10 days ago was the Twin-Linked GT ran in Sacramento, CA by my very good friend Mark Broughton aka Omegaprime. The Twin-Linked GT is a team tournament where each player brings 1000 points and follows a strict set of Comp rules. (No duplicates, 0-2 for all slots shared by the team, point restrictions on each slot, etc.) Last year me and my partner Big Ray Barrera took 4th and took home the 2nd Best Sportmanship Award. This year our aspirations would be much lower as each of had not played for around 4-5 months. We wanted to have a good time and possibly take home a Sportsmanship Award if we were lucky! I also would be bringing the new DE codex which I had played zero games with!
Here are our lists.
Yeeman's DE
Archon, Webway Portal, Agonizer, Haywire Grenade
x6 Grotesques
x9 Mandrakes
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Warriors, Venom
Razorwing w/ Lances
x2 Beastmasters, x8 Khymera
Big Ray's Eldar
Autarch, Bike, Scorpion Sword, Reaper Launcher
x6 Bikes, x2 Cannons
x5 DAs, Serpent
x5 DAs, Serpent
x7 Spiders
Wraithknight
Overall pretty decent lists, especially the Eldar. My Dark Eldar was more of me wanting to use units like the Grotesques and Mandrakes and paint them up. Again, we did not have high hopes in winning many games and we settled on being happy with going 3-3. So onto our game!
A side bet me and Ray had was for the 3rd Objective marker of SWAG we got in our bags. We got only 3 Objective Markers to share for the 2 of us so we decided whoever played better throughout the 6 games, wins the last Marker. We would let our opponents decide who played better between us and keep our record to determine the winner!
Game 1 vs Dark Zoom Zoom
This game we played against Bike heavy Orks and Ravenwing bikers. We thought we would be in good shape as we have plenty of shooting and they need to come to us to deal real damage. Plus, we have lots of good melee units to challenge them as well. This game would be short and be a nice refresher for us. We became real comfortable again and nearly tabled our opponents. They could not handle the shooting nor the melee units we brought to the table. Plus, they scouted the Ravenwing up first turn and tried to seize (which was +1 from Warlord) and they failed which allowed us to get first turn charges.
MVP of this game were the Mandrakes. First turn they shot down a Land Speeder. Second turn ate hella shooting and killed another speeder. Third turn they shot and assault the Ork Warboss and killed him with Soul Blaze! Sammael fell victim to them turn 4 and an Ork Boyz Squad 11 strong fell victim to them turn 5. After turn 2 there was only 5 left because of Sammael's Plasma Cannon! They lived with 2 left to tell the tale of their deeds! They were great!
We achieved a full 20 point win. Our opponents voted I did more damage because of the Mandrakes alone! So I'm up 1-0 on Ray and our Team is 1-0 for the tourney!
Game 2 Vs No Chance Newbies
Our opponents brought Drop Pod Marines and Nids. Going into this game, we were worried and thought we were done for. Their lists were not only superior but they had first turn and we would be on our backfoot from the beginning.
Not knowing the experience level of our opponents, we assumed the worst. They podded in and took flight against the Grotesques. Everything poured into them. When the dust cleared I had 4 left standing all with a variety of wounds. Everything else would be unscathed. We took advantage of this and had the Grotesques Rampage through their army (literally!) and kill several units. By game's end, my 1000pts were decimated and I was left with a few Mandrakes, 1 Grotesque, a few Warriors, and a few Beasts. Big Ray had lost 3 bikes... That's it! We would pull a 20 against our opponents. The big downfall for our opponents was their target priority. If they knew a little better, we would have lost. I told Ray that if we used their lists against us, we would have won that game I feel.
MVP of this game was probably the Wraithknight. Instagibbed a Malanthrope Turn 1, the Hive Crone Turn 2, and wiped out several Marines. Our opponents determined that Ray won this game because he was unscathed! I took the brunt of their forces but Ray ended up doing a lot of the damage because all my stuff kept dying! So as a team we are 2-0 and I am 1-1 against Ray for the Marker!
Game 3 Vs. Wolf Brother 2nd Company
Our opponents reign from Reno, NV and are hardcore players. They play for keeps and Mike Bass was out for blood against me since the last time we played, he was wiped Turn 2 pretty much against me at BAO. They would run 3 Serpents, and a Wraithknight with 3 Razorbacks, a Thunderfire, and Khan with a command Squad.
Whenever you have Serpent on Serpent action, first turn is crucial. Lucky for me and Ray we had it and they failed to seize. We kill a serpent, another Jinks, the Thuderfire goes boom, and the Wraithknight takes a wound but makes his ID from our own Wraithknight. They respond by killing a Venom and a Serpent of ours. Turn 2 would be the deciding turn as our Reserves come in. The flier knocks out several bikes and a Razorback. The Grotesques would enter CC and crush the Command Squad. Venoms kill the Wraithknight and the Wolf Brother would be left picking up the pieces. We would play it out but their effort would not be enough.
Great opponents and tons of fun. Aside from the whistle blowing, getting drunk, taking Jell-O shots, and talking as much shit as possible between us the game was probably the most fun of the weekend! We would get a 20 in this game as well and end Day 1 with a perfect Battle Score!
Our MVP this game was probably the Serpents but our whole army contributed equally. We decided to call this game a tie between me and Ray as we both did well and if it came down to it, Ray could have it if we ended up tying by tournament's end! The cool thing is is that by day's end, we have perfect battle (only team thus far with it!) and we matched the win total we were shooting for and we still had 3 games left!
In the next couple of days I will get the rest of the games up and have my overall thoughts on the tournament!
Monday, December 15, 2014
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Damn... It Has Been a LONG Time! Initial Dark Eldar Thoughts and Analysis
Wooooooo Weeeeeeee! It sure has been awhile since I have posted on here. Moving from Colorado, back to California then back to Colorado again has been a strain. Have a new job now and live in Holyoke, CO. This is in the middle of nowhere and 3 hours away from Fort Collins or Denver. My 40k stuff is still in my moving boxes! Between the new job (teacher) and coaching (football) I have had absolutely zero time to hobby. However, this will all change in the coming months. No more football and I am way ahead in lesson plans. It has taken some work, but the dust will be off of my 40k models THIS week!
So what's the deal? Tons of changes to 40k since I have last posted. Grey Knights, Space Wolves, and my favorite Dark Eldar all got new books. Rumors of Blood Angels and Necrons incoming as well shortly. I know almost nothing about the GK and SW books but I do have my fresh DE book sitting next to me, and my initial thoughts are that it is fantastic!
There definitely some good and some bad with the book, and I will go into those as the weeks go by. I will do an in-depth analysis of the units and rate them. Remember these will be initial thoughts as I have played ZERO 40k for about 5 months now. This initial thoughts will just be things I am excited about to use and some of the special rules.
Lets dive in!
The Book: The art in the book is fantastic! I love the new work and the fluff behind everything. I like the new Kabals and Cults and Covens that are mentioned and the paint schemes that accompany them. The layout is the same as the newer books (or so I'm told). Flipping back to the Armory page is a little annoying, but I almost know all of the point costs already, so that is minor. Overall, love the artwork, the fluff, and the general layout of the book.
Warlord Traits: All of the other books I have seen the Warlord traits seem lackluster. The Iyanden Supplement are the only ones I actually like because they are useful. The DE Traits are pretty good. Some so-so ones, and then you have a couple that are straight boss. The Table is below.
1- All DE within 12" of warlord have Fear
2- Re-roll Seize the Initiative, Night Fighting, and Reserves (Boss!)
3- Warlord has Rage
4- Warlord has Hatred
5- Warlord has +1 Weapon Skill
6- All DE within 12" of warlord are Fearless (Boss!)
So looking at them, 2 and 6 are the real winners. 6 loses effectiveness once turn 5 hits, but having that initial Fearless bubble for the first 4 turns is nice. And rerolling all that goodness for result #2 is just straight money. The re-roll to reserves is where its at as almost all DE players will have some sort of Reserves. The others all have uses, and help out your CC characters. Hatred is nice as it is to everyone and confers to the squad. the Rage is nice, just make sure you have a sweet CC character. Fear is lackluster, but has some use. +1 WS is really only nice on the Succubus as it would make her WS 9 and have to be hit on 5's by normal dudes. All in all, they are ok. I might just roll on Strategic because there are more useful ones.
Special Rules
Power From Pain- Now instead of the counters it goes turn by turn. As the game goes on, your army will get stronger and stronger. I have heard a TON of flakk about this as people seem to think that DE should be super buff in the beginning and as the battle wages on, they diminish. But this directly contradicts the fluff they have. As DE kill, maim, rape, MURDER, they get stronger and feel the ecstasy that is death. But this is usually coming from the ultra competitive, could care less about the fluff and only give me point and click units crowd. Back on topic.... So each turn the DE get an extra benefit and continue getting stronger. The table is below:
Turn 1- Nothing
Turn 2- FnP 6+
Turn 3- FnP 5+
Turn 4- FnP 5+, Furious Charge
Turn 5- FnP 5+, Furious Charge, Fearless
Turn 6+- FnP 5+, Furious Charge, Fearless, Rage
Wow! This is pretty awesome! Straight up benefits for no cost! Only a few units do not have Power From Pain, but I'll go into that with the unit analysis. DE can begin to have some resiliency starting Turn 2 and only get stronger and more resilient after! I like the new table and enjoy the new mechanic. Pain Tokens sometimes were a pain to keep track of, now there is no need!
Night Vision- Although DE had this before, I believe it is even better now. Negating Stealth for those Jinkers and first turn hide and seekers is great. First turn, depending on the list you bring is still paramount for DE. It is a nice little buff to have.
Combat Drugs- The all powerful Combat Drugs are back and hopefully here to stay! I believe they got a major upgrade from the last batch. for starters, you still roll once and all units with CDs get that result. The table is below.
1- +1 Attack
2- +1 Strength
3- +1 Initiative
4- +1 Toughness (CRAZY!)
5- +1 Weapon Skill
6- +1 Leadership
The thing I like most is that all of these are useful! Unlike the last codex, 3D6 Run pick the highest, was rolled WAY too often! And now you don't need the FnP Drug because you get it for free starting Turn 2! I think the winner is +1 Toughness... T4 Wyches, T5 Reavers?!!?! It can get nasty and I look forward to trying out some Wych Cult stuff, though I am traditionally a Kabal guy. Overall the Combat Drugs are great!
Deepstrike- So all Venoms, Raiders, and Ravagers have Deepstrike! Say what?!?! Awesome! Tired of having all of your Venoms die first turn? Deepstrike them! I don't personally see myself doing this often, but the benefit is nice and think it is worth considering.
*As an aside, there is a debate online about Skimmers when they Deepstrike in. Some are claiming that when they Deepstrike in, if they happen to land on another model, they are to be moved the minimum distance away from the models.
Pg. 89 Moving Skimmers, 3rd Paragraph- "If a Skimmer is forced to end its move over friendly or enemy models, move the Skimmer the minimum distance so that no models are left underneath it."
Then everyone can read what Deepstrike says on Pg. 162 in the BRB.
