Last weekend I attended my second tournament of the year, Heat 2 of the 40kGT in Brighton. Having managed to place in the top ten in July at another tournament at Brighton I was hoping that my refined list would help me into the top half to qualify for the national finals in March.
My list was:
1650pts Space Wolves and Imperial Guard 40kUK GT Heat 2 List
Rune Priest, Jaws, Living Lightning
(IG) Company Command Squad, Master of Ordinance
4x 5 Grey Hunters, Razorback (Heavy Bolter), plasma gun
2x 5 Grey Hunters, Razorback (Heavy Bolter), melta gun
(IG) Platoon;
Platoon Command Squad, 2x flamer
2x Infantry Squad
2x 1 Sabre Defence Platform, lascannon (IA 2 2nd Ed)
3x 2 Hyperios Missile Launchers (IA Aeronautica)
(IG) Vendetta [130pts]
(IG) Heavy Quad Launcher Battery (3 guns with 9 crew) (IA 2 2nd Ed)
1650pts
DAY 1Rune Priest, Jaws, Living Lightning
(IG) Company Command Squad, Master of Ordinance
4x 5 Grey Hunters, Razorback (Heavy Bolter), plasma gun
2x 5 Grey Hunters, Razorback (Heavy Bolter), melta gun
(IG) Platoon;
Platoon Command Squad, 2x flamer
2x Infantry Squad
2x 1 Sabre Defence Platform, lascannon (IA 2 2nd Ed)
3x 2 Hyperios Missile Launchers (IA Aeronautica)
(IG) Vendetta [130pts]
(IG) Heavy Quad Launcher Battery (3 guns with 9 crew) (IA 2 2nd Ed)
1650pts
Game 1: Crusade vs Daemons.
Screamers, beasts and drones were all over me on turn 2, but I was winning when we timed out. However, the TO came over and gave us extra time into lunch to get turn 5 in. Timing is critical when diving onto objectives, and I'd already sacrificed a turn of shooting to get into position because I could tell we weren't going to get turn 5 in within time. Result = loss. Quite frustrated at that, but there was really nothing I could do. Oh well!
Game 2: Relic vs IG & Ultramarines
Tigerius and his grav-toting biker friends accompanied a full commissar led blob which mostly hid under his skyshield shooting lascannons. I managed to take out 75% of the enemy with minimal significant loss. Anything of his that got close to the relic died. Manticore and 3 vendettas didn't last long either! Good game.
Game 3: Scouring vs Daemons & CSM
I made a big mistake keeping all my razors off the board. Then I messed up my psychic powers, positioning and target priority all game. Didn't play well at all, lost fair and square. I don't usually make that many mistakes, and I paid for it!
DAY 2
Well after a disappointing first day I wasn't holding out much hope for getting a top half finish to qualify for the finals. I needed two more wins and a draw to guarantee a place, but one of the games was killpoints (always a hard one with MSU lists) and I'd found out on Saturday that I'd be playing against Tau/Eldar in Emperor's Will next...
Game 4 Emperor's Will vs Tau & Eldar
Going second, I deployed out of range for most of the enemy and only lost a thudd first turn. I couldn't stop one of the riptides and broadside units contesting my objective, but he only had one troops choice left to claim his and I flamed the kroot off and then scored it for myself with the PCS.
Things got a bit difficult at this point, as he'd apparently asked if there was anything in the vendetta when it came on. Unfortunately I don't remember this at all (having declared the unit embarked at deployment), but came in on the extreme right flank out of range from the broadsides and the fusion gun, so only the single remaining riptide's ion cannon had the chance to shoot. I also took out the single skyray that turn, eliminating his only skyfire unit.
Could he have fired a load of shots from the two broadside units and bought it down? Sure. But that fire wouldn't have been going elsewhere, particularly the thudds, so it may have worked out that I'd have been able to kill the last unit of kroot anyway, drawing objectives but then winning by killing the ethereal (secondaries at the GT don't count towards the result, but instead contributed towards tournament points). Who knows, but it was unfortunate to have the misunderstanding spoil an otherwise mostly amicable game.
Game 5: Purge vs CSM & Daemons
After introducing myself I said that this would probably be my opponent's easiest win of the tournament, as my list offers a 'target rich' environment with over 20 killpoints available. Comparing this to the compact 10 offered by the 4 FMC, 2 helldrakes and handful of cultists, marines in a rhino and plaguebearers, it wasn't looking good. Throw in hammer and anvil deployment and a huge (10"+) LOS blocking terrain for the FMCs to hide behind and getting siezed, things went from grim to grimmer! Oh, and one daemon prince got warp tether...
A couple of key lucky dice rolls helped keep me in the fight early on though, when I exploded the first helldrake with a sabre lascannon and the rhino with a MoO barrage hit. By the end of the game I'd also killed the other 'drake and three of the daemon princes, but had somehow only managed to lose a hyperios unit, 3 razors and a hunter squad!
Best game of the weekend by far, laughing all the way through, with an unexpected win to boot!
Game 6: Big Guns vs Eldar
2 wraithknights, Eldrad and reapers in a bastion and 3 DAVU waveserpents. Joy! Fortress of redemption (ruin) in the middle for the wraithknights to hide behind? Yep. Piloted by an ETC player? Excellent. Bring it on!
My opponent had already qualified in Heat 1 and was standing in to even out the numbers. Had this not been the case he may have focused a little more but we ended up with a friendly game and a win to me. Result!
Conclusion
After a dire first day, I somehow managed to pull three wins out of the bag day 2, placing 8th out of 45 against some very strong competition. Really happy with the result, and managed to qualify which was my main goal this year. Thanks to all my opponents and the GT crew for their efforts. Good times!
