Hey all,
So yesterday was Scorched Summer Skies, at Sanctuary, 1850pts, battle forged armies was the only restriction.
Sanctuary Gaming Centre run a monthly event, usually 20players or so, but yesterday was a bumper attendance at around 35players!
I took:
Army Points Total: 1849
Primary Detachment: Craftworld Eldar Combined Arms Detachment:
HQ1: Autarch (70) Skyrunner (15) [85] (WARLORD)
Troop1: Windriders (51) 3 Scatter Lasers (30) [81]
Troop2: Windriders (51) 3 Scatter Lasers (30) [81]
HS1: Vauls Weapon Battery (30) D-Cannon (25) [55]
HS2: Vauls Weapon Battery (30) D-Cannon (25) [55]
HS3: Vauls Weapon Battery (30) D-Cannon (25) [55]
LoW1: Wraithknight (295) Heavy Wraithcannons (0) 2 Scatter Lasers (30) [325]
Secondary Detachment: Craftworld Eldar War Host:
Core: Windrider Host:
HQ2: Farseer (100) Skyrunner (15) [115]
HQ3: Warlock Conclave (35) Skyrunner (15) [50]
Troop3: Windriders (51) 3 Scatter Lasers (30) [81]
Troop4: Windriders (51) 3 Scatter Lasers (30) [81]
Troop5: Windriders (51) 3 Scatter Lasers (30) [81]
FA1: Vyper Squadron [40]
Auxillary: Aspect Host:
FA2: Warp Spiders (95) Exarch (10) [105]
FA3: Warp Spiders (95) Exarch (10) [105]
FA4: Warp Spiders (95) Exarch (10) [105]
Auxillary: Aspect Host:
FA5: Warp Spiders (95) Exarch (10) [105]
FA6: Warp Spiders (95) Exarch (10) [105]
FA7: Warp Spiders (95) Exarch (10) [105]
Tertiary Detachment: Inquisitorial Detachment:
HQ4: Xenos Inquisitor (25) 3 Servo Skulls (9) [34]
GAME1: Emperors Relic (Combined mission) Vanguard Strike deployment.
vs Chris Dickinson (Nids)
Chris was running, Nid CAD, with Flyrant, Spore, 10 Termagants, Shroudthrope (no idea on actual name), 2 Mawlocks, Barbed Hierodule. And a full Genestealer cult.
I've never played the Genestealer Cult before, so I had no real clue what they could do (Ive read through it once.. so new a couple of the tricks, like Infiltrate and charge on one or two things). So I would learn a lot from the game either way.
The game was pretty frustrating, the Cult is annoying to deal with, Stealth and Shrouded turn1, Stealth after that, we were playing on a ruin heavy board, so it was an uphill battle, the Wraithknight failed to kill the Hierodule in 2 rounds of shooting doing zero wounds!! Then 15 Warp Spiders (30 shots), put 3 wounds on it.. (on average its about 8 wounds, it only has 6).
The game boiled down to if I could survive on the objectives last turn as I went first, Chris had last turn to clear me off, Chris managed to clear my units off his Emperors will objective, a Mawlock scattered off my home objective (I had a Obsec Windrider unit with attached Autatch to tank, on it). And I have the Relic, again with Obsec Windriders, but it was fully surrounded by chaff.
We only got to 4 turns
,it was only going to get better for me if we had a turn5/6/7 as he only had the Hierodule on 2 wounds, Mawlock on one wound and a few remnants of the Cult. I'd only lost 4 units of Spiders and a Warlock (most of which sacrificed themselves to get into Chris's objective knowing it was the last turn).
WIN: 12-4
GAME2: 3 objectives, 1 central and 2 other objectives 18" either side along the centre line, Dawn of War. - on turn4 a random objective disappears.
vs Jamie Dempster (Marines)
Jamie was rocking Skyhammer, with 2x10 Devs, 2 Grav Cannons, 2 Multimeltas in each, Assault squads with Meltabombs and Lightning claws. CAD, Telion, 2x Scout squads with Snipers. Stormspear? Formation, 2x1 Landspeeder Typhoons and 2x Landspeeder Storms with Obsec Scouts. And finally a Warden (Gatling Cannon) Imperial Knight
My Farseer rolled Infiltrate Warlord Trait and Invis which was huge, I then got the choice of turn1.
