Highland Library Golden Rhino Tournament 7-28-15
It’s TOURNAMENT TIME! All the prep I’ve been doing will either pay off or fail dismally. How did I do? Read on to find out!
Spoiler alert: due to an overly long lunch and other factors, we only played three 2 hour games instead of 4. Sadly, this means we did not get to play mission 4 which was my favorite of the 4.
Before we begin, here’s the goodie bag I got for entering:
Included in the bag: a bunch of White Dwarf magazines, some Age of Sigmar promo stuff, and two balls of fluff, painted and embedded with a tea light to make it look like smoldering wreckage! Also, six sculpey-clay numbered objectives that hold a die to mark Mysterious Objectives and another objective that looks like a brain! NEAT!
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Here is the list I took in all three games. Remember, I am trying to win in an anything goes tournament with a Combined Arms detachment Highlander list.
Bozeman – Azure Flames Space Marines (Salamanders) – 2000 pts
-Leonidas, captain of the 1st company (counts as Vulkan He’stan)
-Librarian, Level 2, Space Marine Bike, Melta Bombs
-Dreadnought, Extra Armour, 2x Twin Linked Autocannons
-Ironclad Dreadnought, Ironclad Launchers, Chainfist, upgrade Storm Bolter to Heavy Flamer
—Drop Pod
-Bike Squad x8 with Attack Bike, Veteran Sergeant, Power Fist, Melta Bombs, 2x Meltaguns, Multi-Melta
-Tactical Squad x10, Veteran Sergeant, Power Fist, Combi-Melta, Meltagun, Multi-Melta
—Rhino, Extra Armour
-Tactical Squad x10, Veteran Sergeant, Power Fist, Combi-Flamer, Flamer, Multi-Melta
—Rhino, Extra Armour
-Scouts x5
—Land Speeder Storm, Multi-Melta
-Assault Squad x5, 2x Flamer
—Drop Pod
-Land Speeder Squadron x3, 3x Multi-Melta
-Predator Destructor, Heavy Bolter sponsons
-Thunderfire Cannon
All missions have: 2 ruins, 2 craters, 1 impassable LOS blocking terrain, 1 river or water feature, 2 forests, and 1 armor 14 building. Each mission also has the special rule At Any Cost: You may target the building, even if it is friendly.
Wins give 3 tournament points, ties 2 and losses 1. Ties at the end of the tournament are settled via # of victory points total for all 3 games.
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Mission 1 – Command and Conquer
Dawn of War Deployment, 3 objectives in neither player’s deployment worth 3VPs and 1 in each deployment zone worth 5 VPs.
Opponent: Chris – Eldar Harlequins with Craftworld Eldar allies.
Quick Breakdown: Chris started with a brutal Alpha Strike. I was unable to do much at first. The lead Harlequin charged the bikes with the Librarian, killing everyone but the Librarian. The Librarian cast Sunburst in a brutal Nova, killing a large amount of the Eldar force that had bunched up. Leonidas and the Assault Squad deep struck out of position and did little damage. A Solitaire killed most of the Assault Squad and dashed away. Most of my remaining forces on the left side of the board died, but Leonidas and the surviving Sergeant ran on turn 4 to deny objectives. Due to time limits the game ended after 4 turns. Final score: Azure Flames 7, Eldar 5.
Our setup
Alpha Strike kills the bikes and land speeders!
The Librarian survives against the odds, and pulls off a devastating Sunburst.
The left side of the board goes poorly for me.
The Solitaire leaves combat after wounding Leonidas and killing 4/5 of the assault squad.
On the right side, Chris killed everything except this Rhino with a Tactical Squad inside, who dutifully sat on the objective all game.
Endgame: Leonidas scores objecive 3 while the Assault Sergeant contests objective 1, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat!
Postgame: I should not have won, but the time limit saved me. Chris was less than pleased. On to the next game!
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Mission 2 – Recover the Standard Template Construct!
Hammer and Anvil Deployment, carryable objective similar to the Eternal War mission 6: The Relic.
