ATX to PDX

I'm moving from Austin to Portland, Oregon this coming month. Let me know if any of you are from my new area, we can get in a game!

WAR Games Con Game VI v. Orks & Game VII v. Imperial Guard

WAR Games Con was here in Austin, Texas and, like I posted last, I decided to break out my old Craftworld Eldar. You can see the list I played here. I only got one picture of my Game 6, so I combined it with 7, needed to get it all done anyways.

Game VI
Dawn of War
Random Game Length
Primary: Annihilation
Secondary: Capture and Control
Tertiary: Highest number of surviving Troops units.

Game 6 I played against CQ and his Ork army. His list looked like this:
HQ
Warboss w/ Bike, Klaw, Attack Squig, Cybork
Big Mek w/ KFF, Burna
Troops
Deff Dread w/ Extra CCWs
30*Shoota Ard' Boyz w/ PK Nob
10*Nob Bikers w/ various stuff
Fast Attack
Skorcha
Skorcha
Heavy Support
Battlewagon w/ Deff Rolla, stuff
3*Lobbas
3*Lobbas
Since I only have the one pic I'll just do a complete summary. I didn't shoot at the Nobz once. He broke his Warboss off and I killed him w/ Fire Dragons. The Nobz really got onto me. Eldrad fought the entire thirty man mob for almost the whole game, before breaking them on the last turn. One of my five man Avenger squads beat and ran down a battery of Lobbas. I forgot to move my Bike to win the secondary on the last turn, but CQ graciously allowed me to make the move out of sequence. Ended up 8-8 on KPs and I won the other objectives.


****************************

Game VII
Pitched Battle
Random Game Length
Primary: Seize Ground (5)
Secondary: Annihilation
Tertiary: Destroy opponents most expensive unit.

So Game 7 I played against Jon and his absolutely awesome Bloodborn Renegade IG army! Of course I also was glad to have another test against Mech IG after my Game 2. His army looked like this:

HQ
Company Command Squad x5 - Plasmagun x3
- Medic
- Astropath
- Chimera
Company Command Squad x5 - Plasmagun x3
- Chimera

Troops
Infantry Platoon
Platoon Command Squad x5 - Flamer x3
- Chimera - Heavy flamer
Infantry Squad x10 - Flamer, Autocannon
- Chimera - Heavy flamer
Infantry Squad x10 - Flamer, Autocannon
- Chimera - Heavy flamer
Special Weapons Squad x6 - Meltagun x3

Infantry Platoon
Platoon Command Squad x5 - Flamer x3
- Chimera - Heavy flamer
Infantry Squad x10 - Flamer, Autocannon
- Chimera - Heavy flamer
Infantry Squad x10 - Flamer
- Chimera - Heavy flamer
Special Weapons Squad x6 - Meltagun x3

Fast Attack
Vendetta
Vendetta

Heavy Support
Hydra battery x2
Manticore
Medusa x2

So overall very similar to the other list I played, but less melta. I got first turn and Jon went all reserves, so I did this on his board edge. I had to put a Dragon unit on each end because he could pick which side of the line to come in on.

He got pretty lucky on his reserve rolls, combined with his Astropath, so I scattered my vehicles. As you can see in the picture below,a couple tanks go down, including Eldrad's Serpent. I take out a Hydra and a Vendetta. You can also get a good feel for where the objectives are in this shot.

Eldrad Fortuned up and ran in to start wreckin' stuff. A theme of this battle became the fact that single characters and small units were left alive as Jon poured all his shots into my remaining armour. My tanks flew in lots of circles.

Eldrad went down to a melta shot eventually, but the Autarch w/ Fusion Gun started his solo routine. My initial move meant that Jon still is unable to take the middle of the board, where most of the objectives are.

My tanks start taking a lot of damage results, but they aren't going down. They continue to rotate between objectives, flat-outing and contesting. I end of winning the Primary when my Guardian Jetbikes wreck a Chimera with their Shuriken Cannons, then charge in and break the squad inside, giving me a 1-0 edge at the bottom of Turn 7. Great game Jon!

