Necrons vs Orks

*** This entry is actually really late. I have forgotten most of the game already. I managed to begin writing and you will see exactly where I finished. It might be laziness, or I could use the excuse that I was actually preparing for my big holiday! ***



Another Tuesday night at Charing Cross Gaming Club, another tabletop battle. Tonight I had arranged a game of 40k against Edsmasha and his Orks. I had played Orks before against one of my friends, but that time I used my beloved Dark Angels. My Necrons had never faced the dreaded Greenskins before (they are yet to encounter the majority of all 40k armies), so I eagerly awaited the game. But it wasn't to be! Edsmasha had become a father for the third time very early tuesday morning (congrats again), so we had to call it off. This is the second time our game had been cancelled as he had been hit by 'Ork' flu previously.


I managed to get a game against another player, whose opponent also bailed, called Edge (I forgot his real name). We agreed upon a 1500 pointer with my Necrons facing Chaos Space Marines.


My list was as follows:


Necron Lord with Resurrection Orb and Destroyer Body


6 x Immortals


3 x units of 10 Warriors


2 x units of 4 Destroyers


3 x Heavy Destroyers



Edge took the following:


Chaos Lord with Daemon Weapon and Wings


1 x unit of Khorne Berserkers with Personal Icon


1 x unit of Chaos Space Marines with Aspiring Champion (armed with Plasma Pistol and Power Weapon), Icon of Chaos Glory, 2 x Melta Guns and dedicated Rhino Transport


1 x unit of Chaos Space Marines with Aspiring Champion (armed with Power Fist), Icon of Khorne, 2 x Flamers and dedicated Rhino Transport.


3 x Obliterators


Land Raider


9 x Summoned Lesser Daemons (Daemonettes of Slaanesh)



We rolled for scenario (Seize Ground) and deployment (Spearhead). I won the roll for setup and first turn. I set up in the table quarter to my right. The idea was to set up all my mobile units around the Lord so that they benefit from the Resurrection Orb (provided they all stayed together and not get distracted). They would then be able to concentrate all of their fire power on a unit/tank per turn. I set two units of Warriors next to the objective in my quarter. My last unit of Warriors could then move forward towards the objective in the centre of the table. The Immortals would sit in front of them to provide some decent fire support.

Edge had all three of his units tucked away in their transports and looked to move around the main building in the centre of the table. The Chaos Lord set up deep in his table quarter to stay out of trouble and then use his wings to get into the thick of things. The Obliterators were held back in reserve.

TURN 1

END OF GAME

After turn 7, it ended with Edge (playing his second ever 40k battle) controlling two objectives compared to my one. The good news was that I didn't Phase Out like I usually do. I managed to get rid of the tanks and transports fairly early forcing Edge's troops to run all the way to my front-line. It still didn't stop the Berserkers from doing what they do best. I was happy with the way all my Destroyers were more durable thanks to the Lord holding a Resurrection Orb. Credit for this would go to Nick (one of the 'Grown Ups' at the club), as it was his helpful hint that led to the creation of my Flying Destroyer Circus. I remember that this was a fairly tense game, which may have been the reason why I was a bit more cautious than I should have been. A total of 12 Destroyers should be able to zoom around the table scaring the crap out of my enemies and suffer minimal casualties themselves.

I enjoyed playing with this list, and would like to entertain the idea of entering a tounrey with this list at some point in the future. I would need to practice a bit more though as I'm still finding my feet with the 5th ed rules. Hopefully I will get that game with Edsmasha.

Necrons vs. Dark Eldar

Tuesday night is here again. Another chance to act just like a teenager, but in an adult way.
Tonight I am up against Nick and his Dark Eldar at the Charing Cross Gaming Club. I have never come up against Dark Eldar before, so this should be fun. We had arranged to have a 1750 point game.

I took the following:

HQ
The Deceiver

ELITE
4 x Pariahs
6 x Flayed Ones

TROOP
3 x 14 Warriors

FAST ATTACK
4 x Destroyers
4 x Scarab Swarm bases

HEAVY SUPPORT
3 Heavy Destroyers

They were facing:

HQ
Archon – Punisher and Tormentor Helm, Combat Drugs, Plasma Grenades, Shadow Field, Animus Vitae

ELITE
Dracon – Punisher and Tormentor Helm; retinue of Incubi; Dhazhar – all mounted in a Raider with Dark Lance

TROOP
4 x 10 Warriors – two Dark Lances in each squad
2 x 5 Warriors – Splinter Cannon and Shredder mounted in Raiders with Dark Lances

