The one where I met Battlefield Birmingham... Part 3

So I decided that I needed to sleep which meant I had to stop posting! BOO! Nevermind, because I am back now!

The end of day 1, I was pitted against a Space Wolves Drop Pod list. Again, this was something which I had never faced before so I was looking forward to it. I had played Space Wolves a while ago when I was taken by the idea that I could use them as Luna Wolves and represent characters (before 30k came out) in the game system. I enjoyed playing Njal and Grimnar, but in this list it doesn't seem to be the flavour of the day! In fact, all the Wolves I saw throughout the weekend didn't have named characters, just Rune Priests dropping down laying the Jaws down on those who dare stay in their path! I always thought that the wolf list was fairly balanced and there were some good choices. I still think the same, don't get me wrong, but the fact that every power can be nullified on a 4+ within 24 is complete crap! Maybe I'm bitter because I'm playing GK but it just seems so stupid when even Eldar 'masters of the warp' can't even do that job! ... Bloody Marines! Anyway, whinge over, tissue in the bin, tampon changed! I'm back!

Now then, I'm playing another Grahame! This time a different spelling of the name and a vastly different army to the Tau I faced earlier! Grahame Kent is a lad from Telford who plays around Walsall with a small group who are entering the tournament scene with a little help from some local established tournament regulars. Sounds familiar... But it isn't us!

Game: Big Guns Never Tire (4 objectives)

Deployment: Hammer and Anvil

Powers: Precognition, Prescience, Scriers’ Gaze

Warlord Trait: Divide to Conquer (-1 on opponent’s reserve rolls)

My Warlord trait now comes good in this game especially with a drop pod list hammering down on me! This coupled with Warp Quake and Scriers’ Gaze would be an excellent opportunity for a close game and something which could really test how well this list can do.

The past two games have seen my list pitted against new opponents with interesting builds. This one however, I know about! Listening to the 40k Global Podcast I knew the lists’ build and what it can do. I also knew what to look out for. But looking out for something and preventing it are two very different stories!

So the game began with Night Fight and I won the first turn. I elected to go first as all Grahame had deployed were 4 Thunder Wolves (including his lord) and a Fenrisian Wolf on the side. Foolishly I thought I could knock wounds off the wolves, probably kill one and leave one on a wound or so but the way Grahame had deployed the wolves meant that the two storm shields were at the front so bolter fire bounced! Now, Big Guns I’ve got 3 monstrous creatures which score and naively I pumped both DKs forward to flame the unit. In hindsight, I should have hidden them like I did with the rest letting them score at the back and smash forward the 30 in the final turn! As it happened, I got the red mist… or grey mist and smashed right next to the wolf pack. The Wraithknight landed his blasts but all the shots bar one from all 3 creatures bounced off leaving me in the proverbial!

Now it’s his first turn… 4 drop pods land with 2 Rune Priests. A Jaws of the World Wolf claimed the life of a Dreadknight but the other managed to survive! The Wraithknight, thankfully, didn’t get tapped out by the Jaws and survived to fight another turn!  The arrival of the drop pods provided some concern, the saving grace was the fact that Warp Quake was in effect, which meant he couldn’t drop within the 12” bubble surrounding the GKs. What was more of a concern was the fact that a ton of plasma and melta dropped down and was about to smash me in the face! Well… it did! The end of the first turn shoot phase was like the end of a gangbang; a lot of fluid everywhere… Plasma drooled over the floor and melta solidified around shards of metal! The remaining DK bit the dust and the Wraithknight went as well, the Wriath did have one wound remaining until the pack of massive wolves decided they would assault and smash the wraith back in to the heavens! All monstrous creatures gone by the end of the shooting phase was not quite what I had in mind!

It was time for drastic action… Rage Quit!

Joking!

It was time to use Scriers’ and the GM’s ability to alter reserve rolls to hold all reserves off for another turn due to the fact I was going to get hammered and it would be over by Turn 3 and I wanted a bit more of a game!

Another 2 pods dropped but due to the Warlord’s ability the 3^rd didn’t…I suppose that was fairly good for me. The Lord’s drop pod did go through my cowardly GM, hiding behind a building, was the next to face the melta wrath! Failing the invun he double tapped making it a neigh on impossible task now to bring the game back from the brink!

One pod misshaped and I got to place it, yet another mistake! I placed the pod at the back of the board in his right hand corner, near an objective of his but not that close. My mistake was that I managed to put my farseer up to the objective! Succumbing to bolter fire, he was a little bit dead (even with the mantle and cover saves)! The dice gods were not on my side! I think they had left me to go to the bar and didn’t return!

Eventually my Stormraven came on, offloading Mindstrikes into a rune priest, taking his life! Like the last game, I went for the troops but it wasn’t the greatest of match ups due to the fact I had nothing left on the board! Well, virtually nothing!

In Grahame’s turn a melta drop pod fell and managed to land right underneath the raven blowing it sky high! The unit inside took the S10 no save roll and 1 survived… only to die to bolter fire after the raven had crash landed!!! So, the end of turn 3 I have noting but a few troops left on the board. 

Turn 4 and 5 were pretty much a dodging game, trying to get away from the onslaught but unfortunately this wasn't to be! I ended up losing the game 10-0 and 20-1 on Tournament points.

Not ideal I must say, however it was a steep learning curve! I know that really I should be looking at consolidating my two objectives and denying one, however, I think due to fatigue or a sudden rush of madness I thought that bombing forward would be the best option. Not the case! A worthwhile experience and a really good test of my army. As a wise man once said; You learn more from defeat than you do from victory! And in this case, it was most certainly true! I will look to keep the force close and concise so that everything can work together to acheive the right result.

By no means did I come away from this game feeling angry or frustrated, I felt that I could have done more to give Grahame a game but we had a good laugh and we talked about a lot of things! A really decent bloke! I will mention that this army, as well as Graeme's from the last game, was in contention for best painted!

Well, that's the end of day 1! I'm sitting currently on 22 tournament points, which I'm happy with! I would have liked to have picked up perhaps Warlord or linebreaker from the last game but that's just one of those things! Sunday would prove very much the same as Saturday; a mixed bag! I will go in to that in my next post! 

Thanks for reading! I'll see you soon!