Tournament/Army Analysis: Overall I'd say I still see the virtue of a Battle Point Tournament format. I like to play in different kinds of tournaments, and I believe the existence of this variety is a good thing. As far as the Eldar go, I think I definitely proved to myself that they are still a viable tournament choice. I did not yield a Primary objective in any of my seven games, and that was with zero practice. However, they are probably not a BP tournament winning army, as they have a very difficult time winning big enough in that format.

WAR Games Con Game V v. Chaos Daemons

So this past weekend was WAR Games Con here in Austin, Texas and, like I posted last, I decided to break out my old Craftworld Eldar. You can see the list I played here. After Day 1 I sat at 76 points, two shy of the top bracket, unfortunately.

Game V
Spearhead
Random Game Length
Primary: Seize Ground (3)
Secondary: Capture and Control
Tertiary: Have more total units in opponents deployment zone then they have in yours.

Game 5 I played against Matt and his Daemons, who had been my Game 3 opponents teammate when we played in the Doubles Tournament. All told, this meant I faced 72 Fiends in 3 days, here is his list:
HQ
Keeper of Secrets w/ stuff
Herald w/ Legion, Chariot, Bolt
The Masque
Elites
6*Fiends
6*Fiends
6*Fiends
Troops
5*Horrors w/ Bolt
5*Horrors w/ Bolt
5*Horrors w/ Bolt
5*Horrors w/ Bolt, Icon, Changeling
Heavy Support
Daemon Prince w/ Mark of Nurgle, Noxious Touch, Flight, Iron Hide, Cloud of Flies, Breath
Daemon Prince w/ Mark of Tzeentch, Bolt, Breath
Daemon Prince w/ Mark of Tzeentch, Bolt, Gaze

Matt gave me first turn, so I deployed and circled the wagons (seen below)
He got the wrong wave and deployed his Daemon Princes and Horrors to begin with. I should have focused on killing his few scoring units with my whole army, but instead I killed the big stuff. His Horrors then capitalized on their shooting and crippled one of my Avenger units. His Fiends came in and we started to played tag. Fire Dragons charged in and killed his Tzeentch Herald.

My Jetbikes reserved in turn 2 and finally found something they are better than in combat.
After about three turns Matt finally manages to knock down a tank. Eldrad and the other Avengers are charged by Fiends.
Matt's Keeper of Secrets doesn't come in until turn 5, and I dance around some more. We draw the first two and Matt gets Tertiary by knocking down a Wave Serpent in the bottom of turn 7.
12/30. boo. I did make this fun little score/contest move though...

Post Game Analysis: As I said before, I should have focused on the scoring units early, and I should have focused on getting to the objectives faster. I got charged by all three Fiend units multiple turns, their is no reason for that with my mobility. Matt played a great game, forcing me into hard choices all the time.

WAR Games Con Game IV v. Lamenters (BA)

So this past weekend was WAR Games Con here in Austin, Texas and, like I posted last, I decided t0 break out my old Craftworld Eldar. You can see the list I played here.

Game IV
Dawn of War
Random Game Length
Primary: Capture and Control
Secondary: Annihilation
Tertiary: Kill the most expensive HQ

Game 4 I played against Donovan and his really nice air-brushed Lamenters. He works for Next Level Painting. His army looked like this:

HQ
Reclusiarch
Librarian w/ Shield, Lance

Elites
Terminator Assault Squad w/ 3*Thunder Hammers
3*Priests

Troops
5*Assault Marines w/ Flamer, Power Weapon
in Razorback w/ Lascannon & Plasmagun
5*Assault Marines w/ Flamer, Power Weapon
in Razorback w/ Lascannon & Plasmagun
5*Assault Marines w/ Flamer, Power Weapon
in Razorback w/ Lascannon & Plasmagun
5*Assault Marines w/ Flamer, Power Weapon
in Razorback w/ Lascannon & Plasmagun
10*Assault Marines w/ 2*Meltaguns, Powerfist