FAST ATTACK
5 Reaver Jetbikes – 2 with Blasters. Succubus with Punisher and Tormentor Helm
Talos

HEAVY SUPPORT
2 Ravagers – 3 Disintegrators each

We rolled the Seize Ground for the mission and Pitched Battle for the Deployment. The terrain was a fairly dense cityscape. We set up our objectives and rolled off for setup and first turn. Nick rolled higher, but gave me the first turn.
I had set up looking to take the two closest objectives early (one on my right flank and one just left of centre). I set up the Deceiver in a central position so that he could react to anything major. I set the Pariahs and Flayed Ones up on my right in order to move forward using the cover available. Nick only set up two of his Warrior squads and his Talos in a building in his deployment zone. Everything else was in held back in reserve. I used Grand Illusion to move some of my units. I moved the Pariahs and Flayed Ones in a more central position, just opposite Nick’s Warriors.

TURN 1

For my movement I moved all of my Warrior squads closer to their closest objectives with one unit actually doing so. The Flayed Ones, Pariahs, Scarabs and the Deceiver all ran forward. My Heavy Destroyers and Destroyers moved into firing positions. The Heavy Destroyers unleashed the first shots claiming two warriors. The regular Destroyers claimed a few more from the same unit. This caused them to fail a Leadership test and run.

Nick’s warriors cemented themselves in the building they were stationed in and opened fire on my Heavy Destroyers. The combined efforts of four Dark Lances took out two.

TURN 2

The Warriors on my left moved to claim another objective. The Warriors in the centre moved to get into firing range. The Flayed Ones, Pariahs, Scarabs and Deceiver continued their advance towards the Dark Eldar. The remaining Heavy Destroyer claimed the life of another foe. The Destroyers didn’t so as well as the previous turn dispatching only two. The Scarabs were in assault range so they swarmed forward in order to tie some warriors.

Nick rolled for his reserves but only got his Reaver Jetbikes. The Jetbikes and Talos advanced forward. Nicks Dark Lances sang again taking down the last of the Heavy Destroyers and two of the Destoyers.

TURN 3

I failed my We’ll Be Back rolls from the previous turn. The Pariahs and Flayed Ones edged closer to the enemy. The Deceiver sighted the Jetbikes and homed in on them. My central most Warrior unit opened fire taking the lives of two more Eldar. The remaining Destroyers failed in their shooting. The Warriors on my left, shot at the Jetbikes dispatching with one of them. The Scarabs continued to hold up a unit of Warriors in combat. The Deceiver launched himself at the Reavers, killing two.

The rest of Nick’s reserves arrived on the table on both flanks to reinforce his line. His Archon and retinue came in on my left. The Archon disembarked and moved toward the isolated Flayed Ones. The Talos joined the combat with the scarabs after successfully shooting at the Pariahs, killing two. The reaming Warrior units combined the take out the rest of the Pariahs. One of the Ravagers to my right felled the remaining Destroyers. The Scarabs were swiftly taken out of the game. The Deceiver killed more of the Reavers, who promptly broke and fled.

TURN 4

Not much action this turn! The unit of Warriors on my left ducked into cover. The Necron Warriors in the centre aimed at the Dark Eldar opposite, to little effect. The Deceiver engaged the Talos and failed to hit.

The Archon Charged the Flayed ones and killed half of the unit. The Incubi and retinue carried on toward my left and opened fire at the closest Warriors killing nine. The Dark Eldar Warriors whittled down the number of Necrons in the centre of the table. The Talos, while still engaged with the Deceiver shot its tail laser thingy (I forgot its name) and took out four Necrons in the centre. The Talos survived the combat for another turn.

TURN 5

Again I couldn’t do much this turn either The Necron Warriors decided to shoot some pointy ears, again with little effect. The Deceiver took out the Talos.

Every available Dark Lance on the table concentrated on the C’tan and banished him from the physical realm. The Incubi and its retinue wiped out the Necrons on my left. The Archon charged the Warriors in the centre of the table and wiped them out too. He then consolidated towards the remaining Warriors.

TURN 6

With the game poised at on objective each, it was important my last remaining Warriors stayed alive. So they hid in a building.

Nick charged forward with his Archon, who threw a grenade before engaging the last Necrons. The effect of this was to cause my metal minions to Phase Out!