Personally I am on the fence about it. I do feel like Deepstriking a kind of movement and when Deepstriking that is the movement you are using during the Movement phase. However, it seems rather powerful and I always air on the side of caution with things like this. If a TO were to rule either way, it wouldn't effect me much and I wouldn't complain one way or the other. If I were a TO I would actually rule in favor of being able to DS on top of another unit then moving them a minimum distance away from the models they landed on (much like a Drop Pod). I won't bring fluff into it at all like others have, as that just complicates things and does not reflect what actually happens on the table top.
So where do we go from here? Well, I will go section by section in the new DE book and rate each entry out of 10. I will start with the HQ Section and go on through the book. I will tell you, though most people don't see the potential, I do and what I love the most is that we no longer NEED Eldar to be competitive.
Stay tuned and have fun! Comment and let me know your initial thoughts! I also have some exciting news I will share with everyone by week's end!
So what's the deal? Tons of changes to 40k since I have last posted. Grey Knights, Space Wolves, and my favorite Dark Eldar all got new books. Rumors of Blood Angels and Necrons incoming as well shortly. I know almost nothing about the GK and SW books but I do have my fresh DE book sitting next to me, and my initial thoughts are that it is fantastic!
There definitely some good and some bad with the book, and I will go into those as the weeks go by. I will do an in-depth analysis of the units and rate them. Remember these will be initial thoughts as I have played ZERO 40k for about 5 months now. This initial thoughts will just be things I am excited about to use and some of the special rules.
Lets dive in!
The Book: The art in the book is fantastic! I love the new work and the fluff behind everything. I like the new Kabals and Cults and Covens that are mentioned and the paint schemes that accompany them. The layout is the same as the newer books (or so I'm told). Flipping back to the Armory page is a little annoying, but I almost know all of the point costs already, so that is minor. Overall, love the artwork, the fluff, and the general layout of the book.
Warlord Traits: All of the other books I have seen the Warlord traits seem lackluster. The Iyanden Supplement are the only ones I actually like because they are useful. The DE Traits are pretty good. Some so-so ones, and then you have a couple that are straight boss. The Table is below.
1- All DE within 12" of warlord have Fear
2- Re-roll Seize the Initiative, Night Fighting, and Reserves (Boss!)
3- Warlord has Rage
4- Warlord has Hatred
5- Warlord has +1 Weapon Skill
6- All DE within 12" of warlord are Fearless (Boss!)
So looking at them, 2 and 6 are the real winners. 6 loses effectiveness once turn 5 hits, but having that initial Fearless bubble for the first 4 turns is nice. And rerolling all that goodness for result #2 is just straight money. The re-roll to reserves is where its at as almost all DE players will have some sort of Reserves. The others all have uses, and help out your CC characters. Hatred is nice as it is to everyone and confers to the squad. the Rage is nice, just make sure you have a sweet CC character. Fear is lackluster, but has some use. +1 WS is really only nice on the Succubus as it would make her WS 9 and have to be hit on 5's by normal dudes. All in all, they are ok. I might just roll on Strategic because there are more useful ones.
Special Rules
Power From Pain- Now instead of the counters it goes turn by turn. As the game goes on, your army will get stronger and stronger. I have heard a TON of flakk about this as people seem to think that DE should be super buff in the beginning and as the battle wages on, they diminish. But this directly contradicts the fluff they have. As DE kill, maim, rape, MURDER, they get stronger and feel the ecstasy that is death. But this is usually coming from the ultra competitive, could care less about the fluff and only give me point and click units crowd. Back on topic.... So each turn the DE get an extra benefit and continue getting stronger. The table is below:
Turn 1- Nothing
Turn 2- FnP 6+
Turn 3- FnP 5+
Turn 4- FnP 5+, Furious Charge
Turn 5- FnP 5+, Furious Charge, Fearless
Turn 6+- FnP 5+, Furious Charge, Fearless, Rage
Wow! This is pretty awesome! Straight up benefits for no cost! Only a few units do not have Power From Pain, but I'll go into that with the unit analysis. DE can begin to have some resiliency starting Turn 2 and only get stronger and more resilient after! I like the new table and enjoy the new mechanic. Pain Tokens sometimes were a pain to keep track of, now there is no need!
Night Vision- Although DE had this before, I believe it is even better now. Negating Stealth for those Jinkers and first turn hide and seekers is great. First turn, depending on the list you bring is still paramount for DE. It is a nice little buff to have.
Combat Drugs- The all powerful Combat Drugs are back and hopefully here to stay! I believe they got a major upgrade from the last batch. for starters, you still roll once and all units with CDs get that result. The table is below.
1- +1 Attack
2- +1 Strength
3- +1 Initiative
4- +1 Toughness (CRAZY!)
5- +1 Weapon Skill
6- +1 Leadership
The thing I like most is that all of these are useful! Unlike the last codex, 3D6 Run pick the highest, was rolled WAY too often! And now you don't need the FnP Drug because you get it for free starting Turn 2! I think the winner is +1 Toughness... T4 Wyches, T5 Reavers?!!?! It can get nasty and I look forward to trying out some Wych Cult stuff, though I am traditionally a Kabal guy. Overall the Combat Drugs are great!
Deepstrike- So all Venoms, Raiders, and Ravagers have Deepstrike! Say what?!?! Awesome! Tired of having all of your Venoms die first turn? Deepstrike them! I don't personally see myself doing this often, but the benefit is nice and think it is worth considering.
*As an aside, there is a debate online about Skimmers when they Deepstrike in. Some are claiming that when they Deepstrike in, if they happen to land on another model, they are to be moved the minimum distance away from the models.
Pg. 89 Moving Skimmers, 3rd Paragraph- "If a Skimmer is forced to end its move over friendly or enemy models, move the Skimmer the minimum distance so that no models are left underneath it."
Then everyone can read what Deepstrike says on Pg. 162 in the BRB.
Personally I am on the fence about it. I do feel like Deepstriking a kind of movement and when Deepstriking that is the movement you are using during the Movement phase. However, it seems rather powerful and I always air on the side of caution with things like this. If a TO were to rule either way, it wouldn't effect me much and I wouldn't complain one way or the other. If I were a TO I would actually rule in favor of being able to DS on top of another unit then moving them a minimum distance away from the models they landed on (much like a Drop Pod). I won't bring fluff into it at all like others have, as that just complicates things and does not reflect what actually happens on the table top.
So where do we go from here? Well, I will go section by section in the new DE book and rate each entry out of 10. I will start with the HQ Section and go on through the book. I will tell you, though most people don't see the potential, I do and what I love the most is that we no longer NEED Eldar to be competitive.
Stay tuned and have fun! Comment and let me know your initial thoughts! I also have some exciting news I will share with everyone by week's end!
Monday, June 23, 2014
Bugeater 2nd Day
So going into Day 2, myself and 1 other person are 4-0. I cannot remember my opponents name, but he had 5 Imperial Knights, and from what I heard, he had been stomping people left and right. As the tournament was set to begin at 9:45am, I sat diligently waiting at my table. And I waited.... and waited.... and waited.... 10:10am rolls around and my opponent is a no show. So I get paired up against another Matt.
Game 5 vs Matt's Astra Militarum/ Imperial Knights
So I didn't get to play 5 Knights like I was supposed to, only 1. But he also brought around 100 Guardsmen, 2 Punishers, 2 Chimeras, a Deathstrike Missile, Defense Line, and a couple Hydras. The list looked very formidable on the tabletop. However, my opponent Matt was new to the game and had only started playing. Also, he had not been performing very well at the tournament.
*NOTE* I was very displeased with being paired up against Matt. Not with Tim, or anyone in particular. I was looking forward to playing 5 Knights and another player that was 4-0. Matt was not the best player, but his opponent also did not show up and he was set to play the Ringer. Because the round was already almost 30mins in by the time we got paired, he was the only logical choice.
This game was fairly one sided. My first turn was fantastic and I blew up quite a bit of his vehicles and Guardsmen. It was a very laid back game that I did not cast any Psychic Powers in and let him kill things hat would otherwise not have died. He seemed to have fun and I pointed out some rules in his book that he was unaware of, and was very appreciative of such. In the end, we called it Turn 3 with him killing my Beasts for a point (Scouring) and killing the Baron for 2 more.
Win for Dark Eldar 15-3
So after 5 games, I was sitting "pretty" at 5-0 even though after the last game I did not feel I earned the record. Tim initially was planning on having me and Mat Root play again as no one else in the tournament had more points than him with 1 loss. However, if that were to happen, then 3 other rematches would have taken place, so Tim voted against it. To be honest I think it was the right move. To have 4 rematches with so much on the line would have been bad. And as you will see worked out how Tim thought it would.
Game 6 vs CJ's Imperial Knights w/ Tau and Inquistorial Allies
CJ was a member of our C-State Domination team. He had a beautifully painted army with tons of conversions. His army included: 3 Knights, Buffmander w/ 3 x2 Missile Pod suits w/ x2 Shield Drones, x7 Fire Warriors, Coteaz, 3 Plasma Servitors, and a Chimera w/ some Henchmen. A very tough list on paper and on the tabletop.
This game would go badly for me at the beginning. CJ would win the roll off for first turn and take it. I decided to roll on Telepathy for Puppet Master, Hallucinate, or even Invisibility. I figured 2 rolls on Telepathy, and 1 roll on Eldar for Doom. I grabbed Hallucinate then got stuck with Dominate and Guide (as I felt Executioner was no good HA!). I would also fail to Seize.
CJ's first turn would see him shake a Ravager, blow a Venom, and blow a Serpent. I would respond by committing my Wraithknight to one of his Knights and my Beasts to the middle Knight to contest the objective. I used the destroyed Venom's Warriors to contest the other objective. I cast Hallucinate on the middle IK and he.... DENIES IT! Great... I shoot some Venoms at Coteaz who dies and kills some of the other Henchmen. They would fail their LD check but stay on the board. I shoot all of my Anti-Tank at the IK in front of my Wraithknight. I do 3 HPs and charge. My Wraithknight destroys his IK. In the ensuing explosion, the blast doesn't scatter and the Str. D hits my Knight and CJ rolls a 6.... Killing him.... Instantly.... Awesome... In CC, my Beasts do nothing and his IK Stomps some Beasts.
His second turn sees him kill a Ravager, blow the Scatter Laser off my other Serpent, shake my other Ravager, and kill another Venom. (His Tau contingent was bossmode.) In CC, I do nothing with the Farseer and he proceeds to kill more Beasts. He gets 3 Stomps. Rolls a 6 and kills 4 Beasts, then moves the next Blast over the Farseer and the Baron, Stomps them and rolls a 6... Kills them instantly.. Awesome... and then stomps 3 more Beasts and rolls another 6 killing more of them. So this turn pretty much sealed the deal for CJ. My turn 2 I do very minimal damage.
I call the game my turn 3 as I have no hopes of coming back shake CJ's hand. CJ was an awesome opponent and took beating my ass with class. He was apologetic for how bad the game went. I laughed and shrugged as it didnt matter.
Mega loss for Dark Eldar! (2-15?)
