I always like to play a big tank game following Thanksgiving to celebrate Tanksgiving. This year a friend was available to come to game night and suggested we play 40k 2nd Edition. That suggestion got the group really excited and we ended up with six total players, ! I figured we could refight a version of the famous White Dwarf 187 The Death of Lord Varlak. For those who weren’t reading White Dwarf in the late 90’s the game featured every Imperial Guard tank the White Dwarf studio could scare up trying to rescue the rogue psyker Lord Varlak from the righteous fury of every Space Marine tank the studio could find.

In my version of the story Inquisitor Lord Varlak was exploring an Eldar gateway when he made an alarming discovery that he needed to report back to the Flagship in orbit. A Aquilla lander was sent to evacuate him but it was destroyed before it could get to him and an emergency broadcast was put to help him before the Orks swarmed his outpost. The Dark Angels and an Eldar force came racing to his rescue, but would they be on time?

I made a few changes to the scenario to fit our constraints. In WD187 the armies were not legal armies. We focused on making the armies as close to legal as possible, at around 1,000 – 750 points for the Allies and a total of 2,750 for the Orks. I wanted to have as many vehicles as possible for the Tanskgiving theme so I made sure each of the Allied contingents had as many tanks as we had models for, and the Orks brought some Blood Ax looted Space Marine vehicles. I allowed the Eldar to have Baharroth lead the army instead of a Farseer or Avatar in part to save points to allow my buddy to bring some more models, and besides his foot Farseer and Avatar wouldn’t actually make it into the action on the size board we were using. To that end I under pointed the cost to upgrade the Deathwing Terminators to be able to teleport figuring if they had to walk they would need about 5 turns to make it to the halfway point. I also decided the Imperial Guard wouldn’t get their pre-game bombardment which was worth shaving a few points off as well.

Edit: In the below army list I realized the Orks had way more points than the Allies so I did end up just adding in the points for Deathwing Teleportation.

In WD 187 the only victory condition was the killing or rescue of Lord Varlak. If he died the Space Marines won, if he lived the Imperial Guard won. We didn’t have all night for the Inquisitor to run about so I gave the Orks the Engage and Destroy and Witch Hunt mission cards while the Allies got Engage and Destroy and The Assassins. We hoped to get to four turns but with six players we figured things would be a bit tight in four hours, still it was a goal!

The Imperial Guard, minus a Leman Russ started set up in the center of the board. The Orks automatically got the first turn and could come in from anywhere on their board edge, while each of the remaining Allied forces came in from a random section of the back half of the tables board edges as determined by a die roll.

Imperial Guard – Controlled and provided by Wachtmeister – 626 points

• Inquisitor Varlak, power armor, bolter, level 4 225 points
• Command Squad w/ Captain w/ Chainsword, Comm-link operator, lascannon 137 points
• Imperial Guard squad Squad w/ Sergeant w/ chainsword, Grenade Launcher, Missile Launcer 132 points
• Imperial Guard squad Squad w/ Sergeant w/ chainsword, Grenade Launcher, Missile Launcer 132 points
• Leman Russ 205 points
• Leman Russ 205 points

Dark Angels – Controlled by JB, provided by Wachtmeister – 1147.5 points

• Master of the Deathwing, teleport 210 points
• Deathwing Squad w/ assault cannon, 2 chainfists 577.5 points
• Predator w/ 2 lascannons 180 points
• Predator w/ 2 lascannons 180 points

Eldar – Controlled and provided by Deacon – 736 points

• Baharroth the Storm of Silence – 186 points
• 4 Swooping Hawks – 112 points
• 5 Warp Spiders – 205 points
• Falcoln Grav Tank with Scatter Laser – 233 points