END OF GAME

Quite a thrashing, don’t you agree? Nick played very well, concentrating on the main threats in an orderly fashion. Also, everything went wrong for me. Shooting was bad, WBB rolls and combat rolls too. It didn’t matter at the end if my remaining Warriors had survived. They were engaged in combat by the Archon, which meant the objective they were holding was now contested.
But it was an enjoyable game. As pretty much all of the games at the club are friendly, so you cannot really feel bad about losing. You just have a drink and talk about the good dice and bad luck.
Despite playing on and off for 15 or so years, I got to see a more experience player in action, whom I can learn from. I also got to see a different army play and learned about their style too.

Necrons vs. Tyranids

My friend Dan and I had been planning this game for a little over a month. Originally, this was going to be a 1500 pointer but I wanted a larger game (as I can only play smaller games at my local club). So we set this at 3000 points per side. I had more or less had this list already made up, the only decision I had to make was if I wanted to take my Pariahs or not (they had performed badly the only other time I have used them). Dan was still putting some 'gaunts together as we arrived. I knew that Dan would upgrade his bugs as much as he could, so I would have to rely on shooting them up before he engaged my tin cans in combat.
My list consisted of:

HQ
The Deceiver
'Lefty' the Necron Lord - Warscythe and Veil of Darkness

ELITE

6 x Pariahs
7 x Immortals

TROOP

5 x units of 12 Warriors

FAST ATTACK

3 x Wraiths
7 x Scarab swarm bases (split into a unit of 3 and a unit of 4)
2 x units of 4 Destroyers

HEAVY SUPPORT

3 x Heavy Destroyers
1 x Monolith

Dan's Tyranid list was:

HQ
Hive tyrant- Enhanced Senses, Toxic Miasma, Extended Carapace, Toxin Sacs, Scything Talons, Venom Cannon, Warp Blast
Broodlord- Extended Carapace, Feeder Tendrils, Toxin - Retinue of 8 Genestealers - Acid Maw, Extended Carapace, Toxin, Scything Talons

ELITE
Carnifex- Scything Talons, Adrenal Glands, Mace Tail
2x Lictors
Warrior Brood- 5 x Deathspitters 1 x Barbed Strangler, Enhanced Senses, Toxin, Scything Talons

TROOP
12X Genestealers- Feeder Tendrils, Scuttlers, Toxin, Extended Carapace
12x Genestealers (as above)
12x Genestealers (as above)
23x Termagaunts
23x Termagaunts

FAST ATTACK
3x Raveners- Scything Talons and Rending Claws, Deathspitters

HEAVY SUPPORT
Carnifex - Scything Talons x 2, Adrenal x 2, Spinebanks, Mace Tail, Bonded Exo-Skeleton, Extended Carapace, Reinforced Chitin, Regenerate, Acid Maw
Carnifex - Scything Talons, Enhanced Senses, Mace Tail, Bonded Exo-Skeleton, Extended Carapace, Reinforced Chitin, Barbed Strangler
Carnifex - Enhanced Senses, Mace Tail, Bonded Exo-Skeleton, Extended Carapace, Reinforced Chitin, Twin-linked Deathspitters

We played on a 6x4 foot area on Dan's floor. We had a bit of a terrain fail, as I forgot to bring my big bag of scenery. Dan didn't fancy playing over clear terrain (I wonder why?), we had to resort to DVD box sets set up in a hilly valley type landscape. I rolled for scenario (Seize Ground) and Dan rolled for deployment type (Pitched Battle). We rolled again and placed a total of three objectives (one outside Dan’s deployment zone to my left, one on a hill outside my zone to my right and one to my right not to far off the second objective). With that in order we rolled for set-up and first turn which I won. Dan attempted to 'Seize the Initiative' but failed. I opted to set-up first and take the first turn. I had set up with three Warrior units poised to take the closest objectives on my right in the first turn. They were backed up by a unit of Destroyers. The Heavy Destroyers sat just behind a small hill that would give them an elevated position and a greater field of fire. The Pariahs stood behind The Deceiver looking to follow him around the battlefield. Lefty and the Immortals was looking to move toward bolstering my left flank. The Wraiths stood in the centre waiting to see where the action was happening just like the Scarab which wanted to tie up anything big. I left the Monolith and two units of Warriors in reserve.

Dan set up his Hive Tyrant and on my right looking to shake me off the two objectives I was set to take. The Brood Lord with retinue, both Termagaunt units and the Raveners set up on my left to swarm the other objective. Both Lictors and 3 units of 'stealers were held back in reserve.
I used The Deceiver's Grand Illusion ability to rearrange my army. I moved a unit of warriors out to my left to add some firepower to the Immortals. The Pariahs were moved towards the oncoming Carnifexes in order to benefit from their Warscythes.

