A Prison for Gods - End of Turn 1 Summary

The first month of battles in the Faustian system has been furious on Rust, while the open spaces on Warrens End have left the fronts relatively quiet.  Acre has seen some skirmishes, and on Nolan, a major "accident" brought an entire Imperial Guard regiment into conflict with the Black Scorpions chapter.

So where to we start?  

After 1 month, the procedure is to allow everyone to claim a sector adjacent to one of their territories.  This represents the natural expansion of a Players controlled territories and slowly brings more enemies into contact with another.  This is done in order from the Player with the lowest controlled sectors up. 

After this has been done, comes the counting of territories which will establish the Turns Conquest Points.  These points are then placed into one of two categories:

Faction Points, which forward the agenda of the Faction, or Personal Points, which alternatively push the agenda of the Players own forces instead.  This in turn can cause internal conflict, internecine fights and even, possibly, worse.

The current score lies as follows.

Sentinels of Fire - 13 Faction Points
Thomas - 5 Faction (Grand Warlord Trait not applicable)
Kaia - 5 Faction
William - 3 Faction and 4 Personal (GW Trait = Sworn Enemy Jack)

Bringers of Silence - 20 Faction Points
Rory  - 9 Faction
Jack - 5 Faction and 12 Personal (7 from territory, 5 from GW Trait)
Magnus - 6 Faction (Grand Warlord Trait not applicable)

Bearers of Change - 12 Faction Points
Eivind - 12 Faction and 5 Personal. (GW Trait = Beasthunter)
(Note: Extra Territory from Player drop out)

True to the background of the campaign, the sudden emergence of support from outside the sector has seen some devestating but not war winning gains by the Bringers of Silence.  But as the dust settles from the initial exchange, surprises will be less likely.  Easy victories may become harder to repeat as tactics adapt.  Territories are quickly being swallowed up by the Relentless Assualt and soon the swirling melee will be tight and brutal as no safe ground can be found.

Situational Report.

Rust.

After the dead began to rise on Rust, the Dark Eldar seized a precious artefact for their patrons, while the Craftworld kin now seek to evacuate the old Maiden World.  Promises of return have been made, but for now, it seems the world eternally dying will be left to the tender mercies of the insane Archon Ozzy.

Warrens End.

While largely left out of the conflict, expansions by the planet side factions are raising tensions. Also, rumours of the blood cult in the mountain range have been uncovered to be something altogether more sinister, as Genestealers have been reported ravaging outlaying home steads.  Meanwhile, the Deathkorp and the nearby Imperial Guard regiment have fully mobilised against one another.

Nolan.

After the incident between the 501st and the Black Scorpions reached its peak and after the massacre at the Spaceport, Nolan looks fit to burst in conflict.  While the space marines have brutally cut the Imperial Guard in two, the population of Adeptus Mechanicum is not taking kindly to the reported pillaging of resources from the Astartes. 

Acre.

Tyranids across the warded parks and training forests of Acre have awoken to a call.  Though no Hive Fleet has been sighted, the xenos are acting in sudden unison.  If left unchecked the planet could fall.  Meanwhile, the Craftworld Eldar have pushed hard against the limited Dark Eldar garrison there, most likely reinforced and angered at the horrific losses on Rust. 

So what's next?

Well we are still in Phase 1, though we are now in the second half, or turn 2. Having ceased with challenges, we are now seeing freely arranged games and some special ones too.  Like the special game on Rust, a Crisis mission, these special missions allow for something a little different and offer rewards not based on territory.
For example: Right now, both Williams and Jack's Eldar forces have "Rust Veterans" who possess Shred on their attacks, so used are they to making sure their enemies stay down.
Over the next couple of weeks amid the normal carnage, I'm hoping to make 1 more Crisis mission for at least 2 more of the planets.  As well as pushing the narrative forward.

"Moth Balled" on Nolan and "Eyes in the mist" for Acre.

The Necrons have yet to appear.  Though a Big end game for the end of Phase 1 has been plotted. :)
Though a Ctan's shard was reported recovered on Rust, what this means for now remains a mystery.  As we move closer to the end of the 1st chapter in this story, we can expect more to be uncovered.

A Prison for Gods: A Narrative Campaign.

Ok, back to work.

Well recently me and 8 unfortunate victims friends started up a Warhammer 40,000 campaign, based off the foundations set by the Crusade of Fire set.  Using the Planetary Empires and Mighty Empires tiles, I copied the method regarding planets and strategic objectives.  But there the similarities ended.

