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2014/07/12 00:17:05
Subject: The Fists of Redemption Do the Connecticon (round 2 vs Alex Fennell complete)
It's been some time since the last Fists batrep. I find they usually just aren't worth the asspain of writing...
However, due to the fact that this will most likely be my last GT for a few years and I have about four days to kill, I thought I would throw something together in an effort to keep you mildly entertained. But be warned, I tend to forget to take pictures as games go on and I don't have the batrep writing skills of some of the others such as JY2, but I'll try my best. But I digress...back to the tournament.
This is a two day, five game tourney in downtown Hartford. This will be my first 7th ed tournament, so going into this I realize that my odds are not good. My goal at this point is twofold; one, to meet people and have fun, and two, to not embaress myself too terribly. I'm fairly certain that I can accomplish at least one of those goals.
Bear in mind that this is a dual CAD tournament, so I'm not really sure what I'll be up against. I'm always up for a good battle, but certain lists make me gassy. While the six AB lists (and other such lists) are perfectly legal, legitimate, and are very competitive, they're also extremely boring and totally un-fun to play against. Will any of these lists rear their ugly heads? I'll find out tomorrow. But on to my list...
Fists of Redemption (Iron Hands CT) Captain America on a bike
5 x tacs w/meltagun, combimelta, pod
5 x tacs w/meltagun, combimelta, pod
10 x tacs w/meltagun, multimelta, combiplas, rhino
10 x tacs w/meltagun, mulitmelta, combiplas, rhino
5 x bikers w/2 x gravguns, combigrav, mb 5 x LOD w/multimelta, meltagun, combigrav
5 x LOD w/multimelta, meltagun, combigrav
2 x stalkers
TFC
Dark Angel Allies Librarian lvl 1
10 x tacs w/meltagun, multimelta, combiplas, rhino
5 x assault marines w/2 x flamers, combiflamer, pod
So that's it. No where near as killy as some lists, only one CAD and an allied detachment, but great movement and 14 OS units. The stalkers are great at 75 pts a pop. The LOD are freaking phenomenal (did I spell that right?) with ignore cover and relentless. The tacs are there to throw out a big FU, try killing 65 marines in a six turn game. The CM just rides around looking cool with the bikes. The DA allies are in there for cheap divination on the TFC and the incredibly cheap assault squad. Plus they look really cool.
I know 98.4% of the people that look at this list will say, "umm yeah, nice paint job? But what does it do?" or at least that's what I hope. My theory is that I don't have to kill more than the other guy, I just have to score more points. That's exactly what this list is designed to do. Will it work? Hell if I know, this is my first 7th ed tournament...your guess is as good as mine. I know this though, if I lose, I'm going to look really good doing it.
So that's it for now, discuss how much my list sucks and how I'll get stomped tomorrow; you'll probably be right. I'll start throwing up batreps and pics as I get the opportunity. If you're going to the tournament, I'll be the dude with the blue and silver marines with the emo-marine allies (and probably drinking some form of caffeinated beverage) so stop by and say "hey Bud, your army looks awesome, but what does it do?"
This message was edited 8 times. Last update was at 2014/07/16 22:34:44
2014/07/12 01:42:17
Subject: The Fists of Redemption Do the Connecticon
While I appreciate your blind loyalty and dedication to my cause, I also applaud your wisdom for basking in my awesomeness before the tournament. After the tournament I may find myself running low on awesomeness...
2014/07/13 10:44:48
Subject: Re:The Fists of Redemption Do the Connecticon
As I predicted, I realized one of my goals but unfortunately not both. I'm not going to go into great detail now because I'm tired and reek of gamer funk, but here are some highlights:
Game 1, I played Bob Rhoda and his deamons. This one was a nail biter that went all the way until the end. We had to add up points about three times to figure out who won, but he pulled the victory by one point. Great game and Bob bought me lunch, so no complaints.
Game 2 was against Alex Fennell who I've read about but never played, so I was looking forward to this. He was playing four serpents with seerstar. This one was fairly one-sided because I played like an idiot and he's very, very good. Another fun game and he bought me a coffee (noticing a trend here?) so again no complaints.
Game 3 I was on the table that the tournament forgot because my score was so low (is it possible to go negative? not sure). I played against Nick and his awesomely painted tyranids. This one was a little one-sided, but in my favor this time. Nick and I had a blast, but he didn't buy me any food or drink (no hard feelings Nick).
