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Hello and welcome to the mantis news network. Now we go live to Gitsplitta to give us his summary of the days events and to keep us posted throughout the day. over to you, Gitsplitta....

yaay mantis-es...MANTI

Ok... sorry I couldn't continue the updates but things got very busy. Relaxing now in my hotel room with a full tummy & football on the tube.

Game two saw the full horror that is the space wolves. I swear to God it looked like my opponent had an extra 500 points. He had more and better of everything. There was no aspect of the game where I had an advantage. He also had magic dice. I was extremely lucky to get away with a minor loss.

Third game was v Blood Angels in the hands of a very good player. At this point, 4 hours of sleep in 72 hours finally started to catch up with me. I was fatigued and made consistent mistakes turn after turn. Unlike the SW game, I feel it was winnable, I just misplayed it from beginning to end. My opponent CJ was great though and spent a good amount of time giving me some very good suggestions for alternate approaches to the battle afterwards.


Picked up the new necron dex and the scorpion looking thing for Thing 1. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Only one negative on the day. SW player had T-wolf Cav on regular horses and cavalry (bike) bases. This allowed them to weave their way through a very congested table in a way no other t-Cav unit on normal 60 mm bases could have. I understand that there is no official model for them but it left a bad taste in my mouth. Nice guy, no other complaints... Just one of those things.

Got lots of compliments on the army... Lots of folks herehave been following it on line. Makes all the work worth it.

Two more games tomorrow.

Gits

sounds like fun, and nothing is better than a good complement

I'm sorry to hear about that SW player modelling for advantage. My heart goes out to you, Gitsplitta.

And what Scoprion-thingy are you talking about? I have yet to get my codex in (never order from dicebucket.com if you want your order on time, I'm gonna write them a letter write now), but I don't recall seeing one on the preorder page on GW.

All my Necrons are dusted off and ready to go. Can't wait until my first tournament on the third Sunday of this month.

It's one of the new kits that can be built in a couple of ways. Either as a commander transport or a heavy. It's a skimmer I think, and vaguely scorpion looking..

the comand barge and anialator barge if i am correct.
bah i hate modeling for advantage... Okay my own kommando's are just pits on a base but at least i try to look like they are under water so i could tie my hydro plane to the rest of the army.

LOL fatty! I don't thing it would have made any difference in the final score, but it just left me feeling I'll-used.

My first game against the White scars was an absolute scream. Very competitive, very fun. Came down to my having a good shooting phase on the last turn. Left me screaming "Kahn!! and shaking my fist in the air more than once.

True to form, my first casualty of the tournament was a combi-plasma guy blowing himself up.



Automatically Appended Next Post:


Morning update:

Well, after 5 hours of sleep, a shower and a change of clothes I feel much better. Scenarios for today are pretty straightforward.

Have functional camera today so maybe some pics later.

Ah, the barge. I got excited and thought you absconded a Wave 2 model somehow.

Great stuff Gits, good to hear you're having a fun time.

Shame about the Space Wolf guy, but at least it sounds like he was still ok. Not all of us Space Wolves model for advantage....honest!

I hope the games went well today

Gitsplitta wrote:. Just passed Indian casino S on Madison. 7 AM and it's packed! Don't these people have homes??

Nope they gambled them away the night before.

prototype_X wrote:Hello and welcome to the mantis news network. Now we go live to Gitsplitta to give us his summary of the days events and to keep us posted throughout the day. over to you, Gitsplitta....

"Thank you prototype, and now for the news followed by sports and weather together on the five's."


Hi all. Back home safe and sound.

