Wednesday, March 29, 2017

2v2 Tournament - Part 3: War with Friends

This would be the third installment of the series. 

Game 3

Final game was against Andrew and Melvin (the Lim variety). Another T&D member, this is like playing with our club mates! And what a difference it was. The atmosphere was relaxed, we were chilled and generally having a real good laugh as we brought out our models. There was a strong sense that this was gonna be a very chilled game. Little did we know our two opponents were in strong contention for 1st place! But this is what gaming should be like. Regardless of how well you are doing, it should always be in a state where all of us are happily working towards telling a good story. Thanks goes out to Andrew, Melvin and my Battle Brother Daryl for making this an excellent experience. 


Our opponents brought a Shield Generator and hid their Baneblade within that bubble

Going for the biggest threat, my Grav Marines went after the Baneblade
First breaking through the Shield Generator, I rolled a good amount of 6's which surprised all 4 of us. The Baneblade then went nova and took out a small number of the opponents' army - I thought I would have caused more damage but we were both pleased we managed to remove that threat early on.

However, on hind-sight I realised that I didn't have to drop my Grav Marines so close. I had 24" range but by deploying so close to their army, I was now in prime charge range of their entire Ravenwing force with Plasma guns etc. Yikes

By Turn 2, I barely had much left on the table as our opponents gunned me down pronto. 

Leaving Daryl wi the unenviable task of trying to outscore them
Despite the loss, this was probably the one game both Daryl and I enjoyed the most. So much that we unanimously declared them our most fun game in the Sportsmanship score.

The start of the day
Against a backdrop at the end of the day

After tabulating the scores, Andrew and Melvin emerged the victors! Congratulations!
Meanwhile, Chris and Gavin came in 2nd.

So we played both the Champ and Runner Up. Hah! We eventually scored 6th overall.



And then the organizers declared the Best Painted. Daryl and I had won Best Painted! Woohoo! 

Here are some photos taken with my phone and an SLR. 

There are some details that I still have to add to them

And I will snap another shot of the army once they are detailed. This time in a lightbox

Daryl's amazingly painted stuff

Apologies for the focus!

An army wide shot

Bagged a neat little voucher and bought myself a box of Deathwatch Bikers so supplement my Strikeforce. 


Would have loved a trophy but this will do too!
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. Tiring and full of ups and downs but I enjoyed it overall. T&D is sure well represented! 

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

2v2 1000 Point Tournament - Part 2 Some Tense Gaming

Moving into Game 2, this would be a very different vibe from the first one that we played. Not only were our opponents experienced, this would be my very first experience playing with someone who was quite notoriously known for fudging in the tournament scene. 

It took me quite awhile considering if I should release this piece because I don't want to cause fractures in the community. However, I thought it would be best to share my honest experience rather than keeping it mum. 

Game 2

We drew against Chris and Gavin for our next game. This was probably one of the draws that was the tougher of the lot especially since both of them has a lot of tournament experience.

Downside was there was some dodgy shenanigans going on. I'll explain.

Demons vs St Celestine, so much drama in this shot
So we had a few friends come and watch the game as they were going on. Some walked pass and started asking me to watch one of our opponents. Some silently watched. While others, caught sight of very dodgy measuring and voiced their concerns over WhatsApp.

This is basically an excerpt of the chat we had in one of our WhatsApp groups. And I quote:
[14:12, 3/12/2017] witness: His d weapon platform scatter 5"                    
[14:12, 3/12/2017] witness: Still manage to hit mauler                    
[14:13, 3/12/2017] witness: Which is preping to charge his team deathstar                    
[14:14, 3/12/2017] witness: That deathstar had no way to handle that mauler

Just one of the few infractions that occurred. I am very concerned when this tournament was meant to be a relaxed event. I was way more concerned when Chris didn't know the rule but confidently claims knowledge of a rule that benefited him, even when it was clearly not correct (which his partner would point out). This happened a number of times. I give him the benefit of doubt and still think he is a good person generally, but claiming knowledge of something when you clearly don't is misrepresentation. Thank goodness their team had another member. Gavin was quite honest with his rulings and provided the counterpoint to Chris. I lament playing against a gamer like Chris in a full-on competition 1v1 where you have to be 100% aware what's going on. Not only your own rules, his rules but also stay on point with the dice that are being rolled, the strange exceptions to the rules and measuring. This makes it quite stressful no?