The thing that kills me with the game is that I had no control over what happened. I couldnt control him getting First Turn, Denying Hallucinate, Stomping my army to death, and Str. D-ing my own Knight. Frustrating, but again I couldnt do anything about it. I am glad that CJ isn't one of "those guys" and is a great player.
As a result, CJ ended up winning the entire Tournament and claiming the Sweepstakes Champion title. With my 1 loss, I earned the Tournament Champion Title and 3rd place in the tournament. I got a gift card to the Game Shoppe and used it to buy a 2nd Wraithknight. Matt Bess placed 13th and Omegaprime placed 12th overall but he achieved 5th for Tournament points. Team C-State Domination also won the Bugeater Cup for the 40k side of things as well!
I have some pictures of the Bets Painted armies and of the awards everyone won! I will also post my overall impressions of the tournament as well.
Game 5 vs Matt's Astra Militarum/ Imperial Knights
So I didn't get to play 5 Knights like I was supposed to, only 1. But he also brought around 100 Guardsmen, 2 Punishers, 2 Chimeras, a Deathstrike Missile, Defense Line, and a couple Hydras. The list looked very formidable on the tabletop. However, my opponent Matt was new to the game and had only started playing. Also, he had not been performing very well at the tournament.
*NOTE* I was very displeased with being paired up against Matt. Not with Tim, or anyone in particular. I was looking forward to playing 5 Knights and another player that was 4-0. Matt was not the best player, but his opponent also did not show up and he was set to play the Ringer. Because the round was already almost 30mins in by the time we got paired, he was the only logical choice.
This game was fairly one sided. My first turn was fantastic and I blew up quite a bit of his vehicles and Guardsmen. It was a very laid back game that I did not cast any Psychic Powers in and let him kill things hat would otherwise not have died. He seemed to have fun and I pointed out some rules in his book that he was unaware of, and was very appreciative of such. In the end, we called it Turn 3 with him killing my Beasts for a point (Scouring) and killing the Baron for 2 more.
Win for Dark Eldar 15-3
So after 5 games, I was sitting "pretty" at 5-0 even though after the last game I did not feel I earned the record. Tim initially was planning on having me and Mat Root play again as no one else in the tournament had more points than him with 1 loss. However, if that were to happen, then 3 other rematches would have taken place, so Tim voted against it. To be honest I think it was the right move. To have 4 rematches with so much on the line would have been bad. And as you will see worked out how Tim thought it would.
Game 6 vs CJ's Imperial Knights w/ Tau and Inquistorial Allies
CJ was a member of our C-State Domination team. He had a beautifully painted army with tons of conversions. His army included: 3 Knights, Buffmander w/ 3 x2 Missile Pod suits w/ x2 Shield Drones, x7 Fire Warriors, Coteaz, 3 Plasma Servitors, and a Chimera w/ some Henchmen. A very tough list on paper and on the tabletop.
This game would go badly for me at the beginning. CJ would win the roll off for first turn and take it. I decided to roll on Telepathy for Puppet Master, Hallucinate, or even Invisibility. I figured 2 rolls on Telepathy, and 1 roll on Eldar for Doom. I grabbed Hallucinate then got stuck with Dominate and Guide (as I felt Executioner was no good HA!). I would also fail to Seize.
CJ's first turn would see him shake a Ravager, blow a Venom, and blow a Serpent. I would respond by committing my Wraithknight to one of his Knights and my Beasts to the middle Knight to contest the objective. I used the destroyed Venom's Warriors to contest the other objective. I cast Hallucinate on the middle IK and he.... DENIES IT! Great... I shoot some Venoms at Coteaz who dies and kills some of the other Henchmen. They would fail their LD check but stay on the board. I shoot all of my Anti-Tank at the IK in front of my Wraithknight. I do 3 HPs and charge. My Wraithknight destroys his IK. In the ensuing explosion, the blast doesn't scatter and the Str. D hits my Knight and CJ rolls a 6.... Killing him.... Instantly.... Awesome... In CC, my Beasts do nothing and his IK Stomps some Beasts.
His second turn sees him kill a Ravager, blow the Scatter Laser off my other Serpent, shake my other Ravager, and kill another Venom. (His Tau contingent was bossmode.) In CC, I do nothing with the Farseer and he proceeds to kill more Beasts. He gets 3 Stomps. Rolls a 6 and kills 4 Beasts, then moves the next Blast over the Farseer and the Baron, Stomps them and rolls a 6... Kills them instantly.. Awesome... and then stomps 3 more Beasts and rolls another 6 killing more of them. So this turn pretty much sealed the deal for CJ. My turn 2 I do very minimal damage.
I call the game my turn 3 as I have no hopes of coming back shake CJ's hand. CJ was an awesome opponent and took beating my ass with class. He was apologetic for how bad the game went. I laughed and shrugged as it didnt matter.
Mega loss for Dark Eldar! (2-15?)
The thing that kills me with the game is that I had no control over what happened. I couldnt control him getting First Turn, Denying Hallucinate, Stomping my army to death, and Str. D-ing my own Knight. Frustrating, but again I couldnt do anything about it. I am glad that CJ isn't one of "those guys" and is a great player.
As a result, CJ ended up winning the entire Tournament and claiming the Sweepstakes Champion title. With my 1 loss, I earned the Tournament Champion Title and 3rd place in the tournament. I got a gift card to the Game Shoppe and used it to buy a 2nd Wraithknight. Matt Bess placed 13th and Omegaprime placed 12th overall but he achieved 5th for Tournament points. Team C-State Domination also won the Bugeater Cup for the 40k side of things as well!
I have some pictures of the Bets Painted armies and of the awards everyone won! I will also post my overall impressions of the tournament as well.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
The Bugeater GT Recap Day 1
So about 10 days ago myself, Omegaprime, and Fat Ninja Hodor Matt Bess set off on our annual trek to Omaha, Nebraska for the Bugeater GT. Unlike last year we could encounter some road conditions in the Doe variety and some vehicle problems would ensue. However, we would persevere and make to Omaha at 2AM Friday morning.
The original plan was to have me and Omegaprime hit up the Team Tournament but we needed to take care of truck and hit up other game stores in Omaha. We would unload our stuff in preparation for the next day or carnage.
DAY 1 Games
Game #1 vs Josh Dunn
Josh had brought an Inquisitor Primary army with Coteaz, a bunch of Henchman squads toting Death Cultists, Crusdaers, and Priests accompanied with a Landraider and some Psybacks. He also brought Crimson Fists allies with some Plasma Cannon Devastators, a Redeemer, and some Scouts.
Our table had a ton of terrain which made it very difficult for me to deploy, but it didnt matter as Josh would Seize on me and grab First Blood with a Venom death. I would then kill his Redeemer with the Wraithknight who would then die to the TH/SS Termies inside. The Baron would die and Josh would grab Linebreaker as well but it would not save him. I would win this game 13-7.
As an aside, Josh turned out staying in our same hotel so we all went out together and grabbed food and chilled for the weekend. Josh is an awesome dude and really fun to chill with.
Game #2 vs Adam Pedersen
Adam was playing CSM. Nurgle Bike Lord with 8 Burgle bikers, a Predator, Helldrake, 30 or 40 CSM, some Havocs, 3 Oblit, and some cultists with an ADL.
This game would go rather quickly for me. I would have first turn and would pummel Adam's army with 2 turns of shooting and wipe his Bikes with the Beasts. Highlight of the match for Adam was killing my 5 Wound Knight with Twin-Linked Plasma Guns from his Oblits. I would win 15-2.
Game #3 vs Brad Townsend aka Hulksmash
Brad would bring Greyknights with Inquistor Allies. Coteaz, 4 Psybacks, 2 Solodins, 2 TA Psycannon Inquisitors, 2 Storm Ravens, and 3 Dreadknight with Teleporters and Incinerators.I knew this would be a tough test simply because Brad is a great player. Plus, he has a plethora of 2+ Armor Saves and the Storm Ravens are never fun for me. And he had first turn.
I would deny him a lot of his first turn shooting by deploying near my table edge so he couldnt get his choice targets with the Incinerators. No damage from him first turn and I would return fire with dealing 3 Wounds to one Knight (he was a MFer... Seriously) and kill two of his 2 of his 4 Psybacks to get First Blood. Over the course of the game my stuff would die and his stuff would die. That 1 Wound Knight would live til Turn 5 until he actually failed that last save, it took a long time to finish him off. The game would go on (much to HulkSmash's displeasure) I would also learn that a 5th objective was in the middle and Hulky was controlling it, at that I thought I had lost. The Baron pulled through and Hit and Run out of CC to kill 1 squad of Henchmen off an objective to seal the deal. I would win 7-6.
I would have to say, this was probably my most enjoyable tournament game I have had. Things I have read online about Brad all had been positive. I am glad what I read was true and this game turned out to be such fun. Outside of him unintentionally yelling at a 16 year old kid and that kid crying and running away, he is a stand up guy! It felt like a Beer and Pretzel game with competitive banter (Lot of this!) with someone ive known for a long time. Appreciate the game Brad!
Game #4 vs Matt Root
Matt Root has won the Bugeater GT the last 2 years. I figured he would be the one to bring Skyblight and I was right. He had just gotten done handing Omegaprime his first loss of the tournament (and his only!). He brought 3 Tyrants, 2 Crones, 2 Harpies, Venomthrope, 3 individual Biovores, a Bastions, some Warriors Gargoyles, ad some regular Gaunts.
By was this going to be a tough match up. This list is the reason I brought the ADL and the Wraithknight. I really hope they pull their weight! I win the roll off and take first turn. I deploy at my 24'' line (Hammer and Anvil Deployment) equally and ready to attack everything. He deploys the Venomthrope in the Bastions and stacks literally) his MCs behind the Bastion and in Area Terrain to get a 3+ Cover Save. After some bickering from him on placement we go.
My first turn is rather devastating. I blow his Bastion and his Venthrope along with it with one of my Ravagers. His of his Biovores take wound from the Bastion (they were on the Battlements). I then kill his Warlord Tyrant and a Crone. I deal 3 wounds to another Tyrant and plink another wound off of another Tyrant. Not too shabby! I made sure to have all of my vehicles at the 22-24'' mark so he could Vector Strike anything of mine. Though he tried valiantly to do so, I would not let him cheat by not passing straight over me or let him get within an inch of, both things he insistently tried to do and was rather angry he could not do. I believe he blew up a couple Venoms and ended his turn.
I would continue my rampage and kill anther Tyrant and the other Crone. His lone wound Tyrant would live again and make plenty of 3+ Armors and 5+ Cover Saves which is quite annoying. My Beasts would also massacre a Gargoyle squad.He would kill a squad of my Venom troops and call it a turn.
With time winding (yes this is Turn 3) we decided it would be last turn. I would run clean up duty and kill his 3 Biovores, his other 2 Gargoyle Squads, his other Tyrant, and leave a Harpy with 1 wound left. We would try to come back and grab some points which he did by getting Warlord (damn Smash Attacks!) and Linebreaker. Counting up the Kill Points I had 11 to his 3 netting me 8 points. I also had all 3 primaries for 14 total points. He would get 4 with Warlord and Linebreaker.
