2v2 Tournament Batrep - A Howl of Laughter

 Is this just real life, is this just fantasy...

Caught in the webway, no escape from reality....

Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see...

Hello all! It's been a while since the last update. Took part in a 2v2 tournament with my beloved Masque of the Third Act last weekend, pairing up with Alan and his Space Wolves army. Alan brought a formation from the new Warzone Fenris supplement, which meant that he had 10 drop pods coming in on the first turn. Groovy. My list remained roughly the same, with the Troupes all having special weapons, and some psychic/Solitaire support. Details below.

The Blackmanes (all in drop pods)
3 x 5 Blood Claws, each with 1 Flamer
4 x 5 Grey Hunters, each with 1 Melta
1 x 2 Long Fangs, with 1 Melta
1 x 3 Thunderwolf Cavalry, with 1 Power Fist
1 Wolf Guard Battle Leader
5 Wolf Scouts
1 Murderfang

The Masque of the Third Act
2 Lvl 2 Shadowseers, one with the Mask of Secrets
1 Solitaire
3 Troupes, all with either Caresses, Kisses, or Embraces
2 Starweavers
1 Voidweaver

Sweat beaded on the Shadowseer's brow as he focused on the tides of the Warp. Trespassers from the Mon'keigh Imperium had made their way through the Cursed Forest of Lys, coming perilously close to freeing the evil that remained trapped in the shrouded ruins. Through long planning and crafted illusion, the Masque of the Third Act had managed to bring the attention of the Space Wolves to this benighted world. With delicious irony and no small amount of manipulation, the Wolves would be unleashed on their brethren...

Our first game was against a Sororitas/Iron Hands list with Wiloon and Colin at the helm. The Iron Hands list allowed them to choose a vehicle as their warlord, and they promptly chose the Land Raider, which made it a high priority target for all the drop melta.The scenario gave extra VP for killing off units that were NOT from your Warlord's detachment, and given how many units Alan had, we made his Battle Leader the Warlord.

Deployment. The harlies are clustered in terrain to take advantage of what meagre cover was available. That Knight Crusader was going to tear them a new one if it managed to draw LOS.

Turn 1. Steel Rain! All the drop pods come down, and we chose to cluster the majority of the pods close to their troop transports. We managed to get Slay the Warlord and First Blood, with some good rolling on the Meltaguns.

Our first turn saw the Blackmanes come down and glance down the Warlord Land Raider for First Blood and Slay the Warlord! That gave us a start which was way better than expected.

Those Wolves are baying for Sisters' blood as they crack open the Land Raider!

The Knight then moved up and began blasting the Space Wolves away. It was surprising to Alan and I that they didn't target the Harlies, but I suppose having a bunch of smelly Vikings in their face offended the Sisters' sense of propriety. The shooting didn't last long though, as the Harlies were now within charge distance.

The Harlies and the Thunderwolves charge in to try and tie up the Crusader. Look at that awesome conversion of using the school badge as a crest!

Between the flurry of Harlequin's Caresses and Thunderwolf attacks, the Knight goes up in flames. The Titanic Explosion scatters clean off from everything and does no further damage.

The Wolves hit the Sisters' lines hard, with the Solitair to come in soon after.

The Solitaire proved his worth as he easily gibbed both Uriah Jacobus and a few of his Dominion escort. While we were unable to kill many of the Sisters for the bonus VP, we had managed to pin them in their deployment zone, letting us rack up the Maelstrom points. At the end of the game, our first round score was 29-11. Wiloon and Colin were great people to play against, and man, did that Knight look sweet with a CHIJ school badge on it. You can't get more Sororitas than CHIJ.

The Masque of the Third Act faded back into the shadows of the webway, their job completed. The ever eager Space Wolves had fallen on their brethren quickly, never realising that the corruption they sensed was from the forest itself, not their fellow Imperials. The clues had already been laid to lead the Wolves on to their next target amongst the Crystal Tombs of Khet...