TURN 1

I moved all of my Destroyers into better positions on elevated ground. This worked as my Heavy Destroyers took 2 wounds off one Carnifex. Not much else happened as I wasn't in range of much else. So I took position on the two objectives closest to me and waited for the bugs.

Dan used a manoeuver I don't think is in the Tyranid playbook. He hid his Carnifexes behind cover! He pretty much hid all of his units in this turn. His Termagaunts and Broodlord crept up on my left flank while trying to hide at the same time.

TURN 2

First up I rolled for reserves which never came. Most of my units stayed in roughly the same position. The Pariahs and Deceiver moved slowly towards the cowardly Carnifexes. My shooting left a lot to be desired. While having a high proportion of shots on target, they didn't do much in the way of wounding. So I couldn't do much. Although the Warriors on my left shot down a few Termagaunts.

Dan rolled for his reserves and got all of them. The three units of 'stealers all used flank march (The dice led two units to come on from my left flank and one from my right (which subsequently eyed up some of my Warriors)). The Lictors appeared out of the foliage on the hill where my Heavy Destroyers sat. Dan’s Carnifexes and Hive Tyrant felt adventurous and came out of hiding. They started to shoot and targeted some Destroyers and Warriors taking out a few of each. The Lictors kicked off the first close combat and killed two.

TURN 3

No reserves again, must be something wrong with our superior technology. Again I was pretty lucky with my WBB rolls as all my Heavies got back up again. In the movement phase, the Pariahs and Deceiver moved towards the oncoming Carnifexes again. My Wraiths centered on one of the Lictors. Not much else moved after that. My shooting phase was not that great again. Despite cracking off a large amount of shots, the Warriors, Destoyers and Pariahs on my right just couldn't wound the big beasties heading toward them. The Warriors and Immortals fared a bit better and took out some Termaguants. The Wraiths proceeded to slice and dice one of the Lictors that was harassing my Heavies. On that high note, my turn ended.

The Tyranids then did what they do best! They swarmed forward en masse towards my brave little toasters. Shots from the Carnifexes Deathsptitters Took out one of the Destroyer units and the Pariahs. The Raveners fired upon the Wraiths with their Deathspitters and hoping to target the Heavy Destroyers as well. The Heavy Destroyers all fell but the Wraiths stood thanks to their invulnerable save. The Raveners then followed up their shooting and attack the Wraiths. This time they weren't so lucky with two of them falling. The Genestealers and Brood Lord on my left converged on my Warriors and engaged them in combat. Combat was fierce, but a lot of the wounds were saved. The 'stealers on my right also engaged some Warriors as well. Both units giving as good as they got with casualties on both sides.

TURN 4

Reserves at last!!! The Monolith finally makes an appearance, and as it does so, it dispenses a rather welcome unit of Warriors who look to make a break for the left flank objective. But they faced by the fast approaching Termaguants. With the situation on my left flank looking dire, Lefty decided to gather his Immortals and use the Veil of darkness to try and help out with defending the two objectives on my right. Unfortunately, they scattered in front of the Hive Tyrant and a Carnifex. The Deceiver moved in the same direction but was not in range to charge. Nothing else could move because they were either engaged in combat or just wanted to defend objectives. The Immortals opened fire at the Hive Tyrant and but were pretty ineffective. The remaining Destroyers managed to finish off the Carnifex next to the Tyrant. Time for close combat came and Lefty led a plucky charge against the Hive Tyrant hoping to make use of his Warsythe. Lefty managed to cause only one wound while his Immortals struggled as to do anything. A few of the also Immortals failed their armour saves for good measure. The final Wraith managed to cause a couple of wounds on the Raveners but was destroyed. The Warriors on both sides managed to stem the flow of the Genestealer threat. Both units causing a few wounds while taking a few themselves.

Dan was now in a position to sweep in from my left but had to get rid of the Warriors in their way. In order to do this, he used one of his two units of Genestealer to help out the Brood Lord and retinue by engaging the Warriors. The other units raced on towards the Destroyers. The Termaguants raced towards the Warriors looking to contest the objective on the left. The Raveners also saw this threat and promptly moved toward them. The now unengaged Lictor wandered over to the last unit of Destroyers with metallic murder in its eyes. The two Carnifexes continued their advance towards the right flank objectives and opened fire on the unengaged Warriors causing minimal damage thanks to some good saving throw dice. Going into combat, the Warriors on my left succumbed to the combined 'stealer threat. The Warriors on my right still managed to hold off their own threat with a couple losses on each side. The Hive Tyrant finished off Lefty and his Immortals. The Lictor (now joined by some 'stealers) held its promise and murdered one of the Destroyers, but it died surprisingly easy as well. The Termaguants also got in on the combat action, losing more wounds than they caused.