Not only is the Crusade of Fire book sadly unfinished and obviously not proof read, its also mid 5th to 6th edition.  Now on my travels I did find the original work (I assume!):
https://thecrusadeoffire.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/crusade-of-fire-campaign-v-1c.pdf
Which helps, as well as a number of other campaigns, the Apophis campaign set:
http://www.miniwargaming.com/apothis
Always research before setting out.  Very often you can find a better way of doing things, or at the very least, have a plethora of bolt on bits and stuff which can be added in once the players are used to things.

Credit: AdamBurn

Anyway, what makes PfG (Prison for Gods) different?  Well I was sick to death of all the campaigns being focused on Imperium Vs Chaos oh and some Aliens.  Our gaming group does have a number of chaos players on the fringe (as in they are practically their own little Eye of Terror of a gaming group), but largely we play Xenos and Imperium.

And I play lots of Necrons, and some imperial guard!

Credit: Kurt Metz

The Aim?

Primarily though the campaign would aim to be:

•  Fun
•  Flexible
• Narrative

Fun? 40k isn't balanced.  It just isn't.  Deal with it and have fun or continue working the system.  Therefore I prefere to put Fun before Fair.  (Not instead of, before.  Big diff!).  So this campaign will have a lot of unbalanced but fun and unusual antics on the side.  At the end of each Turn/Phase (More later) or as Special Crisis Missions made available as the campaign burns on.

Flexible? Most campaigns burn out as a result of demands exceeding enthusiasm. Usually because things become a chore or life gets in the way.  To combat this I decided to have this campaign as a long burn campaign, going over 6 months.  2 months per phase.  More on what this means later but basically, so long as you can manage 1 game per freakin month, all will be well.

Narrative? The campaign aims to end with nothing short of a history to refer to in the future.  A background for each participant and grudges to last the next few years. Noble deaths, victories, last stands.  Anything goes.  So long as even the losers get awesome background and reasons for revenge, its all grim dark, right?

So why can't we all just get along? (This time...)

So.  What would a narrative campaign centred around Necrons look like?  Well they like loooong sleeps, obliterating the lesser races and generally not being too insane just yet as immortality apparently does that.

This really did have a lot to do with where the fluff (background) with my Necron Dynasty was going, so I tied it to that and swore NOT to play in the campaign.  Instead being the Games Master/Story Teller.

This would be about what would happen if an ancient entity gave you an offer you couldn't refuse.  A Faustian deal which didn't handle with chaos, but with something more devious.  Good old fashioned "end justifies the means" business.  With aliens!

"I will gift to you, Imperium of Man, the power to still the dimension you call the warp.  Long ago it was a weapon to our foes and we devised methods to disarm them.  You already enjoy the fruits of our labour in the gateway to the fallen empire of the Eldar, your beloved Cadia.  This technology I offer you, to accomplish that which even your seated god could not.  Join me, aid me in my quest and you shall have the bane of the Old Ones and more."

Repeated message handed to a series of Imperial commanders prior to the Faustian Schism.

What if.  What if the Overlord of my humble Trazian Dynasty offered the Imperium of a specific sector the chance to use Warp severing pylons like those found on Cadia?  Just up and offered them such a prize for one small service.  Like gold in El Dorado, such things mean nothing to him (Though it is an act which would annoy other Necrons, screw them, Trazian cares not because SPOILERS!!!).

What would this do to the Imperial commanders who could grasp at such a gift?  Would the cost occur to them?  What about the Adeptus Mechanicus?  The Imquisition?

And for the others, the Alien and the Renagade, why simple riches garned in the ensuing conflict.

Either way, now we have a very real, albeit unique, reason to cause a civil conflict between so called Battle Brothers which hasn't been seen since the Astral Claws incident.

The Faustian Schism, also known as the Prison for Gods Campaign had begun.

"What would become known as the Faustian Schism was caused by nothing more than negotiation and favour with the Xenos…"

Excerpt from the Journal of Colonel Rewitt, Warrick 3^rd.

What next?  Well I need Factions.  Crusade of Fire has enough for the two directly opposing Factions and a third for the Others.  Well this time it would be a little more based on the beliefs of the Players army commander.  Space Marine Vs Space Marine, Imperial Guard Regiment Vs Imperial Guard Regiment.

The Factions.

• The Sentinels of Fire “The enemy of my enemy is next.”

"Beware the machinations of the enemy. Their goals are not so noble. They seek to unleash something old and terrible. No price, not even the staying of the warp, is worth the cost."