Our second game was against an Ultramarines/AdMech team, led by Marshall and Reuben. Lots of marines, two thunderfire cannons, and a whole bunch of robots with Grav/Phosphor in drop pods. Reuben rolled the Warlord Trait that made his Canticles always function at their highest level, and they gave us first turn. The mission included a Relic for an extra 5VP.

First turn and deployment as the Space Wolves' pods start coming down.

Between the pods, the drop melta, and shuriken cannon fire, we managed to wreck both Rhinos for First Blood. The marines came piling out, and were hemmed in like the Sisters before them. This meant that our opponents had lost much of their mobility and flexibility in securing objectives, as there were 6 Objective Secured units that were either wrecked or stuck in the middle of nowhere.

The Ultramarines respond by piling out of their wrecked transports to face their erstwhile brethren.

The Ultramarines retaliate, dropping in with a full tactical squad to try and reclaim that objective.

Murderfang unleashes his rage on an unsuspecting Thunderfire cannon and tears its Techmarine operator to bloody shreds.

 Love this shot. While the battle swirls around him, the Solitaire leaps into combat with a Librarian.

We were quickly reminded that the AdMech shooting was very painful, with the Kastelan Maniple killing Murderfang with Overwatch! The Grav Destroyers also hurt quite a bit, as did their auto 3 hit flamers, which meant a lot of toasted Harlequins. We nearly managed to pull off a resounding victory by hanging on to the Relic, but Reuben's Grav Destroyers managed to kill the unit holding the Relic at the end. Nevertheless, we took the second game 23-7. Marshall and Alan were old frenemies, and it was always amusing listening to their banter. It was really tough luck for them that we popped both their Rhinos, which would have given the list much more objective securing ability.

The Wolves were performing their roles just as planned, and the Troupe Master of the Light nodded to the Solitaire as he passed; the Masque was about to perform the final act, one which would require sacrifice for success. The Harlequins were ready to play their part, ready to die in order to ensure that the White Scars and the Space Wolves met and renewed their bonds on the Blasted Steppes of Vandra IV...

After 2 games played, Alan and I were coming in top with 52 points, while the 2nd placed Zim and Lum had 49. The 3rd placed players had 41 points, and to catch up, the 3rd placed team would need to table their opponent, or at least win by a relatively big margin. I was reasonably confident they wouldn't be able to achieve that, as their opponent had a Stormsurge with Interceptor. To everybody's surprise, the Tau player chose not to intercept the Skyhammer grav devastators, and the poor Stormsurge promptly died without firing a shot. Their game predictably ended in a tabling thereafter, giving them 71 points. It was now an open contest for the top three places.

On to our final game! We faced off against Zim and Lum's White Scars/Ultramarines. We were playing a mission with Eternal War, which meant that objectives held at the end of the game were worth 2 VP each. Against a fast moving and durable CAD on bikes, and a Skyhammer. This was going to end well...

Deployment. Both sides deployed with caution, with the bikes spreading out to avoid getting walled in by the pods, and the Harlies and scouts stick to terrain to avoid the Skyhammer.

That familiar pitter patter of steel raindrops. As the objectives were worth 2VPs each at the end of the game, we tried to bubblewrap the objectives and screen the enemy off.

We got first turn again, and the Blackmanes promptly dropped in. We tried to bubble wrap the objectives with pods and bodies, but our lists just weren't designed for this type of attritional battle, and the Skyhammer hit us like a ton of bricks. Notably, Lum's drops were INSANE. See picture below for evidence.

In comes the Skyhammer! What a ballsy drop!

A lot of our stuff died shortly after this.