Opponent: Stephen – Chaos Daemons of Nurgle with Death Guard Chaos Space Marine allies.
Quick Breakdown: Stephen’s army moved forward in a wave on turn 1. His Daemon Prince of Nurgle summons some Nurglings… and Perils of the Warp removes the Daemon Prince as a Caualty! Amazingly, the Daemon did this in Stephen’s previous game. Leonidas deep struck and with him and the Thunderfire Cannon, half of the Zombies are removed. Stephen bolsters the remaining zombies by enfeebling Leonidas and his squad with a Great Unclean one… AND PERILS REMOVES THE GREAT UNCLEAN ONE AS WELL! This is the most unlikely thing I’ve seen in a game, and I’ve played against Lexington. A Helldrake arrived and killed half the bikes and half a Tactical squad before re-rolling Melta brought it down. Leonidas and the Assault Marines whittle down the zombies until another Great Unclean One finishes them. The objective, held by Nurglings, is dropped as a Tactical Squad charges them. Both sides throw everything they have at each other. In the end, no one holds the objective. Final score: Azure Flames 9, Chaos 7.
Stephen’s setup
My setup, with the objective circled.
Centered in this picture: the empty hole where a Daemon Prince was sucked back into the warp. Papa Nurgle ANGRY.
Not pictured: 15 zombies that burned or exploded.
Upper left: a Great Unclean One is killed by Perils, while on the bottom a Helldrake incinerates four bikes.
A last-ditch charge dislodges the objective and confounds the Nurglings!
Typhus and his Terminators arrive… a bit too late to salvage the objective.
Postgame: In baseball you win 1/3 and you lose 1/3, it’s what you do with the other 1/3 that counts. This game was a gimme. Stephen lost around 600-700 points from Perils of the Warp, and amazingly lost the same Daemon Prince twice in two games! Other than that, I just tried to win by Kill Points which worked pretty well.
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Interlude
Lunch was catered by a fancy Hamburger joint and was worth all the money the Highland Library paid AND MORE! After lunch, the Painting Competition was scored. Franklin, who was not participating in the tournament, won first. I won second, but when you see Franklin’s Necrons you will see why:
Absolutely stunning.
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Mission 3 – The Deadline
Vanguard Strike Deployment, Maelstrom of War objectives. All tables generate the same Objectives, and objectives 11-16 are from the main book, not from your codex. Each round, any objective that is not scored or discarded is COUNTED NEGATIVE to your score! At the end of the game, your total cannot be less than zero.
Opponent: Ian, event co-ordinator – Sisters of Battle with Inquisitorial and Knight allies and Legion of the Damned, in addition to a giant Plasma Obliterator.
Quick Breakdown: Ian stole the initiative! I went 2nd in all three games this tournament. Ian pinned down my forces with some heavy firepower. Sadly for him, his objectives were un-scorable while mine were easy. I got off to an early lead, as a good round of shooting killed Ian’s Warlord: Uriah Jacobson. Ian’s Knight Titan stomped all over the left side of the board, wrecking unit after unit. The Legion of the Damned arrive, kill the Predator, and hold Objective 1 which Ian had to secure several times in the game. Land Speeders and Bikes remove Ian’s tanks one by one. Outflanking Sisters botch a Meltagun wave, sparing the Thunderfire, who cuts them down in return. An overheat in the Plasma Obliterator kills the Inquisitor manning it! Objectives go back and forth in a frenzy. Final Score: Azure Flames 19, Sisters and Allies 9.
The Azure Flames advance slowly on the right side of the board.
The Ironclad removes Uriah Jacobson’s Immolator, and the rest of the army blows the squad inside away.
Nothing can stop the Knight Titan!
The Sororitas recieve Aid Unlooked For…
The Sisters fail to remove the Thunderfire Cannon, and the Thunderfire and Dreadnought cut them down, while the Tactical Squad removes their Immolator.
To score a point, Ian blows up the bunker. Why? Because Maelstrom.
The Plasma Obliterator overheats, killing the poor Inquisitor inside!
