Game 1 Vs Dan Eatch's Eldar
Dan is a member of the roll with it club at Maelstorm Games and i have been down a few times but never met him, so here's to some more games against him in the future as it was great fun! He had Eldrad with a Seer Council on foot with Yriel in a Wave Serpeant, 3 Dire Avenger unkillable Falcons, Fire Dragons and Banshees in Serpeants as well.
The mission was kill points primary with 3 objectives all in mid table. To sum up the game it normally took all my shooting to the last shot to kill something, but normally that something was rock hard. Somehow it ended up 6 all on kill points and with 1 objective each and 1 contested. Highlight was Straken spending 4 rounds in combat with Eldrad and neither being able to kill the other.
Game 2 Vs Gareth "Fat Boy" Donnelly - Black Templar Terminator Missile Spam
Tournament Marathon Man Gaz wasn't using his Grey Knights which was a big relief for me but 4 units of Double Cyclone Terminators still wasn't a pleasant sight for my Guard! But Gaz only had around 10 games under his belt with this army so it was going to be a lesson for us both.
This mission was table quarters primary (scoring units count double) and kill points secondary. Since Gaz set up first I reserved everything and come my turn 2 he had been so aggressive I realised I could drive in 12 pop out 2 and be in rapid fire range! So I did, and he was a unit of Terminators down before he had fired. He had walked and ran down the middle so I did the old split flank Guard tactic and he split his forces so I torrent his 5 man units down bit by bit. I managed to get 3 table quarters thanks to my numbers and mobility, but he had it on kill points.
Gaz is a very good tournament player and a regular, but most of all he was a top bloke to play against who I play again anytime anywhere!
Game 3 vs Gary "The Voice" Percival's Necrons
Gary of 40kUK podcast fame - so it was fair to say I knew his list. But he was running 2 units of Destroyers instead of Scarabs/18 Wraiths.
The mission was 5 objectives but 2 counted towards the secondary of bore draw. It was Dawn of War so after swapping lists Gary put two units of 5 Warriors with a Destruc-Teks with Lances right up to the 24 inch line, so turn 1 involved my hellhounds driving on and dropping a unit. My first 3 turns where devastating to the necrons, but Gary hung in there but by turn 3 or 4 he managed to immobilise all my forces heading for his and the middle, and if I had gotten one more turn of movement it was going to be more burny hellhound fun for me. By the end all I had left was 1 Russ and 5 guys from a special weapon squad left and my age old problem vs Necrons of there's a lord on my objective and he wont die. I left open with my Russ who nicked a wound of the lord and fortunately the 3 melta guns and 2 lasgun managed to drop the lord with the last dice rolls of the game. SO I had lost but I manage to grab some points back from it.
Funny thing was it wasn't until turn 6 that I noticed things had gone from very good to bad for me as it was such a interesting tactical game.
Game 4 vs Gordon Wilson Grey Knights
I saw 2 Grand Masters, 3 Dreadnoughts, and 20 Terminators and thought Draigowing, but it was not!
The mission was 5 objectives primary and2 of them as bore draw secondary.
Like against the Templars I reserved everything. Gordan had dreadful luck in this game and to sum it up the first 2 and last 2 dice rolls of the game sum it up: firstly in using Psychic Communion to keep his outflanking Terminators off the board both his Grand Masters suffered from perils and lost a wound each, and in turn 3 one of them took another wound!
Despite Psychic communion I manage to keep all bar 1 Russ and a unit of Veterans off the board till turn 3. When Straken came on he shoved his Chimera up my left flank taking cover behind my hellhounds making a beeline for his objective which was held by 2 scoring Psyrifle dreads Straken ate them for Breakfast.
It came down to me trying to shift one of his units off the middle of objective to win the game. He charged a Grandmaster into a unit of Veterans who fled and shot him down as they fled some more. His other Grandmaster and middle unit of Terminators multi-charged my massing forces and he couldn't immobilise or stun my chimeras and to top it off the Grandmaster on 1 wound cut down all but 1 special weapon squad Catachans and in turn took a Catachan kiss to the face and died.
And that last dice roll of the game he rolled a 10 for his LD9 Terminators when I tank shocked the middle unit of terminators. All he had left was a immobilise weaponless Dreadnought and 10 Terminators who only damage was taking a multilaser of a chimera and stunning it - his luck was that bad.
Game 5 vs Dan Sackett - Grey Knights/Cotez Henchman spam in Stormravens.
It was table quarters and kill points, and i got bummed. This sort of GK build just rips mech guard to pieces I just sat in the corners trying not to die and just survived but didn't win.
His paper suffocated my rock.
Game 6 vs Alex West, Space Wolves
This was a really fun game as Alex is another great but nice guy to play and even though I lost in the end it was a game full of highs and lows for both forces. I set up my 2 Russes and reserved the rest so I keep his Long Fangs out of the game. But his Rune Priest had other ideas. Boosted by Logan his Rune Priest only ever got 1 or 2 shots but he destroyed whatever he looked at. It was like he had a finger of death!
One thing I learned was that in future I'm taking Runic armour on my Priests in the future as Alex rolled so many 2's for his armour saves it was silly! I tried the same drive on and rapid fire trick to his Logan bomb which worked well but due to wound allocation there where survivors and I lost a unit of Veterans but it mangled the unit up enough to kill it's overall effectiveness off.
Straken got stuck into a unit of Grey Hunters and had them for Breakfast, but mainly due his body guards taking power fist hits for him, but that's what they are there for.
I came 40th out of 60 but I had some really great games against good but pleasant players who I would all play again may it be in competition or for fun.
Next up is blog wars 3 and a super silly and fun army that I will post up tomorrow or mid week at the latest.