Overall thoughts after day one:
1) Drop pods are freaking awesome. People were trying in all three games to take them out (including the seerstar) and I still didn't lose any pods. They're a huge distraction and with IHCT they're even better.
2) LotD are incredible. The re-roll on the scatter die is clutch and the "flaming projectiles" (ignore cover) was extremely good. Love them.
3) The TFC was solid as always. I've started sticking the DA libby with it to TL the blast. Unfortunately everyone has about 15-20 more psychic dice than me so it doesn't usually go off, but when it does, it's very powerful.
4) The CM was very durable and great with the bikes. He held up Bob's screamerstar for around six combat phases, keeping them out of my hair. He's not very killy, but I don't need him to be.
5) The stalkers were great and are a steal at 75 points. They took out both of Nick's tyrants and kept Alex's serpents jinking. Although they didn't kill a lot, they make the other guy think.
6) Didn't see any really crazy lists. One list had four knights and one list had four wraithknights, but that was about it. Really glad people didn't bring the crazy lists (not that I would be playing against them on the bottom tables, but still).
7) Noticeable in their absence was necrons. Not a single necron player the whole day.
So that's it for now. Two more games tomorrow, so hopefully I'll steal another win (or two?).
Automatically Appended Next Post: UPDATE AFTER DAY 2
So day 2 is over and a winner has been declared (not me). Tomorrow I'll start uploading photos and start going into battle by battle details, strategies for losing, how to give your opponent the game, etc. I'll touch on the highlights of day 2.
Game 4, I played against another Eldar army (wraith army). I was in it for a while, but I feel that I made a mistake by not combat squading my tac squads. He was taking out entire units and I wasn't doing much back. We decided to call it on turn four and head to Dunkin Donuts for coffee (another story in itself).
Game 5, I played a Draigowing army with Tigerius the Boss. The big story here was that he didn't have the models to stop me from scoring. The Draigowing army is very killy, but can only kill a unit a turn if you play against it correctly. This was a big win for me, but the army and scenario were both against my opponent.
Overall I had a blast, five fun games whether I won or not. I'll go into more detail tomorrow when I start posting the batreps.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/07/13 22:44:04
2014/07/14 00:36:40
Subject: Re:The Fists of Redemption Do the Connecticon
Few pictures of some of the other armies. I took these while I was supposed to be reading the missions and scouting the competition (cause that always pays off).
Spoiler:
Alex Fennell's Eldar (aka Pointy-Eared Flower Power)
Automatically Appended Next Post: ROUND 1
Before I begin, let me apologize for the photos. Everything was taken from my phone and the lighting wasn't great. Also, as I already mentioned as the game goes on I tend to take fewer pictures, either because I'm intent on trying to win or I'm getting my ass handed to me and no longer care. Also, all table references will be from my side of the table.
Alright, so in round 1 I was paired against Bob Rhoda and his deamons. Bob has his own site, "Blood, Skulls, and Fire" http://bloodskullsfire.blogspot.com/, which is pretty cool. Bob and I hit it off pretty well and even though we had never met it was like playing one of the guys in a garage game. We had a blast and this was my favorite game of tournament. Oddly enough, the game was really laid back which is rare for the first game of a GT.
Bob's list (approximately)
Fateweaver the D-Bag
Belakor
3 x 8 screamers
3 x tzeentch heralds
3 x 11 horrors
3 nurglings
Bob's army
The mission was relic and crusade (4 objs, placed by the players) and deployment was dawn of war. The relic was worth 5 pts and each obj was 3 pts, with warlord, first blood, and linebreaker all worth 1 pt. The relic was obviously in the middle of the table. I put one obj in a small ruin to my lower left and in some terrain near my edge in the middle. Bob put one in some ruins to my upper right and the other in some ruins to my upper left, so they were all fairly spread.
PRE-GAME
Spoiler:
I started by deploying my secret weapon:
OK, so Bob had an invincible screamerstar, but I had dunkin Donuts coffee; to me that's a fair match. However, if he got first turn, he would have the relic and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. He was light on OS units, so I had the edge there. Belakor and Fatey would be pains, but that's nothing new. If I could stay away from his screamerstar and take out his troops I thought I had a good chance.
Warlord traits didn't matter and he had a butt-ton of psychic powers so I didn't even try to remember them all.
