Thursday, December 09, 2010
Post Mortem Ramblings: 40K GT Manila 2011
Those were crazy days for me and my “Dark-Angels-posing-as-Vanilla-Marines” army. I spent the last week before the two-day tournament rush-painting a few last minute addition in my army list. Special mention goes to the Thunderfire Cannon which is a f#$%r to assemble! In the end, though, it was rewarding to see that almost all my figs are passably painted during the tourney.
To make my attachment with these toy soldiers worse, I gave them their final name! Knights of Salvation… an Unforgiven Chapter. That’s after knowing, much to my chagrin, that the name “Angels of Salvation” is already taken. Pfft. “Imperial Aubergines” is running second among my choices. LOL.
My army list:
Space Marines (1850pts)
Chaplain
5 Hammernators
· Land Raider Crusader (multi-melta)
3x10 Tactical Squads
(big laser, flame thrower, meltabomb Sarges)
· Razorback
3x1 Attack Bikes (multi-melta)
Vindicator of Doom
Thunderfire Cannon + Techmarine
Land Raider Godhammer
My converted Vindicator "Deific Fury"
I opted for an armored list with static gunline support. Obviously, the static units are the 3 lascannon combat squads and the Thunderfire. I’m banking on the fact that there’s a lot of ruins on the local tables to give these units a “bolstered” covered save. The rest of the army takes the fight to the enemy. The attack bikes play two roles: as fast contesting units and as sneaky tank hunters.
Here’s how my games went:
Day 1 – Game 1
Mission: Ang Huling Sugal (The Last Gamble)
Opponent: Tyranids
The bugs! I hate them Nids because I don’t know how the army plays and I’m not familiar with most of the units. And knowing is half the battle!
The Plan: Non-scoring units may capture objectives. So I raced my attack bikes to grab three objectives on Turn 1 and run away as far as I can from the bug horde in the succeeding turns.
The Foil: My opponent’s list is composed of outflankers, deepstrikers, and burrowers! They can literally appear to where my attack bikes are for the objective-nap!
Combat Squad Abrenika disembarked to burn Xenos filth!
Kuneho pointed out that my Hammernators could make short work of the Mawloc and the Termigon. I concur, BUT that’s in a one on one combat. With multiple broods of genestealers lurking around to support the biggies, the Termies will sure not survive the potential multiple assaults. Sheer numbers of rending attacks will eventually wither down the odds of +2 & +3 saves.
So I just saved my Hammernators to swat a brood of genestealers camping on a far off objective to secure at least one objective against my opponent’s four.
10 points against 2 points. The Tyranids win!
Day 1 – Game 2
Mission: Fight Night (Vortex Tornado ON!)
Opponent: Tau
I once wanted to play Tau so I know how his units work. I just need to cross that thin strip of land where he can pour his massive amount of firepower and voila, I can topple his static firing line like dominoes in close combat!
Well, at least that’s that easy to imagine on paper. Apparently, it didn’t translate that way on the gaming tables when there are 9 (yes, NINE) marker-lighted, twin-linked railguns pointing my way. Four turns of night fighting and four vortices lining up around his parameter like a wall added up to my misery as I can’t close the gap as early as I planned/needed to.
The vortices parted late at Turn 5 where my pincer finally can close on his gun line and boy it was retribution! Three firewarrior squads and a broadside squad decimated in combat on a singe turn. On the next turn (and unfortunately, the last), my Razorback-borne combat squads and the Hammernators furthered the carnage, mopping up another firewarrior and broadside squads.
After the kill point computation, it’s 17 points against 15 points. Tau wins by 2 points! Lamentation. One more turn could have given me the win. Argh.
Day 1 – Game 3
Mission: Minefields
Opponent: Tau (again!?)
His is a more mechanized Tau than my previous opponent and so it became a chasing game between my tanks and his skimmers.
Blocking his access to nearby minefields/objectives, I charged my tanks directly towards his deployment quarter regardless of the terrain checks I have to endure. He gave chase, throwing in canon fodders my way in the form of drone squads while maneuvering the bulk of his army away.