Primarily made up of those hard line and incorruptible Imperial commanders, benign Eldar worried about developments, those who know of the Wars in Heaven: They aim to stop the invading factions from taking territory, or implementing their plans.

• The Bringers of Silence “The end justifies the means.”

"Accept the advances of a greater race. Carve out a sector free of the pervasions of the warp, take artefacts of great power and seize glory in war. Allow a new power, and be in it's favour."

An alliance of radical Inquisitors; jaded Imperial Commanders, wealth hungry Xenos and anyone their mysterious benefactor could coerce with bribes and promises.

• The Bearers of Change “All your bad Mondays at once.”

"They seek to parade their “Gods” and close the doors on what is ours by right. Chaos and change is eternal. A galaxy of fire was promised and must not be snuffed out before it has truly begun."

The Great Enemy of such insanity as peace in our time. Primarily Chaos, Orks and other creatures of constant violence and upheaval. They seek to both stop the Bringers of Silence and use the wars to take from the Sentinels of Fire.  Also, this slot works well with Tyranids, which do have an underlying and building role in the campaign.  Both forces operated as "bad weather" that while not directly involved in the plot can bring ruin to all if ignored!

Coming soon?

As we will be starting this campaign as of next week, I'm blogging in a catch up frenzy.  Next up will be more info regarding how we will go about the gaming mechanics.  While I'm not going to releasing access to the live rules set, I can give people the gist and why changes were made.  Planets and characters too.

Also, expect to see introductions to the Players and their forces, pre-campaign narrative developments (we have NEMESISESES!!) and shout outs to their own blogs where some of the players have already started writing their sides ahem, perspective on the incoming conflict.

Cheese off! Necron Decurion Vs Eldar Wind Host. 1500pts!

As a christening for the new scenery, both me and William would blood it in a 1500pts friendly.

Sadly it's "con" season and my wife being a big Con goer dominated the house with guests a plenty.  Luckily, while they were away, I quickly shoved everything to one side and reclaimed the dining table.  FOR WARGAMING!!!

Dragging out the complete set I still had to throw on some extra bits from the older set (still need to adjust the base paint to match the board).  The gantries really offer a new 3rd dimension of play to the game.  Gantry hand rails would offer 5+ cover, possibly higher if the shots came from an odd angle that put the floor in the way.  Ladders provided access up, 3" per floor, while units could drop down 1 floor without damage.

Not able to help myself, I added some Necron pylons, giving the impression that this Imperial mine works had disturbed something under the soil.

To my dismay, figures do not slide down the ramp... :(

For the army, I knocked together a quick Decurion that was heavy in numbers.  A warrior horde. Making the most from the Decurions improved Ressurection rolls, I was hoping to control the majority of the battlefield against Wimaro's sneaky Eldar.

LINKIEST LINK ON ZEE PLANET!!
He was sure to use this Wraith Knight, and instead of trying to take her down, I decided to ignore it.  Focus on the mission.

• Overlord with phase shifter, void reaper.  
• 5  Lych Guard
• 20 Warriors
• 20 Warriors
• 20 Warriors
• 10 Warriors
• 10 Warriors
• 3 Tomb Blades

To my knowledge, Wimaro played hard with a Wraith heavy host using lots of jet bikes and a Wraith Knight.  I was mostly right, though he did play things slightly differently than in our larger 3 V 3 games.

• Wraith Knight ghostglaive / 1x scatter laser 
• 10 Wraithguard D-scythes 
• Farseer skyrunner singing spear 
• Warlock skyrunner singing spear 
• 3x3 windriders scatter laser 
• 3 vyper missile launcher + shuriken catapult
• Illic Nightspear

The Mission.
The mission we rolled for was Lost Contact, a very standard Maelstrom game but for one very distinct element: You only get cards from held objectives at the start of your turn.  I'd played this mission several times before and already knew how important dominating the battlefield was.

Although William had 1 more unit than me, I was feeling strangely confident.  The warrior horde play was still new to me, but being as tough as they were, grabbing them and boxing in my opponent seemed like a plan.

My deployment.

Wimaro's (aka William's) deployment.

Turn one was very telling.  Firstly, thanks to the warlord trait I rerolled Seizing the initiative and managed a 6.  ARGH!!!  That never happens!

Moving first meant my line of bone and blood shuffled forward into firing range and seized 4 objectives.  Though the first turn still only yielded 1 card, it allowed me to hold those objectives with huge tough units.

Wimaro's retaliation was telling his forces were shooty, tough too, but too few and spread out to make a dent.   Plus, the Wraith knight didn't dare jump in while the Wraith knights held back, waiting for me to come close enough for those D scythes...