DEPLOYMENT
Bob won the roll to deploy first (I didn't go first the whole weekend, so I won't mention going first again). He deployed like so:
Fatey and Belakor were in ruins in the upper right with some horrors on the objective. He had horrors in ruins in the upper left in those ruins and the final horrors in the middle piece of terrain. The screamerstar was postured to pounce on the relic on turn one with a screamer unit behind it and another to the right of that one. The nurglings were deepstriking in.
My deployment:
I had the TFC in the ruins were I could see most of the table. The CM and bikes were ready to go for the relic on the off-chance I stole the initiative (I didn't). The rhinos were ready to spread out and go for objectives and basically be distracting. Both stalkers were in the middle to try to annoy Fatey and Belakor as much as possible. Drop pods and LotD were in reserve of course. I tried to steal, failed miserably, we shook hands and wished each other luck, then off we went.
TURN 1
Spoiler:
Bob shuffled his horrors, mainly keeping them out of line of sight. Belakor and Fatey flew to middle, but stayed behind those weird looking green things so that I couldn't see them. The screamerstar went right for the relic and got it while the other two screamer units both moved forward.
End of Bob's movement. Notice one screamer has the relic while Fatey's cowardly ass hides behind LOS blocking terrain. He had his horrors spread out to avoid the TFC which was a good move on his part.
Bob got invisibility off on the blue screamers and made the pink ones invincible. I blocked shrouding from Belakor (Yay me!) and he got cursed earth off as well. He summoned a herald with the horrors in the upper left ruins. The herald got the power that lets him summon a greater deamon, so that wasn't very cool.
Shooting wasn't much, he turbo'd the invisible unit in front of the screamerstar so I couldn't get at the pink screamers (which he moved back 6") and then handed off to me.
I dropped in a melta squad and the flamer squad. I made a mistake here as I should have put them on objectives, but I'm not very bright, so I didn't. The assault squad went after the horrors on the top right objective while the melta squad landed near the newly summoned herald. I was aiming for him as I thought he would be an easy first blood and I really didn't want a greater deamon running around the table. The bikes moved forward to do...something, not really sure what. The rhino on the right moved up and the marines disembarked to fire on the unbuffed screamer unit over there. The rhino in the middle moved forward with one five man squad as the other bailed to babysit the objective in my middle deployment zone. The DA rhino moved up with one squad still inside, the other bailed out to keep an eye on the TFC and keep an OS unit on that objective. The stalkers shuffled around with neither being able to draw a line of sight on either Belakor or the Flaming Chicken.
My movement. I was really hoping I could get a screamer unit to charge the rhino and bunch them up for either the TFC, the CM's orbital bombardment, or both. Also, Bob had counter-deployed his secret weapon on his side of the table. Damn, thwarted again.
I got prescience off on the bikes & CM, through Bob's 98 deny dice. This would actually bite me in the ass in a moment.
Bob had bunched up his screamers on the right, so I targeted them with the CM's orbital. I thought with prescience I should be able to get something. So the first was a complete miss, so I used my prescience to re-roll. This time I head dead on, placing the blast over all five of my tactical marines that had just disembarked. I managed to take out four, so good for me . On the bright side the melta pod took out the summoned herald for first blood. The assault squad torched the horrors on the upper right, killing all but one. The TFC went for the horrors in the middle and killed a few. I guess Tzeentch just didn't want them to die. Everything else threw some shots downfield but didn't do much. The rhinos moved flat out and I gave it to Bob.
This is a blurry pic, but if you look on the right near that grey pyramid thing, you'll see the one marine that survived the orbital bombardment. Clearly he's upset about the recent incident of fratricide in his chapter.
TURN 2
Spoiler:
Bob's nurglings came in and didn't scatter. Fatey and Belakor flew to behind the ruins on the upper right, again trying to avoid the stalkers. The screamers on the right that I had been trying to take out went for my assault squad that had just landed, in an effort to save the last horror on that objective. The screamerstar handed off the relic to the nurglings so that the screamers could assault the melta squad from the pod (the guy with the relic would have to move over 6" to assault, which would force him to drop the relic). This actually surprised me as I would never have gotten the relic from the screamers and the pod squad wasn't that much of a threat (5 tac marines=scary as a drunken kitten). The two horror squads didn't move really, staying spread out to avoid the TFC. My plan to pull a screamer squad with the rhino actually worked as the blue screamers went after it.
The blue screamers going for the DA rhino. The pink screamers hand off the relic and go for the drop pod and the melta squad. The purple screamers on the far side go for the assault squad. The DA sergeant on the rhino at this point is probably thinking to himself, "Hmmm, this does not bode well for us brothers. Did anyone remember thy screamer repellent?"
