Mayhem Results mk.I

I went 2-1 and got 5th place out of 16 people.  It was a really fun tournament and I enjoyed playing all of my opponents.  I was very impressed by the sportsmanship on display and I hope that it was indicative of the mood of the community here.  The TO did a good job running the event and I have zero complaints about how it was run.

The Missions:  The scenarios used the original Nova format that the BugeaterGT will be using this summer and the event was intended to give us practice with that style.

Terrain:  The terrain was a mixed bag.  The tables were set up with theme in mind rather than a balanced mix of LOS blocking and area.  Most of the tables had the requisite 25% coverage but it was a bit uneven across the ten tables.  Overall, there was a clear effort made by the TO to prepare enjoyable and balanced tables given the limitations of the available terrain.

Miscellaneous Notes:
 -I am now 0-3 in my last three tournament opening games.  This is probably testament to the lack of games I play in between events.  I don't think I'm in the correct frame of mind at the start and seem to make significant mistakes with the first couple turns.  I'm not sure how to correct this other than getting more games in against competitive opponents with a variety of armies (easier said than done).

-I'm not sure if my hybrid type lists are going to be effective against the current meta.  In order to out shoot Imperial Guard, Grey Knights and Razorspam, I would have to adopt a much more shooting oriented  list.  I am not a fan of this.  I honestly don't know the answer to this problem for me, especially with the limited time/models I have before Adepticon.

-You can't rely on Wolf Scouts.  They're great and add a lot of utility to the army, but they can't be a critical piece that you base your game plan on.  I had mine not show up until turn 4 and they came in on the wrong side when I desperately needed them.

-Missile launchers just don't get it done.  I think I've said this before but I haven't done anything to adjust to this realization.  Strength 8 doesn't cut it against AV12.  I would like to throw some lascannons into the army somewhere.  Either in the Long Fangs or on the Land Raider or something...

Despite fielding a far from optimized list last weekend, I was able to test out a couple ideas I had with mixed results.  I would like to say that the fog is clearing with my list problems but I'm afraid I'm still unclear how to resolve my issues.  Back to the drawing board.

Mayhem Tournament

I'm heading up to Ames in a few minutes to play in my first tournament here in Iowa.  I tried getting my Thunderwolves done in time to take but alas, it was not to be.  I did manage to throw a couple Fenrisian Wolves together so my Thunder Lord won't be going it alone today.  As usual, I thought bringing painted models was more important than bringing a more optimized list.  On a whim, I also threw in the Great Wolf himself, Logan Grimnar!  I think I've used him once since painting him and I thought it would be fun.  Here's what I'm taking.

Where: Mayhem Comics, Ames, IA
When: Saturday March 17, 2012
What: 1850pt, 3 round tournament
Attendance: ~20 signed up

HQ
Logan Grimnar

Wolf Lord
-frost blade
-storm shield
-thunderwolf
-ruinic armour
-fenrisian wolf

Runepriest
-jaws of the world wolf
-living lightning

Elites
(5)Wolf Scouts
-meltagun
-melta bombs

(3)Wolf Guard
-pf/combi melta
-pf/combi plasma
-termi w/chainfist/stormshield

Troops
(8)Grey Hunters
-plasma gun
-wolf standard

Rhino
-dozer blade

(8)Grey Hunters
-melta gun
-wolf standard

(10)Grey Hunters
-melta gun x2

Drop Pod

Heavy Support
(5)Long Fangs
-4xmissiles

(5)Long Fangs
-4xmissiles

Land Raider Redeemer

Adepticon pt. I

Since my last post, a new year has begun and the blog's first anniversary has come and gone.  I meant to do a year in review like everybody else and I probably still will, but for now I'm going to write what's on my mind instead.  What's on my mind you ask?  Adepticon.  I'm up to 6th on the 40k singles tournament wait list and 4th on the team tournament list so I'm confident that I will get into both events.

When we last left off, I was working on getting a Necron army with the intention of playing it in the 1000pt team tournament.  Since then, after talking with my teammates, we have decided that trying to build/paint/learn that army in time to be decent with it in April was going to be a chore.  After some deliberation, we have decided to play Orks instead.