Allied Total Points 2,509.5

Orks – Controlled in part by PygmyHippo, with assistance from JR and SR

Ork (Provided by PygmyHippo) – 2233 points

• Mekboy 43
• Painboy 18
• Runtherd 18
• Warboss 156 
• Boyz Mob A 95
• Botz Mob B 95
• Blood Ace Kommandos 126
• Nobz Mob A 136
• Nobz Mob B 136
• Snotlings 20
• Dreadnought A 155
• Dreadnought B 160
• War Buggy Melta 65
• War Buggy Melta 65
• War Buggy Melta 65
• War Buggy Plasma 50
• War Buggy Plasma 50
• Wartrack 60
• Looted Marine Dreadnought 195
• Looted Marine Predator 150
• Looted Marine Land Raider 245
• Battlewagon 50
• Battlewagon 50

Orks – (Provided by SR) – 580 points

• Battlewagon 50
• Battlewagon 50
• Boyz Mob 95
• Wartrak 60
• Pulsa Rocket  50
• 5 Warbikes 225
• Scorcher 50

Ork Total 2813 points

Hmmmmm, maybe I shouldn’t have allowed Infiltrators, or you know, perhaps set up like ONE guardsman looking at the rear of the table…. Although, I guess I could argue the Leman Russ had at least 180 degree line of sight off the sponsons, but hey, sometimes you get what you get!

Ork Turn 1

The Orks rolled on and stormed forward. A few heavy weapons stayed on the back edge of the board but everything else went hell for leather! (Wachtmeister: The Imperial forces on the central bunker were actually deployed inside, and hidden, something that would help them out immensely over the following turns!)

The Kommandos charged the Leman Russ from the rear hoping to carve it up with their power axes, but even with the Orks low BS and shooting penalty for fast movement a buggy was able to hit the Leman Russ and turn it into nothing more than slag. Or, it would eventually become slag because in 2nd Ed the Russ would move out of the way next turn and explode then leaving behind some confused, and slightly sad Ork Kommandos. The relief force better roll on quickly or the Inquisitor and his retinue would be quickly overwhelmed!

While the Warp flowed at a trickle in this turn, yielding only one card per player Inquisitor Varlak was able to cast the Vortex with Ultimate Force! We weren’t sure where to place the Vortex initially so we figured it was placed at the Inquisitors base and have it move out 3D6″ from there. While it didn’t kill anything it certainly had the potential to make a mess of the Orks attack!

Allied Turn 1

The Allied forces rolled on and rolled up begin to relieve the beleaguered Inquisitor. The vortex instantly collapsed, so much for slowing the Orks down in their next turn! The Guardsmen in the open topped bunker opened fire on the Orks in the approaching Battlewagon and killed four of the greenskins riding on top. The Leman Russ opened fire with it’s main guns and scoring a direct hit with its battle cannon killed eight Orks, and with it’s Heavy Bolters killed two of the Kommandos which were suddenly looking less than confident in the middle of the field of battle! The Falcoln popped up and blew apart one Warbike. One of the Predators took aim at at Warwagon but failed to penetrate, however, it’s twin got a shot off on the Ork Predator killing the crew and causing it to go out of control!

Baharroth who with his Swooping Hawks managed to kill two Warbuggies after swooping down on the back of the table dropping krak grenades and shooting with their lasguns! Meanwhile the Guard in the central bunker stayed hidden.

Ork Turn 2

In the start of the turn the Ork vehicles that were subject to random movement moved, but due to the short distance traveled failed to cause a single collision.

Well, the Orks in the Warwagon on their right flank didn’t like the lack of explosions so the driver laid the hammer down and rammed right into the Predator driving up the flank! The Warwagon immediately exploded and when the fire died down the Predator was still fully functional, with perhaps just the need for a new coat of paint!