Bob got some psychic powers off, but failed invisibility on the blue screamers. That would be crucial... He did get summon in some bloodcrushers in the middle though.
Bob's shooting phase...yeah...I think Fatey ran off the table here.
In assault he hit the DA rhino with lamprey bites and exploded it, which kind of worked. We talked about it later and he should have went for normal attacks which would have wrecked the rhino and killed the squad as he had it surrounded. The pink screamers killed some of the melta squad but bounced on the drop pod. The purple screamers killed some of the assault squad, but they stuck. Not too bad that turn...
I think I only had one LotD squad come in this turn, but the other pod also dropped next to the bloodcrushers to try to weaken them (stupid move in hindsight). They landed next to the upper right objective. The CM and bikes went for the blue screamers as they were unprotected. The middle rhino immobilized itself trying to clear that weird terrain thing in the middle. The rhino on the right starting going for the upper right objective while the marines that had disembarked moved toward the middle, hopefully to be able to do something with the relic. The lone survivor of the fratracide attack moved behind terrain to hopefully be forgotten. The stalkers shuffled again (still not being able to draw a bead on either FMCs) and everyone else just lined up shots.
Sorry, fewer pics now.
Psychic phase...whatever...
Shooting got me the last horror on the upper right objective, so the LotD lined up shots on the horros in the middle and killed a few. The TFC targeted the nurglings. I had a lot of hits and 8 STR6 wounds stuck. Keep in mind, this would double them out. He was in terrain and had stealth, so had a 4+ cover save vs 8 wounds. Statistically he should have failed 4...in actuality he failed...1...holy sh*t. That should have left the relic free for anyone, but instead Bob still had it. Crap. I picked off a few more horrors in the middle and I think got one of the blue screamers.
In assault the CM and bikes charged the blue screamers (without invisibility) and wiped them. The pink screamers finished the melta squad and put two hull points on the drop pod. The purple screamers finished the assault marine and prepared to charge the LotD in his turn. The nurglings dropped to their knees and gave thanks to Father Nurgle for sparing their gelatinous selves. At the end of the turn the drop pod IWND'd its two hull points back.
TURN 3
Spoiler:
Belakor stopped flying and turned around to hide behind the ruins on the upper left. The screamerstar zoomed over to assault the CM and bikes. The middle horrors hugged terrain along with the nurglings. Fatey flew back on and vector striked the lone survivor of the orbital bombardment, killing him. That guy was having a really rough game.
Screamerstar going for the CM. Bloodcrushers are pissed at the drop squad and are going to kill them.
Bob was able to make the screamerstar invicincible (ouch!). Belakor did some psychic shennanigans, but I really didn't care about him right now as he was only casting on himself. He also summoned in some bloodletters as well.
The purple screamers charged the LotD and killed all but one of them. The bloodcrushers killed the drop tac marines easily, but the screamerstar bounced on the bikes and they both stuck. Important to note here that Bob only charged the bikes and CM, not the DA squad that was right next to them.
Right before Bob assaults...the melta squad near the drop pod is still alive at this point but are about to die a bloody death.
On my 3, the other Legion squad came in and landed behind the upper left ruin where Belakor and the horrors were hiding. The advance DA squad from the exploded rhino moved to the edge of the upper left ruin to be able to see the horrors. The tac squad in the immobilized rhino jumped out and cleared the middle terrain and joined up with the other tac squad advancing there. The right rhino and stalker both move toward the upper right objective. Things are getting real at this point. I think Bob was starting to worry, even though he had the relic because I had so many units running around and still had a good bit of mobility.
You can see the rhino on the right trying to steal the upper right objective. The crushers moving away from where they stomped the melta squad.
Belakor and the horrors watch in horror (pun intended) as the Legion land on their doorstep. In the upper part of the photo is the squad that hasn't moved since turn 1, just sitting on the objective...
Shooting got me the remaining horrors in the middle. The Legion that just came in killed a few horrors, but the DA squad could still see one so would be able to charge. The rhino and stalker on the right moved flat out toward the upper right objective, with the rhino hugging the table edge. Random shooting put a few wounds on the crushers and I wore down the nurglings some more.
