Connecticon and Summer 2013

With the summer coming to an end and the new school year in sight, I am going to look back on the highlights of summer 2013. While I didnt play as much as I wanted to, I was able to attend Connecticon! Connecticon is a anime/cosplay convention on the east coast. 7-9 years ago I went 3 years in a row and played in a 1 day RTT. Two of those years I actually won and got 2 golden griffons to show for it! Sadly, Connecticon had gone downhill for 40K gaming over the years, that is...until last year when Brendan Gallagher took over as TO. I was unable to attend last year but this year was one of the smoothest run tournaments with awesome prize support. Although small on the GT scale (32 Players) Brendan ran a great tournament and I am definitely going back next year.

Here is the list I took:

I ran my Ultras with IG allies.

Tigurius

2 Tact Squads in Rhinos

2 Storm Talons

2Thunderfire cannons

Comp. and Platoon Command in Chimeras

50 Man Platoon with 5 Autocannons

Vendetta

Manticore

2000 points

This list is similar to what I was running in the past. It struggles against the top tier lists but can be sneaky with Tigurius' powers and the orders.

As I said Connecticon doesnt just focus on wargaming. Take a look at just a fraction of the con in these pics:

Here I am with some 40K cosplayers

As for Battle Reports, I am sad to say I did not take many pictures. I had used my phone for GPS on the way there and needed to conserve battery as much as possible. Here are the pics I manged to take.

While not much to tell here, I went 2 and 3 with 51 battle points out of 100. I played 3 very close games of the 5 but lost more than I won. I struggled with a Tryanid player and Simon Leen's sisters army.

Terrain for the most part was good but some tables had odd shaped and extremely large centerpieces. Brendan was using what he had provided for him but I know in the future the event will continue to improve.

As for after the GT....

I played will in a game at the comicbook store. Knowing the SM codex is upon us, I wanted to play as much with the old codex. I used Calgar here in an all Ultramarine list.

Before set up I thought about infiltrating scouts behind the demon prince which would force him to ignore them or go backwards wasting time. I went with my left however to think they may survive being far away and a weak target.  I would regret this immediately.

With no other threat the Prince zoomed into the ruin in the center making many of my units even unable to attain line of sight. I would have to wait to draw the Prince out with my librarian.

Once the Drakes came on it was lights out for my marines. The thunderfires were able to stay alive and continuously put wounds on his plague marines and cultists. They only really damaged the cultists though. On turn 3 I made a charge with termies on oblits and plagues which then Will threw even more marines on me to hold them up. Calgar would manage to survive. This is key.

The game would end with each holding one objective. Lucky for me one marine scored because he waited in the Raider which none of his drakes could hurt! I achieved linebreaker with a single wound remaining on Calgar, while will had first blood.

Result: DRAW

Here is a game at BFS with Andrew.

My Ultras vs. Andrews Imperial Fists/IG

CALGAR vs. LYSANDER

Two Land Raiders facing off. Each with 5 Assault Terminators and Lysander or Calgar in them.

Andrew stole the initiative and killed one Thunderfire cannon but the Tech Marine was alive.

My other cannon blew away his ratlings for first blood but none of my other shooting was effective. Right then we were just trading blows.

Andrew advances and our armies continue the firefight. My rhinos begin to go down and marines move on foot. Andrews Storm Raven fails to come in.

I go for the kill and machine spirit a multimelta, exploding Lysanders ride. On Andrews turn 3 he would come and destroy my landraider with Lysander himself!

Each leader wounded once would then meet on the battlefield! This epic showdown would last 2 full game turns.

Andrews flyer finally comes in and has a spectacular turn 4 and 5 picking up many Kill Points.

Calgar falls on turn 5 losing a 3 kp swing and I loose 4-7

Result: LOSS

My next focus will be on the BFS GT 2013...

Necrons: 48-17-3

Ultramarines: 5-6-1

IG: 0-1-0

BA: 1-1-0

Overall: 54-25-4

BFS APOCALYPSE!

APOCALYPSE 2013!

The BFS Club has been known to put on many events including large scale apocalyptic battles. About once a year players decide to throw down 2500 point armies and team up with other imperials, xeno or chaos and fight an all day long grind! This is my second time running the event and I have to say it was a lot of fun.

Rather than use most apocalypse rules, knowing many do not know them (myself included), I decided to modify some apocalypse rules and incorporate them into simply a large game of 40K. Half of reserves come on round 1 and the other half round 2. No night fight, seize the initiative, all models can control and contest objectives etc.