I still harbour the hope that with the right coaching and with the community pointing this negative behaviour out to him, it will help him improve his own "gamer brand".

Angels & Demons working together to take on the Eldar and Imperials
That being said, it was still a game that helped me learn a whole heap about my own army and the armies opposite the table. I respect Gavin a lot for his honesty and willingness to own up to models which were not modelled properly - namely the jetbikes which were missing bases. He allowed both Daryl and me to decide to use whichever ruling that benefitted us since their models were incomplete. Just one of the few examples of good gamer etiquette.

Long distance shooting
The game went on and I continued to focus. Daryl didn't seem particularly perturbed that we were losing. I guess we were both quite determined to make a good stand but both felt that we may not get out of this alive. We made the best of what we had. 
Some action going on at our table
One of the biggest mistakes I made was probably being suckered into taking out the Wraithknight first. Looking back, I realised that pouring our alpha strike into the unit of jetbikes would have made more sense. The WK was at the most able to take out 3-4 models a turn while that unit of jetbikes was mowing through quite a large number of our units. It also contained their General which was worth another point.

A shot mid -table

Pesky jetbikes without supplied bases. This is a tournament right? 

What a showdown - demon vs angel

We eventually lost this game 9-16, a 5 point gap. Both Daryl and I were both pleased that we didn't get trampled into the ground. Although very stressed with everyone telling me to watch out for out of play actions and rulings, I still managed to learn a lot from this game. 

I just hoped at this point that our next game wouldn't be so stressful again as it was really taking the "fun" out of the afternoon. 

Sunday, March 26, 2017

2v2 Batrep - The Danse Macabre

A storm was gathering above the planet Gerexus, making it hard to differentiate friend from foe. Many parties had previously fought over the bountiful rewards on offer, with few being able to claim absolute victory. As the walls of reality weakened, armies of the Imperium, wanderers of the Webway, newborn races, Traitor Legions, and denizens of the Warp all converged on the planet yet again. In the ensuing battle, none would be able to truly tell friend from foe....

Mork and I entered the 2v2 tournament held at Gamersaurus Rex over the weekend. We eventually settled on a combined Ynnari and Death Guard list. Much as I dislike the fluff behind it, soulburst brings a whole new way to punish lists which get an alpha strike in, while Mork's Death Guard added some resiliency for securing objectives.

The forces of the Danse Morkabre gathered.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

2v2 Tournament Part 1 - Friendly

So after finally painting and working on my army for the past 2-3 weeks, it was time for the actual tournament. Daryl is my buddy and he brought a beautifully painted army. 

It's a 2v2 tournament with no repeat formations.

Here is my list:

Skyhammer Formation
  • Assault Squad: 9 Marines + Sergeant with Power Weapon - all with jump packs
  • Assault Squad: 9 Marines + Sergeant with Power Weapon - all with jump packs
  • Devastator Squad: 9 Marines + Sergeant - 4 Grav Cannons
  • Devastator Squad: 9 Marines + Sergeant - 4 Grav Cannons
The following will be the three games Daryl and I had with some commentary

Game 1
The first draw we ended up playing with Lum and Melvin who are also regulars at T&D, our gaming club. This was hilarious! We just played them last week and in that practice game, it helped me hone my list. 

We rolled for first turn and in our previous game, Lum made the mistake of letting me go first, thus reducing Tau effectiveness. This time they rolled and managed to choose to go first and Lum promptly took first turn. 

Only to have us seize the initiative! 
Both Lum and Melvin visibly slumped and we had a good laugh about it. Some good old fashion luck certainly helped.

I really love this conversion! He actually used FW Ghal Vorpal and gang
Overview of the battle


Just love this amazing shot. Those Marines are dying in the droves and the Demons mop up
It was truly a war of attrition! 

