Well after the disaster that was Day 1 i was in the mood for some ass kicking today! But, as i was grimly aware, that didn't mean that it was going to happen!
Game 4: vs Tyranids - Capture and Control : Dawn of War
5 objectives had to be placed for this mission, each of which scattered 2D6in after placement. 3 did not scatter, while 2 scattered only a few inches. This did mean that there were 3 objectives all within 12in of each other....The board had a few buildings on it, and a large amount of vegetation, mainly trees and bushes.
My opponent was a young lad, no older than 18. I had been warned about this guy earlier in the day, being advised not to trust that innocent exterior, and that he was in fact a stone cold killer! I groaned inwardly, picturing my 4th loss already!
Roughly he was packing: Flyrant with TL Devourers, 20 Gargoyles, 20 Termagants, 6 Warriors, a 'Few with Scything Talons in a Mycetic Spore, and 8 'Stealers with a Broodlord.
So we rolled off and i got to go first. I chose the side which had the grouping of objectives on it, and deployed a Vet' squad with Chimera and my Command Squad on top of the centre most objective in my deployment zone. 2 other objectives lay to the right of my position, while 1 remained firmly in his deployment zone, with the last one in No-Mans-Land. He deployed his 6 Warriors and the Termagants in a stand of trees near the objective in his DZ, and the Flyrant on my right flank.
He failed to seize the initiative so i went ahead and brought on everything bar the Vendetta and Vet' squad in it. I secures the right flank and put a Russ on the left to make a pain of itself. The shooting phase saw numerous Termagants die to the Russ, and the Flyrant take 2 wounds from the other Russ and the Chimeras.
Tyranid turn 1. The Flyrant surged forwards closely followed by the Gargoyles that came on from reserve. He kept he 'Stealers and 'Fex in reserve for later. The Warriors and the Termagants stayed in cover and took a pot shot with a Barbed Strangler at my Command Squad, which failed to wound. The Flyrant and the Gargoyles ran about 2in.
My turn 2. My Vendetta failed to come on. The 2 Chimeras and the Russ on the right flank got busy making a wall of firepower ready to welcome the Flyrant and Gargoyles, while the Command Squad and the other Russ remained stationary. On the right flank many Gargoyles died to the massed firepower that i set up, and the Flyrant took another wound, leaving it with 1. The Command Squad ordered themselves with 'Bring It Down' making the Sniper rifles twin linked in an effort to kill the Flyrant. They failed to wound. The Russ on the left flank managed to kill a Warrior and a few Termagants.
Tyranid turn 2. His 'Stealers and 'Fex failed to arrive, and his Warriors and Termagants stayed where they were. The Flyrant and Gargoyles continues to move towards my tanks on the right flank, and i was happy for them to! The shooting phase saw me loose 2 snipers to a Warriors barbed straggler, and the Gargoyles ran. In the assault phase the Flyrant charged the Russ on the right flank, and destroyed it. Shock horror! The up side is that it exploded and took the last wound off the Flyrant which bought it! Oh i did laugh! He didn't.....!
My turn 3. The Vendetta arrived this turn, and he came in on my left flank near the objective in No-Mans-Land. The Command Squad and the nearby Chimera stayed put, as did the Russ on the left. One of the Chimeras on the right Tank Shocked the remaining Gargoyles, and as they were now out of Synapse, they failed their morale check and fled 14ins! The other Chimera went and sat on top of the second objective that was near me, while the tank-shocker finished his 12in move about 6in from the third objective near my DZ. The right was secure. I didn't bother shooting at the Gargoyles as they couldn't rally, and would eventually flee off the board. The Warriors lost 2 of their number to the Vendetta, while the Russ claimed more Termagants who were now down to about 8.
Tyranid turn 3. The 'Fex in the Spore arrived and dropped down between my Command Squad and Russ, while the 'Stealers failed to emerge. The Gargoyles then fled off the board, and the Warriors and the Termagants stayed put again. More Barbed Strangler action came my way but failed to wound.
My Turn 4. The Vendetta moved next to the objective in No-Mans-Land, while the Chimera next to the command squad moved to intercept the 'Fex and claim the objective. The tank-shocker went and parked on the third objective, while the final Chimera went and parked on the second objective. The Command Squad ordered themselves with Bring It down' and targeted the 'Fex, causing 2 wounds. The Russ fired everything it had at the spore, wounding the 'Fex with the battle cannon and killing the Spore with everything else. The Vendetta finished off the 'Fex with 3 well placed Lascannon shots. The Chimera guarding the third objective took pot shots at the Termagants and only killed 1.