So, in summary (and without being too redundant):

My list:

HQ: libby - gate, null zone
Elite: 10 sternuard - mostly combimeltas, 2 combi-plas, hvy flamer, melta, srg w/ PF (pod w/ ML)
Elite: Iron Clad - hvy flmr, melta, HK, seismic hammer (pod w/ ML)
Elite: Dread - CCW & TL lascannons, hvy flamr (pod)
Troop: 5 marines in las/plas razor
Troop: 5 marines in las/plas razor
Troop: 5 scouts - srg w/ combi-melta & MB (in LS Storm)
Troop: 5 scouts - srg w/ combi-melta & MB (in LS Storm)
FA: 5 scout bikes - 3 AGL, srg w/ PW, MB & locator beacon
FA: LS Storm - MM
FA: LS Storm - MM
Hvy: 5 devs - 4 MLs

10 points possible per game: primary objective = 4 pts, secondary objective = 3 pts, tertiary objective = 2 pts, tabling = +1 pt


Game 1: Kahn White Scars. P=control objectives in your own deployment zone, S=have HQ or others special units within 12" of opponent's board edge, T=kill points?
Already talked about. Great fun, very close, last turn things went my way. "Kaaaahhhn!!" Alpha strike & "Gate" worked perfectly.
Result: Win 9-0

Game 2: Wolves. P/S/T - have all been mind-wiped by Imperial operatives. Objectives, table quarters, victory points I think.
Already talked about. Still in shock over what SW get for the points, but I kept at it. Was helped by the fact that my opponent has so much stuff that we only got two turns done.
Result: Loss 0-3

Game 3: Blood Angels. P/S/T - also mind wiped, victory points, can't remember what else
Already talked about. Great opponent but I was tired and flustered due to lack of sleep. I get very self-conscious about how slowly I play and my poor command of the rules when I play a really good, competitive player. As a result all I do is worry about playing fast and worry about misinterpreting the rules, thus I don't think things through & I make a lot of stupid decisions. I think I could have been in this game had I kept my wits... but I didn't. Didn't quit though... kept swinging until the very end. Tried to alpha strike a vindi... killed it but it put all my best units in easy assault range for the units in reserve arriving the next turn... dumb.
Result: Loss 0-9

Game 4: Nurgle Demons (mostly). P = 5 squads "marked for death" (opponent pics, you only get pts for killing these squads), S = objectives, T = victory pts
Another very fun battle. My opponent picked my two scout squads, two dread pods and the dev squad. I castled up around a tall ruin containing my devs. Put the scouts in reserve & outflanking. I chose a couple of his demon dudes, his Beasts of Slanesh and two plague demon groups. I knew that the Secondary Objective was probably out of reach so I concentrated on primary and hoped for tertiary. Demons rained down. Psycher never failed his "null zone", sternguard and their special ammo where awesome. Scout bikes and shooting took out his beasts of slanesh early... killed one greater demon/demon price or scary demon chariot thing per turn. Nearly lost my devs but one survived. Scouts & pods evaded damage. Libby and Sternguard were tops. (have some pics of this one... just a couple, that I can show) Great opponent, great game.
Resut: Win 6-3

Game 5: Podding Dakka Nidzillas. P = kill opponent's troop choices (not including transports) up to 4, S = Claim terrain pieces (like objectives), T = have more points in center of table
Decided that I was unlikely to get either S or T (or P for that matter), however I was not about to give him a target to pod on so I put everything in reserve (as did he). I did drop my two dreads into the center of the table (in cover) in turn 1 to serve as A) bait and )B lay claim to the center... at least take a shot at it. As things came in piecemeal across the board for both of us, as fate would have it all of his deep striking/ outflanking troop units came in along the left board edge and I saw a glimmer of hope that I could make a credible shot at the primary objective. When all we said and done... he had 4 termigants left... that's when they said dice down. In our rush to get my half of the last turn done (I had 3 minutes, I skipped everything except the assaults on the last of his units, the termigants (plus his Trygon was also in the assulault so I had to wait for it to go first) with only a couple seconds left before the "dice down" call... I ignored my sergeant's last PF attacks (had to, no time) and my opponent made and passed his squad's morale roll. (which in the rush I forgot to remind him should have been made at -7) So I was 4 bloody termigants away from achieving the primary objective!! (he didn't get my squads). BLAST!! Great game, great opponent and a guy who graduated from the same high school I did (though much later), was on the same football team & who's sister was apparently in my class (though I can't remember her). So we had the "Tinley Park High School 40k Championship!"
Result: Loss 0-5


So, believe it or not, my modest 15 points was enough to land me 17th in a 28-32 person list (not sure). Considering that I've never placed higher than next-to-last in any non-team tournament I've ever played in... I'm pretty happy with the results. I learned a lot, and am slowly getting better.