Postgame: This was the most fun game of the three I played. Although I took an early lead, Ian got some good turns later and I was on the edge of my seat thinking that I could have a bad turn to screw it up. Luckily that didn’t happen. Knight Titans are still such a big problem. I have no idea how to kill one without buying a whole new Sternguard squad full of meltaguns.
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Conclusion:
I tied with Loki (see previous posts for prep game against Guard), but because I got more VPs total over all 3 games, I WON THE TOURNAMENT! WITH A HIGHLANDER COMBINED ARMS! WOOOOOOO! Oh man, I feel great! 40K has problems, as it always has, but IT IS OFFICIALLY STILL FUN!
I also won this absolutely sweet book bag:
In the end winning and painting got you raffle tickets. Here’s what I won with mine:
A 6th edition Dark Angels codex (cost me one ticket!) A tile with Lord of the Rings models superimposed on it. Games Workshop dice cube. Finally, a custom made Doctor Who dice bag, made by the significant other of Event Organizer, Ian! My fiancee, who sews and is openly critical of bad sewing, declared it to be of very high quality. Her exact words were: “She’s got sewing game!”
Finally, we all took a picture:
This was the best time I’ve had playing 40k in a LONG TIME. Second best to Big Game V. Truly awesome. The Highland Library 40K club is a wonderful group, and if you are even REMOTELY close, check them out on the last Tuesday of every month at the Highland Library. Finally I’d like to say thanks to Dawn, who let me into the Library before it was open to use the restroom. Seriously, thank you.
Next: I don’t know! I’m pretty tired. Perhaps Tau Battlefleet Gothic, Blood Bowl Ork helper models, or Necromunda Escher? Stay tuned!
3rd Drop Pod – Just in time for the tournament!
First, big thanks to Lexington who gave me this Drop Pod after he decided to sell his Aurora Chapter. *sniff*
Like my other drop pods, I did three layers of weathering to make it look like it had re-entered an atmosphere and made the weapons modular (which isn’t hard).
UNLIKE my other Drop Pods, I did not install the central console or gravity harnesses. Guess who’s riding in this? Seriously. Guess. Do it. Really imagine it.
Next: THE TOURNAMENT! YEAH!
7th Assault Squad, 4th Company and Final Tournament WYSIWYG
It’s done!
My final 5 man assault squad is done. I really like how it turned out.
The Sergeant was an old pewter Space Marine Sergeant. I picked him up at a Gen Con long ago for a dollar. He had no right hand, just a pin sticking out as if someone was going to pin a new gun there. I added a Bolt Pistol and a left arm. This model actually has an earring and a ponytail! That’s OK, it fits right into Azure Flames fluff, as they recruit from all over the galaxy.
Also, see a close up of one of the flamers, as his face came out pretty well.
Finally, there’s a shot of the finished Display Board for the tournament with all models painted, based, and WYSIWYG. I hope to get a perfect score in the painting competition! The painting categories are graded from 1-5, and the categories are as follows:
1: Overall Synergy: Does the army look uniform? As I have a list drawn only from one chapter, the only standout is Leonidas, and that is because of his fluff. He still fits in with the same basing format.
2: Quality of Painting: is it detailed? I try to follow the “every model a character” ideal. I fall a bit short, but every helmeted model has jeweled eyes and little details stick out, like the pistol holster for the new Assault Marine sergeant. I made sure to ink the cracks to get them to pop.
3: Basing: is the army based and on proper bases? All my bases are GW standard, and are based, except the flying bases which are an exception.
4: Unique Conversions: are there any? Here is where I am a bit lacking. Although the Ironclad and Predator are fully magnetized to be any version, the judge told me that they were looking for visual conversions. In this case, only Leonidas and the Librarian on the Bike are “converted.” Leonidas is a standard Space Marine plastic torso with a head from the Space Marine Captain box. The hammer is from the old Salamanders Chaplain Xavier, and the Heavy Flamer is a Dreadnought piece. Finally, the backpack is the Chaplain Xavier backpack, converted to have a flame in the back. The Librarian is a pewter Librarian with a Force Axe, sawed in half and put on Biker legs. I added a putty tabard at the crotch, and the cape is Malus Darkblade’s cape, in pewter. The old pewter book from the Master of the Ravenwing in Land Speeder is on the front, while the side has a shotgun from the old Scout Biker pewter pack. He doesn’t use it; it just looks cool!