I apologise for the lack of pictures, as we were rushing through turns and the hour was late. As the game wore on, the superior firepower of the White Scars and Skyhammer took its toll, with both Wolves and Harlies dying in equal measure. Zim's Thunderfire cannons took their toll, but in a post-mortem on the game, I realised that Barrage weapons only hit the top floor of the ruin in ITC rules! My harlies on the ground floor would have survived a volley, which could have made quite the difference. In the end, we just couldn't kill enough of the bikes to secure objectives, and they took the game by quite a margin (sorry can't remember the exact score). 

The final result was that Zim and Lum took first place, in what was their maiden(ish) tournament! No shame in losing to the eventual champions eh, and we came in third so it wasn't too bad ;) 

A great tournament for the most part, and I'm glad to have proven to myself (and hopefully some other people) that Harlies could make the cut if played right, under the right circumstances. To lose second because of someone else's mistake did sting, but them's the breaks. Looking forward to the next one, and thanks to GRex for organising the tournament!

The Masque of the Third Act slunk away into the Webway, bearing their dead and wounded with them. Yet again they had taken a battering, but their goals had been accomplished. In fighting each other, the Imperium in the sector was temporarily weakened, allowing Exodites seeking refuge to slip by undetected. In fighting each other, the White Scars, Ultramarines, Space Wolves, Adepta Sororitas, and Adeptus Mechanicus had tested their mettle and come out the better for it. They would need their battle hardened mentality to face the oncoming 13th Black Crusade....

Shortrep: Craftworld Altansar vs Space Wolves

Unfortunately I don't have much time these days for a full blown batrep so a short rep with many pictures will just have to suffice! That aside, Wei Jia has not played 40k for awhile now and I was still trying to get back into the jiggy with my Eldar. Would be a good balanced game I hope. 

1850 points, Cloak and Dagger

I take command of my Craftworld Altansar with the following:

Autarch with Fireblade and Banshee Mask on jetbike

Farseer on jetbike

Jetbikes x3

Jetbikes x3

Jetbikes x3

Jetbikes x3

Jetbikes x3

War Walkers x3 with bright lances

Night Spinner

Wraithguard x5 in a Wave Serpent with Scatter Lasers

Formations:

Wraithknight with D cannons

Aspect Host

Warp Spiders x6 with Exarch

Warp Spiders x6 with Exarch

Swooping Hawks x7 with Exarch

Here are list of models I am missing from the list:

1. Night Spinner x1
2. Wraithguard x5
3. Jetbikes x5

My Eldar army

Weijia brought a friendly Space Wolf list with a Land Raider! Almost made me feel bad...almost

Those Blood Claws rode the Land Raider

I managed to win the 1st turn roll and opted to go first.

Eldar deployment

Space Wolves deployment

Camping dakka dread! 

First Blood to the War Walkers, managing to kill off the Land Raider

In return the Wolves dropped in to take out my Farseer earning him Slay the Warlord

But the Autarch did not hesitate to channel all bikers to take them out

Modellers note: I need to get some of that Privateer Press red/purple. There are two subtle tones of Purple in my army right now...it's called Murderous Magenta. It's got more of a red in it than Vallejo's Warlord Purple

In Turn 3, I spread the army out again

These Wolves are surprisingly hard to kill! And they hit like a ton of bricks, taking out my Warp Spiders

I sent the Spiders to the back lines to help take out the SW Warlord who was hiding in the ruins. I had 2 Objective Cards that required me to kill that bugger off!

With only a few Marines left about the table, I was more relaxed with moving my Jetbikes up the main field

Autarch's Fireblade really handy! 

I ended up with quite a large victory margin owing to the number of cards I was scoring per turn. It didn't help that I managed to pop open that Land Raider in Turn 1. I then controlled a big part of the game as I held back and waited for the Objective Cards to come.

Weijia's list could definitely do with some upgrading considering he brought a super friendly Land Raider. Still, it was a good experience! Hope you guys enjoyed it. 