Closer..... a little more....

NOPE!

 The game in itself was a great opportunity in learning and relearning those rules one always forgets.  For me and Wimaro this was largely in the psychic phase (I never go for psychic armies for some reason!), but with his Eldar jetbikes, we discovered some amazing stuff.

Shoot and scoot.  Also known as moving 2d6 in the assualt phase.  Not to mention that objective trolling 36" Turbo boost.  Essentially making his bikers with those scatter lasers very annoying.  Lucky for me between Wimaro's bad rolls and my Decurion nastyness, I was seeing very little damage.  A few warriors here and there for more than 5 Bikers in the first turn.  And a wound on the Warlock.

Meanwhile Illic Nightspear, attempting to assassinate the Overlord, discovered that Look Out sir still counted.  So... he took photoes and dreamed of times long passed...

Turn 2 and 3.
My report will get a bit sketchy here as things heated up fast.  Wimaro got his feet and layed the Eldar pain. The Wraith knight jumped over the 3 walkways and charged in against 20 Warriors while Vypers with Missile Launchers preyed on my Overlord.

Haha!  I hope things are going as well on the left flank!

Strangely, the for two combats, the Wraith did nothing for stomping, but did more than enough with his sword.  It would be three turns of combat before my Warriors finally broke and got crushed, but by then, it would be too late.


On my right, over 50 Warriors assembled and layed out nearly 100 shots on the Wraith Guard.  1 died.

x1 DIED!!!

Between the toughness 6 and the 3+ save, my attacks just couldn't get those Mannequin lookalikes to sit down and die.

Still, the Wraith Knight was nearly free and could potentiall fold the flank, sensing a possible victory, Wimaro pushed forward.  His Wraith Guard using their D Scythes (well 4 of them the others had no room to fire!) to wipe out 10 Warriors in one go.  Boom, gone.  Dust.

Err...

Still here.  Fighting....

Wimaro's jetbikes took more of a pounding, reducing them to squads of 1.  Using 1 such surviving unit, he turbo boosted and grabbed a point for Behind Enemy Lines, taking an objective and potentially more for Line Breaker.

The only unit nearby was my Overlord and bodyguard, currently looking hopelessly at the Wraith Knight still stomping up and down.

Maybe I could use that?

Hold my beeeeer!!!

Between the Thrall of the Silent King combined with killing in CQC for my Overlord, mixed with the challenge objective, getting the max from the extra D3 meant going from 2 to 7 points in one go.  Check mate!

Illic wrote a great poem while his kin was slaughtered though!

End result 7 to 3.  Victory Necrons.


Post battle musings.
You can never tell much about the effectivness of your tactics or units until you play a basic game or three.  While a great spectacle, the big games don't give much for feedback, and most of the time units get wiped out before really displaying worth.  In a game where everything needs to be working, all the time, earning their points back, this is doubly important.

We'd been playing a lot of large games and this was possibly the first time that Wimaro got to see what his guys and gals could do.

Sadly, while I was familiar with the Mission, he was not, and concerned about the welfare of his shiniest units, held them back in the first turn.  He needent have worried.  As the late game showed, those Wraith units are hard as nails.  Arguably harder than my Necrons.  The jetbikes have firepower, but the Scatter lasers seemed ill fitted against Warriors, where perhaps Rending Shruikin Cannons would have done better?

The psychic phase went will, but many powers and cross combinations didn't work out.  A lot of buffs and freebies went wasted as the best units for them simply werent in the army.  It seems on reflection that despite their being a lot of BAMF in the new Craftworld list, it really takes practice to combine those units getting the best synthesis.  You really cannot just throw down like Space Marines and Necrons can.  Safe in the assurance that there will be a save to pull your ass out of the fire.

That said, damn his rolls were bad.

Game winning Eldritch Storm....

As his opponent, what did I fear the most?  The rematch...


A quick rematch.  Aka. OW OW MY FACE!!

We played a quick no holds barred 1000pts rematch.  Me, feeling smart arse, took Praetorians with their Rods of Covenant.  I was hoping to put to rest this myth of the unkillable Wraith Guard.  3 units of Warriors, 1 of Immortals and a basic Overlord.

Wimaro took his trusty Wraith Knight, too 1 squad of Wraith Guard with D-Scythes and his Jetbikes into x4 units with Shruikin Cannon.

The mission was Cloak and Shadows.  Playing typically down the narrow of the board.