Switching to Orks is going to be helpful in several ways.  The biggest one is familiarity.  Two of the guys on our team either have or had an Ork army that they have played quite a bit.  The codex has been around long enough that Alpha and I shouldn't have a problem with the Ork play style either.  Secondly, I helped build and playtest an Adepticon Ork team last year so I have been through the process.  I also think the mentality of playing Orks meshes with our attitude going into the contest.  They're like the comic relief of the grim dark future and we hope to be the comic relief of the tournament, at least to the opponents we go up against.

For singles I'm going with the Space Wolves.  I intend for this to be the last GT I take the pups to, making it a year of tournaments that I've played them in.  That is somewhat dependent on when 6th ed. drops of course.  I am planning on making some changes to the list I took to the Gentlemen's GT.  More lascannons, less rockets I think would be nice.

Yay, first post of 2012!

-Noah

First Necron Model

Ok, the title is a lie.  The first Necron I painted took a little bath in Simple Green, this is the first model I saw fit to photograph and share.  What's really interesting is that the metalic primer I bought from The Army Painter doesn't break down in Simple Green.  It must bond with the plastic, I am curious how it sticks to metal. 

This paint scheme was inspired by Tim over at The Vanus Temple.  The glow is something new to me as I've never used powder weathering pigments before.  I think it turned out ok, I'm sure I'll get better at applying it as I go.  The base was just a spare that I had sitting around from my Space Wolves and is probably not what I'm going to ultimately go with.  I got the pigment and base from Secret Weapon Miniatures.  Sidenote: Justin does a great job over there getting shipments out quickly, I've ordered from him half a dozen times and always been satisfied with the quality of the product and the customer service.

Ork Sidetrack

 Fish, here are your Ork pics, only four weeks after I said I'd post them.

1. Prime
Black

2. Basecoat
Skin: Gretchin Green
Clothes: Any color you want, I chose Mechrite Red because red is neat.
Boots: I left them black.
Metal: Boltgun Metal
Pants/Straps: Bestial Brown maybe?  If I were doing it today I'd use Calthan Brown.
Wristbands/Bandages/Horns: Dheneb Stone (best paint in the world)

3. Wash
Everywhere: Devlan Mud (use it liberally and then stick it in front of a fan on low or a space heater, this prevents a lot of pooling that is common when using this much wash)

4. Highlight with the original colors on any raised edges if you want it brighter.  I only went up one step but you could easily get a better result with a third color.  Then again, you could have a decent looking tabletop model by just throwing on the table after washing it.

There you go, if you want more detailed instructions, ask away.

Lessons Learned

The Gentlemen's GT was only my second 5 round tournament that I've played in and I learned a few lessons about tournaments, myself and my army over the course of two days.  Instead of hoping that I remember them for next time, I thought I'd write down as many as I remember so I can review it before Adepticon.

Play with your list before the first round of the tournament.
I not only didn't play with my list beforehand, I had two units that I had never fielded before (Thunderwolf Lord, Wolf Scouts).  Understanding their theoretical capabilities is not the same as understanding how to practically employ them.

Don't be so hungover.
I believe that this lesson and the previous lesson combined to cost me my first round on Saturday.  I don't know if it caused the loss in the first game on Sunday because I was pretty over matched but I'm sure it didn't help.

Play faster in the early turns.
The rounds were only two hours and fifteen minutes but not having enough time to play a 6th/7th turn could have had major consequences.  I felt pressed for time in all my matches and I know at least once it caused me to make a mistake that I'm sure I would have avoided if I hadn't been trying to cram in the final turns.

Terrain trumps lists.
On paper, my list stacked up poorly with at least half of the lists in the field, including at least three that I had to face throughout the weekend.  Luckily the terrain on the tables had a good mix of area and blocking terrain and I was able to neutralize many list advantages through cagey tactics.  The biggest boon was definitely largish blocking terrain located near the center of the board.  I would have gotten blasted off the table by the Razorwolves and both Guard armies if we had played on less populated boards.

The meta game is real.
I've always been a proponent of building lists that you like and damn the consequences but going to big tournaments makes me reconsider just a bit.  Going to the Chicago area and facing the competition that I did makes me realize that if you are planning on taking unconventional lists, have a plan for the major meta net lists or don't expect to win a lot.

