40k Tournament - 3 Games in

Got to play in a 2000 point tournament this weekend.  The missions were modified/created/bamboozled/whatever for a tournament in Alabama that one of the local guys go to every year.  This one was the short table edge deployment, objective in the center (yeah, in that building), dead units get you reinforcements only until you get a unit off the opponents table edge.  Only a character could get the magic sword in the middle - at which point, night would fall.

Lytro camera pictures from the day are here:  https://pictures.lytro.com/stories/127344

My army was the only thing I could find from the move - my undead Eldar.  In 13 years and 4 codecies, the list hasn't all that much.  Avatar (now with "Fast Shot"), 2x spiritseers, 2x10 wraithguard, 1x5 wraithguard in a waveserpent, 3 war-walkers with scatter lasers, 5 dark reapers (now with Starshot) in a waveserpent, and a battery of 2 d-cannons.  The real difference between the list from the 4th ed codex and this one is the spiritseers and toys.  Instead of being warlocks upgraded to spiritseers as part of the units of wraithguard, they're IC's.

Anyway, game 1 (pictured above) was vs. a SpaceWolf / Tau alliance.  I won, but not by much.  I used to joke that there were circles of death with this army, and it still holds true.  More so now, I think.

Game 2 was a Dark Angel/Space Marine alliance.  This was a three objective (two immobile, one mobile) with vortex missiles falling from the sky.  Starshot missles are mean...  :)  Win for Eldar, but just a squeaker.

Game 3 was vs Marines / Guard hybrid.  Kill points with corner deployment... oh, and a tornado running through the field.  This one reminded me that new Spiritseer powers aren't nearly as solid as the old warlock/spiritseer powers (I failed a *lot* of "Conceal" rolls).  Ended in a low point tie.

So, at the end of the day, I did go 2 wins and 1 tie - but not enough points to do anything other than have fun.  Prizes were a drawing for $10 cards and I picked up a tray of sabol foam for the dark reapers.

I think I've hit the weight limit of a Battlefoam Custom Tray

25 Wraithguard, plus the 3 warlocks for them. 

Granted, this is more than I could get from a Sabol Tray...  :)

It went pear shaped from here...

Brought the Eldar out to play this week.  Went up against a Dante led honor guard list.  In the words of Manny "oooo, it 'urts!".  Dante, 1 sanguinary priest, 3 squads of kitted HG, 1 Assault squad, 2 Stormraven's, a furioso, and a librarin dread.  I didn't have enough range to do anything before he was on my like white on rice.  At the end of the game, I had a damaged wave serpent, he had an immobilized stormraven, a functional stormraven, Dante, a weaponless libby dread, the furioso, the sanguinary priest, and 2 honour guard.

Distance tournament report.

Saturday involved me getting up at 4am, and leaving at 4:30 to meet up at the game store in Tri-Cities by 6am.  We then all piled into the man-van and drove up to Post Falls, ID for a 10am start time at Gamer's Haven's Grand Re-Opening day.  First up is some pictures of the *BEAUTIFUL* tables and space.

 

  

  

  

So.  I didn't take any pictures of game 1 - and it wasn't intentional - I just wasn't quite awake.  The game was good against a SM player coming back after a few years off.  It was a Shrike led, infiltrating, drop podding, veteran list.  To say my dice checked out would be an understatement.  I lost the Avatar to 4 bolter rounds.  It was a fun game, loosing 7-6 on kill points using the Adepticon missions from 2009.  Turned it into a 47-3 loss.  

Game 2 was an Ork player, mission #2 from Adepticon.  That one was the random mission on turn 4, that was a 1-0 loss with lots of death on both sides.

 Game 3 was against a beautifully painted (mostly done) Salamander's list.  Here's the setup.

This one ended up being a slaughter fest.  The wraithguard unit on the left wiped out that flank, the wraithguard on the right speed-bumped Vulcan and the marines coming out of the land raider long enough for the elite wraithguard to take out the raider, take the charge and then die quickly enough that the Dark Reapers could finish wiping them out.  Not pictured was the Sternguard squad that landed about 3 inches to the right of the warwalkers.  The Sternguard squad ended up taking out the warwalkers, the d-cannons, and one of the dark reapers before the game ended on turn 7.  The sgt. was the only marine still on the board.

MVP of this game was defiantly the Dark Reapers

 

The Avatar went on a rampage, then failed the difficult terrain test needed to charge into the scouts hiding in the forest... then they shot it dead.  :)

Results, some shopping, some dinner then the drive back to Tri-Cities.  We arrived there a little before midnight and then I drove home.  

It was a fun day, but I'm still very tired.  Would I do it again?  Hell yes.  I can't wait till the next one we do.

No pictures today, just an update.

Well, I got the Ogryn's primed as well as the Psyker Battle squad done.  That leaves finishing up the ratlings and the weapons on the custom priest.  I've had to put a hold on the Infantry Platoon while I acquire more meltaguns. 