Charging head long into the fray, I was feeling confident from the last game.  Too confident, perhaps.  This time Wimaro played the Eldar way, shooting hard and fast and sneaking away before I could return fire.  Illric Nightspear found himself largely ignored as a non threat and, agreeing, went back to writing poetry.

The Wraith knight pounded down the left flank towards a unit of Warriors.

Meanwhile, the action was in the centre.  10 Immortals, and Overlord and my 10 Praetorians went after the Wraith Guard.  Screw the mission, this myth would die.

Under fire from Rending shots everywhere, the jetbikes quickly suffered from the disappearing board space.  The Wraith Knight, beginning to think everyone secretly disliked it, ran after the remains of those 10 Warriors. Or maybe it was after the objective they sat on?....

Putting everything into the attack, I pounded the Wraith Guard with 10 Tesle Carbines (really not as good as they used to be) and 10 shots from the Rods of the Covenant. Which at BS 4 decided to most miss.  3 hit.  Ap 2 though, so no armour save!!  Still needed 5+.  1 Wound.

The Tesla fired, scoring a modicum of wounds  William failed a couple of saves.  And then picked up the dice and re-rolled them.

WAT!=

Lets rewind.

In the largely unknown world of the psychic phase, Wimaro had put something on the Wraith I hadn't bothered registering until now.  Fortune I believe it was.  Allowing them to reroll failed armour saves.

NEIN!!!!

I charged in with the Praetorians.  And got 5 D3 D-Scythe automatic hits in the face, wiping out everyone in the Elite unit bar 1, who failed to hit.

On my right flank the Eldar Jetbikes had whittled down a 10 man Warrior unit to 3 Warriors in just 2 turns of shooting.

I looked at my secret Tactical Objective Cards, then at the battlefield, then at Wimaro and offered him my hand.

Good game. I said.  And found a quite spot to cry some. reflect on my loss.

In the space of 1 game, my opponent had learned the errors from one game and applied them to the next.

The rematch is pending...

Conversion - Heavy Destroyer

As requested!  Here under are more pics and details about the first (I promise!) of many such Destroyer conversions.

Now as I've mentioned before, I'm not a fan of the GW Destroyer figure, it's dated and damn me if I haven't already painted several already.  Besides, I wanted something thematic with the armies Egyptian feel.

Inspired to make it more of another Cryptek construct, I grabbed some Tomb Kings snake knights from the Warhammer Fantasy range.

Sepulchral Stalkers!

This with some left over bits from the Praetorian Stalkers and others from the bits box, I dove in with clippers and green stuff.

I loved the idea that this thing was usually worshipped or even camoflaged as what the lesser races would see as no more than statues and furniture.  Then, when activated it would come alive as a snake like construct designed to support Wraith and Spyders in the defence or support of the Dynasty.

As the doubles tournament coming up allowed me enough points to grab a Heavy Destroyer, I chopped up and one of the Heavy Gauss weapons from the Stalker.  The hardest part was the hands, as I'd already given the staff weapon blades to Rottimus for his Blood Angels special dudeses.

 Eventually I noticed an over abundance of this strange part for the right arm which possessed a perfect ball joint.  When the Heavy Gauss was cut into, this worked as a perfect brace for the weapon.  But for the other arm's hand?  Everything seemed too small and fleshy.  What worked in the end?  I kid you not, Skaven.  Skaven hands from the Mordheim set.  Seriously, never throw out bits.

To tie in with the Dynasty's colour scheme I went with bone and red as a spot colour.  I played around with the green illumination for the first time with mixed success.  Sadly I was on a busy schedule.  Maybe next time?  I have plans for 1 more of these Heavy variants and then 4 standard.  Maybe I'll even get enough for a cult?

In hindsite, as Rottimus pointed out, the "emerging from the ground" base seems weird when one considers the way the slate and floor parts are angled.  THE WRONG WAY!!! >_<

Also, It did occur to me that in regards to the Dynasty's background, being ex Necron political prisoners, why then are the supposed Guards of said Prison (albeit converted to the cause) in the same bone and red convict colours?

Who knows, maybe Overlord Hautsi saw irony in repainting them?

Or wizards did it...

Painting Guide - The colours of Trazian Dynasty

SO I often get asked:  When are you going to give that car back?  But that isn't important.
What is important is those people who want to know how I paint my Necrons.

So, keeping it simple:  Here is your answer.

See this is why we suck at night fight...

Now bear in mind I'm doing this in a modicum of a rush.  I've just had a game of 5k vs 5k and the maelstrom cards were mean. >_<

Some of the pics may not be of the same figure but at the very least can visually show what it is I am talking about.