There were two appearance competitions, one judged and one popular acclaim. I didn't win either but I voted for one of the armies that did and would have voted for the other if I'd had a second vote. I did get lots and lots and lots of compliments and people taking pictures and mentioning that they'd been following my progress on line, etc. There were enough pics taken of the army on display so that one may show up somewhere... when it does, if I can find it, I'll re-post it here. So, no prize but a LOT of warm fuzzies and I'm feeling quite happy about the whole affair.

Pricipal lesson learned for me was that when I am relaxed and sharp... I'm getting better at making decent decisions about deciding which objectives in the multi-layered scenario I can take a shot at. I'm also slowly learning how to appropriately come up with alternate strategies when I can't alpha strike... sometimes. Still need to work on both of these aspects. Also even frustrated and losing... I kept banging away... not that I'd ever quit but I didn't let myself get disheartened in spite of how things looked. I kept trying to find *some* way to get points.


If there's anyone within striking distance of Rockford, IL that was considering coming to Rock Fest but didn't. You need to come. All the armies looked fantastic... there was a healthy mix of non-competitive gamers and top-notch talent. This year's TO was fantastic. The boards were interesting with good terrain coverage. Scenarios were interesting without being unintelligible. And if you're into other types of gaming... there was TONS of it to be had!

... and then there's the "Machine Shed" restaurant...
Oh.... my..... goodness....

Taking a few days off modeling and painting... well, save for Thing 1 is already behind me trying to put the new Necron thing together... guess I'll probably help him with that. *sigh*

Gits



OH, sports and weather. "The Green Back Packers eked out a victory in San Diego today, preserving their undefeated record and enjoying the warm autumn days in California."

Thats awesome Git! I'm glad you had a blast. I can't wait to see the pictures.

I hope they turn out, Thing 2's camera is not very fancy.

HAH warm autumn weather...raining/hailing nonstop past few days and before that mother natures been havin hot n cold flashes for a few weeks...but congrats on the victories and yea wolves are still rediculous but they have inspired me to make a unit of firedrake cavelry for my salamanders so they cant be all that bad lol

Loos like you had a blast. Always good

Awaiting piccies, as always!

For those of you who don't know... IceAngel has been writing up some fantastic fiction for his Ice Angle space marines chapter. They are currently on a campaign including several of the marines that Ice has gotten as part of the GMS. Ice has been going to writing workshops and his style, which has always been good... is really getting professional in it's quality. As part of this process, he's decided to focus his narrative (or at least this part of it) from the perspective of one of his characters... luckily for me, he chose the Mantis Warrior I made for him, Brother Inushi.

There have been several recent installments of Inushi's journey with the Ice Angels and the other "guest" marines. I include links to them below. They're actually all on the same page of his fiction blog, so you can just go to the first one & scroll down through the comments to the following installments. The numbers are mine, just an attempt to make it easier for you to keep track of which ones you've read already.

1. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/480/264756.page#3125538

2. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/480/264756.page#3350065

3. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/480/264756.page#3418375

4. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/480/264756.page#3475190

5. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/480/264756.page#3541886

If you have any interest at all in 40k fiction, I strongly encourage you to check out Ice's entire thread... but if you're just curious to see his latest work from the perspective of a young Mantis Warrior sergeant... this series will do nicely.

I would ask his permission to re-publish them here, but I'd rather direct you to his blog so you can see them in the context of his other work (and there is more on Inushi earlier in his writings).

Well done on the tourney - sounds like you had a great time!

Yeah, it's on my list of things to do for next year.

well thats great to hear i like tournaments myself so i always want to attend but somehow i almost never go.... must change that.

on more sports and weather did you catch the buccaneer vs saints match? brilliant first touchdown Brees threw the ball spot on.

Fraid not fatty, I was either still at the event, driving back home or passed out on the couch. Long weekend.

No more playing, back to painting!

Thank you WM...


OK, so I have a few pics for you. Apparently my youngest son's camera is no longer capable of focusing... but these will give you a vague idea. This is my day 2 game vs. the Demons.