TURN 5

The Monolith sent out its final reserve unit who also looked to the left flank objective. The Deceiver moved towards the Hive Tyrant looking to take it out. In the shooting phase, the unit of Warriors who were currently holding one of the right flank objectives, concentrated their Gauss Flayers at the charging Carnifexes but couldn't inflict any wounds. The freshly emerged Warriors combined their gunfire with the Gauss Flux Arcs of the Monolith and took out over a quarter of the unengaged Termagaunt unit. With that done, the Deceiver slaughtered the Hive Tyrant and looked for his next target. The Destroyers were killed before they could strike back at the Genestealers. The Warriors on my right had beaten the odds and dispatched the last of the 'stealers while being whittled down to three themselves.

Dan moved both of his Termagaunts units and Raveners towards the Warriors on the left within shooting distance. The 'stealers who had clawed through the Destroyers looked to move towards the smaller unit of Warriors on the far right thus ignoring the unit just inches away. The Brood Lord and retinue and the final units of 'stealers approached the ignored Warriors. The Carnifexes opted to soften up the full strength unit of Warriors ready for the impending combat. This had caused three of the Warriors to drop. The Raveners had mixed fortune with their shooting killing Tyranid and Necron alike. The Termaguants had some good fortune with the amount of shots they cracked off, but found it difficult to cause much damage. The combat phase saw a major amount of charging by pretty much everything. The 'stealers wiped out the quarter strength unit of Warrior on my far right. The Brood Lord and all other Genestealers around him tore into the other unit of Warriors who managed to hold ground. The Raveners and one unit of Termagaunts were within charging range of the new arrivals. The Necrons lost one Warrior while they dispatched with six Termagaunts. One of the Carnifexes rammed into the Deceiver causing three wounds while suffering only one in return.

TURN 6

The only Necron unit that could move was the Monolith, which crept slowly towards the right flank. But it was not in range to unleash it's Particle Whip. All that was left to do was resolve combats. Both units of Warriors on my left took out a few more Termagaunts each but not enough to be free in order to claim the objective. The unit of Warriors on the far right were swamped with tooth and claw and couldn't repel the attack. The Warriors next to them managed to stand up to their own Genestealer threat losing as much as their opponents. The Deceiver fumbled in his attempt at beating his opponent. As a result he was finished off without much fuss.

There was no moving or shooting in Dan's turn, so we went straight into combat. The Genestealers on my right consumed the rest of my Warriors. Both Termagaunt units managed to keep the two units of Warriors on the left tied up giving victory to the Tyranids.

END OF BATTLE.

The game finished with Dan holding two of the three objectives while the third was only contested. The game was certainly hard fought. I thought my deployment was ok, but maybe I could have moved one or two units into better positions to support each other. Some of my shooting wasn’t that great despite the amount of shots pulled off. I didn’t support my Pariahs so they ended up being smooshed. I think I left the Deceiver out of the action for too long. I should have tried to engage him sooner and maybe try and draw some fire. The biggest nuisance for me was the monolith not coming on until late. I could have used the Particle Whip against Dan’s Carnifexes, while the Warrior units they were holding may have finished off the Termagaunts and captuered their objective. This was the first time I had used my Wraiths. They proved their worth when they hit the Lictor with no less than 9 S6 hits!
Still, I’m annoyed I lost. But then I realized one positive. My Necrons didn’t Phase Out! Marvelous!

Forthcoming Homecoming.

After a brief encounter with Warmachine/Hordes, I will be coming back to my first love (can you call paying through the nose for a rollercoaster of emotions depending on how certain units perform?). I have two games lined up for my Necrons in the next few days.

First up is a game against my friend Dan and his Tyranids (or Chaos Marines if he changes his mind). this is going to be a fairly big game of 3000 points per side. This won't be an Apocalypse game as I don't think we'd have much time on Saturday. The last Apocalypse game we had last year took a whole weekend to play. That was a game between my 13000 point Dark Angels and Imperial Guard and Dan's 8000 point Chaos Marine and Tyranid army. I had to scale my force back a bit but still managed to take a full battle company. We had invited two other players to help out with getting the game finished, but sadly one didn't turn up so Dan was controlling all of his models by himself. We only ended up managing three full turns which resulted in a draw.

I have been craving a large game like this as down at my local club we are restricted to smaller games. I have been itching to roll handfuls of dice in anger (with Warmachine you don't need more than four dice). The force that I will be taking, will be led by The Deceiver along with two untested units (a Monolith and some Pariahs (I have used the Pariahs before but they didn't really do anything apart from die)), plus a lot of familiar units. I will make a post the game shortly afterwards. I may even include some pics.