Fast Attack
'Baal' Predator w/ Flamestorm, Dozer Blade
'Baal' Predator w/ Flamestorm, Dozer Blade

Heavy Support
Stormraven w/ Lascannon, Multi-melta, Extra Armour

I win the first turn roll and opt to go second. I deploy nothing and opt to roll on turn 1. I make a major mistake off the bat and choose to overly aggressive. I should have held back a couple turns, especially considering how the early engagement seemed to slow the game down. So here is the top of two, where I have engaged his lines with a unit of Fire Dragons.

I manage to draw out his Terminator squad in his turn 2, they charge tanks and wreck a Serpent. I give him a Bladestorm+Doom reprisal.

Unfortunately I was not able to finish them off with the Avengers so I had to waste Fire Dragon shooting (which was intended for the Stomraven).
Eldrad has to finish off the Reclusiarch in combat (Tertiary).

No more pictures because we only got 4 turns. I lost Annihilation and drew Capture and Control, but I feel like I could have done better with another turn. 12/30.

Post Game Analysis: It was really unfortunate we only got 4 turns, only game I didn't finish all weekend. Donovan had alot of questions about Eldar, and I didn't help any by chatting him up about Lamenters (they just need checkers!). So with 76 points on the day, that left me 2 points out of the GT. Guess I should have gotten that Tertiary Game 1! D'oh!

WAR Games Con Game III v. Chaos Daemons

So this past weekend was WAR Games Con here in Austin, Texas and, like I posted last, I decided t0 break out my old Craftworld Eldar. You can see the list I played here.

Game III
Pitched Battle
Random Game Length
Primary: Annihilation
Secondary: Seize Ground (3)
Tertiary: Control more Terrain features

Game 3 I played against Dan (from Hogs of War) and his mixed Daemon army.I played a fun game against Dan and his friend the day before in the doubles tournament, his list looked like this:

HQ
Lord Of Change
The Masque
Herald of Tzeentch on Chariot w/ Legion, Bolt
Elites
6*Fiends w/ 1*Unholy Might
6*Fiends w/ 1*Unholy Might
6*Fiends w/ 1*Unholy Might
Troops
5*Horrors w/ Bolt
5*Horrors w/ Bolt
5*Horrors w/ Bolt
5*Horrors w/ Bolt
Heavy Support
Daemon Prince w/ MoT, Flight, Iron Hide, Bolt, Breath, Gaze
Daemon Prince w/ MoN, Flight, Iron Hide, Cloud of Flies, Noxious Touch, Breath

I win the roll off and make Dan go first, I go all reserves. Here is his initial drop after he got the wave he wanted. You can also see the three Seize Ground objectives. His Nurgle DP is out of frame to the lower right.
Both my Fire Dragon units come in to try and kill the Nurgle Prince, but are unable to deal the final wound to him. One unit pays for this error with their lives.
A couple of my other tanks zip up the right flank, and the Lord of Change lands right beside them. One of my three man bike squads goes up the extreme left and essentially takes a Fiend unit out of the battle.
His shooting fails to down any tanks an his Fiends are still a turn out. In my turn 2 I Doom the Tzeentch Prince and the Lord of Change, and show them what Bladestorm means, killing both. Small fire from my tanks kills the Masque.
Eldrad charges in and after a few rounds of combat finishes off the Nurgle Prince, and I manage to Bladestorm a Fiend unit. I kill his Herald from contesting to win the Secondary (1-0) and the Primary (KPs 6-5). We got a draw on the Tertiary. 26/30.

Eldar

Contested

Contested

Post Game Analysis: Baiting the one unit of Fiends was essential, if I had to deal with all three, tanks would have started falling fast. Destroying his large Daemons fast was essential to trying to manage the objectives, and walling in the Fiends with my armour. It was a close game, but I felt pretty confident throughout.