Stage 1. Undercoat!  Bone!!

• Prime the figure using Army Painter: Skeleton Bone spray.  I chose this spray solely because it comes with a paint which actually sodding matches the spray!!

Stage 2. Ink it to death!!  

• I tend to alternate from Agrax Ink from Gw to Army Painters Soft or Hard tone to get the darker brown into the recesses and generally give the bone a deeper tone.  Feel free to lather it on all the things but bear in mind the base and weapon will be being painted another colour.

Stage 3. Love your bases!

• I like to do the base halfway at this point as it not only provides psychological goodies (look how far I've got!) but also allows you to technically use them in a rush (bases and 3 colours?). Though I never do that.  I am a paint snob apparently. >_>

Stage 4.  This is where things get interesting.  

• First, paint the weapon entirely grey using GW's Mechanicum grey.  Make sure the coat is thick enough to base it from bone.  If left too watered it can leave the edges pale.  Nothing hugely bad, just something to note.
• Paint the "joints" and the back of the faceplate a silvered metal colour, preferably dark as it shouldn't clash with the bright armour colour.  I use Leadbelcher from GW but any generic metal will do.
• Also paint the "energy" bits a dark green, I use Waaagh Flesh green as a base, highlighted some with a medium green such as Warpstone Glow.  
• Now for a "Spot Colour" I chose red, which some say does clash with the green, but I have no taste thankfully.  Up to you, but my forces from the Trazian Dynasty use red which starts off as Khorne Red.
  
  
  

  

  Weapons = grey, Energy = Green!

• To wrap this phase up, soak the red, grey, metal and green areas in a watered black ink.  Nuln Oil from GW works fine, but I prefer Army Painters Dark Tone as it can be watered to wash or left thick to shade. (Read: Throw it on and play around until happy!)

Stage 5.  Nearly done.  Now that the ink is dry, time for the finalè.

• Firstly highlight the red with either Khorne Red from GW or Mepheston Red, also GW.  Your choice.  Khorne is more muted and worn red but Mepheston has won me over these days.
• Taking Army Painter Skeleton Bone, begin slapping on thinned coats of bone on the armour.  Now pay attention to the way the ink has settled on the flat surfaces and add the final bone coat to simulate the better, remaining part of the paint work.  Occasionally miss some of the darker pooled areas and leave some of the "toned down" bone underneath showing.  This isn't a rocket science but it is best to do one or two coats then 1 thick one.  I'd say be patient, but I'm not, and I do often slap on a pretty heavy coat just to get them done.  Remember, you can always put on more Ink later to touch up any crevasses or lost shading. 
• At the end, I tend to touch up the grey on the weapon, mainly to cover up any wear where the paint has come away to show that damn strong primer coat underneath!

Take a close look at the way the bone was readded.

• Spray in varnish, I'd recommend Army Painters No Shine, though GW's Satin is fine.  






What you mean they have blast markers!?!?

• Add green rod, take photo and brag about how many Warriors you've done, soul still intact.

Thanks for reading, keep painting and let me know if you have any questions.

R

#Justsoddingpaintit
#Bonecrons4thewin

Doubles Tournament! Gw Oslo 2015.

Ok, I brewed me tea and I am ready.

So despite many times saying I would never partake in any kind of competitive Warhammer 40k game ever again... I did.  I know, how can you ever trust me or my kind again with this kind of deceit.  I myself was shocked.  But not as shocked as the result nor the experience.

For me, if you are lucky enough not to know me, narrative play is far more entertaining.  Forging the freakin narrative etc etc, pass the plot.  But for others its the feel of challenge, accomplishment and the idea that maybe, just maybe, you can be good at the game.  Maybe they are right?

Convinced, some would say manipulated, I dragged my nemesis cum partner Rory to another Doubles tournament at GW Oslo.  Mostly because at the time they only had 6 people participating.  Which oddly doubled in size to something more akin to 14 people a week later.  Some very notable names on that list too, well locally, of players both talented and veteran.  My blood turned cold.

Momma didn't raise no coward!!!!

After about 3 lists and 5 cups of tea later, I devised the following list:

Codex Necrons

• Overlord with Warscythe
• 6 Wraiths with Lashy Whipsicles of trolling.
• 10 Warriors
• 10 more Warriors
• 10 extra Warriors because I like sets of 3.
• 1 heavily converted Heavy Destroyer because why not.

Paired up with Rorys Black Scorpions (Read: Blood Angels), it was a very 5th maybe 6th edition force.  No fancy Eldar tricks, super heavies, knights or mini maxing.  Rory btw, went for A Priest, Sanguinary Guard, basic Death Company, Tac squad in Drop Pod.  No frills for us!