I deployed most of my army, just the Autarch and 4 units of Warp Spiders in reserve. I wanted to cover a lot of the table to force risky deep strikes to get to the Farseer with the Assault squads.
Jamie deployed the Speeders, Scout squads and the Imperial Knight. I infiltrated the 2 Dcannons into range of the Knight.
Jamie didn't get that 6 to seize the initiative. My first turn was pretty brutal, killing 3/4 Speeders, the Invisible Wraithknight took out the Imperial Knight with a 6.
Jamie dropped down with his Skyhammer, combat squading the Devs into Melta and Grav, he didn't bother shooting the Wraithknight, so went about killing 2 D-Cannon batteries and charging the 3rd, he also killed a Windrider unit and killing 2/3 Windriders from the Farseer squad.
My turn2 and the 4 units of Warp Spiders deep strike in near the Dev squads, these, combined with the Warp Spiders move into range of the Dev squad, the Windriders also lining them up, through a combined effort all 4 units of Devs are removed. Wraithknight assaulted a unit of Assault Marines.
After this, it was a matter of mopping up scout units and the last Assault Marine unit, I table Jamie on turn4.
WIN - Tabling (15pts)
GAME3 - Crusade (4 Objectives), Hammer and Anvil.
Vs Mike Porter (Imperial Knights/Guard)
Mike was running a Baronial Court of 4 Imperial Knights, 2 Wardens, Paladin and a Lancer. (2 with Glatling cannons, 1 with rapid fire battle cannon and a 6 shot 18" plasma gun/combat knight). Guard was a Psykana division of 3 Wyrdvane units, 2 Commisars and Primaris Psyker (lvl1).
I've not played against the Psykana division, but I knew what it could do (Summon on a 2+), Mike went for the summoning powers, but only got one Possession, all the squads had Summoning.
We placed 2 objectives in either deployment zone (I contemplated putting my last objective with mikes 2.. to make it a 3-1 split, but bottled it and went with a 2-2 split). Mike then won then roll for sides.. getting the one side with enough LoS blocking terrain to hide is Psykana division.
Mike then deployed all 4 Knights along his deployment zone line. I put all 6 units of Warp Spiders in deep strike reserve, Wraithknight behind a ruin, I deployed all 3 D-Cannons in/behind the most advanced terrain accross my deployment zone. And 3 units of Windriders opposite a Wyrdvane unit I could see.
Mike then took turn1. Possessing a Wyrdvane unit into a D-Thirster. Two knights moved back, the 1 Warden and Lancer moved up, the Knights shot, killing 1 Crew and a D-Cannon, twice. Then managed to just wipe out a Windrider unit (Last dying to the Stubber...).
Basically this game came down to how much damage the Warp Spiders could do, in the end it turns out, quite a bit!
As they landed around two Imperial Knights, killing 1 and putting 2HPs on another as the Wraithknight didn't roll any 6's throughout the game (it caused 2 HPs.. all game)
I had last turn, I had a choice, I can turbo a unit of Obsec windriders onto one contested objective to claim it or kill a unit of Seekers moving towards a objective, if the game goes to 6.. I could lose! As I'd lose the obsec Windriders and the Seekers would charge and kill a D-Cannon or at least contest the objective if it ran, AND eitherway claim linebreaker, with nothing I could do to stop it in my last turns.
In the end I opt to kill the Seekers as we had time for a turn7.. But the game ended turn5. I Still think I made the right call.
The game ended as we contested 1 objective, and me claiming 3.
WIN 11-1!
I'd won all 3 games, but only one with max pts, I was on table 2, table 1 had a narrow win, 8-4.. so I new it would be close, because there was a max 15pt win on the table below.
In the end, I finished 3rd.
I was tied on VPs with Second, but he'd only conceded 4vps to my 5! So to lose out by 1vp is gutting, first was 3vps clear, I did all I could and that was winning all my games! And I still walked away with a nice trophy!
The list feels like it has a lot of answers and I cannot really see a way to make it better in a tournament setting (only tax sometimes is the Inquisitor.. but vs scouting armies, he's HUGE!)