When my Crusader ventured close enough, a fusion blaster from a crisis suit popped it open, forcing my Hammernators to disembark. Uber lucky SMS shots withered the supposedly tough Termies. From there, he slowly dissected the rest of my forces with concentrated firepower. I didn’t over-commit my Razorback troops. The plan is to use the Razorbacks to close off fire corridors for my combat squads to capture the objectives.
post-deployment sportsmanship
However, his “ignore LOS” SMS shots are enough to do the job of thinning down these combat squads. And though I manage to kill several crisis suits, he still got enough firepower to destroy my contesting units.
After kill point computation, it’s 15 points versus 10 points. Tau wins yet again!
Day 2 – Game 4
Mission: Short Days
Opponent: Space Marines (Blood Angels)
This is the first time I will take on against the spanky new Blood Angels codex. And if I have learned something on reading things about them, that’s not to be on the receiving end when they charged. With this in mind, I carefully crept towards the objective markers, making sure not to be within assault range.
Once within a good position to guard three objective markers, I basically just camped it out, slowly picking his units with my static gunline units. Early on, I was able to destroy his Land Raider Crusader, making his IC-led assault squad to slog it on foot. That’s two pronged benefit for me: 1) limit that unit to take the charge and, 2) expose his most expensive unit (the game’s primary mission).
To my joy and with the grace of the Emperor, 2 outflanking Baal Predators appeared from the far side of my deployment zone. Just enough so I can take cheap shots at them and render them stunned from time to time (yes, my lascannons are pathetic).
fast Baal's appeared on the farther flank... thank the Emperor!
By bottom of Turn 3, I’m pretty much secured with my grip on the objectives so I already have the luxury to over-extend my units. I charged his assault squad with the Hammernators and decimated it in no time. Thus vulnerable to retaliatory shooting, the Hammernators took the brunt of the Blood Angels firepower and fell as well on the following turn.
A valiant BA tacsquad rushed to a nearby objective on the last turn to get a draw (2 objectives each). Salute to the Sons of Sanguinis holding against a barrage of DA firepower as I try to take them out of the objective to secure a major victory. I engaged them instead in combat to just contest the objective.
In the end, it’s 2 objectives against his one. Knights of Salvation wins a minor victory!
Day 2 – Game 5
Mission: Mission 5 (Quadrants)
Opponent: Orkz
The green tide! I have an Ork army so knowing how to dissect his units by exploiting its weaknesses should not be hard… well, at least theoretically. I mean, with two mobs of Lootas, a big mob of Wagon boyz, and the ubiquitous Nob bikerz led by the Evil Sunz bozz character, himself, the Greenskins are still a scary sight.
My Hammernators was able to get the charge against the Nob bikerz after a Demolisher shot softened this tough-as-nail unit by 3 models. No Nob made it alive after a single combat turn. What’s left of my elite Terminators charged the big mob that emergency disembarked from the Battle Wagon after it was rendered immobile by a lucky lascannon shot.
Superior numbers eventually won over the Hammernators. A round of retaliatory salvos from the Thunderfire Cannon using the “ignore cover save” ammo sent the big mob running away. My Godhammer destroyed the Wagon and from there all I have to do is focus my static shooting on the Shoota mobs while my flamer Marines inside the Razorbacks mopped up the Trukk boyz.
the Astartes pushed onwards after the more dangerous threats are taken care of
It was a rout. A major victory for the Knights of Salvation!
*****
3 losses and 2 wins.
I’m still far from my Best General dream but what matters is at the end of the tourney I have a pretty army and I enjoyed this year’s GT!
Thanks to Neutral Grounds, Kuneho and Vet Organizer Henri, Arvin (for the Thunderfire Cannon), Tamayo (for the pretty Land Raiders), Jubay, Vic Vic, Clarence, Nigel, and Sunny!
Inscribed by Interrogator-Chaplain Randel on 12:39 AM
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