In assault the last LotD in the upper right died, freeing the purple screamers. The DA squad charged the horrors in the upper left and killed a few, but Belakor was still floating around so I didn't think that was going to end well. The CM and screamerstar continued. I lost a few bikes but Bob couldn't do anything to the CM. On to turn 4...
TURN 4
Spoiler:
We're low on time so this may be the last turn, so Bob makes some good moves here. Fatey stops flying and backs up, claiming the upper right objective. The purple screamers go for my rhino in the upper right to stop it from getting to the objective. The nurglings still have the relic and Belakor goes for the DA marines that are beating on the horrors on the upper left objective. The bloodcrushers go for the tac squad in the middle to keep them from the nurglings and bloodletters tag along.
Psychic phase, Bob summons some deamonettes from the upper left squad and does a few other things, including making the horrors next to Belakor invisible.
Shooting, why bother...
In assault Belakor smashed the DA squad. The CM and screamerstar do nothing again. The purple screamers take out my rhino in the upper right, putting an end to that scoring threat. The letters or crushers kill a 5 man squad, really don't remember which unit killed them, but they died all the same.
My turn, the right stalker moves up toward the upper right objective and gets within 6". The Legion advances toward the horrors on the upper left objective. I shoot at the summoned deamonettes and kill a few, but more importantly I finish the nurglings who drop the relic. The Legion shoot and kill a horror through invisibility, leaving a couple. The right stalker moves flat out to contest the upper right objective that Fatey was holding. The immobilized rhino in the middle rolls a "6" and is now mobile (very important).
In assault, the CM and screamerstar again do nothing but the Legion kill some horrors while Belakor watches on, not being able to do anything.
So this is what we have if the game ends...I hold both of my objectives. I contest one of his but he has the other. I have first blood and line breaker while Bob no longer has the relic and has no secondaries. If the game ends now I win 8-3 (me, 3 x 2 objectives + 1 first blood + 1 linebreaker = 8) and (Bob 3 x 1 objective = 3). However, we have the time to play another turn...NNNOOOOOOO!!!!
TURN 5
Spoiler:
So we speed-play turn 5, only doing the important stuff. The crushers pick up the relic (sh*t). Belakor moves in on the Legion to try to save the horrors. Fatey goes after the stalker to free that objective for Bob. The purple screamers turbo to my deployment zone for linebreaker. Most importantly, Bob drops the portalglyph and gets deamonettes, who move and run to contest my lower left objective .
He got invisibility on the horrors again.
Belakor assaults the Legion, but they hold and actually finish the horrors. That objective is now contested. Fatey hits once on the stalker, pens it, and explodes it...WTF...giving him that objective. The CM and screamerstat stare menacingly at each other.
OK, my last turn. I can't do anything about Fatey so he'll claim the upper right objective. I can't do anything about the purple screamers so he'll get linebreaker. I can however kill three lowly deamonettes contesting my lower left objective. I have to kill the crusher (already wounded) holding the relic and nobody will then score the relic. Remember that rhino that repaired itself? It moves and flat outs to the upper left objective. It's OS while Belakor is not, so I claim that one.
So here we go...I throw everything I have left at the crusher, trying to kill it. I'm hitting and wounding, but Bob is rolling saves like a champ. I manage to kill the entire squad except the one with the relic, who lives with one wound. Wow, nutshot...
My libby that has basically been a spectator the entire game shoots the deamonetters and does nothing...the DA squad that disembarked on turn one shoot pistols at the deamonettes and do nothing. That's ok, I can take them in assault. The DA are one inch away from the deamonettes but I'm charging through cover, so you can guess what I rolled...yep, snake-eyes...awesome. The libby makes the charge, but doesn't even hit...dude... So the game ends. Bob has one objective (3 pts), relic (5 pts), linebreaker (1) for 9 pts. I have first blood (1), linebreaker (1), and two objectives (6), so I lose 9-8. Heartbreaker...
Post Game Thoughts
Spoiler:
First of all, well played on Bob's part. He really made some key moves when he needed to in order to secure the win. As I mentioned, this was my favorite game of the weekend and we had a blast. So what did I do wrong and how could I have won the game?
-Drop pod placement. I didn't even attempt to land them near objectives. I should have at least tried and then dealt with the scatter. Except for one, Bob pretty much ignored them, because I didn't put them in a place where he needed to worry about them.
-Splitting the CM and the bikes. I should have done this before assaulting the blue screamers. The CM could have tanked the entire screamerstar for the whole game (which he did anyway) and this would have left me with a really mobile OS unit at the end of the game. Fail on my part.