The wife's offered to help paint the army (have I mentioned I love my wife lately?).  I still need to get a few more things (namely a hellhound kit and the chimara and aegis defence lines to make my hydras.  That's where the tax refund comes in.  :)

I've got a tournament in Post Falls, ID coming up this weekend.  It means a 6am meet-up time in tri-cities (so, I leave here around 4:30am on Saturday), and then a 3 to 3 1/2 hour drive (carpooling).  Three games with my Eldar at 2000pts, and then the drive back.  There are advantages to playing an army you've had for almost 10 years - I don't have to do a lot of thinking with the game (that, and I usually like to turn my brain off for those gaming times... )

Anyway, I'll try and get some pictures up this weekend of the tourney.  I should be able to finish the Priest tomorrow - that will just leave the ratlings to get done by end of day on Sunday to be on (modified) track.

3 Games of Fun!

(and no exploding firearms this weekend).  :)

Right, so a little bit of modern art.  This first piece I like to call "Crowd plus Bonehead."

 

Kick-off for the start of the second half.  I had +2 FAME.  Rolled a 12 on the kick-off table.  None of my guys hit the dirt, 3 of his ogres and 2 of his snots are admiring the grass - up close and personal like.  He goes to move, and boneheads the remaining two Ogres on the line. The 6th (and standing) Ogre is able to pick up the ball in the back field.  On my turn all of my guys (except the one I wanted to keep in the backfield) walked through his line without having to dodge.

The turn after this picture was taken, those two standing Ogre's had managed to catch up with my stragglers, but I managed to put an Elf in each of the (now Boneheaded) Ogre in the backfield (you know, holding the ball).  He then attempted to blitz out (on a single die block), rolled a both down against a Lineman with Block.  Ball pops out, falls in the hands of one of the Witch Elves, who then saunters in for a TD.

That was my last game of the day.  The first was against an Undead team (went 1-1... neither of us could roll worth a crap).  And I got a game of 40k in - my Undead Eldar v. a mech Plague Marine list.  Out of a 5 Objective mission (1500 points), I had control of 1, and two were contested.  The other ones were hanging out in the wind.

Goals for the next fortnight, before the Bloodbowl tournament on the 20th.  Finish painting the Ratlings.  Built and prime the unit of Ogryns, and build the Infantry Platoon.  Pictures to follow.  If you talk to me online, bug me about it once or twice.

The games are much better when both armies are painted... you know?

Got to play against someone's brand new DKOK* army. 1500 points, Dawn of War, Capture and Control. My army was an Avatar, 1x6 WG, 2x10 WG, 3 walkers with scatter lasers and 5 dark reapers. His was (from memory); Command with vox (which he forgot till the middle of his next game), banner and 2 grenade launchers, Storm Troopers, 1 squad of Vets, a Platoon with 3 Inf squads and a LC and AC squad, LRMBT, and LR demolisher.

I abandoned my objective, knowing that if I committed one of my Troops to claiming it I could really short myself (400 points to be exact) to play for a tie.

His use of orders helped a lot - the re-roll of cover save is harsh against the Concealed WG. Twin-linking against the Avatar put it in the red before it made combat - took a inf platoon and command squad 3 turns to take that last wound from it though. :)

It was a bloody, 7-turn game. At the end, I had my 5 dark reapers in one corner and 1 WG with a spirit seer sitting on his objective. He had 1 AC team, 7 inf, and 3 of his command squad too far away to do anything.

It was a *good* game.


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*DKOK = Death Korps of Krieg, a beautiful (and expensive) resin Imperial Guard army done by by Forgeworld. See link here.

Owie, owie, owie, make the bad man stop...

I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture - but that would be an Avatar and 10 Wraithguard about to be curb stomped by Vulkan and 5 thunder-hammer equipped assault terminators. Can I say "curb stomp" and still be reasonably politically correct? ;)

Dusted off the Eldar for some fun, got a game in against a *really* nice Armageddon list (his 2000 is a mix of Salamanders, Blood Angels, and Ultramarines, lead by Vulkan). No, it's not using the special rules for all those different armies, just the paint jobs. Since he's got Vulkan, he has that lovely special rule set.

Kill point mission - he got 5, I got 1. I did lot's of immobilizing, but that Terminator squad is a tough nut for me to crack with my Eldar. If I have range on him this turn, he's in assault range on his next turn... and he's got a 2+/3+ save.

Did some final planning with my teammate for the 500 point tournament coming up. We are going to a very special place in Hell for our lists. :) More on that later.

Ork Biker Nob Army...

(aka, "ouch, ouch, oof, ouch")

Played a game this weekend against one of the guys down at the F(not so)LGS. 1500 points. Ork biker nobz (2x8 biker nobz with all upgrades, 2x ork warboss on bike, 1X29 grots) vs Undead Eldar (Avatar, 2x10 wraithguard, 1x5 wraithguard, 5 dark reapers, 2 warwalkers). It was fun, enligtening, and reasonably painful (and yes, it was setup several weeks ago for him to see how that list would run).

I did manage to last 4 turns before being wiped of the board. I did kill enough grots on my first turn of shooting to make him run off the the board, and he did kill one of his own bikers assaulting into cover. Other than that - there wasn't a lot of casualties on the ork side. Armour Save, Cover Save, Invulnerable Save plus a Feel No Pain. Now, granted he was making those Inv and Cover saves like a mad-man... but that's still a very "ouchie" list.