5: Display Board: do you have it? I do. It looks great!
I hope to get a 25 in the painting competition, and I hope that this list is competitive in the Tournament, despite all the cheese in 40K. We shall see! Next, the Tournament itself, and possibly a new Drop Pod courtesy of Lexington! Stay Tuned!
Custom Tournament Display Board
Here’s the super secret project I’ve been working on:
As an optional part of the upcoming tournament, you can enter the painting competition. One of the things that gives you extra points in the competition is a custom display board for your army.
Here’s a shot of the display board in use, before it was painted:
The Assault Marines in the front will be replaced with the new ones that I am working on now. I’ll give you a pic when the Assault Marines are finished. As a bonus, the surface is removable, so I can make another surface and re-use the board for a different list!
Here’s what I used to make it:
- 22×17″ wall-mountable corkboard
- 28″ rolled cork
- Steel carpet tacks (black)
- Games Workshop black primer
- 2 1/3 pots Goblin Green (now Warboss Green) Citadel paint
- Citadel PVA glue (for water-resistance, you can use Elmer’s glue if you don’t care)
- Games Workshop flock
- Testors Dullcote Varnish
- Painter’s tape
- X-acto knife
- Water based ink pen (that can wash off of a sealed miniature easily, I used a V5 ballpoint in red)
Here’s how I did it:
- Measure the interior board part of the corkboard and cut a piece of the rolled cork to fit.
- Spray the rolled cork with water on both sides and weigh it down with heavy books protected by plastic bags. After a day, flip the cork over and do this again until the cork is flat.
- Place all of the minis that you want to display on the cork, arranged the way you want them, and trace them with a water based ink pen (that can wash off if you accidentally get it on your minis).
- Use an X-acto knife to CAREFULLY cut out the spaces where your minis will go. Take breaks often, and do it on a table. I did it on the floor and it tired out my arm from the weird angle that I was working at.
- Coat the edge of the corkboard with painter’s tape. Note: mine was a cheap corkboard and some of the finish came off. If you want to do this, I suggest a corkboard with a METAL frame.
- Use some scraps from the cork to hold some carpet tacks (I used 8, you can use however many you want)
- Spray the corkboard and cork piece and tacks with primer.
- Spray the corkboard with Dullcote varnish when it is dry.
- Paint the corkboard and tacks. (I used Goblin/Warboss green, you should use whatever matches your base.)
- Mix 50/50 PVA glue and water, apply it to the board and tacks and apply the flock. (use whatever basing method matches your army, obviously) Drybrush the flock if you need to, after it dries for several hours.
- Varnish the cork and tacks.
- Put the cork on the board and secure it with tacks. Your display board is now complete!
Next: Assault Marines and a TOURNAMENT! Stay tuned!
Tournament Prep part 3: Extra Cheese
Previous opponents have had some fun in their list, but nothing overtly ridiculous or game breaking.
Couldn’t last forever.
In my final test to see if I’m competitive, I played an over-the-top Inquisition-Guard-Knight list with a lot of dirty tricks and a LOT of psykers! My opponent, who wishes to go by his gamertag Loki 1003, put together a list that assumes a cadre of Inquisitors wrangeled together a Scholastica Psykana contingent, an elite Imperial Guard regiment, and a Knight Titan into a juggernaut of psychic power and unbeatable destructive capabilities. Can I succeed? Let’s find out!