In the back corner the Space Marine Dreadnaught crewed by Orks (the heresy!) and a War Wagon turned to face the Swooping Hawks who somehow managed to only lose two of the fliers. Looks like the machine spirit was helping to throw off the aim of the corrupter Dreadnaught! Still, the Allies didn’t have it all their way as the Shock Attack Gun fired at the bunker dropping a horde of angry snotlings inside killing four guardsmen, including the comm-link operator as well as putting a wound on the Captain! The comm-link was unable to get through the interference last turn and so the big guns would be mostly quiet… or would they? Meanwhile the massed Ork fire took aim at the second Predator causing multiple penetrating hits leading it to go out of control next turn and explode! Inquisitor Varlak continued his luck with the warp and drew 3 Force cards and was again able to call upon the Vortex, this time he was able to hit the Schorcha which confidently advanced to within Heavy Flamer range of the Guardsmen in the small bunker. With a crackle of discharged energy that was one less thing for the guardsmen to worry about!

Allied Turn 2

While the comm-links were down the Imperial Guard commander revealed he had the Barrage Strategy card which was called in on the Ork bike and buggy horde advancing down the Allied right flank. With such a concentration of targets even the scatter brought it on top of a group of Warbuggies, killing the full crew from one and the gunner from another.

The Warp Spiders which had been bounding towards the enemy landed in front of the Kommandos and made short work of them with their Death Spinners. The Falcoln and the Leman Russ opened fire on the advancing War Wagon but only managed to kill three of the Orks riding on top!

Meanwhile in the back of the field the Deathwing teleported in from orbit and with precision landed directly on the Dreadnaught that was partially responsible for the death of their brothers in the Predator! It was risky placement as it the target zone was about 12″ from the long table edge and the goal was to engage the enemy Warboss but it worked out as the squad was able to land about an inch from the Dreadnaught which allowed three terminators to end up in base to base contact and gave the Assault Cannon armed brother a clean shot at the Ork Warboss! In the shooting phase the Dreadnaught rolled 8 hits, wounded 7 times, and the Ork managed to save all but 1 of them! Gork (and or Mork) was really looking out for him! Despite only having one attack versus the Dreadnaughts four the power fist armed Terminator was able to meet his opponents dice and won on initiative and caused significant damage to the metal monstrosities legs. The second terminator, attacking with his Chain Fist was able to land a hit and blew the machine apart in a frenzy of sparks and wires!

Ork Turn 3

The Warbuggy went out of control due to a hit from the Guardsmens missile launcher last turn and went out of control. Seeing the Vortex lurking just off the left of the War Wagon PygmyHippo took a break and rolled the dice to see which way the wayward wagon would turn and naturally it veered left. Even with the precise measurement with the infrequently used turning template the wagon turned directly towards the Vortex and the roll was just high enough to cause it to collide and join the Schorcha somewhere in the warp!

In an attempt to knock out the bunker one of the War Buggies took aim and fired with its multi-melta but missed the bunker and the shot scattered back onto a War bike killing it!

In the middle of the field another War Wagon was crewed by the “wheeled missile” school of Ork driving intentionally collided with the remaining Leman Russ. Much like the first collision this one resulted in an exploded War Wagon and a perfectly fine Imperial tank. Maybe the Orks need to invent bumpers before the next game, but once again I’m left thinking:

From the back of the field a Deathskull boy fired his lascannon at the remaining Predator, striking a vital fuel tank and destroyed it!

The Ork Warboss decided it was better to charge than be gunned down in a hail of explosive shells and with a Waagghh on his lips and combat drugs coursing through his veins he charged the Terminators! In his frenzy he managed to kill a Terminator but took three wounds from another, but managed to save all three with his invulnerable save! He would have still had the benefit of his combat drugs next turn except the deadly cocktail betrayed him causing him to take a wound when a 5+ was rolled! He’d be less furious next turn!

Allied Turn 3

The Swooping Hawks continued their harassment of the Ork forces and killed two more War Buggies with their crack grenades while the Falcon popped up and was finally able to use it’s formidable Eldar Ballistic Skill to shoot the legs out from under an Ork Dreadnaught “effectively” killing it.