Wait, the Overlord is dead?  That puts me in charge!!

Deciding to make the harder to kill Overlord the warlord and taking Necron cards, we headed down for a fight.  Go team Hobbit!

Game 1 - Contact Lost (Against team Bolton)

Our first game was against Thomas and Max, a daring duo who sported a joint Imperial Guard force.  Their gimmick was a giant grey camouflaged Baneblade that stuck on the left flank and a Valkyrie with a command squad with 4 melta guns.  

Right then, this was a tournament!  O_O

Thomas had come along with Max to try and get back into Warhammer 40,000.  If he'd have asked me I wouldn't of recommended a competitive environment for that!  However nothing could breach that sportsmanship smile or the fact that they were there to genuinely have a laugh.  Which was good... because -

The first game was a classic matter of experience, aggression, army composition and above all, tactical skill (read: luck).

Since the scenario was based upon how many objectives one held at the start of each turn (having none, meant no Tac Cards= no chance for points), we pushed forward aggressively, taking first turn and leaping into cover in the mid ground.  For me my greatest fear was getting whole swaths of Warriors killed by that big ass Baneblade pie plate.  But then as Rottimus, my partner, informed me: I was the punching bag.  

Luckily something happened!  Wraithfear!!  My 6 lash whipped Wraith stormed dead centre, aiming to link up with Rory's drop podding tactical squad, which disembarked in their deployment zone and proceeded to kill stuff.  Seeing this, the Baneblade opened up virtually everything on the Wraith.

Wraithfright?  Wraithfear?  Necron Wraiths have a nasty rep and yes, it is earned. In the new edition, that infamous 3+ invulnerable save was boosted with a higher toughness of 5, which meant the Baneblades Str9 huge blast did at best, one wound on a 2 wound creature.  The low Ap of the blast played no role against the Inv save either, making them actually perfect for being shot at!

Meanwhile my 30 some Warriors advanced largely unscathed, to come up mid game and started firing at what their flayers were good at killing.  Guardsmen.  Like the Company HQ.  Rory's Death Guard got to play baby sitter as we dominated the objectives ensuring our side possessed the maximum chance at getting points while our opponents were boxed in and left with no opportunity to get Tactical Objective Cards.

Hi point was the Baneblade firing on itself by accident while trying to escape the remains of the Wraith.

On the right flank, eager for something to do, Rory's Sanguinary Guard and HQ charged the enemy's 2nd company command with immediate effect.  I've been there, once had a Basalisk ask a Carnafex to swallow an Earth Shaker round, but the cheeky bugger refused, effectively spitting it back down the barrel.  But thats another tale.  

At this point the game was a forgone conclusion, though where one may find negativity in such a one sided game Team Bolton were exceptionally good spirited about it, despite Thomas saying twice "I may need to fire on friendly infantry" to his partner.

If the game has a sportsmanship award here is where it would have been.  Any game you can walk away from thinking "Rematch bitches!!" was a good one.

Final Score: 10 to 1.  Team Hobbit victorious!

Game 2 - Cloaks and Shadows (Against team Need2Feed)

Eeeeek!!

This game felt like I was holding my breath the whole time.  Power duo Preben and Bjørnar played a very paper competitive combination of Dark Eldar with Venoms galore and Tyranids with Flying Tyrants and 2 Mucalids to fulfil that pesky troops choice thing.  It was an army streamlined and designed over time by folk who play weekly. We had nothing effective against those flying monstrous creatures and the Poison weapons of the Dark Eldar had me on range and my toughness meant precisely D&%#.

I was not expecting what happened next.

Preben deployed his Flyrants on each flank.  Nominating the one on their left as Warlord.  Both had psychic powers up the wazoo that would make them Feal No Pain and more.  Like we didn't need that!  Meanwhile Bjørnar deployed on the far edge, knowing his weapons out ranged the majority of mine and having this beautiful kill zone in front of him was deadly.

Luckily, we chose the side with the most Objectives.  And scenery.

The game began as expected.  Taking the first turn again we got some decent cards that required sacrifice.  

I sent my warriors onto objectives, avoiding stretching myself to thinly.  Rory took the right flank and advanced as a whole.  Taking the large building to the centre, we now possessed many Objectives.  Some getting us points.

  

My Wraith advanced boldly, but the length of the board put them in open ground against the majority of Bjørnars Venoms.  This would not go well...