Tuesday night will be a 1750 point game against some Dark Eldar at my local club. I have never played against DE before when I was playing with my Dark Angels, so this should be fun. I will probably use the same force I used against Chris' Deathguard Marines a few weeks ago. hopefully the Dark Eldar will be a little bit more squishy than traitor marines.

That's all I have lined up for the moment. The next game is likely to be on the following Tuesday with my Necrons as I don't really feel like taking my DA (I don't think non-codex armies fared well under the 5th ed rules). Then I have a choice. I could try and play against Edsmasha (who couldn't make it due to Ork Flu), or challenge one of the Eldar players. Alternatively, I could go back to Warmachine as I will now be able to field a 500 point force. Better yet, I could try and get a game of Necromunda. My sorry Van Saar gang will want to make up for things that happened (or didn't happen) in a previous life. Choices, choices, choices...

Charing Cross Crushed!

I am still mentally exhausted from last night's tourney. As much fun as it was, it was slightly painful. I thought that this was a slickly run tourney, with a friendly atmosphere. I think that the other nine players had a good time also. There is talk of having another small tourney like this one quite soon, but I won't be able to make it due to another hobby.

So, down to the action! Each player had three games. I was quite pleased, as I played opponents who were more experienced and were willing to give a few friendly pointers (while being competitive at the same time). I wasn't expecting much from the night as I had only been playing Warmachine for a few weeks. I took the following as my Protectorate list:

High Exemplar Kreoss

Guardian

Repenter

Revenger

Reclaimer

Choir (full strength)

I chose this as I still have not had time to build up my army. There were no scenarios so we just went for caster kills.

Please forgive me if I don't remember exactly models I came up against, as I am late in publishing this post ( I should have finished last week, but something came up).

First up was Marcus and his Khador force. Both of us charged forward in order to get into the action. I think I may have drew first blood, but I took more damage from his warjacks. I managed to bottleneck my 'jacks through the terrain as usual. This resulted in my Repenter being turned into scrap metal and my Revenger being immobilised. My Guardian couldn't do much as he was impeded as messy battlezone, and had been previously slammed into my own Choir despatching half of them. I seem to remember casing some damage to Marcus' Warcaster, nowhere near enough. Marcus then managed to place his 'caster in view of my 'caster (Kreoss) and deal out 17 points of damage! A few people were watching this happen and thought that Marcus had won, but Kreoss survived becausse he has 18 damage boxes. There wasn't much time for me to complete my turn where a gratefully tough Kreoss was going to (hopefully) Immolate the enemy 'caster. So the game ended with a draw, but Marcus scored a few victory points while I scored none.

Next was Conrad (the winner of the most sporting player) with his Circle army. This was a quiet game for both players as neither side took much damage. The game ended in a draw and no VP's were scored at all.

Last up was Nick and his Circle force, albeit with a completly different list. This was a marginally more brutal game than the first. I ended up being teased by Nick's warlock as he kept teleporting in, casting a few spells and then teleporting out to safety. I couldn't get near him. My Guardian was the subject of a pretty impressive slam attack that knocked me into Nick's solo who tried to sneak up behind me. As a result I managed to take him out. I lost my Repenter, Choir and Reclaimer because of a well placed spell. the rest of my force couldn't do much to protect Kreoss who didn't prove to be as tough this time round. So the result was a loss for me.

Overal, two draws and a loss. That isn't such a bad record for a relative noob to the game, especially someone playing in his first tabletop tourney ever (not even a 40k tourney). I ended up finishing 9th out of 10. I had read Marcus' comments after the event, and it turned out he didn't win any of his games and finished 6th. So the bottom five didn't record a win. But the difference between me and Marcus was that he actually scored more VPs than I did. Something that I could have easliy have done if I gave myself that chance.

On the train home, I tried to analyse what had happened. The answer was simple. I still had a 40k mind-set. Where 40k has different phases for you to do things (move all models, Shoot with all models, fight with all models, etc), in Warmachine/Hordes you have to do everything by model (model 1: moves, cast a spell, fight;model 2: move, fight; model: etc). You cannot really take back moves in a competitive game, but thats all I kept hoping for. You also have to try and figure out in which order you want your models to activate, as some actions affect other models. I kept getting both of these wrong. I was just moving all models, therefore givng up performing other actions. When I remembered to perform these actions, I had done it all in the wrong order. I don't want to use the five minute turns as an excuse, but I will admit that I panicked a bit (lot) despite numerous practice games in the previous weeks.