In the final climatic battle the Warboss killed another two Terminators, while a third member of the Deathwing veterans was saved by his ancient armor. The Master of the Deathwing activated his power sword and rained a series of blows down upon the Ork brute slipping three more wounds past the heavy plates of it’s Mega Armor. Would the force field save the beast from its ultimate death? The dice were rolled and no, the beast finally went down! With that the Dark Angel Master secured the Assassins’ objective!

With that it was getting late so we decided to call the game. In reality we probably could have finished the last turn as there were very few things left alive at this point! Still, it was obvious the Orks didn’t have the firepower to kill Inquisitor Varlak and with the exception of trading a few models here and there it didn’t appear as if much would change.

While we didn’t tally the Victory Points it appeared as if this was an Allied victory, although it was a close one. The Orks killed more than expected, and while many Orks died a lot of things that were killed were parts of vehicle squads so it would be interesting to actually do the tally. Engage and Destroy might have brought things even a little closer, although I think that card went in favor of the Allies as while they lost their tanks the Orks lost many other units. While the Orks weren’t as expensive points wise Engage and Destroy doesn’t care about point values.

Edit: I was asked to do Victory Points and I was way off. The Orks did manage to give a good accounting of themselves killing expensive vehicles and what not but as they lost a lot more units they gave up way more Engage and Destroy Victory Points.

It turns out the total Victory Points ended up being:

Allied Forces 39 Victory Points

Orks 16 Victory Points

Thus it was a very decisive Allied Victory! In fact due to Assassins’ and Engage and Destroy the Ork Warlord ended up being worth 8 VP’s on his own!

Everyone had a really great time at this game and even the few observers who don’t play 2nd Edition but were hanging out that game night had a hoot watching all the craziness!

One really fun thing about this challenge is every painted miniature on the board is the direct result of the last three years of the Cowabunga/Wachtmeister 40k 2nd Edition Challenge! It was definitely nice seeing everything on the board all at once!

-Wachtmeister

https://www.instagram.com/wachtmeisters_patrol/

Edit: If you are interested in a detailed reporting of the Victory Points see below.

Victory Points

Imperial Guard 6 VPs

• Command Squad w/ Captain w/ Chainsword, Comm-link operator, lascannon 137 points – 1 VP – 50%
• Imperial Guard squad Squad w/ Sergeant w/ chainsword, Grenade Launcher, Missile Launcer 132 points – 1 VP – 50%
• Leman Russ 205 points – 4 VPs – Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus

Dark Angels 8 VPs

• Deathwing Squad w/ assault cannon, 2 chainfists 577.5 points – 2 VPs – 50%
• Predator w/ 2 lascannons 180 points 3 VPs – Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus
• Predator w/ 2 lascannons 180 points 3 VPs – Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus

Eldar – 2 VPs

• Baharroth the Storm of Silence – 186 points
• 4 Swooping Hawks – 112 points 1 VP – 50%
• 5 Warp Spiders – 205 points
• Falcoln Grav Tank with Scatter Laser – 233 points 1 VP – Damaged

Allied Total Points 2,509.5

Ork Total VP’s 16

Orks (Provided by PygmyHippo) – 2233 points

• Blood Axe Kommandos 126 3 VPs – Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus
• Nobz Mob A 136 3 VPs – Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus
• Dreadnought A 155 3 VPs – Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus
• Dreadnought B 160 1 VP – Damaged
• War Buggy Squadron – 4 VP’s Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus
  • War Buggy Melta 65
  • War Buggy Melta 65
  • War Buggy Melta 65
  • War Buggy Plasma 50
  • War Buggy Plasma 50
• Looted Marine Predator 150 1 VP – Damaged
• Battlewagon 50 – 3VPs – 4 VP’s Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus

Orks – (Provided by SR) – 675 points

• Battlewagon 50 – 3VPs – Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus
• Battlewagon 50 – 3VPs – Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus
• Boyz Mob 95 – 2 VPs – Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus
• Boyz Mob 95 – 2 VPs – Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus
• 5 Warbikes 225 1 VP – 50%
• Scorcher 50 2 VPs – Destroyed w/ Engage and Destroy Bonus