WAR Games Con Game II v. Imperial Guard

So this past weekend was WAR Games Con here in Austin, Texas and, like I posted last, I decided t0 break out my old Craftworld Eldar. You can see the list I played here.

Game II
Spearhead
Random Game Length
Primary: Capture and Control
Secondary: Seize Ground (3)
Tertiary: Kill least expensive unit (Platoon Command Squad)

So Game 2 I played against Matt and his nasty mechanized Imperial Guard list:

HQ
Company Command Squad x5 - Plasmagun x4
- Company Commander - Plasma Pistol
- Astropath
- Chimera - Heavy flamer
Company Command Squad x5 - Plasmagun x4
- Company Commander - Plasma Pistol, Melta bombs
- Chimera - Heavy flamer

Troops
Infantry Platoon
Platoon Command Squad x5 - Flamer x4
- Chimera - Heavy flamer
Infantry Squad x10 - Flamer, Autocannon
- Chimera - Heavy flamer
Infantry Squad x10 - Flamer, Autocannon
- Chimera - Heavy flamer
Special Weapons Squad x6 - Flamer, Meltagun x2
Special Weapons Squad x6 - Flamer, Meltagun x2
Veteran Squad - Meltagun x3
- Chimera - Heavy flamer
Veteran Squad - Meltagun x3
- Chimera - Heavy flamer

Fast Attack
Vendetta
Vendetta
Banewolf

Heavy Support
Hydra battery x2
Manticore
Medusa

Matt gets first turn and deploys on my left flank as seen below. Their is a very large LOS blocking building in the middle of the table. I opt to go all reserves. Both of our Capture and Control objectives are close to our board edges in the corner.

Matt swung most of his tanks around one side of the building, with two going to the other side. Thanks to my Autarch most of my army comes in turn 2, taking up positions out of LOS behind the building and the cacti seen below. Those Hydras really scared me.

On his turn 3 he managed to knock out one of my Fire Dragon Wave Serpents, who in turn explode an Infantry squad Chimera. I unwisely put one Falcon ahead, closer inside the ruin, and it gets wrecked, with my least expensive unit (Dire Avengers) in it.


My advance on the left, towards his objective, gets stalled, when a Wave Serpent goes down. My other Dragons get bogged down in assault after wrecking a Chimera.
The battle for my objective was pretty epic, with both Vendettas going in for the contest. A lucky glance from a Pulse Laser takes out the first one, while the other wrecked itself 'flat-outing' onto the first one. We had a little argument about whether he could grav-chute out after wrecking with a flat out (apparently you can...).

Eldrad stopped this other Chimera from contesting my home objective, and contested this one after seeing off an Infantry squad. Fortune and a 3++ works pretty well.

I had enough tanks to contest the other two as well...



So I drew Capture and Control 1-1, drew Seize Ground 0-0, and didn't get the Tertiary, as that Platoon Command squad never came out of his deployment zone. 12/30 points.

Post Game Analysis: Once my main push on his objective failed I was playing for the draw. He had too many tanks for me to wreck, and he didn't have enough high S shots either it seems. It was reassuring to see that the army could handle that kind of army, as it didn't really exist the last time I was playing this force. This middling game would get me out of the top tables and into a Daemon army!

WAR Games Con Game I v. Black Templars

So this past weekend was WAR Games Con here in Austin, Texas and, like I posted last, I decided t0 break out my old Craftworld Eldar. I know my way around the army and don't really lose my feel for them. So with that in mind, I played a total of 0 practice games with this army, or with Eldar at all. This is the list I took:

HQ
Eldrad 210
Autarch w/ Fusion Gun 80
Elites
7*Fire Dragons 112
in Wave Serpent w/ Scatter Laser 115
7*Fire Dragons 112
in Wave Serpent w/ Scatter Laser 115
Troops
9*Dire Avengers w/ Exarch w/ Double Catapults, Bladestorm 140
in Wave Serpent w/ Scatter Laser 115
8*Dire Avengers w/ Exarch w/ Double Catapults, Bladestorm 128
in Wave Serpent w/ Shuriken Cannon 100
5*Dire Avengers 60
5*Dire Avengers 60
3*Jetbikes w/ Cannon 76
3*Jetbikes w/ Cannon 76
Heavy Support
Falcon w/ Scatter Laser, Holofields, Stones 175
Falcon w/ Scatter Laser, Holofields, Stones 175
Fire Prism w/ Holofields 150
=1999