Tyranid turn 4. The 'Stealers finally arrived on my left flank, with the intention of claiming the objective my Vendetta was guarding. The Warriors and the Termagants stayed put. The Warriors targeted the Command Squad again killing the Astopath. The 'Stealers ran a huge 1in.
My turn 5. The Vet's in the Vendetta disembarked and moved on top of the building with the objective on it. The Vendetta then moved flat out to contest the objective in the 'Nid DZ. The Russ pivoted to target the 'Stealers, and killed 4. The Chimera by the Command Squad claimed another 2 'Stealers with its heavy bolter, and the Vet' squad ran to firmly secure the objective in No-Mans-Land. The Russ took shots at the Warriors killing all but 1 and leaving 3 Termagants.
Tyranid turn 5. The remaining Termagants and Warrior unleashed a punishing hail of fire with the Devourers and Barbed Strangler, killing the whole Vet' squad in No-Mans-Land!! The 'Stealers ran in to claim the free objective.
The Game went on for another 2 turns, and i spent the remainder of the game removing every model he had! The game ended on turn 7, by which time he had nothing left. 3-0 on objectives. WIN.
Game 5: vs Eldar - Pitched Battle : Annihilation
I didn't take any notes for this game I'm afraid! Suffice to say, it was another bad game for me, ending in a loss, 10KP - 5KP. Just like game 1 i was out maneuvered by fast moving transports and boxed myself into a corner. I made the mistake of ignoring his Avatar, and he took a heavy toll! LOSS.
So tournament over, 4 Losses and 1 Win. Well, at least that's something! I did learn a lot from this tournament though, and all the Losses i had could have been prevented. I needed to pay a bit more attention to the capabilities of the enemy, which is what really let me down.
Finally, the painting competition. Each category (40K, Fantasy and Infinity) had its own award. Round 1 was judged by the ref's who chose 3 armies from each category to progress to round 2. The Vosties made it through to that one, where the remaining armies were judged by the players. however, players couldn't vote within their category, only the other 2. Having seen the other 2 armies in my category, i was confident of the win. But alas, blatant club member in-voting saw me loose out to an average Ork army. Inwardly, i was a bit pissed off the say the least. 2 months of repainting to loose out to an army anyone with two eyes and opposable thumbs could have painted. Argh, never mind.....guess its just the way it goes for club-run tourneys.
Now, PICTURES! As i forgot the camera for day 1, I've only got a few random snaps of day 2.
Vostroyans ready for second round judging
A Beastmen army in the second round of judging
A really nice Slaanesh fantasy army - which I voted for
Some nice Orks and Goblins, the third contestant in the Fantasy painting heats
The eldar army that i played in Game 1 - his vehicles were nice, but the infantry let him down. He got throough to second round voting
This is the Ork army that won the 40K painting.
So thats the lot, another tournament under the belt for 2011! The next tournaments not until the last weekend in November for me, so plenty of time for me to relax until then. If the Bristol Vanguards 'Spoils of War' campaign weekend is the same as last year, then i may well be taking 1500pt Vostroyans, 1750pt Elysians and 2000pt Death Korps Armoured Regiment! After that its 'Blog Wars II' in December! I think 4 tournaments is enough for one year!
Some news on the Catherdral: I've ordered some lino flooring to create a textured base for the Catherdral, which will hopefully be here later today, so more on that tomoz!
The GunGrave
Hiya, nice write up, good to read it from the players point of view!
ReplyDeleteI must admit I was surprised by the outcome of the Best Painted vote, I was responsible for making the initial nominations and your lovely Vostroyans were the easy first choice for me when selecting them. Alas I was to be the tie break voter for the second round, but didn't get a chance to make any input as it was. I don't want to think it was club block voting, though you could well be right which would be disappointing given the way we used the two other tournaments voting on the thirds Best Painted to try an avoid this, though I would add that Exeter Inquisition players did only account for 6 of the 14 votes for the 40k category. Oh also the Orcs & Goblins wer#nt nominated for WFB, the third army was Dark Elves alongside The Beastmen and Chaos Warriors.
Anyway, I hope the painting does'nt put you off our little event in the future, we're very much hoping to repeat the event next June, hopefully with a few more players!