-Stalker placement should have been better. I never shot either of them at a flying MC the whole game. While they were affecting where Bob was flying, they weren't doing much else. He didn't have a really effective way to deal with them, so I should have been more mobile with them.
-The middle rhino and embarked squad I didn't place very well, even though the rhino ended up scoring and objective, that was more luck than skill.
-For some reason I believe that 5 man tac squads armed with melta can kill anything. For example, I thought they could kill 3 unwounded bloodcrushers. Turns out I was wrong, but I did learn that 3 crushers can kill 5 tac marines with little difficulty. Bottom line is I should have placed them better.
It was close game that went down to the wire. We went to lunch after the game, so I was about 30 minutes late for game 2...ugh...
This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2014/07/14 19:13:48
2014/07/14 23:50:28
Subject: The Fists of Redemption Do the Connecticon (round 1 complete)
Man his last turn sequence was very lucky while yours was the reverse. Too bad.
I agree that you should have placed the pods better, could have won you the game as I don't think he had enough tools to deal with all that ObSec you took.
Yeah, Bob was struggling to kill the scoring threats that I had, but he killed the correct ones in the end. I definately should have placed the pods better because he would have either have sent the screamers or Belakor and Fatey to deal with them. This would have bought my tactical squads and rhinos more time to get into position and maybe do a little more damage.
Automatically Appended Next Post: So before I begin the round 2 recap, allow me apologize again to Alex (not sure if he visits Dakka, but all the same...). As I said in the round 1 report, Bob and I went to lunch after our first game. The place we went was very good but not very fast. The end result was I showed up about 30 minutes late for game 2 vs Alex. I'm very anal about being on time and being prepared and here I was being late to a game and totally unprepared. To top it off, Alex is a class-act and a very cool guy, and he didn't deserve to be treated in that fashion.
ROUND 2
Alex's list (approximate)
dude on a jetbike
another dude on a jetbike
seerstar
4 x 5 DA w/serpents
5 spiders
The Baron of Hit'n'Run shenanigans
5 x DE warriors (Baron tax)
Alex's Eldar Army
Alex had a crap-ton of psychic powers that I didn't even try to remember, I just know he got fortune. Mine didn't matter. Warlord traits were a wash as well I believe.
The mission was scouring (objectives pre-set and pre-pointed (that a word?)) and kill points with dawn of war deployment. Secondaries were warlord, linebreaker, and first blood.
PRE-GAME
Spoiler:
So going into this game my head really wasn't in it. While I don't find the seerstar very scary and I had the tools to deal with four serpents, for some reason I just couldn't focus on the game. I had to keep my units spread out (objective placement would help with this) so the seerstar couldn't multi-assault. I need all reserves to come in together to I would force Alex to make tough decisions for shooting priority. Coming in piece-meal would allow him to pick me apart. Alex had rolled fortune, so unless he failed that, I had no intention of messing with the seerstar unless I had to. I knew Alex was very good, but I knew I could win this game if I could keep from making big mistakes (I was going to make mistakes, I just needed to keep them small).
DEPLOYMENT
Alex went first and deployed three serpents in a row in the middle of his deployment zone. The fourth serpent he put on my far right. The 'star with Baron deployed between the three serpents and the fourth. The warriors were in reserve while the spiders were also on my right.
I deployed my TFC on my left to babysit an objective. I spread the three rhinos out left, middle, and center. I didn't really try for cover as the his shields would ignore cover anyway. One stalker went on the left and one on the right. The CM and bikes went across the table from the 'star. I feel this was a mistake (one of many) as I couldn't do anything to the 'star with them and he could just HnR out of combat. I should have deployed them on my left to chase serpents. Oh well, live and learn I guess. Or in my case, just live...
Picture of my deployment at the beginning of Alex's movement phase. Won't be a lot of pictures in this one as it wasn't much of a game.
TURN 1
Spoiler:
Alex shuffled his serpents forward a bit but kept them close together to cover each other. His spiders jumped up in front of a hill on my right, backed up by the far right serpent and the 'star.
The 'star did a bunch of psychic mumbo-jumbo, not really sure what, but they were basically invincible this turn (big shock, I know).
Then he unloaded with the shooting, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. He wrecked two rhinos, which wasn't that big a deal, but he also pinned two combat squads, which was a big deal. The whole point behind my army is to throw multiple scoring threats at you at once to make you make mistakes. I can't do that if they're pinned...
