Bring Out Your Lead - A Battle Report
Bring Out Your Lead 2022, Wargames Foundry, Aug 5-7, Helsreach Game - By Alex “Uncle Nergling” Haworth
He looked out upon the wasteland, a playground of chaos and death. He had a name once, long forgotten and now replaced with something else, more a moniker you could say. The Skavvy King. Today would be the day of his reckoning, muties and Skavs from across the wasteland had flocked to his banner. Even Carlos, the psy-vampire-thing, had obeyed his summons, today was surely the day.
The engines roared as the Skavs prepped their equipment, nothing was to go wrong if the plan was to unfold properly. The target, Helsreach itself, a trash town guarded by formidable defences and a veritable army of Squats. It would be hard, but the Skavvy King had an ace up his sleeve, the Genecult had heard his orders and responded in kind. They had brought technology and weaponry uncommon to the wastes, personal teleporters, heavy stubbers and what he appreciated most of all: a can do attitude towards certain death.
On his orders, Carlos started to shamble his horde of zombies towards the town. The dog-like Dungers between them would be cut down in short order and provide much needed cash flow and sustenance for the conflict to come. The Skavs gunned their engines and headed for the second group of Dungers and the coveted statue in the distance. The Skavvy King's arch rival for dominance of the wasteland had taken up residence there and he would be the first to fall. Indeed it was necessary, for no one could call the wasteland his own if there remained such a force.
The Squats, slow to respond, remained holed up behind their tall walls and gun emplacements. The Genecult moved into position and started blasting away at the guardian wurm, a huge slug like creature that had made its home outside the front gate of Helsreach. The Skavvy King urged his driver faster to get him upon his nemesis, a man with no name yet instantly recognisable clad in a suit of Chaos Armour the likes none had seen on the planet before.
The Genecult heavy, having had great success downing the wurm, turned his attention to the Chaos bloke and opened up on him. Rounds peppered his lookout with one striking him squarely in the chest and knocking him from his perch. The Skavvy King saw his chance and leapt from his vehicle with his rag tag entourage in tow and fell upon his enemy. His blade cut deep and with that the Skavvy King had completed his first task.
The zombies continued shambling back and forth harvesting the Dunger corpses. Carlos, meanwhile, took his most agile of thralls and began to scale the ruins on the outer reaches of the town. His goal, what he presumed might be a working piece of Imperial ordnance that he could put to great effect. The Skavs wheeled round and followed the Genecult to the front gates of Helsreach, ramming it to no effect. The Skavvy King, already growing weary of his allies incompetence rammed the Genecult vehicle in the rear, shunting it through the gate.
With that all hell broke loose, bounty hunters, Squats and Imperial Guardsmen began to fire on the gate-crashers. Smiling to himself the Skavvy King let the Genecult soak up the plethora of fire being directed towards the gate. Up above on the ramparts a bounty hunter threw a plasma grenade into the Skavvy Kings vehicle melting half the Skav crew and injuring the King himself, they would pay.
In amongst the ruins, Carlos and his thrall picked their way up to the unexploded bomb. Out of nowhere, an enforcer spotted their shadows and calling for a spotlight started to take potshots at them. The thrall would be hit and Carlos took a flesh wound to the side, but he would not be deterred. Reaching the bomb Carlos hefted it up and strapped it to his thrall, giving him the unenviable task of jumping off the gantry onto the waiting Squat tank below.
The Skavs started to regroup at the gate, whilst the Genecult were peppered with fire from all sides. They were putting in a good innings indeed. The Skavvy King ordered his troops to the gate once more. A bounty hunter on the top of the gate spotted the fire being laid down on Carlos and his mind slave and tried to take out the thrall to no avail, only causing a mere flesh wound in the process. And, with that, the zombie with a bomb tied to his back shambled, stumbled and half jumped/walked off the gantry falling to what must surely be his certain doom. The zombie smashed onto the top armour of the tank and his ordnance immediately detonated, the tank was blasted several metres forward, crashing into another vehicle which exploded. The crew were melted in their tin can.
The zombie, despite his fall, the explosion and the ruckus happening around him received nothing but a flesh wound for his troubles and dutifully stood back up to carry on the good fight. He was quickly named 'MVP' for his tremendous service, only to be cut down by the bloody end of a bounty hunter's thunder hammer... for shame! Whilst the massacre at the game was occurring the Squats began to mobilise, finally roused from their alcohol induced stupor they began to move towards the gate in force.
Meanwhile the Genecult had made headway into the town, driving down main street and unloading a band of burly foot soldiers in the middle of the market district. Chaos ensued, several shots from the enforcers hit a passing gang, which set them off against the mayor's finest. With little recourse to much else the entire town erupted in gunfire.
The bounty hunters trying to wipe out another gang approaching the gate drove a vehicle off the side of the ramparts, only to hit another unexploded bomb and it detonate spectacularly. The vehicle and driver were thrown through the air and landed inside the gate once more, the vehicle was obliterated as were the vehicles it struck.
Carlos, at a loss as to what to do without his most prized thrall, began the rites to revive his most successful of creations. With some effort MVP rose from the grave to once more do is master's bidding. Carlos immediately commanded him to take up a vehicle and drive it directly into the Squat tank that had survived. The Squat enforcers were now fully mobilised and a hail of fire descended upon the Genecult, newly allied gang and anyone else that might be in the way.
The Skavvy King would take this opportunity to move more Skavs into the town. The Genecult had truly proved their worth, soaking up much of the fire that would otherwise shredded his gang. MVP drove his newly acquired buggy into the Squat tank and it exploded in a shower of sparks, dust and flame. Once more MVP somehow survived the carnage, walking out of the fire to fight again.
The Squats moved to secure the gate and levelled all their firepower at MVP and his wrecked vehicle. The Genecult had by now been dealt with and one of their number mysteriously teleported away from the battle, coward.
The madness at the gate continued for some time, but the Skavvy King's lacklustre forces could not force their way through the Squat defences. As time ticked away to suns-set he knew time was running out. Darkness would bring with it the terrors of the night, dark shades and horrific creatures that he had no desire to engage in combat. Weighing his options and with a heavy heart the Skavvy King disengaged his troops. Today was a good day it would be better to live and fight again than ruin his triumph over the Chaos bloke.
Retreating to his newly acquired overlook of the statue outside Helsreach, the Skavvy King looked out across the wasteland, finally it was all his. Now on to bigger and better things, Helsreach itself!