Going to ground is how heroes are made.
Going to ground is the least used and most helpful rule I have ever seen.  Going to ground with units that would otherwise be wiped out saved me against the two Guard armies I played as well as helping a great deal against the Razorwolf army.  I know what you're thinking, you're thinking "But Noah, going to ground only saves 1-2 models who are going to get killed the next turn anyway!"  While that may be true, that is still one more unit that has to allocate its fire to a remnant unit rather than a more effective unit somewhere else.  If they ignore the two remaining soldiers, opponents can be devastated to learn how much damage a couple krak grenades can do.  Twice I had melta Grey Hunters survive an Executioner plasma tank only to later kill it or another vehicle.

That's all I can think of for now (see, already forgetting what happened this weekend), I may add more later but I doubt it.

-Noah S.

RockCon '11

I was pretty wiped by the time I got home yesterday after the drive home from the Gentlemen's Grand Tournament so I didn't write anything up.  Hopefully I haven't forgotten too much in the past 24 hours.

Let me start by saying I had a great time.  All the players I faced were great sports, I loved the mission setup and my dice were average.  I couldn't have asked for more!  Here's the vitals for the tournament before I get into my thoughts on my play.

Gentlemen's Grand Tournament
Where: RockCon, Rockford, IL
Participants: 30-32
Format: 5 rounds, Primary-Secondary-Tertiary objectives, Swiss pairings

Best Overall: Noah Schmelzer (Space Wolves, der)
1st Place: Tim Gorham (Grey Knights)
2nd Place: Steven Welch (Imperial Guard)
3rd Place: Jordan Nach (Imperial Guard)
Best Painted: Clayton McCarty (Dark Eldar)
Player's Choice: Steve Carlson (Space Marines)
Best Sports: Troy Weis (Space Marines)

That's right, you read that correctly, I ninja'ed another one!  I don't know how the tournament organizer's rubric worked for scoring, but I can tell you I was surprised as hell when he called my name.  I went 3-2 on the weekend so my sports and painting score must have given me a serious boost.  I'll give a quick and dirty breakdown of my games, don't expect too much, I don't love writing battle reports (gasp!).

Round 1
Opponent: Troy Weis - Space Marines
I lost to a Shrike list, he only had a Dreadnought, two Tactical Marines and two shelled Razorbacks left.  I had a lot left but I played too conservatively and the game ended on turn 5, much to my chagrin.  The highlight of the game was sucking half his Terminators and his Librarian into the ground with Jaws of the World Wolf.  Not a clean game by this guy but I learned a ton about my army, especially the strengths and limitations of my new units (Thunderwolf Lord, Scouts).  Record: 0-1

Round 2
Opponent: Matt Bartley - Imperial Guard
Standard Mechanized guard list.  I had first turn, it was Dawn of War deployment and there was a large piece of blocking terrain in the middle of the table.  Those three things contributed to my victory over Matt.  Wolf Scouts are the (melta) bomb.  Record: 1-1

Round 3
Opponent: Matt Raatz - Daemons of Chaos
Nurgle Daemons led by Ku'gath and Epidemius.  I felt in control of this game from the outset.  I was lucky enough to Jaws Ku'gath before he did too much damage and my Wolf Lord carved up Plaguebearers like it was his job....which it is....  Record: 2-1

Round 4
Opponent: Tony Malave - Space Wolves
I think Tony won this tournament last year, I could be wrong though.  In any case, he was a very good player and introduced me to a true razorwolf list.  I was able to keep it close by turtling behind blocking terrain and making forays out with non scoring units to inflict as much damage as I could.  In the end, he got the primary, I got the secondary and he may have gotten the tertiary but I can't remember.  Record: 2-2

Round 5
Opponent: Jarred Saxman - Imperial Guard
Jarred was a ton of fun to play and handled some atrocious dice rolling like a champ.  He had first turn and I just threw my stuff out to get blown away and he completely wiffed.  I was able to take control with some accurate melta shots and barely hung on for a win.  Record: 3-2

I'm going to be honest, I'm rushing through this so I can go back and bury my nose in my shiny new Necron Codex.  Here's pics of the new units all finished up and battle hardened.  TTFN.

-Noah