Deployment: Forting up. The pods came down empty, the one on the right contesting the objective (little green guy) is NOT one of his marked for death pods. Dev's are up in the tower, sternguard in front with libby in their line at center-table. Razors and dreads anchor both flanks (I-Clad is actually behind tower at this point).



Standoff: My dread faces off against a Greater Demon of Nurgle on the other side of a low hill.



Scout bike sergeant attempts to finish off the last Beast of Slanesh while a winged demon prince approaches from behind. (all the big demons were heavily converted, great army!)



Heroic 5 man tactical squad charges and hold a demon prince for 2 full turns, preventing him from catching and killing my last devastator and winning me the primary objective!



End game. You can see one of my LS Storms hiding behind the blue thing.



Hope you like them... blurry as they are!

There was a phase of my life where everything I saw looked as blurry as those pics, for a second I thought my surgeries had suddenly failed me

Im wondering what is the blue thing in the Greater Deamons hand? looks like a packman ghost. Those deamons look great did you win?

He's holding up a little blue nurgling looking thing.

Yes, I won. 6-3.


Here were the standings as posted on our local board...

1 Tim Gorham (Grey Knights) 5-0-0 -- Well Played, Sir!
2 Steven Welch (Imperial Guard) 4-1-0 (36 MPs) -- 2nd Place
3 Jordan Nach (Imperial Guard) 4-1-0 (29 MPs) -- 3rd Place
4 Tony Malave (Space Wolves) 4-1-0 (27 MPs)
5 Vladimir Valchev (Space Wolves) 4-1-0 (18 MPs)
6 Les Westmoreland (Dark Eldar) 3-2-0 (23 MPs: 3 Primary)
7 Chad Lindsay (Grey Knights) 3-2-0 (23 MPs: 2 Primary)
8 John Pickle (Space Marines) 3-2-0 (22 MPs: 3 Primary)
9 Noah Schmelzer (Space Wolves) 3-2-0 (22 MPs: 2 Primary) -- Man for All Seasons
10 Steve Maples (Tyranids) 3-2-0 (21 MPs)
11 Chad Clay (Dark Angels) 3-2-0 (19 MPs)
12 Lucas Como (Sisters of Battle) 3-2-0 (18 MPs)
13 John Beardsley (Space Wolves) 3-2-0 (14 MPs)
14 Jarred Saxman (Imperial Guard) 2-2-1 (20 MPs)
15 Steven Ingham (Dark Eldar) 2-2-1 (7 MPs)
16 C J Thode (Blood Angels) 2-3-0 (18 MPs)
17 Art Wagner (Space Marines) 2-3-0 (15 MPs)
18 (tie) Adam Lee (Eldar) 2-3-0 (12 MPs)
18 (tie) Troy Weis (Space Marines) 2-3-0 (12 MPs) -- Perfect Gentleman
20 Matthew Bartley (Imperial Guard) 2-3-0 (11 MPs)
21 Clayton McCarty (Dark Eldar) 2-3-0 (7 MPs) -- Distinguished Gentleman
22 Jerald Springer (Grey Knights) 1-2-2
23 Aaron Loomis (Blood Angels) 1-3-1
24 Matt Raatz (Chaos Daemons) 1-4-0 (11 MPs)
25 Levi Ott (Blood Angels) 1-4-0 (5 MPs) -- Stiff Upper Lip
26 Stephen Carlson (Space Marines) 0-4-1 -- Players' Favorite Army
27 Ben King* (Space Marines) 0-3-0 (4 MPs)
28 Rob Whited* (Space Marines) 0-3-0 (0 MPs)

The three guys who beat me are all above me at positions 10, 13 & 16. I'm 17. The guys I beat are at 24 & 28. Top 10 finishing armies are a very not surprising bunch... especially near the top of the list.

Interesting to see DA in the 11 spot, and SoB in the 12. Any chance you remember what they were running?

2-3-0 isnt too bad, at least you didnt go 0-3-0!

Sucks about your sons camera. I would have loved to see those demons.

I was a bit surprised to see IG getting second and third. It seems all you ever hear now days is SW and GK.

hey IG can do some damage in the right hands!! although i was suprised as well