Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

What games have you played where you have looked at your opponents army and knew straight away you were going to lose but, somehow, you managed to beat them?

This just happened to me:
Team tournament, four players per team, 750pts.
Each team member was randomly chosen to face a member of another team.
I got my models out, two in total: Imperial knight and a daemon prince. (No forgeworld so no chaos knights allowed)
I looked up just as my opponent was getting his models out: 2xWraith Knights + Warlocks.
My entire team just looked at me as just a moment ago we were discussing our weaknesses and a comment was made about how the double WK army would wreck me.
At this point I am already resigned to losing.
Game mode is the relic.
We deploy; I just drop my DP and IK within my deployment; he places his cc WK on the board and puts his shooty one in DS reserve.
???
Ask him why, he says why not. (I could have given him a few reasons why not)
First turn he moves his WK forward, and nothing else.
I move my IK between the WK and the relic and move my DP up to the relic.
Psychic shreek him and roll a 16... He fails all but one of his 5++/5+++. I follow that by firing my thermal cannon which finishes him.
One of my teammates looks over and asks where the two WK have gone. He is first confused by the one WK being in reserve and then shocked that I got a turn one WK kill.
Turn two comes around and his second WK doesn't come on.
I move up to attack his Warlocks.
Turn three his WK comes on and does no damage to my knight.
I don't get psychic shreek off but my IK killed his Warlocks.
Turn four he reduces my IK by 3 HP but I did charge him with my IK. (Didn't get Psychic Shreek off again)
In combat a do one wound of damage in HoW and he reduces me by two more HP: 1 HP left.
Turn five I do no damage in combat and he finishes off my IK.
However my DP got Psychic shreek off and I rolled 17: he took 5 wounds and bit the dust.

TL : DR - A DP and an IK managed to table a duel WK list.

I had always been so scared of WK because I kept hearing how OP they were (I had faced I WK once before and not lived to tell the tail) so I was sure that this guy would wipe the floor with me. Although to be fair putting the shooty WK in reserve probably helped me.

What about you Dakka? Have you ever pulled a victory out of no where?

Not a victory in the truest meaning of the word, but a personal victory and favorite story of mine. Back a few guard codices(?) I had made a decent footman list. I showed up at my FLGS and drew a game against a Chaos player. 2nd turn his Deamon Prince entered the battle and I (and everyone else) thought the match was over. 3rd round I engaged it in close combat with a vet squad that was being led by a Sergeant that had an Honorifica Imperialis (granting the stats of a Heroic Senior Officer). Fourth turn the Prince killed the last of the unit except the Sergeant who passed his moral test and kept fighting. 5th turn the Sergeant died... but then his cybernetics kicked in and he got up to keep fighting. Didn't last long and on turn 6 he was killed for good. The game ended on turn 7 with a victory for the Chaos player but I counted it as a personal victory for myself!

I was playing my Tau nemesis a month or so ago. My typical luck had been present when drawing Tactical Objectives, by which I mean my opponent had gotten "Secure Objective X" while I was drawing "Slay an enemy character in the Assault Phase", etc. Very difficult for Necrons, especially when the only enemy character is a Crisis Commander who can kite you all day long. I'm losing 7-3, but there is a chance since my opponent has been gunlining and is only currently holding one objective while I hold 2, and I have the Domination card in my hand! If I can cap the remaining 4 objective and kill his Warlord (at one wound), I can at least maybe tie the game! We had just finished turn 5 and we have to roll to see if the game continues. I roll a "1". Crap.
I shake my opponents hand and we begin making one final check of the board and objectives. Wait. What's this? I forgot that I had drawn Thrall of the Silent King on turn 2 (basically you draw a second objective immediately and earn an extra D3 if you complete it). My bonus objective? Dust and Ash (pick one of your characters and score a VP if he is alive at the end of the game. I had chosen my only character, my Warlord, who is very much still alive). I roll and get a "6"! That's 4 points! We tied 7-7! Hey, I'll take it!
We shake again and start cleaning up the board. Hmm. That Tomb Blade holding Objective 4 seems awfully close to my opponent's board edge. We measure, and sure enough, I had linebreaker! Necrons win! In a stunning display of neither player really paying attention, the Necrons steal the victory!