I was very nervous for the game as having first turn pretty much clinched it for me. Calling the Rules Judge over for every little things was annoying, but knowing the rules and actually having a Tournament FAQ to reference was nice.
Omegaprime finished the day 3-1 and Matt Bess finished 2-2 dropping his last 2 games of the day. So at the end of the day I sat at 4-0. Only one other player had that and he brought.... 5 KNIGHTS! Yikes.... Stay tuned in the next couple of days to have me recap Day 2!
Sorry for the lack of pictures. I literally have no excuse as I had my camera with me, just never remembered to take any. Sorry!
The original plan was to have me and Omegaprime hit up the Team Tournament but we needed to take care of truck and hit up other game stores in Omaha. We would unload our stuff in preparation for the next day or carnage.
DAY 1 Games
Game #1 vs Josh Dunn
Josh had brought an Inquisitor Primary army with Coteaz, a bunch of Henchman squads toting Death Cultists, Crusdaers, and Priests accompanied with a Landraider and some Psybacks. He also brought Crimson Fists allies with some Plasma Cannon Devastators, a Redeemer, and some Scouts.
Our table had a ton of terrain which made it very difficult for me to deploy, but it didnt matter as Josh would Seize on me and grab First Blood with a Venom death. I would then kill his Redeemer with the Wraithknight who would then die to the TH/SS Termies inside. The Baron would die and Josh would grab Linebreaker as well but it would not save him. I would win this game 13-7.
As an aside, Josh turned out staying in our same hotel so we all went out together and grabbed food and chilled for the weekend. Josh is an awesome dude and really fun to chill with.
Game #2 vs Adam Pedersen
Adam was playing CSM. Nurgle Bike Lord with 8 Burgle bikers, a Predator, Helldrake, 30 or 40 CSM, some Havocs, 3 Oblit, and some cultists with an ADL.
This game would go rather quickly for me. I would have first turn and would pummel Adam's army with 2 turns of shooting and wipe his Bikes with the Beasts. Highlight of the match for Adam was killing my 5 Wound Knight with Twin-Linked Plasma Guns from his Oblits. I would win 15-2.
Game #3 vs Brad Townsend aka Hulksmash
Brad would bring Greyknights with Inquistor Allies. Coteaz, 4 Psybacks, 2 Solodins, 2 TA Psycannon Inquisitors, 2 Storm Ravens, and 3 Dreadknight with Teleporters and Incinerators.I knew this would be a tough test simply because Brad is a great player. Plus, he has a plethora of 2+ Armor Saves and the Storm Ravens are never fun for me. And he had first turn.
I would deny him a lot of his first turn shooting by deploying near my table edge so he couldnt get his choice targets with the Incinerators. No damage from him first turn and I would return fire with dealing 3 Wounds to one Knight (he was a MFer... Seriously) and kill two of his 2 of his 4 Psybacks to get First Blood. Over the course of the game my stuff would die and his stuff would die. That 1 Wound Knight would live til Turn 5 until he actually failed that last save, it took a long time to finish him off. The game would go on (much to HulkSmash's displeasure) I would also learn that a 5th objective was in the middle and Hulky was controlling it, at that I thought I had lost. The Baron pulled through and Hit and Run out of CC to kill 1 squad of Henchmen off an objective to seal the deal. I would win 7-6.
I would have to say, this was probably my most enjoyable tournament game I have had. Things I have read online about Brad all had been positive. I am glad what I read was true and this game turned out to be such fun. Outside of him unintentionally yelling at a 16 year old kid and that kid crying and running away, he is a stand up guy! It felt like a Beer and Pretzel game with competitive banter (Lot of this!) with someone ive known for a long time. Appreciate the game Brad!
Game #4 vs Matt Root
Matt Root has won the Bugeater GT the last 2 years. I figured he would be the one to bring Skyblight and I was right. He had just gotten done handing Omegaprime his first loss of the tournament (and his only!). He brought 3 Tyrants, 2 Crones, 2 Harpies, Venomthrope, 3 individual Biovores, a Bastions, some Warriors Gargoyles, ad some regular Gaunts.
By was this going to be a tough match up. This list is the reason I brought the ADL and the Wraithknight. I really hope they pull their weight! I win the roll off and take first turn. I deploy at my 24'' line (Hammer and Anvil Deployment) equally and ready to attack everything. He deploys the Venomthrope in the Bastions and stacks literally) his MCs behind the Bastion and in Area Terrain to get a 3+ Cover Save. After some bickering from him on placement we go.
My first turn is rather devastating. I blow his Bastion and his Venthrope along with it with one of my Ravagers. His of his Biovores take wound from the Bastion (they were on the Battlements). I then kill his Warlord Tyrant and a Crone. I deal 3 wounds to another Tyrant and plink another wound off of another Tyrant. Not too shabby! I made sure to have all of my vehicles at the 22-24'' mark so he could Vector Strike anything of mine. Though he tried valiantly to do so, I would not let him cheat by not passing straight over me or let him get within an inch of, both things he insistently tried to do and was rather angry he could not do. I believe he blew up a couple Venoms and ended his turn.
I would continue my rampage and kill anther Tyrant and the other Crone. His lone wound Tyrant would live again and make plenty of 3+ Armors and 5+ Cover Saves which is quite annoying. My Beasts would also massacre a Gargoyle squad.He would kill a squad of my Venom troops and call it a turn.
With time winding (yes this is Turn 3) we decided it would be last turn. I would run clean up duty and kill his 3 Biovores, his other 2 Gargoyle Squads, his other Tyrant, and leave a Harpy with 1 wound left. We would try to come back and grab some points which he did by getting Warlord (damn Smash Attacks!) and Linebreaker. Counting up the Kill Points I had 11 to his 3 netting me 8 points. I also had all 3 primaries for 14 total points. He would get 4 with Warlord and Linebreaker.
I was very nervous for the game as having first turn pretty much clinched it for me. Calling the Rules Judge over for every little things was annoying, but knowing the rules and actually having a Tournament FAQ to reference was nice.
Omegaprime finished the day 3-1 and Matt Bess finished 2-2 dropping his last 2 games of the day. So at the end of the day I sat at 4-0. Only one other player had that and he brought.... 5 KNIGHTS! Yikes.... Stay tuned in the next couple of days to have me recap Day 2!
Sorry for the lack of pictures. I literally have no excuse as I had my camera with me, just never remembered to take any. Sorry!
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Ready to Eat Me Some BUGS!
So this weekend is the 4th Annual Bugeater GT in Omaha, Nebraska. This is probably the last 6th Edition GT and I am ready for it to go off with a bang! Last year, I had the best overall tournament experience I could ask for. I can only hope to have the same this year!
New to the Bugeater GT this year is the Bugeater Cup. A group can win 3 different cups. One cup is for playing well (as a group) in he WHFB Tournament. Another is to play well (again... as a group) in the 40k Tournament. Then there is an Overall Cup for a group that does well in both. You will forever have your group's name emblazoned on the trophy for glory and riches and all that jazz. Seeing as how none of the people from Sac that are going play Fantasy, we were hoping to go for the 40k trophy. However, talking with my buddy from Colorado, Adam Tricola from http://www.rumorsofheresy.blogspot.com/ he and some other buddies were willing to team up with us and some of them play Fantasy! So we can now win any of the 3 cups! Our team name? Drum roll please.. Team C-State Domination. Adam and his buddies reign from Colorado and my buddies and I reign from California. Perfec name I think... We will dominate! (I hope...)
Next up, here are some pictures of finished models and my board. Enjoy!
So obviously I missed some steps in there. I will take some better lit pictures of my board, Omegaprime's, and Fat Ninja Hodor's. They all look very impressive!
Finally, if you notice the models in the picture don't match my previous army connotations, you are right! I made some changes. No more Dragons or Batteries. Going to to roll with the Wraithknight and the Defense Line. I figure both fit rolls I need them to. Defense Line kills that pesky Skyblight Formation and the Knight can dominate the Imperial Knight with shooting and CC. Hopefully its a worthwhile change!
As an aside, me and Omegaprime will be playing in the Team Tournament they are holding on Friday. Our team name for that will be The Walking Dead. We will have over 60 models of Necrons with Orbs and either 29 Wraithguard with a Spiritseer or 18 Guard with a couple Wraithlords. it will be a gametime decision what we run!
Well wish us luck! I will try and take pictures of all of my games! We embark on the 22 hour drive to Omaha, Nebraska at 10:30pm tomorrow!
New to the Bugeater GT this year is the Bugeater Cup. A group can win 3 different cups. One cup is for playing well (as a group) in he WHFB Tournament. Another is to play well (again... as a group) in the 40k Tournament. Then there is an Overall Cup for a group that does well in both. You will forever have your group's name emblazoned on the trophy for glory and riches and all that jazz. Seeing as how none of the people from Sac that are going play Fantasy, we were hoping to go for the 40k trophy. However, talking with my buddy from Colorado, Adam Tricola from http://www.rumorsofheresy.blogspot.com/ he and some other buddies were willing to team up with us and some of them play Fantasy! So we can now win any of the 3 cups! Our team name? Drum roll please.. Team C-State Domination. Adam and his buddies reign from Colorado and my buddies and I reign from California. Perfec name I think... We will dominate! (I hope...)
Next up, here are some pictures of finished models and my board. Enjoy!
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| Up Close view of the corner piece... All glued and awaiting Drybrushing |
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| Wood putty is painted grey... Awaiting the Wash |
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| Washed! First Coat |
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| Up close of wash effect |
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| Sanded, painted, and 1st coat of wash |
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| Up close, needs another wash and drybrushing |
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| Before I took it home to drybrush and add effects |
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| 1 finished spire |
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| Finished Board! |
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| My cart finished! Wheels on the bottom, and two storage areas. The bottom for my Army Transport Bags and the second level for Dice, Books, and extras. Top is reserved for the display board. |
So obviously I missed some steps in there. I will take some better lit pictures of my board, Omegaprime's, and Fat Ninja Hodor's. They all look very impressive!
Finally, if you notice the models in the picture don't match my previous army connotations, you are right! I made some changes. No more Dragons or Batteries. Going to to roll with the Wraithknight and the Defense Line. I figure both fit rolls I need them to. Defense Line kills that pesky Skyblight Formation and the Knight can dominate the Imperial Knight with shooting and CC. Hopefully its a worthwhile change!
As an aside, me and Omegaprime will be playing in the Team Tournament they are holding on Friday. Our team name for that will be The Walking Dead. We will have over 60 models of Necrons with Orbs and either 29 Wraithguard with a Spiritseer or 18 Guard with a couple Wraithlords. it will be a gametime decision what we run!
Well wish us luck! I will try and take pictures of all of my games! We embark on the 22 hour drive to Omaha, Nebraska at 10:30pm tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
More Army Pics and Display Board Progression
So it has been an eventful week of hobbying to get ready for the Bugeater GT. Non-stop painting, building, and display board making... And the tournament hasn't even come yet!
With 7th Edition just dropping, there is plenty of hoopla on the Internet that people are claiming. I love that the book hasn't even been out for 1 week yet and people are proclaiming how broken the game is or how the new edition sucks or how nothing much changed. I'm sure all the naysayers and Expert Hatters out there have done their own extensive play testing to ensure that everything is BROKEN and Daemons are OMFG OP!