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Bozeman – Azure Flames Space Marines (Salamanders)
-Leonidas, captain of the 1st company (counts as Vulkan He’stan)
-Librarian, Level 2, Space Marine Bike, Melta Bombs
-Dreadnought, Extra Armour, 2x Twin Linked Autocannons
-Ironclad Dreadnought, Ironclad Launchers, Chainfist, upgrade Storm Bolter to Heavy Flamer
—Drop Pod
-Bike Squad x8 with Attack Bike, Veteran Sergeant, Power Fist, Melta Bombs, 2x Meltaguns, Multi-Melta
-Tactical Squad x10, Veteran Sergeant, Power Fist, Combi-Melta, Meltagun, Multi-Melta
—Rhino, Extra Armour
-Tactical Squad x10, Veteran Sergeant, Power Fist, Combi-Flamer, Flamer, Multi-Melta
—Rhino, Extra Armour
-Scouts x5
—Land Speeder Storm, Multi-Melta
-Assault Squad x5, 2x Flamer
—Drop Pod
-Land Speeder Squadron x3, 3x Multi-Melta
-Predator Destructor, Heavy Bolter sponsons
-Thunderfire Cannon
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Loki – Inquisitorially Mandated Imperial Hodgepodge
-Malleus Inquisitor, Psyker level 1, Daemon Blade (Warlord trait: -1 to all Daemon saves within 12″)
-Malleus Inquisitor, Psyker level 1, Daemon Blade
-Hereticus Inquisitor, 3 servo skulls, Psyocculum
-Hereticus Inquisitor, 3 servo skulls, Psyocculum
-Imquisitorial Henchmen: Sanctioned Psyker x3
-Imquisitorial Henchmen: Sanctioned Psyker x3
-Imquisitorial Henchmen: Sanctioned Psyker x3
-Imquisitorial Henchmen: Sanctioned Psyker x3
-Imquisitorial Henchmen: Sanctioned Psyker x3
-Imquisitorial Henchmen: Sanctioned Psyker x3
-Company Command Squad, Astropath, Master of the Fleet, Master of Ordnance, Standard, Lascannon
-Company Command Squad, Astropath, Master of the Fleet, Master of Ordnance, Standard, Lascannon
-Veteran Squad x10, 3x Plasma gun, Lascannon, Demo Charge
-Veteran Squad x10, 3x Plasma gun, Lascannon, Demo Charge
-Rough Riders x8, Meltagun
-Knight Crusader, Icarus Autocannon, Meltagun, Melta-Cannon, Mega-Bolter
-Callidus Assassin
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Tournament Mission 3: The Deadline
Terrain: 6’x4′ board, 2x ruined buildings, 2x hills or craters, 1x impassable LOS blocking feature, 1x river or water hazard, 2x forests that count as “twisted copses,” 1x Armor 14 medium building with 4 access doors and 4 fire points, one in each direction.
At Any Cost: The building may ALWAYS be targeted for shooting and assault, regardless of who is occupying the building.
Deployment: Dawn of War
Maelstrom of War: Each player generates 3 objectives each turn. At the end of your turn, you may discard one. Any objective not scored or discarded SCORES NEGATIVE! It’s do or die! This, however, cannot bring your total score to below zero.
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Deployment
Loki chose sides and went first. No seize, no night fight.
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Inquisition Combined Force – Turn 1
Orders allow lascannons to snipe at the Predator with ignore cover, blowing off a heavy bolter and glancing it. The Titan blasts the smaller bike combat squad, earning First Blood. The Callidus Assassin hurts the Thunderfire Cannon, and claims objective 4 for a point. Horrendous psychic phase sees two out of nine psychic powers successfully cast.
I guess the Psykers haven’t had their coffee yet…
There used to be some bikes here…
The Callidus eschews a quick kill to score points.
Azure Flames – Turn 1
Right flank moves up to hide behind the big wall. The flamer Tatsquad deploys to the building and shoots the Callidus, doing one wound. The Ironclad arrives and manages to somehow severely damage the Warlord’s Command Squad, a psyker squad, and a veteran squad. The Warlord and one other Inquisitor are all that is left, and they break and flee!
Holy crap, a titan! Hide!
The building is secure.
Fwoosh!
