3rd Annual BWG First Blood - 1850 24 man RTT
I was of really looking forward to this event, not just because I have really been ignoring my 40k and needed an excuse to play, but also because it's an event run by friends. Beltway Gamers, my local Club runs events out of a couple different locations, but our real "home" is Dreamwizards.
Up for grabs? Well the pot from the entry and also a ticket to The Colonial provided by MasterMoulder. Definitely a good motivator!
What did I bring? Well thats something I had struggled with for a couple weeks, both because I was having trouble making bikes work in 6th and also because it's hard to build a balanced army while avoiding the over used IG Blob! In the end, after several playtest games to tweak primary/secondary force organizations I went with SM Primary with DA Allies.
The list overall is actually not that different than what I played in 5th, dropping the Landspeeder Storms, Typhoon's and both over priced scout squads and in return harvesting bounties from the DA Codex.
| Khan | 205 | |
| DA Librarian | Bike, Level 2, Force Axe | 120 |
| Twin AC Dread | 125 | |
| Twin AC Dread | 125 | |
| Twin AC Dread | 125 | |
| Bike Squad | x9 Bikes x2 Melta, MM AB, MB | 290 |
| Bike Squad | x9 Bikes x2 Melta, MM AB, MB | 290 |
| DA Scout Squad | Sniper Rifles | 60 |
| DA DarkShroud | Boost Cover saves | 80 |
| DA Devastator | x4 Plasma Cannon | 130 |
| TFC | 100 | |
| TFC | 100 | |
| TFC | 100 |
Overall it's a loss of a scoring unit, and a little less CC Muscle (Scout's in LS Storms) but I was finding them "less" than effective in 6th anyway, and these changes strengthen my firebase significantly.
We Beta'ed the missions for the upcoming Colonial so I will keep them brief and leave out lots of details.
Scenario One:
Primary: Relic
Deployment: Hammer and Anvil, Night Fight.
Bonus: x3 Bonus Points
Chaos Space Marines:
Huron
Sorcerer lvl 3, SoC, MoT, SF, BBS
Chaos Cultists x20
Chaos Cultists x20
CSM, x20, x2 Melta
CSM x10, x2 PG, Rhino w/ Durge Caster
Helldrake
Helldrake
Obliterators x3
Havoks, x5, x2 Autocannons, x2 Missile Launchers
Aegis w/ Icarus Lascannon
Difficult match because of the ability to infiltrate paired with helldrakes, the bane of power armor. I focused on keeping range as long as possible, outflanking with both bike squads. MVP was DA Librarian pulling "Forewarding" and keeping the bikes alive and fighting, thwarting the Helldrakes. Solid Victory (17/21),
Scenario Two:
Primary: Messengers
Deployment: Vanguard.
Bonus: x3 Bonus Points
Space Marines:
Khan
Command Squad (Apothocary, Melta, PF, PF/SS, PF/SS)
Dreadnought TL-LC, Flamers
Terminator Squad x5, Cyclone.
Scout Squad x5, Camo Cloak, Sniper Rifles.
SM Bike Squad x2 PG, MM AB, PF
SM Bike Squad x2 Melta, MM AB, PF
Landspeeder, MM, Typhoon.
Stormtalon
TFC.
Almost a mirror match! Quirky but fun mission. Outflanked Bikes. Opponent seized on me (1 of 2), wounded a TFC. I returned fire and killed his TFC, Scouts, and Typhoon first turn. After turn 2 he had terrible luck overall so will not take credit where it's not due. Solid Victory (17/21).
Scenario Three:
Primary: War is Chaos (D3+2 objectives)
Deployment: Dawn of War
Bonus: x3 Bonus Points
CSM / CD:
Huron
Chaos Sorceror, lvl 3, SoC, CF, MB, Bike
Chaos Cultists x10, flamer
Chaos Cultists x10, flamer
Chaos Space Marines x15, x2 Melta, PA, IoW, MoK, MB
CSM Bikes x8, x2 Melta, IoW, MoK, MB
HellDrake
Skulltaker
Bloodletters x10
Flamers of Tzeentch
Soulgrinder w/ Phlegm
Game vs my old friend Wilson. For the record, the list may not look like much but in the right hand's it's a bear to handle. Opponent seized on me (2 of 2) which complicated things a bit. With good deployment and a little bit of luck all 3 TFC's survived the Flamers and reaped a brutal tally. It was a very close game, and just like the first game the MVP was DA Librarian pulling "Forewarding" again. I overall ignored the helldrake while focus firing all the charging targets. Rarely could the TFC's get more than 2 hits per blast but between them and the Dreadnoughts I was able to bring down Huron's squad to around (5) marines before he made it to my line (he started exactly 18" away) and the only loss in the firebase was a single Dreadnought. Once Huron died I was able to quickly manage the incoming targets and netted a total Victory (21/21)
VICTORY!!!
 |
| Wilson and Dameon |
It was just a 24 man RTT but we had some quality attendees and solid games. I took first and Wilson got second overall (even with the loss he had maxed the previous games) and took home $125 in credit and a ticket to The Colonial. The prize support was good for everyone (loosers raffles, Best Painted, Cybo Skull etc). Thanks again to Mike, Eric and Andrew for hosting and running it.
In conclusion:
I feel much more comfortable with Bike Squads as troop, both with the added durability of Forewarding. I know it's a 2D6 chance, but there is also Invisibility! Add in cheaper Allied scoring units, some AP2 Small blasts and a Darkshroud to provide flexible support and I think it breaths new life into what was languishing, unloved and forgotten, in the corner of my house. Next up is deeper experimentation with DA Bikes, I didn't like them as primary in the first few games I tested them in, but flush from victory I think it's worth a second look.