Game I
Dawn of War
Random Game Length
Primary: Seize Ground (5)
Secondary: Annihilation
Tertiary: Table Quarters

Game 1 I played against Doug and his Black Templar army, here is his list:

HQ
Commander w/ Artificer Armour, Crusader Seals, Lightning Claw, Storm Shield, Frags
Emperor's Champion w/ Accept Any Challenge
Elites
5*Assault Terminators w/ Furious Charge, 2*Hammers
in Land Raider Crusader w/ Extra Armour, Smoke
Troops
8*Crusaders w/ Power Fist, Meltagun, 2*Neophytes
in Rhino w/ Extra Armour, Smoke
7*Crusaders w/ Power Fist, Meltagun, 2*Neophytes
in Rhino w/ Extra Armour, Smoke
7*Crusaders w/ Power Fist, Meltagun, 2*Neophytes
in Rhino w/ Extra Armour, Smoke
5*Crusaders w/ Lascannon, Flamer
5*Crusaders w/ Lascannon, Flamer
Fast Attack
Land Speeder Typhoon
Heavy Support
Predator Destructor w/ Lascannon Sponsons
Predator Destructor w/ Lascannon Sponsons

Doug got first turn and deployed his small Crusader squads on objectives. I opted not to deploy, and to roll on turn 1. His Land Raider and Rhino squads went strong up the middle, while his fire support elements took up positions on either flank. I came on in a large phalanx, tightly around the hill of skulls. Below is a shot from the top of turn 2. You can see four of the objectives, the fifth is in the ruin you can see it in the upper left.

On the bottom of turn 2 both my Fire Dragon units moved up and exploded the Land Raider. A Terminator died in the explosion. The Terminators killed both units on the top of 3. Most of my Grav tanks move up the right flank, while the Prism stayed back.

On my turn 3 I Doomed and double-Bladestormed the Terminators to kill them. One of the empty Fire Dragon Wave Serpents moved up the left towards the objective in the ruin. One of my Falcons wrecks the Land Speeder. Eldrad Fortuned himself, hopped out of a Falcon, and wrecked the Predator on the right flank.

Turn 4 Eldrad stayed Fortuned and charged one of the small Crusader squads on an objective. My tanks wrecked a Rhino. Turn 5 I take some casualties from an Avenger squad, but nothing else. I finish off the squad from the Rhino with Avengers, and pull back on objectives. Game ends. Here are the 5 objectives.

Black Templar

Contested

Contested

Eldar

Eldar

So I won objectives 2-1, Annihilation 6-2, and drew on table quarters. 26/30 points.

Post Game Analysis: My first game back with the Eldar felt good, though the Turn 5 Eldar win definitely helped. I was glad to see the old Dragon then Bladestorm combo still works well on Terminator units in Land Raiders. I think if Doug made any mistake it was being too passive with his Rhino units in the middle, as I think I would have had more trouble if he was more aggressive. I probably could have gotten quarters, but honestly didn't try that hard. I don't really like getting max points Game 1 anyway. Of course that didn't help my match up, as I ended up played a nasty Mech Guard army in Game 2! Coming soon...

WargamesCon Army

So I decided to break out my old Mech Eldar for this years WargamesCon. I think they are pretty decent in the prevailing tournament metagame (not to mention a good match-up vs. this years army darling, Grey Knights). I went with a mix of units I am comfortable using, and even painted up some Jetbikes for extra objective grabbing power, and a couple new Wave Serpents. Theese were the first additions to the army in years. I haven't really gotten to test the army, but I am very comfortable with Mech Eldar, having played them for many years.