Rorys Drop Pod slammed down and scored us First Blood by killing a Venom, but its nearby neighbour had Bjørnars Archon and Incubi, Space Marine killers.  The combat would last just long enough for us to just miss a "Behind Enemy Lines" Tac Card >_<.  Still, it did it's job.

The floor is LAVAAA!

It was about this time that things suddenly took a dive for Team Need2Feed.  Prebens dice rolls took a nose dive, the Mawlocks failed to emerge causing one of the them to die and with most of the objectives on our side, their tactics worked against them.  All we needed to do was hold. Kind of.

We still had to deal with those Flyrants!!

While Bjørnars Dark Eldar hugged the rear Preben's Flyrants got fed up waiting for the two Mawlocks (or the other ones?) to emerge and attacked my Overlord on his squad.  The amount of fire slamming into them was horrendous!  Luckily, My Overlord remained untouched after some damn lucky Reanimation rolls.  To add salt to the wound, the proximity of the Warriors meant rapid firing Gauss Flayers eventually brought one down (not the warlord!!) but with the Sanguinary Guard, managed to ground the other.

In a torturous last turn, Rory's Death Company lay into the grounded Hive Tyrant Warlord bombarding it with too many wounds.  Meanwhile my Overlord got to issue a challenge earning us yet another point.  

At the last minute, as if to Troll us, Prebens last Mawlock, delayed for several turns, emerged killing the Overlord Tremers style.  If there ever was a "teabagging" in 40k, that was it.

Still, the damage had been done.  Despite the massive last turn points boost from Team Need2Feed, the game was hours.  Something that still surprises me.  But then, Maelstrom is less about killing and more about being ready to accomplish the Tactical Objectives you get!

Final Score: 12 to 6.  Victory Team Hobbit!

Game 3 - Spoils of War (Against Team Wraithsome)

Unsurprisingly, at this point we were all getting tired, therefore excuse the poorer pics below.  

With 2 wins under our belt we got paired off with our biggest challenge yet.  Another team of Necrons and Space Marines.  But they had a KNIGHT!???

The end scenario allowed opposing sides to take their opponents Seize Objective cards, which couldn't be discarded.  Basically, we needed to take as many objectives as possible.  Which... well... did I mention we were tired?

Kim and Adam were a power duo I'd never heard of until today, regulars of the Outland club, between them they possessed some killer units and good rules knowhats.  You could almost feel the luck run screaming out the room. O_O

Eager to get the game started very few pics were taken, these are from turn 2!  You may note that while our right flank is suddenly very naked, this is most likely because my Wraiths got stomped to death by Adams Knight.  Who, incidentally, rolled double sixes two turns in a row, meaning not even the Invulnerable save could save my Wraiths.  Terrible rolling my end compounded the issue.

Meanwhile, my Warriors stationed centre had two units of Gauss Blaster carrying Immortals, perfect against Warriors, ripping into them.  Their Wraiths, unchallenged played havoc with our strong left push.

Designed to move through cover and carry us into their lines, our left punch stalled as soon as it hit.  Between unbreaking Space Marines in Rhinos, an Overlord in a Command Barge, Tomb Blades and then those Wraiths, we got Tar Pitted quickly.

Despite our bad luck on the right flank, our left attack did eat through some units with ease initially, Rorys Death Company keeping their reputation in ruining Kim's Praetorians.  A big user of these bad boys myself, I'm rather glad they never got to fire and charge.

Post turn three got furious and very intense.  The cards were against us, giving us cards our opponents could use.  Strategic Point 6 and 5 came up 3 times each, which lay on our right flank now controlled by the enemy.


In the end we fell foul of the same hardship and mistakes Preben and Bjørnar did in the last game. Our army, focussed so acutely on the left, didn't control the board enough to ensure we would get points, or at the very least deny points to the enemy.  In essence, winning the battle but losing the war. Luck aside, in hindsite we could have spread our forces more, but that Knight.  Damn.  Go big or go home eh GW?  Fair enough.

Final Score: 5 to 15.  Loss for Team Hobbit!! :'( 

When the final scores came in, Kim and Adam took 1st place, well earned, but damn!  To go from expecting totally annihilation and having no fun at all to getting so close was intoxicating.

And we took the Best Painted prize, which was awesome.  All that Bone on those Necrons paid off!

My opinion of tournaments?  Well I believe its only as good as the worst player you face off against.  And we were treated to some diverse armies, with different players who gave us a really good day.

Gentlemen, thanks.
Oh and you Rory.  Same again in 2 months?

Now, about those Knights.....

Thanks for reading folks!
R