GOALS

The mission was split into three goals. Goal 1 was objectives. There would be 6 placed evenly around the board and worth 1 point each to the team that controlled them at the end of the game. Goal 2 were relics. There were 3 relics evenly placed on the battlefield that needed to be secured by troop choices. At the end of the game we would randomly decide the points value of the relics ranging form 0-2. So one relic would essentially be a dud worth 0 while the others can help your team. Finally, Goal 3 was to plant your teams flag. One unit that deployed on the board carried it. It moves the same way as the relic except the unit that has it can run. If the flag was planted at the ruin in the center your team got 1 point per level of the ruin it was on. At most your team can get 4 points for being at the top!

TIMED MOVEMENT

In order to move apocalypse size battles along, you must put time limitations on movement. We set a standard 15 minute movement phase per player turn. We also allowed for upgrades to your teams units in exchange for time costs. The team Captains had to decide which upgrades to buy and when to use them. Some included rerolling dice, skyfire and lowering cover saves. 

PRIZES

What would an event be without prizes!? Each time something rare or crazy happened in the game that player earned a raffle ticket. Sometimes teams earned raffle tickets for greater achievements. At the end, the prizes were all based on raffle. The player who was drawn first had the first chance to select their prize. The winning team received 10 raffle tickets. Some prizes included membership to the club, entry to our next tournament, dice, tape measures, templates etc.

TEAMS

Here we have the Imperial team from left to right:

Ralph, Simon, Brett, Captain Silex, and Kyle

The lowly xenos from left to right:

Ryan, John, Bro. Capt. James, James, and Captain Fritz

Turn 1 beginning. Imperials strike first blood out of their pods.

Imperial tanks doing a number on xeno infantry.

Warhound Titan using its D weapons to crush even the mightiest of foes, the Wraithknights!

Before the Titan shot....

After the Titan shot!

Imperials secure the middle.

While many people walked through the mall and marveled at our battle, we had a conscript give his best shot at killing the last Wraithknight with a multi-melta. Fortunately, for the Xenos, he failed. Maybe when your a little older kid!

Xeno turn. One thing in the 40K universe that I know little about are titans. I have never played one or even read the rules for them. I only have seen a few played in some of the apocalypse games the club has run. This was a scratch built Ork Gargant. All I know was that it seemed impossible to kill....and looked a little like the baby from Dinosaurs! "Not the Mama!"

The Xeno turn 1 was limited due to the damage they took. Captain Fritz was even a little rattled, but he assured his team that the second wave of reserves would save the day. They had to hold out until then. Imperial turn 2 continued the domination. More devastation from the titans and the flyer wing ruled the skies.

Many orks dying to fire power as the Black Templars, led by Marshal Helbrecht pushed forward with thier teams flag. All the while the Xeno flag was with the Big Mek in the Gargant sitting and waiting.

Many of the reserves were targetted turn 2, especially the Genestealers in the ruins next to the titan. Little did the Imperials realize this would be a huge mistake.

The Genestealers were not the only aliens in that building, the Lictors were also hiting on the bottom floor.

The bottom of turn 2 began to swing the power to the Xeno side. The Gargant pushed up leveling imperial tanks with its belly gun. All the while Ryan's Dakka Jets each took out Storm Talons. Grazhkull Thrakka also obtained a relic on the left flank.

Perhaps the most important and controversial action occured in the far corner. Two Mawlocs coming off reserve forced the titan off the board. Both not scattering because the Lictors remained unscathed in the previous turn. Now what was controversial is that the titan has a rule that states "when it would be removed from play or die instantly due to an attack, it takes d3 structure points off instead and would remain in the game." The argument is that the attack which does a strength 6 large blast, is resolved before forcing this movement. It seems like the intention would be that the titan should survive the ordeal, but rules as written would disagree. And so I ruled the titan was removed. It was difficult to have to be impartial but fair is fair!

The Gargant began to target Helbrecht and his squad who planted thier flag on the first level netting 1 point only.

With no equal now on the battlefield the Gargant had supreme reign!

Next turn it would get its flag out.

On Turn 3 Marneus Calgar who came in turn 2, was under siege by Ork lootas. He was the only thing standing in the way of that corner objective in the background.

Game turn 4. Many things are now dead and everyone is making the last push to grab relics. Unfortunately, no one would clain the right flanks relic, the middle went to the Imperials and Grazhkull was on the left.

The rest of the Imperial fleet targetted Grazhkull here in this pic, eventually dying and loosing the relic for good.

Helbrecht and his squad were forced to tie up the Gargant. His heroics gained Kyle many tix!

Calgars last stand before falling to a few measly lootas! How terrible!

With a defeat in sight Helbrecht miraculously survives two rounds of getting stompped! To end the game alive to fight another day.

The Xenos raised their flag to the top level declaring a definitive victory against the Emperor.

Result:

XENO WIN