Battle of the Brie: 1500pts of Cheese Harlequins/Eldar vs Space Wolves/Ultramarines

The Harlequins of the Masque of the Third Act had suffered greatly in the weeks since their exile from the Frozen Stars, having to fend off predation from both Dark Eldar of Elian Maiburiarch and Orks of Warboss Morgutz-Ear. Despite the unwanted attention, the Third Act had managed to keep the majority of their nascent Masque intact, and had even managed to acquire several gargantuan Wraithknight frames, as their family members from the Craftworlds had come to join them. The Troupe Master that had come to be known as the Willow Prince was glad for his family's company, they were what all the Third Act had rebelled against the Frozen Stars for. He watched the recently arrived Bonesingers working on the Wraithknight frames, musing on how far the Third Act had come. A crystalline chime stirred him from his thoughts. Intruders had neared an entrance to the webway....

1500 pts between Alan's combined Power Armour army and my Harlies with WK support. We both agreed to bring cheese lists so there was no quarter given.

Space Wolves/Ultramarines

1 x Rune Priest with Force Axe and Storm Shield

6 x Thunderwolf Cavalry with Storm Shields and 2 Power fists

Skyhammer Annihilation Force with Grav Cannons and Grav Amps
Grey Hunters with 2 Plasma guns, Drop Pod with Locator Beacon

Harlequins/Eldar

2 x Cegorach's Jest formations (Troupes with Caresses in Starweavers, Skyweavers, Voidweaver)

2 x Wraithknights (2 x Heavy Wraithcannons, 1 x Ghostglaive and Shield, 2 x Shuriken Cannons, 2x Scatter lasers)

The Masque of the Third Act

Harlequin Deployment, hiding from the Skyhammer

The view downfield, Thunderwolf Cavalry hiding from all the D attacks

The Skyhammer all set to enter

Alan hid his Wolves well, my Wraithknights could only see one. Which was promptly killed by a volley of Wraithcannon fire.

As the ruins of an ancient city received the first rays of dawn's early light, the Third Act positioned themselves to intercept the intruders. Sensors had shown that a mon-keigh vessel had entered low orbit, and long experience told the Willow Prince that an airborne assault would soon follow. The Wraithknights hid themselves in large ruins, while the Starweavers of the Masque also stayed out of sight. A strong smell of wet dog and mon-keigh alcohol wafted across the battlefield, and he saw movement in the ruins ahead. Battle would soon be joined...

I deploy everything in ruins to give myself 4+ cover against his Skyhammer grav cannons, in case he brings them in on the first turn. Alan's wolves were deployed out of LOS, but one could be seen through a window. Two heavy wraithcannon shots quickly took care of him. nothing else could be seen, so the Sword Wraithknight ran to get the charge in next turn.

This drop pod had a locator beacon, to bring in the Skyhammer without scatter.

Grey Hunters with bolters and plasma shoot...

... and wipe out the Voidweaver for first blood!

The Harlequins had taken some sacrificial casualties with little caused in return, thanks to the Space Marine assault. Nevertheless, the time was ripe to spring the ambush on the intruders, and the Willow Prince ordered his forces to engage. As one, Skyweavers and Starweavers swept forward, spraying the marines on the ground with shurikens and star bolas. With a covering volley of shuriken cannon fire, a Wraithknight charged into the Space Wolves' cavalry. Despite their vaunted courage, the elite warriors fled after losing two of their brethren. The remaining marines, seeing their support flee, voxed for reinforcements...

The Ghostglaive Wraithknight kills two Thunderwolves and the rest run off the board! Meanwhile, the Wraithcannon WK fails to destroy the locator beacon drop pod, which meant that the Skyhammer formation could come in without scatter next turn. Uh-oh.

Between the Ghostglaive and Stomps, the Thunderwolves have their tails between their legs, and hightail it off the board!

They prefer the comFURts of home...