Anyways... Here are some updated pictures of my army and some progress pictures of my display board!
So there is some progress pics of my army. Still have a bunch to do for my display board, but it is getting there! Wood putty will be coated all over the base of the board (the brown part) to give it texture and so i can paint it to reflect my Dark Eldar bases. The Styrofoam pieces will need some wood putty and then be coated with some Elmer's Glue then have fine grained sand on them to give some texture to them as well. I chose fine grained sand because it will give the definition to my pieces and match what I hope my Eldar bases will look like. I then of course need to paint, wash, and drybrush the entire thing. UGHHHH! It will be a looooong week and weekend!
I am looking to put some LEDs in the cave, but dont think I will have the in time, so i may get some cheap little light to throw in there right now. The cave was not meant to be so extensive, but creative thinking on my part and Omega Prime's got me to where I am. I know it looks like nothing now, but I think I will be able to turn this thing into something epic!
Things to do this week:
Touch ups on models
Highlight Grey Serpent
Display Board
All my Eldar bases
Still a bunch to do, but it all has to get done, so it will, one way or the other. Leave for Bugeater in 1 week! Feeling very excited! Stay tuned for updates!
YEE! YEE!
With 7th Edition just dropping, there is plenty of hoopla on the Internet that people are claiming. I love that the book hasn't even been out for 1 week yet and people are proclaiming how broken the game is or how the new edition sucks or how nothing much changed. I'm sure all the naysayers and Expert Hatters out there have done their own extensive play testing to ensure that everything is BROKEN and Daemons are OMFG OP!
Anyways... Here are some updated pictures of my army and some progress pictures of my display board!
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| Single Guardian w/ my Eldar scheme |
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| 5 Guardians upclose |
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| 10 Guardians w/ Platform |
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| Wraithknight! |
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| Naked board, but with some carved terrain pieces |
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| Close up pic of the big corner piece |
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| Up close pic of the fallen away cliff face |
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| One example of a hill or rocky spire. This one fits a Serpent and 10 guys. |
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| Another example of hill or spire. This one was made for a Serpent and 5 guys. |
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| This is underneath the big corner piece. I hollowed it out on two ends to make a cave. In the process of getting some LEDs to put in there. Also, would look great having some Coven units, Mandrakes (lol) or even some Striking Scorpions in there! |
So there is some progress pics of my army. Still have a bunch to do for my display board, but it is getting there! Wood putty will be coated all over the base of the board (the brown part) to give it texture and so i can paint it to reflect my Dark Eldar bases. The Styrofoam pieces will need some wood putty and then be coated with some Elmer's Glue then have fine grained sand on them to give some texture to them as well. I chose fine grained sand because it will give the definition to my pieces and match what I hope my Eldar bases will look like. I then of course need to paint, wash, and drybrush the entire thing. UGHHHH! It will be a looooong week and weekend!
I am looking to put some LEDs in the cave, but dont think I will have the in time, so i may get some cheap little light to throw in there right now. The cave was not meant to be so extensive, but creative thinking on my part and Omega Prime's got me to where I am. I know it looks like nothing now, but I think I will be able to turn this thing into something epic!
Things to do this week:
Touch ups on models
Highlight Grey Serpent
Display Board
All my Eldar bases
Still a bunch to do, but it all has to get done, so it will, one way or the other. Leave for Bugeater in 1 week! Feeling very excited! Stay tuned for updates!
YEE! YEE!
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Picture Updates of Bugeater Army
So I have been painting quite a bit. Still have a little to go, but should easily finish all the models I need painted for the tournament by week's end. I'll throw up some pictures of finished models (outside of highlights) and then have a list of stuff to do at the bottom. Enjoy!
To Do List:
1. x10 Guardians- All are base coated, need final touch ups and wash. Platform is done.
2. Basing- I need 26 25mm bases done, 3 60mm bases, and 1 40mm base. Will probably do extra so I have them and this way I can batch them all up together and not have to go back and do them later.
3. Display Board- Me, Omegaprime, and Fat Ninja Hodor Matt Bess have started our display boards. These will be rather large (24'' by 32''). We also are constructing carts to push them around on so we don't have to carry them, the army, and our bags. I will take some progress pictures of what we have so far and hopefully they will get done in 2 weeks time. This is my main worry for my army as it is the most time consuming and I have the least amount of time to work on it.
4. Touch Ups- ON EVERYTHING! My Beastpack looks shitty because its chipped so many damn times. I need to throw some highlights on some vehicles. I need to go unit by unit and make sure everything is legit and looks good. Then spray them with sealer so they don't chip or anything.
It seems like a lot but I should be able to roll the Guardians out by week's end and I'll have my base template done so I can batch paint up all of them and get them finished. Touch ups will be an on-going process, but I should have things done in time for the Bugeater.
I have been contemplating a list change to throw in an Aegis Line with Quad Gun with Reapers on it to simply kill Bike Squads and FMCs. But losing the Dragons, the Serpent, and the Batteries might be too much firepower. Plus, it adds 6 more models I need to paint in the Reapers. We will see though.
Let me know what you think of the new models and I will post some progress pictures up after this weekend of the display board. I also will throw up my 1750 Contest of Champions list up as well. Comp hits Eldar and Dark Eldar pretty damn hard, but I think I can make it work.
YEE! YEE!
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| Up close Fire Dragons |
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| Whole 5 man squad |
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| Side view of 1 Battery |
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| Top view of Battery w/ Crew |
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| New Wave Serpent on the right. Did an inverse theme. |
To Do List:
1. x10 Guardians- All are base coated, need final touch ups and wash. Platform is done.
2. Basing- I need 26 25mm bases done, 3 60mm bases, and 1 40mm base. Will probably do extra so I have them and this way I can batch them all up together and not have to go back and do them later.
3. Display Board- Me, Omegaprime, and Fat Ninja Hodor Matt Bess have started our display boards. These will be rather large (24'' by 32''). We also are constructing carts to push them around on so we don't have to carry them, the army, and our bags. I will take some progress pictures of what we have so far and hopefully they will get done in 2 weeks time. This is my main worry for my army as it is the most time consuming and I have the least amount of time to work on it.
4. Touch Ups- ON EVERYTHING! My Beastpack looks shitty because its chipped so many damn times. I need to throw some highlights on some vehicles. I need to go unit by unit and make sure everything is legit and looks good. Then spray them with sealer so they don't chip or anything.
It seems like a lot but I should be able to roll the Guardians out by week's end and I'll have my base template done so I can batch paint up all of them and get them finished. Touch ups will be an on-going process, but I should have things done in time for the Bugeater.
I have been contemplating a list change to throw in an Aegis Line with Quad Gun with Reapers on it to simply kill Bike Squads and FMCs. But losing the Dragons, the Serpent, and the Batteries might be too much firepower. Plus, it adds 6 more models I need to paint in the Reapers. We will see though.
Let me know what you think of the new models and I will post some progress pictures up after this weekend of the display board. I also will throw up my 1750 Contest of Champions list up as well. Comp hits Eldar and Dark Eldar pretty damn hard, but I think I can make it work.
YEE! YEE!
Friday, May 16, 2014
Army Updates and List Change for Bugeater 2014
After playing some test games with the old list, I have decided to change a couple things. nothing major, but I found myself lacking and wishing I had another unit on the field. Especially one that could reach out and hurt units I couldn't see. I decided to add in some Vaul Batteries from the Eldar book. The new list is:
Baron
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Beastmaster, Fiend, x5 Khymera, x6 Flock
Ravager w/ Nightshields
Ravager w/ Nightshields
Farseer, Bike, Stone, Shard
x5 Fire Dragons, Serpent w/ Scatter and Cannon
x5 Dire Avengers, Serpent w/ Scatter and Cannon
x10 Guardians w/ Lance Platform, Serpent w/ Scatter and Cannon
x3 Vaul Batters, Shadow Weavers
So I essentially took out 2 Dragons and swapped 1 of the Guardian units for Dire Avenger to grab some Shadow Weavers. They have been money recently in games and have very nice damage output as well.
I have played some practice games where I intentionally handicapped myself (No Fortune, No First Turn or tying to Seize) to see how bad things could get for me and if I could handle it.
I played against an 8 FMC list using Skyblight. I didnt take Fortune, First Turn, and for shits I rolled to Seize which I would have, but decided just to let the Nid player go first. Boy does that list have a nice alpha strike. I would get my ass kicked but would take down 7 of the FMCs but couldnt handle the Gargoyles or the Tervigon that was pooping babies out. My opponent just sat on objectives and buried me in FMCs. I do think that if I went first, I could not only kill 2-4 FMCs but restrict the firts turn casualties. Without being able to Vector Strike, Crones arent too mean, but the Haywire Missiles and the Flamer can still kill my vehicles, but not as easily as the Str. 8 Vector Strikes.
I also tested the list against 5 Space Wolf Drop Pods with a Thunderwolf Deathstar that included 3 Wolves, 2 Fenrisian Wolves, Lord on Wolf, Rune Priest on Bike, and White Scars Chapter Master. Again I didnt take Fortune or First turn (both of which I rolled and won). Allowing the pods to drop and to get his TWC Star close enough without hindering it with all of my shooting was tough. Matt "Fat Ninja Hodor" Bess squeaked a victory out and won. However, we both agree that without being able to Jink and allowing his Star to come up unscathed was game changing. Had I had first turn, we both felt I would have won rather easily.
I played against Daemon w/ CSM Allies FMC spam as well. This game wouldnt be very close as only having 5 FMCs with little to no shooting is quite an easy army for me to take to down. The Helldrake proved difficult but it could only kill max 2 units a turn.
I fought against a Tau w/ Space Marine allies list. This game would go down to the wire with a loss for me as I couldnt dislodge his troops off of objectives who continually grabbed points for him every turn.
Lastly, I played against a 7 flier Necron list. I chose to go first and to score points every round because if I kept First Turn (I didnt, Imotekh Seized for the win!) I would have been able to grab 3 points off the bat and forced my opponent to either kill my firepower (which he did 2nd turn... 2 Serpent, 2 Ravagers, and 2 Venoms) or my troops. I would win because my Fire Dragons manned up and shot 2 fliers out of the sky (only 2 I killed) and I eliminated his troops. I got up to 9 points and with only 2 troops remaining, my opponent couldnt win. Also, the Baron was scoring via my Warlord trait, he would score with the Beasts for 4 rounds, giving me 4 points. Tough game, but well fought and very fun.
Baron
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Beastmaster, Fiend, x5 Khymera, x6 Flock
Ravager w/ Nightshields
Ravager w/ Nightshields
Farseer, Bike, Stone, Shard
x5 Fire Dragons, Serpent w/ Scatter and Cannon
x5 Dire Avengers, Serpent w/ Scatter and Cannon
x10 Guardians w/ Lance Platform, Serpent w/ Scatter and Cannon
x3 Vaul Batters, Shadow Weavers
So I essentially took out 2 Dragons and swapped 1 of the Guardian units for Dire Avenger to grab some Shadow Weavers. They have been money recently in games and have very nice damage output as well.