While Daryl's Havocs get threatened by Lum's assault squads

My job was simple. Just go in and pull all attention to me thus allowing my partner to mop up on the objectives. Daryl got really lucky with the spawning and we managed to get all the right demons. Eventually we managed a good win, 16 to 6 - 10 point differential.

Stay tuned for Part 2

Monday, March 13, 2017

Tourney Prep - 1000 Point 2v2

So after preparing my army for the 2v2, I arranged for a game with Marshall, Lum and Melvin to give my army a good spin. I have never used the Skyhammer before and this would be my maiden game. Lum however is an experienced Skyhammer player and I learned quite a lot from the game with them. 

While Marshall wasn't in the true sense my partner for the tourney, he designed a list that he felt comfortable with that was balanced. It allowed me to see what worked for me too.
Marshall would capture the points while I was in their face
One quick lesson was that you always combat squad the Assault Marines when deep striking them into Intercept. That intercept template will easily wipe them out.

Another was that I should not have only 4 Grav Cannons in one unit of Devastators. 35 points per model, they were way too easily killed.

Interestingly enough, the Eviscerator actually worked in this game, killing the Stormsurge.

It became a bloody race to kill by mid game

With Lum eventually outnumbering me
We managed to win this game mainly because we got an early lead from the cards that we drew. However, I was more concerned over the viability of my list as the initial concept of it was to hit hard and draw the enemy into hammering down on my Marines. It did not have enough bodies and the upgraded Eviscerators soaked up too many points.

Came back and continued preparing more Marines

With only a week left, I really had to push out more Marines and fast
At this point, I was pushing out 3 to 6 Marines an evening as that was the only way I could finish in time. Note to self: do not wait till the last week

More hitting the table

I put those finished facing me to keep me motivated

And remagnetized all of the Eviscerator arms with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword
I also had to swap out the Plasma Guns and swap in a Power Sword for both my Assault Marine Sergeants. More work at the last hour. LOL!

Worst part was that I realised I was running short of my 2.5mm x 2.5mm magnets! Rummaging my magnet case, I found a stack of 2.5mm x 3mm magnets and I went to work with them, drilling deeper into the minis and hopefully not break the arms.

After finding the right parts, I magnetized them

While the arms were being primed, I started working on their bodies

This time working on more than 3 so I can finish in time

Always amazed how much a deadline can help push modelling progress

Focussed on the Devastators knowing that these models were complete

Airbrushed them arms

Only the arms left! 

Boom arms done! 
On Friday evening I took out my PVA glue and flocked the heck out of these Marines. All 40 of them! Packed them into the bag and I was ready to go. 

Sunday, March 12, 2017

One Hard Hitting Formation

So I've heard that this formation hits hard. Trying out something interesting for an upcoming tourney, I put together a list and then the starter models.

Started out with Eviscerators glued on the Marines before Marshall shared how shitty they are
So I plucked them off and magnetized them for future proofing!

I love working in bulk
An advantage of gluing and basing the minis is that the Primer forms a sealant which helps to seal in the basing materials (in my case sand and stones) from falling off.
I then hit them all together with a Flat Black Primer. Brand is Nippon
I keep having people tell me how important it is to use good primers. I don't think it's that critical IMHO. As long as the primer you use is not sprayed too close to your model, you should be alright. Remember to keep at least 1 feet or 30cm between your model and nozzle.

Unfortunately these models are extremely detailed so I work in 3's
I found that 3 is a good number if you are working on detailed models. Keeps me going as I get a sense of achievement from seeing them complete in a shorter time.

And then I broke out the Devastators which needed work too. Blocked in all the major parts in black,silver etc
There was a large bunch of Marines that were still not completed so I took out the airbrush and started batch painting in the evening. The only bad thing about doing this at night is that I realised my models were a little darker compared to my other batch that was painted in the morning. 
Airbrushing helps to save so much time but do try to do it in bright day light or bright lights

I had magnetized all my arms for the Eviscerators and I am glad I did. I eventually swapped them out for other options

Let's hope I pick up the right can when I top up that cup
More incoming! 


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