet. Within the bunker, Clavius the Mind Fondler had been in the processes as casting Displacement, teleporting himself towards the landing pad just as the burst hit, and he was sent sprawling to the floor as he emerged in the open.

On the landing pad, Lord Kruult Lewdmaimer directed his terminator bodyguard to ascend the tower, and fired down on the Space Wolves advancing towards his base. To the east, the Predator Hecatomb swung round to take aim at the attack bike, its autocannon smashing the multimelta from the bike’s chassis, then setting the bike’s fuel ablaze. The terminators on the landing pad took aim at the grey hunters advancing through the refinery and riddled one of their number with bolts. The reaper autocannon blasted the Land Speeder from the air, sending it crashing into a cactus, while an autocannon on the Thunderhawk flipped a bike into a stand of trees. The battle cannon missed, obliterating a flock of squawking bird-like creatures nesting nearby. Rising to his feet, Clavius once again cast Displacement, warping forwards into the jungle, then summoned the power of the Machine Curse to crackle amongst the Long Fangs, arcs of lightning flaring across their weapons.

The burning attack bike swerved violently into another biker, killing him instantly and sending his metal steed out of control. The remaining bikers swerved past the wreckage, and zoned in on Clavius amongst the trees, but the inch think plate of his terminator exo-skeleton proved too formidable. On the hill, the Long Fangs strode out of the flaring machine curse and recalibrated their weapons.

The Sun Swallowers ignited their jump packs once more, and sailed into the west most bunker, unclipping meltbombs from their belts and clamping them to the bunker walls. One of their number, brandishing a mighty gauntlet wreathed in blue lightning charged into the Chaos Dreadnought Xuvis, while the last deviated onto the refinery, and could only cry in frustration as Xuvis casually sliced the Blood Claw sergeant in two with his power claw. The meltabombs detonated, and the bunker came crashing down. All three Terminators of Squad Slaughter rose from the ruins, rockcrete and rebars cascading from their tactical dreadnought armour.

The Grey Hunters continued to advance through the refinery, and Olve summoned a shimmering warp portal before them, intending that they be able to use it to step directly onto the landing pad itself. His timing, however, was off, and Kruult seized the opportunity to throw himself through the gate on the landing pad, smashing into a grey hunter at the foot of the refinery. Clavius summoned his powers, and once more cast Displacement, emerging in combat with another grey hunter. The terminator armoured champions proved too much for the loyalists, and they were quickly dispatched, with Kruult barreling into the remaining Grey Hunters, and Clavius once more using his powers to transport himself to the gantry next to Olve.

Xuvis bellowed with rage and charged into a Blood Claw near the shattered bunker, while the Terminator’s reaper autocannon blasted another pack member apart. The Veterans of Squad Havoc riddled the lascannon armed Long Fang with shells, but their krak missile glanced off the armour of another Long Fang with no effect. The predator smashed another bike into glowing fragments with a lascannon, but it’s autocannon jammed, clearly overheating from the furious exchange of fire. Fragments from a battle cannon round from the Thunderhawk shredded the bolters on the remaining bike, so the final rider gunned his engine, and sent his mount screaming towards the landing pad. At the last moment, he skidded the bike sideways into the lift, and cooly fired a round from his bolt pistol which struck the controls, sending the lift skyward.

Xuvis stomped down hard on the blood claw, crushing him underfoot. Wolf Lord Rikkhard sensed he would have to take control, and hurled himself at the Chaos Dreadnought, while the last Blood Claw, finally catching up with the now fallen remains of his pack let loose a howl and rocketed towards Xuvis. The Chaos Dreadnought caught the marine in his claw, and slowly and cruelly crushed the life from him. Rikkhard took advantage, attaching meltabombs around Xuvis’ legs, and then jumping back as the super-heated charges seared through the dreadnoughts ankles and sending it crashing to the ground.

To the east, the Long Fangs desperately fired on the Predator, but their missiles bounced off its skull shaped turret. The heavy bolter armed Long Fang was more fortunately, smashing apart two Chaos Veterans in the bunker in a welter of gore.

On the landing pad, the Terminators of Squad Carnage descended the tower towards the sound of revving bike engines. Kruult quickly dispatched the Grey Hunters at the base of the refinery, while Clavius and Olve battled in a mental dual. Olve got the better of the ancient sorcerer and drove the knowledge of Displacement from his mind. Clavius cried out in a mix of anger and exhilaration at the new sensation, before engaging the Runepriest in close quarter combat. The two traded blows, but neither could gain an advantage.

To the east, the Predator cored the space marine with the missile launcher with a flaring burst from its lascannon, the Veteran’s heavy bolter blasted the Long Fang sergeant from his feet, and a krak missile obliterated the heavy plasma gunner, leaving a lone Long Fang with heavy bolter standing on the hill.

The landing pad lift finished it’s rise, and the lone biker revved his engine, screeching his bike round the Thunderhawk, and lobbing a krak grenade into its engine manifold, starting a coolant leak. Rikkhard ignited his jump pack once more, and landed on the landing pad, his eyes on the next bunker to the east.

The terminators of Squad Slaughter, finally free from the ruins of the west bunker, strode towards the remaining Grey Hunter who had taken cover under the refinery. As they advanced, they were caught in a series of explosions as hidden booby traps were triggered around them. Their armour held firm, and they roasted the last Grey Hunter alive with their heavy flamer.

While Clavius was distracted by the mental dual, Olve cast a Hellfire at the landing pad, melting a terminator from Squad Carnage into a pile of goo. Clavius retaliated with an Acquiescence, but it was reflected back on him. He was, however, used to Slaanesh’s seductive promises, and brushed the glamour aside.

Rikkhard launched himself off the landing pad, landing near the final bunker, and quickly attached a series of meltabombs to it. Back on the landing pad, the biker spun his mount around and attached another krak grenade to the engines. The explosion tore through the Thunderhawk’s hull, igniting its fuel reserves, and a massive sheet of flame blasted out, cooking a terminator, and sending the biker tumbling to his death.

Rikkhard detonated the meltabombs, obliterating the final bunker. A lone Chaos Veteran struggled out of the collapsed building, and was quickly decapitated by the Wolf Lord, who launched himself towards the Chaos Predator, clamping a further meltabomb to its hull which ripped off the track and sent it spinning  out of control, before he ignited his jump pack once more and launched away from the base, his mission complete.

In the refinery, Olve attempted to summon another Hellfire, but the flaring psychic energies had attracted the attention of the denizens of the warp. The air was torn asunder, and a claw reached down, dragging Olve screaming through a crack between realities.

In the aftermath of the battle, Kruult climbed the landing pad. The Space Wolves had been driven off, but at what cost… His forward base and the prized Thunderhawk had been obliterated, and the gains he had made on Krypt were for nought. Growling in rage, Kruult began to gather his forces once more. There was no sense in trying to repair the damage. He would need to fall back to a new position and regroup his strength.

Somewhere, deep in the warp, an entity made of swirling emotions and chaos curled up to sleep as it digested its meal…