I have played some practice games where I intentionally handicapped myself (No Fortune, No First Turn or tying to Seize) to see how bad things could get for me and if I could handle it.
I played against an 8 FMC list using Skyblight. I didnt take Fortune, First Turn, and for shits I rolled to Seize which I would have, but decided just to let the Nid player go first. Boy does that list have a nice alpha strike. I would get my ass kicked but would take down 7 of the FMCs but couldnt handle the Gargoyles or the Tervigon that was pooping babies out. My opponent just sat on objectives and buried me in FMCs. I do think that if I went first, I could not only kill 2-4 FMCs but restrict the firts turn casualties. Without being able to Vector Strike, Crones arent too mean, but the Haywire Missiles and the Flamer can still kill my vehicles, but not as easily as the Str. 8 Vector Strikes.
I also tested the list against 5 Space Wolf Drop Pods with a Thunderwolf Deathstar that included 3 Wolves, 2 Fenrisian Wolves, Lord on Wolf, Rune Priest on Bike, and White Scars Chapter Master. Again I didnt take Fortune or First turn (both of which I rolled and won). Allowing the pods to drop and to get his TWC Star close enough without hindering it with all of my shooting was tough. Matt "Fat Ninja Hodor" Bess squeaked a victory out and won. However, we both agree that without being able to Jink and allowing his Star to come up unscathed was game changing. Had I had first turn, we both felt I would have won rather easily.
I played against Daemon w/ CSM Allies FMC spam as well. This game wouldnt be very close as only having 5 FMCs with little to no shooting is quite an easy army for me to take to down. The Helldrake proved difficult but it could only kill max 2 units a turn.
I fought against a Tau w/ Space Marine allies list. This game would go down to the wire with a loss for me as I couldnt dislodge his troops off of objectives who continually grabbed points for him every turn.
Lastly, I played against a 7 flier Necron list. I chose to go first and to score points every round because if I kept First Turn (I didnt, Imotekh Seized for the win!) I would have been able to grab 3 points off the bat and forced my opponent to either kill my firepower (which he did 2nd turn... 2 Serpent, 2 Ravagers, and 2 Venoms) or my troops. I would win because my Fire Dragons manned up and shot 2 fliers out of the sky (only 2 I killed) and I eliminated his troops. I got up to 9 points and with only 2 troops remaining, my opponent couldnt win. Also, the Baron was scoring via my Warlord trait, he would score with the Beasts for 4 rounds, giving me 4 points. Tough game, but well fought and very fun.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
We're Talkin' About Practice
So today will mark the first day I will start the grueling process of testing out my list for the Bugeater GT coming up on June 7th. Not only do I need to test out the list against a variety of opponents, but I also need to paint, making my problem two-fold. If I want to run the list I have posted, I will need to paint the following:
20 Guardians
2 Lance Platforms
7 Fire Dragons
Build/Paint 1 Wave Serpent
Build and Paint a rider for my Farseer on Bike
Bases for all
A tall order for one such as me as I do not paint very fast. I obviously could borrow some of the models if need be, and I probably will to be honest.
Tonight I will be battling against Omega Prime's Necrons. He said his usual Flier list will be different to account for the Imperial Knights and the Nid formations as well. I look forward to this battle as we have not thrown dice against each other for 5 months. Plus, I know his list will be strong so I look forward to the competition.
Also, this Sunday is the Twin-Linked Tournament at Great Escape Games. Me and my buddy Big Ray Barrera will be together again to try and defend our regular season crown of Twin-Linked Champions.
I am hoping to have updates of models I have painted this week and will report on the Twin-Linked.
20 Guardians
2 Lance Platforms
7 Fire Dragons
Build/Paint 1 Wave Serpent
Build and Paint a rider for my Farseer on Bike
Bases for all
A tall order for one such as me as I do not paint very fast. I obviously could borrow some of the models if need be, and I probably will to be honest.
Tonight I will be battling against Omega Prime's Necrons. He said his usual Flier list will be different to account for the Imperial Knights and the Nid formations as well. I look forward to this battle as we have not thrown dice against each other for 5 months. Plus, I know his list will be strong so I look forward to the competition.
Also, this Sunday is the Twin-Linked Tournament at Great Escape Games. Me and my buddy Big Ray Barrera will be together again to try and defend our regular season crown of Twin-Linked Champions.
I am hoping to have updates of models I have painted this week and will report on the Twin-Linked.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Bugeater Thoughts and List
The Bugeater GT is coming up fast! The Primer Pack can be found HERE. The short of it is, an 1850pt tournament from June 6th-8th in Omaha, Nebraska. Imperial Knights will be allowed, Dataslate characters are allowed, and ONLY Tyranid Formations will be allowed. The reason for Nid Formations is because they cannot ally. The funny thing about it is, the winner of the previous two Bugeater GTs has been Matt Root and his Nids.
As I have said in the past, of all of the tournaments I have been to, Bugeater last year was the best. Granted I haven't been to very many and not knocking any of the other tournaments I have been to. Tim Royers runs the Bugeater GT as a fund raiser for his Nationally acclaimed Debate Team. Last year I believe he rose over $5,000! It is refreshing to see someone run a successful tournament for a great cause! The tournament itself feels like an RTT as the environment is very laid back but very competitive. Being in a large gymnasium lends more than enough space and having air flowing in and out of the building limits the "funk" that is normally present when you get 150+ bodies in a space. Also, the prize support is fantastic! TONS of raffle prizes, plaques for winners, medals for winners, and just great support from the Omaha and surrounding community.
Ok onto my initial thoughts for a list. Because Knights are allowed and Nid Formations will be present, I took them into account when making this. I honestly think Nids will be running rampant as will the usual suspects. For here is the list:
Dark Eldar Primary
Baron
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Masters, Fiend, x5 Khymera, x6 Flock
Ravager, Nightshields
Ravager, Nightshields
Eldar Allies
Farseer, Bike, Shard, Stone
x7 Fire Dragons, Serpent w/ Scatter Laser, Cannon
x10 Guardians, Lance, Serpent w/ Scatter Laser, Cannon
x10 Guardians, Lance, Serpent w/ Scatter Laser, Cannon
As I said, with Nids allowed formations, I imagine lots of people with take the Gargoyle one that includes 3 FMCs and 3 squads of Gargoyles that can keep coming back to life and capture objectives without them being contested. A pretty damn powerful formation. Also, with the new IG book out, I think tanks will be prevalent in their lists.
For FMCs I have 3 Venoms and the Guardians to force grounding checks. Also, the Guardians wound on 5's against the Crones and Harpies they will have. Also with Daemon Flying Circus winning Adepticon I am sure some posers will be out. But I have never had a problem with Daemons and their FMCs as they simply do not have the numbers to take everything down.
I can afford to be more aggressive with the Guardians and push them forward to throw out 20 shots on small bugs and killing tons of them. I chose the Guardians rather than cheap Dire Avengers for the number of bodies, the Lance platform, the firepower, and the ability to sit on objectives if need be and grab points every turn because Bugeater is running the Alternate Mission Packet where you can capture objectives at the end of the game or earn points every turn after Turn 1. So I like the options they give me.
For Knights, I have the 2 Ravagers and the Fire Dragons. In a pinch the Guardians could go in and take a stray HP off. I am just scared if someone brings 3 of them as a primary detachment. I don't think I have the guns to kill 3 of them. Plus they score? Yeah it will be tough for sure. Not to mention they trump my Beasts in CC and put out some Battle Cannon shots that are capable of killing everything in my army. But, if someone brings 3 Knights, the rest of their army will be small. So I will have to kill them. Hopefully I can kill 1 of them in the backfield and have it go Apocalyptic on them. Though it would take some very good luck. If someone brings 1 Knight for their Ally, I am not too worried because they don't score and 1 doesn't put out enough firepower to have me worry.
Against most other armies, I feel I have enough to punish them and win the games. I haven't played against the Nid Formations, an Imperial Knight, or the new IG book. So I am hoping that what I have here will be able to handle it.
The Fire Dragons help with Knights and the IG tanks. They aren't too bad at shooting FMCs and killing them either. They also put another Wave Serpent on the board which is never a bad thing. However, dropping the Voidraven and the Guardians down to Dire Avengers may be too much to lose for them. But, 7 Melta Guns, Melta Bombs, and now a 3+ Armor Save, they are capable of doing a lot of damage.
My major concern is whether the Guardians and their platform is worth it. I could drop them both down to Dire Avengers and add in some Swooping Hawks but I feel I lose some big guns and healthier troops that could last on an objective. Avengers put out half the shots Guardians do and can only damage infantry. Guardians have more bodies, the Lance and twice the shots to kill infantry and such with. But Hawks could be useful with their Ignore Cover bomb and lots of Str. 3 shooting and able to deny objectives fairly easily. Thoughts?
Well let me know what you think. I will be trying this list out this week.
As I have said in the past, of all of the tournaments I have been to, Bugeater last year was the best. Granted I haven't been to very many and not knocking any of the other tournaments I have been to. Tim Royers runs the Bugeater GT as a fund raiser for his Nationally acclaimed Debate Team. Last year I believe he rose over $5,000! It is refreshing to see someone run a successful tournament for a great cause! The tournament itself feels like an RTT as the environment is very laid back but very competitive. Being in a large gymnasium lends more than enough space and having air flowing in and out of the building limits the "funk" that is normally present when you get 150+ bodies in a space. Also, the prize support is fantastic! TONS of raffle prizes, plaques for winners, medals for winners, and just great support from the Omaha and surrounding community.
Ok onto my initial thoughts for a list. Because Knights are allowed and Nid Formations will be present, I took them into account when making this. I honestly think Nids will be running rampant as will the usual suspects. For here is the list:
Dark Eldar Primary
Baron
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Warriors, Venom
x5 Masters, Fiend, x5 Khymera, x6 Flock
Ravager, Nightshields
Ravager, Nightshields
Eldar Allies
Farseer, Bike, Shard, Stone
x7 Fire Dragons, Serpent w/ Scatter Laser, Cannon
x10 Guardians, Lance, Serpent w/ Scatter Laser, Cannon
x10 Guardians, Lance, Serpent w/ Scatter Laser, Cannon
As I said, with Nids allowed formations, I imagine lots of people with take the Gargoyle one that includes 3 FMCs and 3 squads of Gargoyles that can keep coming back to life and capture objectives without them being contested. A pretty damn powerful formation. Also, with the new IG book out, I think tanks will be prevalent in their lists.
For FMCs I have 3 Venoms and the Guardians to force grounding checks. Also, the Guardians wound on 5's against the Crones and Harpies they will have. Also with Daemon Flying Circus winning Adepticon I am sure some posers will be out. But I have never had a problem with Daemons and their FMCs as they simply do not have the numbers to take everything down.
I can afford to be more aggressive with the Guardians and push them forward to throw out 20 shots on small bugs and killing tons of them. I chose the Guardians rather than cheap Dire Avengers for the number of bodies, the Lance platform, the firepower, and the ability to sit on objectives if need be and grab points every turn because Bugeater is running the Alternate Mission Packet where you can capture objectives at the end of the game or earn points every turn after Turn 1. So I like the options they give me.