After his shooting, you can see he killed the near rhino. He would go on to wreck the center rhino as well. At the top part of the picture you can see Bob and his sandwich, which is about to be devoured. They were really good sandwiches.
My turn, I decided to continue to play like a moron. I tried dropping a pod behind a serpent to get rear shots, not really sure why as Alex had fired all of his serpent shields at me. As I said, I'm a moron. Naturally the pod went flying off the talble but I got lucky and it went in to on-going reserves. For some reason that I still don't understand I joined the libby with the assault squad, which I dropped next to his nicely bunched spiders (this pod stayed on the table). Both DA combat squads evac'd from their rhino to take long range bolter shots at the spiders as well (yes, stupid of me I know as 5 bolter shots will kill about 1 spider if I'm lucky), but that's still not the end my stupidity. Both of the other IH combat squads that weren't pinned advanced. The CM and the bikes did basically nothing as I didn't want to mess with his seerstar (so why did I deploy the CM opposite of his 'star then? I really do not know).
Even though this photo is from Alex's turn 2, I want you take a look at this as there is some good learning going on here. On the right, you see the pod, the assault squad, the libby, two 5 man combat squads, and the now empty rhino. As I've already mentioned, my army is designed to make the other guy chase it around and deal with multiple scoring threats. What I have done here is set up a huge multi-assault for Alex that will not only allow him to score at least 5 kill points, but will allow him to eliminate 5 scoring units. This is actually a picture of him about to do that very thing. Genius am I... Notice that he also has deployed his secret weapon at the top of the picture.
Psychic phase, what a joke...
Shooting did nothing. I put three flames and both combat squads into the spiders and I think killed 2 or three. The TFC missed and he jinked the serpents that I shot at. I may have stripped a hull point or two, but otherwise my turn was laughable.
Nothing happened in the assault phase so the turn went back to Alex.
TURN 2
Spoiler:
Alex's warriors came in on the upper left objective from reserves. He moved his spiders away and shuffled the serpents, but still kept them close to each other. The 'star went for all the units that I had just handed him on a silver platter.Psychic phase, he's invincible again, blah blah...
Shooting got Alex a few hull points on the stalkers and some tac marines. He was a little limited here as I think two of his serpents had jinked so not as much damage this time.
However he made up for it in assault. He multi-charged pretty much everything on my right side, I did nothing in overwatch. He killed some marines and I did nothing back. I think one unit broke but the others stayed. He also bounced off my assault squad pod, even with armorbane. Pods are cool .
Alex right after he assaulted. He is all over my right flank and it's because I handed it to him.
So my two, I had the opportunity to turn this game around. Both Legion units came in within melta range of his serpents. Both melta pods came in, also within melta range of serpents. At this point I still had both stalkers as well, so I was in an excellent position to do some damage. Unfortunately because I was dorking around with my CM and bikes my last turn, they were out of position to do anything, so I moved them toward his 'star in the hopes of getting off a long charge. The tac marines on the right kept pressing forward as did the ones in the center. The DA were in combat or running from combat, as was my libby and the remainder of the assault squad.
Pyschic phase, crickets chirping...
My shooting was not too terrible. I exploded one serpent and pinned the squad inside. I stunned one and immobilized another. I was hoping to kill all three in the middle between both melta squads, both Legion squads, and the stalkers, but I'd take it. For some reason I fired the TFC at the really spread out warriors in the ruins instead of the DA from the exploded serpent (who were nicely bunched). I scattered pretty far and didn't hit anything. The pods fired a volley and did nothing either.
In assault my CM didn't even come close to making it, not that it would have mattered anyway. The libby and rest of the assault squad were wiped with the DA were all killed but one. On a positive not he still wasn't able to do anything with the drop pod. Alex HnR out of combat right toward my CM and the bikes...awesome.
TURN 3
Spoiler:
I was finally putting some pressure on Alex, but he was about to put it back on me. The 'star moved behind my bikes and in perfect position to assault the bikes, 3 tactical squads, and the stalker on the right. Yep, I set it up perfectly again for him. None of the middle serpents could move but the one on the far right moved over to take some shots. One DA squad bailed out to add to the fire. I had forgotten to have Alex take a leadership test to see if they had to snapfire or not (one of the many, many mistakes I made this game).
Psychic phase, he's invincible, yada yada...