Like a maniature meteor shower, three drop pods fell from the sky on tails of flame, marking the Ultramarines' response to the Space Wolves' calls for aid. The pods' doors fell open with resounding crashes, and blue-armoured marines poured out. Displaying their famed discipline and training, the Devastators poured their fire into the Wraithknight that had routed the Thunderwolves, bringing it down with a thunderous volley of grav cannon fire. Elsewhere on the battlefield, staccato explosions marked the death of another Voidweaver, with the recently arrived Assault Marines making short work of the lightly armoured vehicle...

Complete carnage when the Skyhammer formation comes in, with the Grav cannons killing off the Ghostglaive Wraithknight and taking a wound or two off the Wraithcannon one. The Assault Marines wreck the last Voidweaver. Skyweaver jetbikes still survive, but only till Alan's next shooting phase. Thankfully the Harlequin Troupes are still at full strength.

Down comes the Skyhammer

Assault marines prepare to charge the second Voidweaver

Grav wipes out a heroic Wraithknight, who absorbed 30 Grav shots with rerolls to wound and hit before dying!

The Assault Marines destroy the second Voidweaver and begin rioting!!!

Wrecked! Those are amazing LED markers btw, many thanks to TG

The Harlequin forces had suffered several blows, losing much of their heavy support to the Space Marine reinforcements, but they had the marines right where they wanted them. Like a maestro worthy of his title of Troupe Master, the Willow Prince had funneled the enemy into the centre of the city, and they were now in a killing zone. The remainder of the Masque swept into the Space Marines like a whirlwind, tearing apart several Devastators in sprays of gore. Onwards they fought, carving a bloody furrow into the massed human warriors, who were so slow as to appear statuesque next to the quicksilver Harlequins...

Harlies charge into combat and across several assault phases, wipe out most of the Devastators and Assault Marines, with little losses of their own. At this point, the greater mobility of the Troupes/Starweavers and the durability of the last remaining Wraithknight mean that Alan's pods and marines can't do much to take objectives and we call it. GG.

Look at those blazing flames! Don't look too closely; Harlies wipe out the marines that got distracted by the fire

Harlequins slaughter their way through the Power Armoured foe...

Endgame. All that's left for the Harlies are the Warlord, a Wraithknight, and two Starweavers. The Space Wolves have two drop pods and their dead...

The Third Act gathered up their fallen and wounded and began to retreat through the Webway portal. Though the humans had been repulsed, the nature of the defeat would surely bring numerous forces in retribution. It was a losing war, and as the last Harlequins walked through the shimmering portal, the Willow Prince regretfully set charges to destroy the entrance. The Third Act had been victorious, but at the cost of yet another world lost to the dwindling Eldar....

Post game thoughts: On another day this game could have been completely different. If Alan's Thunderwolves hadn't run off the board in the first turn. Extreme luck also played a part (making 20-25 4+ saves), helping me absorb most of the punishment from the Skyhammer. If the first Wraithknight had gone down in one volley, the other one would have had to bear the brunt of the Devastator shooting. The Skyhammer is really aptly named. We'll be having a rematch to test it again ;)

Apocalypse: Shield of Baal Exterminatus

After 7 weeks of hard campaigning and both sides have their rewards for their factions, it was time for the finale. I would also like to thank Titan Games for being excellent hosts, being supportive by dedicating a place for us to play and giving us participation prizes. 

Shout-out goes out to all the players who participated and continued in the drive to secure the Baal System. 

This time it would be something different. Rather than just using the apocalypse ruleset and win conditions, we would be using the 8th scenario from the Shield of Baal Exterminatus. These were the forces that partook in the grand battle of Tartoros: Fallen Hope.

Tyranids brought a total of 9,000 points of gribllies including a BioTitan (Alien Queen)

The Alliance of Imperials and Necrons used their 600 extra points to purchase massive structures and Imperial Knights

Based on the scenario, the Tyranids had to deploy first and the Imperials would go first. The mission was simple, secure the objective sitting in the middle of the Tyranid table.

Herald Deathwolf work in progress

Progress has been slow, works been occupying way too many hours...  Hope to finish this model this weekend. :)