For Knights, I have the 2 Ravagers and the Fire Dragons. In a pinch the Guardians could go in and take a stray HP off. I am just scared if someone brings 3 of them as a primary detachment. I don't think I have the guns to kill 3 of them. Plus they score? Yeah it will be tough for sure. Not to mention they trump my Beasts in CC and put out some Battle Cannon shots that are capable of killing everything in my army. But, if someone brings 3 Knights, the rest of their army will be small. So I will have to kill them. Hopefully I can kill 1 of them in the backfield and have it go Apocalyptic on them. Though it would take some very good luck. If someone brings 1 Knight for their Ally, I am not too worried because they don't score and 1 doesn't put out enough firepower to have me worry.
Against most other armies, I feel I have enough to punish them and win the games. I haven't played against the Nid Formations, an Imperial Knight, or the new IG book. So I am hoping that what I have here will be able to handle it.
The Fire Dragons help with Knights and the IG tanks. They aren't too bad at shooting FMCs and killing them either. They also put another Wave Serpent on the board which is never a bad thing. However, dropping the Voidraven and the Guardians down to Dire Avengers may be too much to lose for them. But, 7 Melta Guns, Melta Bombs, and now a 3+ Armor Save, they are capable of doing a lot of damage.
My major concern is whether the Guardians and their platform is worth it. I could drop them both down to Dire Avengers and add in some Swooping Hawks but I feel I lose some big guns and healthier troops that could last on an objective. Avengers put out half the shots Guardians do and can only damage infantry. Guardians have more bodies, the Lance and twice the shots to kill infantry and such with. But Hawks could be useful with their Ignore Cover bomb and lots of Str. 3 shooting and able to deny objectives fairly easily. Thoughts?
Well let me know what you think. I will be trying this list out this week.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Recent RTT and Some News
This past Saturday was a 1 day, 3 round Tournament at Shieldbreakers in Aurora, CO. 1850pts was the total and we had 12 people show up. We would play 3 Adepticon missions for the Tournament.
I brought the list I had posted last time, but here it is again.
Farseer, Bike, Shard, Stone, Runes of Warding
Maugan Ra
Warlock
x20 Guardians, x2 Lances
x5 Dire Avengers, Serpent w/ TL-Scatter, Shuri-Cannon
x5 Dire Avengers, Serpent w/ TL-Scatter, Shuri-Cannon
War Walker, x2 Lances
x3 Shadow Weavers
Baron
x5 Warriors, Venom, Trophies
x5 Warriors, Venom, Trophies
x5 Beastmasters, Fiend, x5 Khymera, x6 Flock
Aegis Line w/ Icarus
My first game was against Kevin McDermott from 11th Co. Podcast. We played previously at Ass Con a couple months ago and he had brought Seer Council. In this game, he would have Nids. I always like facing Nids as their high Toughness means jack and they usually want to get close, which is even better for me. He brought the Store Owner Nate's Nids as he wanted to try them out. His list had a couple Tervigons, a Mawloc, 5 Warriors, some Gaunts, Prime, 2 Zoeys, 2 Venomthropes, 2 Fex, and 2 Crones. Nothing over the top and I could tell Nate prolly built the army more for looks than competitive play.
Kevin went first and proceeded to down a Venom. This would be the only KP he would get off of me all game. I then shot and kill both Crones and killed his Warriors with my Beasts. Each turn I would pick a unit and destroy it and it went downhill fast for Kevin.
Another rules dispute came up between us and him wanting to Deepstrike his Mawloc. He claimed that because under the Mawloc's rule, he could place the Mawloc and DS him onto my Beasts who were in CC. The wording says "place a Large Blast Marker..." and he argued that because it doesn't say target, he can "place" the Blast over. I tried to explain to him that by placing you are targeting and you can never target a unit in CC unless a rule explicitly gives permission. He responded with the classic and above all my favorite of rule arguments, "Well it doesn't say I can't." LOL... I love the argument. Well Kevin it doesn't say I can't just slap you across the table either, but I feel that would be against the rules. Nate ruled in my favor and I went on decimating his army.
I would win 19-1 or a Crushing Victory
My second opponent was Noah. I had played him in the 3rd round at the last tournament and he had brought Seer Council. He did bring it again this time but bumped up the effectiveness by bringing DE Allies. He had 2 Seers, 10 Locks, 2 Serpents with Avengers, 3 Walkers with Scatters and Lances, Baron, 2 Venoms, and 2 squads of Spiders.
The only thing he missed was the Grisly Trophies on the Venoms and his list would have been set.
I had first turn and Noah wisely held things in Reserve and stayed out of range of most of my shooting. Unfortunately for him I was still able to Glance out a Serpent for First Blood. He shot his Council away from my Beasts, and I thought he would just go and destroy my backfield and we would switch sides of the table. But, he turned around and assaulted me instead. Had he killed my backfield like he should have, he would have won easily. He did kill my Beasts and the Baron (on his first roll) but I won the match handily.
Crushing Victory
My last opponent ran Mono-Khorne Daemons. He had been annihilating his opponents and it had been fun to watch and see. Skarbrand with Skulltaker, 2 Khorne Heralds, 3 20 man Bloodletter squads, Soul Grinder, Skull Cannon, some Hounds, and a good size Crusher squad lead the way. It was a lot of bodies!
Hounds would assault my Beasts to which they would nearly die from. Venom shooting took out the last Hound when I Hit and Ran away. Beasts would then clear out a whole 20 man block by themselves but get multi-assaulted by Skarbrand, the Grinder, and another block. This is the big mistake my opponent made. By multi-assaulting with the Letters, I was able to kill Skarbrand and all the Letters through Daemonic Instability.
His highlight was making a 10'' charge with his Crushers and last block of Letters into my Guardians. His letters made 5 saves to prevent from being Overwatched out of range. Maugan Ra went toe to toe with a Khorne Herald while all of his Guardians got trampled by the Crushers. The Beasts would turn around and finish the job and at the end of turn 3, my opponent would call the game.
Crushing Victory.
I would win the tournament with Noah getting 2nd and my 3rd opponent getting 3rd. It was sad to see so many people drop after the 2nd round. I know someone who wanted to play a game couldn't because his opponent had left leaving him with no one to play. Its sad, and I get that you paid your money to play, but see the tournament through. I would think you pay the money to actually play the game, not leave because you don't think you can win the tournament anymore. I just don't like it.
On another note, I will be heading out of state (Colorado) for a couple of months for work. Luckily for me I will be in the Northern California area. It will be sad to leave the family for the period of time, but I simply cannot pass up this opportunity for my family and I. I don't leave for another couple of weeks though.
I will give updates on the Crusade of Fire Campaign after this Friday, and hopefully I can finish my Swooping Hawks this week.
I brought the list I had posted last time, but here it is again.
Farseer, Bike, Shard, Stone, Runes of Warding
Maugan Ra
Warlock
x20 Guardians, x2 Lances
x5 Dire Avengers, Serpent w/ TL-Scatter, Shuri-Cannon
x5 Dire Avengers, Serpent w/ TL-Scatter, Shuri-Cannon
War Walker, x2 Lances
x3 Shadow Weavers
Baron
x5 Warriors, Venom, Trophies
x5 Warriors, Venom, Trophies
x5 Beastmasters, Fiend, x5 Khymera, x6 Flock
Aegis Line w/ Icarus
My first game was against Kevin McDermott from 11th Co. Podcast. We played previously at Ass Con a couple months ago and he had brought Seer Council. In this game, he would have Nids. I always like facing Nids as their high Toughness means jack and they usually want to get close, which is even better for me. He brought the Store Owner Nate's Nids as he wanted to try them out. His list had a couple Tervigons, a Mawloc, 5 Warriors, some Gaunts, Prime, 2 Zoeys, 2 Venomthropes, 2 Fex, and 2 Crones. Nothing over the top and I could tell Nate prolly built the army more for looks than competitive play.
Kevin went first and proceeded to down a Venom. This would be the only KP he would get off of me all game. I then shot and kill both Crones and killed his Warriors with my Beasts. Each turn I would pick a unit and destroy it and it went downhill fast for Kevin.
Another rules dispute came up between us and him wanting to Deepstrike his Mawloc. He claimed that because under the Mawloc's rule, he could place the Mawloc and DS him onto my Beasts who were in CC. The wording says "place a Large Blast Marker..." and he argued that because it doesn't say target, he can "place" the Blast over. I tried to explain to him that by placing you are targeting and you can never target a unit in CC unless a rule explicitly gives permission. He responded with the classic and above all my favorite of rule arguments, "Well it doesn't say I can't." LOL... I love the argument. Well Kevin it doesn't say I can't just slap you across the table either, but I feel that would be against the rules. Nate ruled in my favor and I went on decimating his army.
I would win 19-1 or a Crushing Victory
My second opponent was Noah. I had played him in the 3rd round at the last tournament and he had brought Seer Council. He did bring it again this time but bumped up the effectiveness by bringing DE Allies. He had 2 Seers, 10 Locks, 2 Serpents with Avengers, 3 Walkers with Scatters and Lances, Baron, 2 Venoms, and 2 squads of Spiders.
The only thing he missed was the Grisly Trophies on the Venoms and his list would have been set.
I had first turn and Noah wisely held things in Reserve and stayed out of range of most of my shooting. Unfortunately for him I was still able to Glance out a Serpent for First Blood. He shot his Council away from my Beasts, and I thought he would just go and destroy my backfield and we would switch sides of the table. But, he turned around and assaulted me instead. Had he killed my backfield like he should have, he would have won easily. He did kill my Beasts and the Baron (on his first roll) but I won the match handily.
Crushing Victory
My last opponent ran Mono-Khorne Daemons. He had been annihilating his opponents and it had been fun to watch and see. Skarbrand with Skulltaker, 2 Khorne Heralds, 3 20 man Bloodletter squads, Soul Grinder, Skull Cannon, some Hounds, and a good size Crusher squad lead the way. It was a lot of bodies!
Hounds would assault my Beasts to which they would nearly die from. Venom shooting took out the last Hound when I Hit and Ran away. Beasts would then clear out a whole 20 man block by themselves but get multi-assaulted by Skarbrand, the Grinder, and another block. This is the big mistake my opponent made. By multi-assaulting with the Letters, I was able to kill Skarbrand and all the Letters through Daemonic Instability.
His highlight was making a 10'' charge with his Crushers and last block of Letters into my Guardians. His letters made 5 saves to prevent from being Overwatched out of range. Maugan Ra went toe to toe with a Khorne Herald while all of his Guardians got trampled by the Crushers. The Beasts would turn around and finish the job and at the end of turn 3, my opponent would call the game.
Crushing Victory.
I would win the tournament with Noah getting 2nd and my 3rd opponent getting 3rd. It was sad to see so many people drop after the 2nd round. I know someone who wanted to play a game couldn't because his opponent had left leaving him with no one to play. Its sad, and I get that you paid your money to play, but see the tournament through. I would think you pay the money to actually play the game, not leave because you don't think you can win the tournament anymore. I just don't like it.