His shooting started with one of the LotD squads. He rolled up five wounds I think, so I obliged him by failing four saves. The final Legionnaire died quickly after. He then wiped a melta squad from the pod on my left and killed a few more marines in the middle. The spiders fired a few shots at the marines on the right but nothing significant came of it.
Then came the assault. Again I did nothing with overwatch, but Alex ripped me apart in assault. I lost some bikes and marines and he wrecked the stalker, then I failed leadership tests like they were going out of style, and he caught two of the three squads that had failed (lucky for me or I would have ran off the table).
In my turn, I didn't have much left to move. The two combat squads on the right advanced while the remaining drop pod squad and LotD moved in to assault the pinned DA and the ones that had disembarked. In my shooting phase I finished the immbolized serpent even though he jinked (I wish they would fix that rule).
In the assault phase I charged with my pod squad and LotD but both DA units that I charged stuck and hand-to-hand continued. In the 'star combat, he finished bikes and put about 5ish wounds on my CM. Again I obliged him by failing 3 of the 5 (the CM already had one wound on him) and then not making any FNP rules, giving Alex warlord and another kill point. I believe he also wiped out a tac squad, leaving one squad left with two marines. He then HnR our of combat toward my TFC and the two combat squads over on my left, which I had conveniently placed all within 2-3" of each other. Would I never learn ?
Right after he wiped my CM, the bikes, the stalker, and a combat squad. Notice a severe lack of marines on the right?
TURN 4
Spoiler:
Yeah, we decided to call it here. To play it out, he killed my TFC in the psychic phase and then killed both combat squads on the left in assault. The Baron and his warlord (who split from the 'star) would finish the remaining marines from the CM vs seerstar battle. The pods and stalker really wouldn't matter. Alex just had to clean up from this point on.
We shook hands, talked about the game, and then went to Dunkin Donuts for coffee...which is what should happen after every game.
POST GAME THOUGHTS
Spoiler:
Yeah...Let's see, what could (or should) I have done differently that game? Pretty much everything I think.
-The libby should never have deployed with the assault squad. That was just giving Alex free kill points and the libby added nothing to the assault squad (except free kill points).
-The CM and bikes should have been deployed on the far side from the 'star, not opposite them. As I mentioned, I couldn't touch the 'star nor could I hold it up. I should have been using the CM to chase serpents and distract his star, making it come to me.
-Better pod placement. Again, put the pods on the objectives and make him deal with them. Will I never get this through my thick skull? Don't answer that...
-The biggest mistake and how to NOT play against a deathstar with a giant footprint...don't bunch everything up. Having 20 units on the table means nothing when I'm giving him 5 units to kill in each of his assault phases. I kept making this mistake over and over (see the note above regarding the thick skull).
-I should have played the CM more aggressivily (spell that correctly?) if I was going to deploy opposite his 'star. I should have went for him, had him bounce off of me, and then moved toward his backfield. I should have made Alex deal with the CM, which I didn't do. While a CM on a bike certainly isn't the scariest thing in the game, you don't want one running amuck around your backfield either.
Overall I learned a lot and despite the drubbing I had fun. Alex was fun to play against and he bought me a coffee despite the fact that I was thirty minutes late for the game, so two thumbs up for him.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2014/07/16 22:34:29
2014/07/15 15:53:05
Subject: The Fists of Redemption Do the Connecticon (round 2 vs Alex Fennell in progress)
Great game against Bob. Even though I haven't played him yet he seems like a great guy to play against. Also Alex posts as Everliving on dakka. Idk if he looks anywhere but news and tournament news though.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/07/15 15:55:36
2014/07/16 22:49:36
Subject: Re:The Fists of Redemption Do the Connecticon (round 2 vs Alex Fennell complete)
Jesse's dice gave me game one, no doubt. I felt like he outplayed me, his list was better, and not only did he let me talk him in to playing turn 5, when the last turn dice godz frowned on him full-force, he took it in stride and with a smile. Truly a classy guy and my favorite 40k game of the tourney!
Malagant wrote: Jesse's dice gave me game one, no doubt. I felt like he outplayed me, his list was better, and not only did he let me talk him in to playing turn 5, when the last turn dice godz frowned on him full-force, he took it in stride and with a smile. Truly a classy guy and my favorite 40k game of the tourney!
Thanks for a very good write-up and a super game, Jesse!
Your round 3 opponent is garnering himself quite the dirtbag reputation. Your like the 4th or 5th person I've heard about lately who cannot stand him. Sorry you had to endure him haha.