Inquisition Combined Force – Turn 2
The Titan shoots the Ironclad and the Predator, killing them, and the drop pod. It then charges the drop pod, glancing it to death. The Rough Riders charge the Tactical Squad, killing five, but losing three. The Callidus shoots the Thunderfire, destroying the cannon, and then charges the Techmarine, but there is no result. The Master of Ordnance, enhanced by a psyocculum, shoots the bikes behind the wall, killing 3 and glancing one Land Speeder.
The Titan is capable of killing three units in one turn. So, yeah, superheavies have really added a new dimension to the game. About this time, I feel like this Drop Pod, as I have no way to stop this rampaging titan.
Rough Riders hit hard.
The Callidus whiffs!
The teeth of the enemy list is revealed! An ignores cover S9 AP3 large blast that is BS 10 against units that contain psykers!
Azure Flames – Turn 2
Reserve shenanigans prevent reserves from arriving. The Librarian advances, and uses Inferno to blast a Veteran squad. The Land Speeders move flat out as a distraction. Combat with the Callidus and Techmarine continues with frustration. The remaining two Tactical Marines kill a Rough Rider. Turn not pictured.
Inquisition Combined Force – Turn 3
More ignores cover ordnance wipes out the Librarian and the bikes. Poor fire and good jink saves kill only one Land Speeder. The Callidus finally finishes off the Techmarine.
…predictably the Librarian is removed. Had I known that the Psyocculum was the thing making this possible, I’d have run the Librarian alone to spare the bikes.
Techmarines are no match for an assassin.
DISTRACTION!
Azure Flames – Turn 3
In a bid to get points, the Land Speeders go for an objective. Sadly, the psykers on the objective go to ground and deny me the point! The Rhino takes the last wound off the Callidus with a lucky shot.
A desperate gambit doesn’t pay off…
Lucky shot!
Inquisition Combined Force – Turn 4
The last Tactical marine is killed by Veterans. Another Veteran squad wipes out the Land Speeders.
Nothing can stand up to plasma, lascannons, and a titan.
Gone.
Azure Flames – Turn 4
Leonidas and the Assault Marines arrive. Despite having Invisibility, the Warlord’s squad takes the brunt of two flamers and a heavy flamer! How? Leonidas leaves the Assault Marines, and targets a psyker squad, getting four of the Invisible Command Squad, while the Assault Marines target the Veterans, killing them and hitting three of the Command squad! Finally, the Warlord’s squad breaks and FLEES OFF THE BOARD. No more ignores cover crap. The Scouts come in on the left, when I wanted them on the right, so their Land Speeder goes flat out. Turn not pictured, sadly, as it was GLORIOUS.
Inquisition Combined Force – Turn 5
The Titan blasts all but one Assault Marine, and assaults Leonidas, killing him.
Azure Flames – Turn 5
Despite a valiant effort, the Scouts can’t do much. Time exceeded. Turn not pictured.
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So, how’d I do?
Inquisiton: 7 plus Slay the Warlord and First Blood for 9
Azure Flames: 7 plus Slay the Warlord and Linebreaker for 9.
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WHOOOOOOO… Damn. That list is BRUTAL. With reserves control, ignores cover ordnance that is BS 10 against psykers, 14 Warp Charges base, and a goddamned Titan, this is a list that can dish it out. However, it can’t really take it and it doesn’t have the tactical flexibility. This is another leafblower. It’s really good. However, it relies on a lot of randomness. Loki got off Invisibility several times. If he hadn’t had Invisibility, that squad with an infinite rage death pie plate would have actually been targetable in the mid and late game.
To another completely different point, I had about 2 bad turns of objectives while Loki had about one. I still hate Maelstom of War. It’s too random. Good roll or draw? You win. Bad? You lose. Tactics come into it, but with Eternal War missions, you KNOW what you have to do and go DO IT. I would never have thrown away the Land Speeders if objective 5 had not come up. Who knows? A lucky couple of shots with the Land Speeders might have hurt or even killed the Titan. As it was, I needed to take stupid risks to get objectives that I had less than a turn to prepare for.
No more prep. Tournament is at the end of the month. Next: a super secret project and the tournament! Stay tuned!