Despite a lowly finish, I had a great time. I will be hopefully be better prepared for the next tourney.

Warm up for Charing Cross Crush!

I'm writing on the eve of Charing Cross Crush. This is a small Warmachine/Hordes tournament (12 entrants) held at the Charing Cross Gaming Club (obviously). Due to time constraints, each player will have three, 350 point games each which will last between 30-40 minutes. And I think I'm ready for it.

The last few weeks has seen a lot of small practice games at the club. Last Tuesday I played two games againt the same force (Trollbloods), used by two different opponents. I lost both games, but they certainly yielded some valuable lessons, some tricks that I WILL use in the tourney. Tricks that I will not mention here in case anyone from my club reads this. I did learn that I have to be clever about the order in which I activate my models. I failed to think about this properly last week which resulted in my loses. I realised later as I sat down on the train home, where I went wrong in both games. I will have to set in my mind, how I want my Activation Phases to go, and also how to adapt them if things go wrong. I also have to be able to do this quickly as there will be five-minute turns. This should be easy as each player won't have many models in his force (I will be taking eleven). I'm still a fairly new Warmachine player, but I will be confident of getting at least one win, despite there being some experienced players.

So last weeks games:

The first was against a guy called Mitch who is also new to Warmachine. I had bottle-necked my force through the terrain features in order to get to my enemy which probably hurt me more than he did. My Guardian (heavy warjack) got engaged by a Troll Impaler. My Repenter and Revenger (light warjacks) got tied up by a Troll Axer. I thought that this was good, as this was shielding Kreoss, my Warcaster. But it allowed Mitch to get the rest of his force to get up close and personal with my 'jacks. By the time Mitch's Trollkin Hero broke through my front line, he was able to target Kreoss. Game Over. Not to take anyhing away from Mitch, we're both still finding our feet and got confused with some of the rules. As a result, we agreed on which course to take at the time. I realised after that one or two things we agreed upon were wrong. this could have went in Mitch's favour or mine. But I know that knowing what I know now, could have done a bit more damage. But fair play to Mitch, he played well and deserved his win.

The next was far more annoying. I played Rich (I thinkthat's hat his name was). He had a much different force to Mitch but probably tougher. Rich happened to take Mulg the Ancient! This is an impressive, impressive model. Without this seeming like an excuse, sometimes I get caught out by seeing an opponents model thats larger than everything else on the table, and then worry about just that! I concentrated too much on trying to get it killed. Then got attacked by everything else that Rich could throw at me. There was one thing that I could have done to give me a better chance of winning the game, but I'll save that for next week. Game Over!

It's always funny when you realise that you should have done something differently or that you should have done SOMETHING! I kicked myself all the way home and then vented my spleen at the wife and cat (one doesn't like the idea of men gathering in a room playing war and the other just licked her private parts)! But my frustration has taught me a big lesson here (or at least I hope it will!) and I will be ready for the CRUSH!!!

Necron vs. Deathguard.

A few weeks ago I took up a challenge to face a guy at my club (Merchant1874). This was a 1750 point game against his Deathguard Chaos Space Marine force. My list was as follows (I remember as I've still got this written down):

The Deciever - 300 pts

7 x Pariahs - 252 pts

14 x Warriors - 252 pts

14 x Warriors - 252 pts

14 x Warriors - 252 pts

4 x Destroyers - 200 pts

4x Scarab Swarms - 48 pts

3 x Heavy Destroyers - 195 pts

Total - 1751 pts. (Phase Out total = 12)

My memory isn't quite complete here, but Merchant took a Daemon Prince, two units of Plague Marines, two squads of Marines with Rhino transport, a Vindicator, a Defiler, a unit of Terminators and unfortunately I'm now drawing a blank. I must make a point of asking if he remembers what he took

We rolled for Capture and Hold Objective. Then we rolled for first turn, I rolled highest and opted to go first

First of all, I rolled for The Deciver's Grand Illusion. The result was a paltry nothing. He didn't get to change the position of any of my units. I was gutted because I felt one of Warrior units and my Destroyers could have been better placed elsewhere in my deployment zone. Apologises for the lack of images, I will describe as best as my memory allows.