On another note, I will be heading out of state (Colorado) for a couple of months for work. Luckily for me I will be in the Northern California area. It will be sad to leave the family for the period of time, but I simply cannot pass up this opportunity for my family and I. I don't leave for another couple of weeks though.
I will give updates on the Crusade of Fire Campaign after this Friday, and hopefully I can finish my Swooping Hawks this week.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Finished Warlock Model
Here are a couple pictures of the Warlock I finished last night. I am happy how he turned out. I like the highlights (first on a non-vehicle model) and the overall paint job. The sword needs work but unsure what to do with it, thoughts?
Well here are the pictures and hoping I can bang out some more Hawks or Wraithguard this week for the Crusade of Fire Campaign.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
New List and More Painting!
So I have been wracking my brain over a new list I want to run. With my current 1850 iteration, I have a very good track record with it. Its a solid list and I know on a whim I can use the list, perform well at a tournament, and best of all not have to paint a model.
My new list has Eldar as my primary army. I am done being stubborn and want to run more Eldar units in my lists as I feel I have used all the units in the Dark Eldar book (yes even Mandrakes!) and been successful with them. I feel it is time to try something new.
So this is what I got:
Eldar Primary
Farseer, Bike, Stone of Anath'lan, Shard of Anaris, Runes of Warding- 170
Maugan Ra- 195
Warlock- 35
x20 Guardians, x2 Lances- 220
x5 Dire Avengers, Serpent w/ Scatter Laser, Cannon- 195
x5 Dire Avengers, Serpent w/ Scatter Laser, Cannon- 195
x3 Vaul Batteries- 90
War Walker w/ x2 Bright Lances- 70
Dark Eldar Allies
Baron- 105
x5 Warriors, Venom w/ Trophies- 115
x5 Warriors, Venom w/ Trophies- 115
x5 Beast Masters, x1 Fiend, x5 Khymera, x6 Flock- 250
Aegis Line, Icarus Las-Cannon- 85
TOTAL 1850
So I like this list and the flexibility it brings. So some basics...
Maugan Ra and the Warlock join the Guardians. Ra will be my Warlord and his Trait of SPlit Fire will come in handy. He can choose to shoot anything and deal damage. 5 shots at BS 7, Str. 6 Rending? Yeah pretty good I think. He makes the Guardians Fearless, gives them a nice CC deterrent from normal 3+ saves with him being Str. 6 AP 3 with 4 base attacks and Int. 7, so not too bad. If someone rolls up with an AP 2 guy, the lock can lock him for a turn. The Warlock in turn will provide them with Shrouding which will help since they can stay behind the Line if need be and have a nice 2+ Cover save. Also, Ra will be in base with the Icarus if my opponent has fliers so he can double shot it and knock it out of the sky. Or a Guardian can man it and shoot 2 Lances, a Lascannon at a vehicle and have Ra shoot something else. Combined, I feel confident they can take down any vehicle and are a threat to anything in the game. Ra also gives Night Vision to the unit which is a nice little buff. When shooting at a squad, Ra can Precision shot/strike on a 5+ with his Exarch power as well which again, is a nice little boost. I feel he is expensive, but he provides nice support and boosts to the Guardians.
Seer still goes with Beasts and gives Fearless and hopefully Fortune.
Serpents and Venoms pew pew.
Weapon Batteries kill those pesky troops who hide out of LOS or pick off important weapon guys like Grav Guns or Apothercaries. I know a lot of tournaments are going to start using the Alternate Mission set up and this will help knocking those units that want to just hang out on objectives and score points.
The War Walker seems a little out of place but I do have a plan. He will usually be in Reserve and ready to Outflank and get a good side or rear armor shot. With the emergence of Knights and AV13 (something I always have struggled with) I think a couple extra Lance shots will be nice. He is easy to hide and doesn't cost much, but he can potentially do nice things against heavy hitters. Plus, it saves me from praying that Ra will Rend if I shoot at high AV targets.
Strengths of my list:
Balance- I can deal with anything I feel. Spam armies one way or the other could cause problems, but I have an answer for anything
Target Saturation- I have good, solid, hard to kill units. Large Gaurdians, large Beasts, Defense Line, and a couple Wave Serpents cannot simply disappear in one turn
Unorthodox- I don't think people will expect to see this list. Ra could be laughed out of the tournament when he is seen on the list. No min maxing with double Seers, spamming Serpents, or Venom spamming is not there like some would expect.
Weaknesses of my list:
Fliers- If someone brings 3 AV12 or 4+ AV11 fliers I could be in trouble. The Icarus is nice, as is the Serpents. But they can be taken out and after they go down I will be shooting the Guardians with Ra attached at them. Multiple Vendettas or 5+ FMCs is something I do not want to see.
AV13/14- If someone rolls up with 3 Landraiders, 6 AV13, or 3 Knights (unlikely I know, but Im sure there will be someone) I could struggle. I simply don't have the reliable shooting to kill these things. I will rely on the Guardians, Ra, and the Icarus to do this. Seems like I rely on them for a lot!
Well there is my list and what I will be testing soon. I am hoping to get a game in against Adam Tricola this week so he can practice for Adepticon and I can just simply practice. So let me know what you and how you think this will perform. Critiques definitely welcome!
Last but not least, here is a couple pictures of my test model Swooping Hawk. Let me know what you think! Thanks!
I am debating on whether I want to highlight or not. I really like the soft color look and think that if I tried it would ruin the look. I will add a picture of him looking at you so you can see his leather pouch and such. But I really really like how this guy turned out and is probably my favorite model I have painted.
My goal with all the Aspect Warriors I paint is to keep my scheme (green and grey) but also have a piece of their colors in there. My Warp Spiders have Red and Black head and with the Hawks I wanted to keep the same thing. Head and wings have the look (albeit not the same exact color but close) as the traditional Swooping Hawks. I thought he turned out well and just looking at him you should be able to tell he is a Swooping Hawk.
Painting Block:
5 Swooping Hawks
5 Wraithguard
1 Warlock, counts as Spiritseer
10 new Secret Weapon bases
Quite a healthy stack but hope I can get some of this done!
My new list has Eldar as my primary army. I am done being stubborn and want to run more Eldar units in my lists as I feel I have used all the units in the Dark Eldar book (yes even Mandrakes!) and been successful with them. I feel it is time to try something new.
So this is what I got:
Eldar Primary
Farseer, Bike, Stone of Anath'lan, Shard of Anaris, Runes of Warding- 170
Maugan Ra- 195
Warlock- 35
x20 Guardians, x2 Lances- 220
x5 Dire Avengers, Serpent w/ Scatter Laser, Cannon- 195
x5 Dire Avengers, Serpent w/ Scatter Laser, Cannon- 195
x3 Vaul Batteries- 90
War Walker w/ x2 Bright Lances- 70
Dark Eldar Allies
Baron- 105
x5 Warriors, Venom w/ Trophies- 115
x5 Warriors, Venom w/ Trophies- 115
x5 Beast Masters, x1 Fiend, x5 Khymera, x6 Flock- 250
Aegis Line, Icarus Las-Cannon- 85
TOTAL 1850
So I like this list and the flexibility it brings. So some basics...
Maugan Ra and the Warlock join the Guardians. Ra will be my Warlord and his Trait of SPlit Fire will come in handy. He can choose to shoot anything and deal damage. 5 shots at BS 7, Str. 6 Rending? Yeah pretty good I think. He makes the Guardians Fearless, gives them a nice CC deterrent from normal 3+ saves with him being Str. 6 AP 3 with 4 base attacks and Int. 7, so not too bad. If someone rolls up with an AP 2 guy, the lock can lock him for a turn. The Warlock in turn will provide them with Shrouding which will help since they can stay behind the Line if need be and have a nice 2+ Cover save. Also, Ra will be in base with the Icarus if my opponent has fliers so he can double shot it and knock it out of the sky. Or a Guardian can man it and shoot 2 Lances, a Lascannon at a vehicle and have Ra shoot something else. Combined, I feel confident they can take down any vehicle and are a threat to anything in the game. Ra also gives Night Vision to the unit which is a nice little buff. When shooting at a squad, Ra can Precision shot/strike on a 5+ with his Exarch power as well which again, is a nice little boost. I feel he is expensive, but he provides nice support and boosts to the Guardians.
Seer still goes with Beasts and gives Fearless and hopefully Fortune.
Serpents and Venoms pew pew.
Weapon Batteries kill those pesky troops who hide out of LOS or pick off important weapon guys like Grav Guns or Apothercaries. I know a lot of tournaments are going to start using the Alternate Mission set up and this will help knocking those units that want to just hang out on objectives and score points.
The War Walker seems a little out of place but I do have a plan. He will usually be in Reserve and ready to Outflank and get a good side or rear armor shot. With the emergence of Knights and AV13 (something I always have struggled with) I think a couple extra Lance shots will be nice. He is easy to hide and doesn't cost much, but he can potentially do nice things against heavy hitters. Plus, it saves me from praying that Ra will Rend if I shoot at high AV targets.
Strengths of my list:
Balance- I can deal with anything I feel. Spam armies one way or the other could cause problems, but I have an answer for anything
Target Saturation- I have good, solid, hard to kill units. Large Gaurdians, large Beasts, Defense Line, and a couple Wave Serpents cannot simply disappear in one turn
Unorthodox- I don't think people will expect to see this list. Ra could be laughed out of the tournament when he is seen on the list. No min maxing with double Seers, spamming Serpents, or Venom spamming is not there like some would expect.
Weaknesses of my list:
Fliers- If someone brings 3 AV12 or 4+ AV11 fliers I could be in trouble. The Icarus is nice, as is the Serpents. But they can be taken out and after they go down I will be shooting the Guardians with Ra attached at them. Multiple Vendettas or 5+ FMCs is something I do not want to see.
AV13/14- If someone rolls up with 3 Landraiders, 6 AV13, or 3 Knights (unlikely I know, but Im sure there will be someone) I could struggle. I simply don't have the reliable shooting to kill these things. I will rely on the Guardians, Ra, and the Icarus to do this. Seems like I rely on them for a lot!
Well there is my list and what I will be testing soon. I am hoping to get a game in against Adam Tricola this week so he can practice for Adepticon and I can just simply practice. So let me know what you and how you think this will perform. Critiques definitely welcome!
Last but not least, here is a couple pictures of my test model Swooping Hawk. Let me know what you think! Thanks!
I am debating on whether I want to highlight or not. I really like the soft color look and think that if I tried it would ruin the look. I will add a picture of him looking at you so you can see his leather pouch and such. But I really really like how this guy turned out and is probably my favorite model I have painted.
My goal with all the Aspect Warriors I paint is to keep my scheme (green and grey) but also have a piece of their colors in there. My Warp Spiders have Red and Black head and with the Hawks I wanted to keep the same thing. Head and wings have the look (albeit not the same exact color but close) as the traditional Swooping Hawks. I thought he turned out well and just looking at him you should be able to tell he is a Swooping Hawk.
Painting Block:
5 Swooping Hawks
5 Wraithguard
1 Warlock, counts as Spiritseer
10 new Secret Weapon bases
Quite a healthy stack but hope I can get some of this done!
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