Retrospective: 6-8 August 2010 Counteroffensive VII (Intro)

You can also read coverage of this event at the Jungle, from the perspective of Sho-T (Pat) and Justiciar (Bryan):

  

I had been very excited about this particular counteroffensive event, and put together no less than four (!) army lists for the event, based on any number of crazy 40K army ideas that have been percolating over the years.  The Usual Suspects had agreed on 1750 point army lists, and so I brought along:

(A) A Space Marine Dreadnought Bash.

(B) A Slann (space lizard!) army list, using Tau rules.

(C) A classic-miniature Tyranid Warrior list.

(D) My "Swinging Sixties" Sisters of Battle list.

Retrospective: 6 August 2010 Counteroffensive VII (Game 1)

The Eibel Offensive
The desert planet of Auros IX has seen numerous conflicts, and much blood spilled upon its red sands.  The Imperial Guard regiment in the sector was sent to the ninth planet to investigate the possibility of survivors of a new enemy of the Imperium to the region, a splinter Hive Fleet that was engaged and (largely) defeated by the naval fleet that was making a routine sweep through the Auros sector.

Under the command of Commander Eibel, and accompanied by the infamous xenos specialist Inquisitor Vader, the small force scouted Auros IX and immediately upon finding signs of xenos drop-spores, began a standard search-and-destroy pattern around the landing site.  As they approached a long-abandoned Imperial mining camp, the sands suddenly erupted upward, and what appeared to be the core of the surviving xenos elements, led by a “Hive Tyrant” designee, rushed toward the Imperial units.

Retrospective: 7 August 2010 Counteroffensive VII (Game 2)

Opponent: Phil (Imperial Guard) was a new player to the 40K hobby, and he and his young son had shown up at Counteroffensive hoping to get in a few games with more experienced players.  While my able colleagues took on the enthusiastic younger gentleman, I faced off against Phil’s mix of Guard units with 1500 points of my “counts-as-Tau” Slann lizardmen.  I removed the two Piranha and one unit of Pathfinders (moving “their” transport to the Fire warriors) to make points, while Phil had the following:

• Commander with Standard, Astropath, Vox, and Medic
• 2x Platoon Commanders (one with Vox/Missile/Commissar, one with Plasma Pistol and Vox)
• 4x IG infantry squads w/Vox (Lascannon, Autocannon, HBolter/Melta, Missile/Plasma)
• 1x Veterans with 2 Flamers, Heavy Flamer, and Meltabombs
• 2x Leman Russ MBT (one with HBolter sponsons, one with MMelta sponsons)
• 6 Ogryn (in Reserve)
• Marbo (in Reserve)

Retrospective: 8 August 2010 Counteroffensive VII (Game 3)

Attendance at this particular Counteroffensive event being rather paltry, Pat and Bryan and I decided to set up a megabattle event for anyone interested in playing some 40K on Sunday 8 August.  If no-one showed up to play, we decided to play a megabattle event ourselves, pitting Pat & Bryan’s Tyranids against my Sisters of Battle.  As I’d only brought a little over 2000 points, I borrowed a few pieces from Pat’s collection, and the Dreamwizards store collection, to make up the extra points.

In the end, my 3000-point Sisters list included the following “extrys”:

• Callidus Assassin
• A third 5-model unit of Arbites (2 Meltaguns, 3 Shotguns)
• A third 5-model unit of Dominions (4 Flamers, Leader with Brazier/BP)
• ….and four extra flamers to equip the first two Dominions with a total of 4 flamers each
• A second Inquisitor, equipped identically to the first with identical retinue
• 3x Immolators with Extra Armor & Smoke (to transport the three units above)
• 3x Exorcists with Extra Armor

For those of you playing the home game, that’s 12 immolators, 3 exorcists, 20 meltaguns, 15 flamers, and a smattering of Autocannons because honestly, why not.  Plus two Ld10 Psychic Hoods and five faith (‘mojo’) points for good measure.  It was really an awful army list, full of all kinds of Beatface and Sealclubbing, and other generally Not Nice things.

Retrospective: 6-8 August 2010 Counteroffensive VII Postscript

A very quiet year at Counteroffensive, and a somewhat bitter taste in the mouth to end things.  All things to keep in mind for next year’s Counteroffensive, and keeping things a bit more ‘Real’.

My thought is to bring the same (or similar) lists and armies again, and try (try again) with a slightly more overt ranking of “Tasty” to “Crunchy” to “Just Plain Mean” to best calibrate to what my opponents are using or how they’re playing that day, which suggests to my mind the following hierarchy of sportliness and competitivosity:

 
Light & Tasty: SM Dreadnoughts
Crunchy Fun: Tyranid Warriors
Just Plain Mean: Slann (Tau)

I KEEL you: Sisters of Battle

More on this as things develop.

Retrospective: Warmonger Charity WAB Tournament: 29 January 2011 (Intro)

The third annual Warmonger Charity tournament to benefit the American Cancer Society, organized by our local Warhammer Ancients fanatic and condottiero John Bianchi, was held on 29 January 2010.  One could also think of it as another fine excuse for me to field my (mostly finished) Nubian historical army, and to play a version of Warhammer Fantasy that actually doesn’t suck most mightily (and which is within a reasonable price-range for a full army), all whilst introducing myself to an anachronistic array of historical opponent from virtually every period of human history.

The Nubians are the third of my WAB armies, and by far the most random, relying as they do almost entirely on the hitting power of elephants, which are unpredictable creatures even at the best of times.  When things work, they tend to work great.  When they don’t, it’s either a brutal loss (for me) or a long, slow, grinding tie game (also fairly common).  And because the elephants are so not maneuverable at all, I can easily lose a game in the deployment phase.  Still, practice makes permanents, and the more practice I get with the Nubians, the better I (hopefully) can be with them.

Retrospective: Warmonger Charity WAB Tournament: 29 January 2011 (Results)

In all, I played three fine opponents that day, starting with Dave and his samurai list.  Now, it’s no secret that the official Samurai list in the “Armies of Antiquity” supplement is quite nasty, and I rather expected that Dave would hurt me quite badly.  That said, I was a bit surprised at how small his army was, and in particular how he had no cavalry to speak of.  I even (foolishly) allowed myself the hope that I might actually win this.

Beautiful models, apparently of the “Mountain” clan.