Anyway, I thought I should move my Pariahs (currently on my right flank. towards the Daemon prince to test out their lovely Warscythes. All Warrior (left flank, left of centre and centre) units moved towards their closest objectives. My Scarabs (centre) bombed forward as a bit of a smoke screen. Both the Destroyer (left flank) and Heavy Destroyer (centre of dployment zone) units opened fire at range taking out an empty Rhino and a Rhino carrying a unit of Marines (who emerged unscathed). My opponent moved a Plague Marine unit onto an objective (which would prove difficult to shift).The Daemon Prince moved closer to my metallic minions. The other Rhino mounted Plague Marine unit moved extremely close to my Pariahs. Old father Nurgle obviously doesn't like shooting as I think I only lost one Warrior in the first turn.

Turn two, and I remember to actually move The Deciever (centre of board)! Inevitably he moves towards the Daemon Prince. The Pariahs suffer from a bout of indecision and edge forward towards the oncoming Rhino.

The Scarabs charge a Rhino and destroy it and two Marines inside. The Destoyers move around the left flank and aim at an empty rhino (the closest) destroying it. The Heavy Destroyers take out the Defiler. Two of my Warrior units capture objectives. Merchant's Plague marines disembark from thier Rhino fire at and then charge my Pariahs. This will be the last time I mention it, but they were battered. The Plague marines suffered minimal losses. The Daemon Prince loomed ever closer. A unit of Marines (sans Rhino moved forward towards one of my Warrior units holding an objective. They open fire and put a few warriors on their backs.

Turn three sees the mother of all battles. The Deciever vs the Daemon Prince! The Deciever has a weaker WS than the Daemon Prince, but has a far superior S and T. Plus he ingores both armour and Invulnerable saves. My C'Tan charges and does... nothing. The Daemon Prince hits back and does ... nothing! Way to go guys! My scarabs then charge the bewildered Marines who were rudely expelled from their Rhino. They don't cause much damage (A3, WS2 and S3) but they tied the traitors up and soaked up a bit of damage (T3 and W3, giving the unit 12 wounds.) The Destoryers take aim at the marines firing at my Warriors holding one of my objectives, killing a few. The Heavy Destroyers continue with a shooting masterclass and get rid of the Vindicator. The Daemon Prince takes 2 wounds while dishing out none in his turn. The Plague Marins on my right flank move toward my other objective holding Warriors and open fire, dispatching a few more of the Necrontyr. The marines in the centre are still held up by the Scarabs. The Terminators make thier long awaited arrival and land in the centre of the board.

Turn four and I'm now in panic mode as a results of the Terminators. My Destroyes race throught the centre and take aim at the new arrivals. The odds of 12 S6 shots getting through was good as the Termies suffered a few wounds. My central warriors helping out by causing a few more wounds. My Heavy Destroyers kill a couple as well.The Scarabs are still engaed with the marines and soaking a few more wounds themselves. They did kill a couple of marines themselves. I lose the objective on my right after the Warriors were blown to pieces by a combination of short range bolter fire, a Krak missile and a Plasmagun. The gargantuan battle between our HQ choices carries on in a stalemate, both losing a single wound. The Warriors on my left flank defend their objective and open fire at close range dispatching the advancing marines. Merchants Terminators open fire at my Heavy Destroyers killing two. The last of my Scarabs are felled by the marines in the centre of the table. The plague marines in the centre move towards my Destroyer and open fire, sending three to their (second) deaths.

Turn five sees both the Terminators and Daemon Prince depart from the table. The Terminators succumbing to fire from the lone Heavy Destroyer, the now lone Destroyer (I had been unlucky with my We'll Be Back rolls all game) and Warriors. The Deciever cutting through the Daemon Princes and sending it back to where it was spawned. The Warriors on my left duck behind cover while holding onto their objective. The Chaos turn sees the Marines (now free from having their ankles bitten by my Scarabs) cut down the last Destroyer before noticing that some Necrons are now playing Hide and Seek. The Plague Marines on my right claim the Necron-free objective. The second Marine squad (centre) contest my central objective before destroying the remaining Warriors holding it. This now makes it 3-1 to the Deathguard.

Turn six and things are a little deserate for me. The Deciever engages the Plague Marines on my right, killing half the unit. The single Heavy Destroyer contests my central objective. Chaos turn sees my last Heavy Destroyer killed and the last of the Plague Marines succumb to the Deciever.

The game finishes 2-1 to the Deathguard. An enjoyable game against a good player and exceptional painter. things I have learnt from the game was that I have to really think carefully about taking Pariahs. If they had better dice, they might have stopped the Plague Marines leaving The Deciever a free run at other units. At 36 points they are an expensive choice, and you could get two Warriors of Flayed Ones for the same cost.

It was only as we were packing away our models that I realised I should have phased out earlier in the game. It didn't matter as it would have been the same result.