Labor Day Slug-Fest



Shoot the big ones early and often.

 Lead by the armored spearhead of the Armageddon 23rd Steel Legion a combined Imperial force rapidly re-took territory lost to the Tyranid invaders. It was of course a trap. An unprecedented swarm of Tyranid monstrous creatures surged out of the city ruins and headlong into the Guard. Massed fire from a Lemen Russ company lead by a pair of super-heavies tore into the massed 'Nids. Very accurate fire rained down from a supporting battery of Catachan Manticores. Scores of lesser Tyranids were incenerated.

Then the Trygons, Lictors, and a Mawloc showed up. The Barbed Hierodule shot up the Baneblade and destroyed the Stormsword. It was a pitched back and forth battle, but in the end, the Guard ran out of tanks before the 'Nids ran out of Carnifexes, and that thrice-dammed Hierodule.

We played the "Rolling Thunder" mission from the Imperial Armour Apocalypse II book. 50% of each army must be tanks, monstrous creatures, super heavies and the like. Our game had 5000 points per side. The game flowed very well and moved fast for a large battle.



Awaiting deployment, a Tyrgon enjoys the Nacho spawning pool.

Both sides took heavy losses, the Tyranids won, but not by much. The next mission will be a clash of scouting forces looking for a weak point in the enemy lines.
Tyranids 6, Imperium 5.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOM(s)

Oh sure, Matt looks sane



Matt's Creation



Inside he is an evil madman. He just had to go through the Tyranid codex and find The Doom of Malan'tai.
Then he made one and made us very sad with the life essence-ripping and the Cataclysm, and the stupid, stupid 3+ invulnerable save.

Many hapless Guardsmen, Eldar, Orks, and Marines dropped dead before this terror. So I did the only reasonable thing: I made one for my 'Nid army as well. And it was good.

I like the Doom. It is fun, and just a bit overpowered, and can be killed by a well place Krak missile. It scares people and they focus lots of firepower upon it, letting the other Tyranid critters to do as they like.

We have a new house rule for the Doom:

Bursting the Bubble: If the Doom suffers Instant Death by any means it explodes in a STR 4, S" radius explosion. S being equal to the Doom's strength before it suffered Instant Death. All non-vehicles in the blast radius are affected, friend or foe.



My version


We have used this rule twice now and it is entertaining, so it will be staying with us.

Now Matt is eyeing the Tyrannofex...

Campaign Update

The PDF made a heroic stand at the gates of the spaceport stopping the headlong Tyranid advance dead in its tracks.

The lead elements of the Armageddon 23rd Steel Legion followed with a armored breakout deep into the Tyranid lines.

Last Sunday saw four games played as the Space Wolves joined the fight. The Steel Legion fought two games against Matt and Gillian's 'Nids using an update to a old classic scenario, Tyranid Assault. The 'Nids have six turns to kill every defending model on the table. Starting on turn two any troops that have been killed may re-enter as soon as they have a minimum or more squad size. All other killed units are placed into reserve.



Mrs. Blackheart's Tyranids Advance



Redeemer. Accept no substitution.



The Steel Legion hung on to win both games, one of them by two Guardsmen and a Sentinel. Wolf Lord Jeff split his games with the Hive Mind. That makes the current score Imperium 5, Tyranids 5. Can the Imperial forces continue to rally? Will the Hive Mind regain the initiative? Only the dice know.

This Ain't the Summer of Love

Tyranid splinter swarm Dagon has made planetfall on the agricultural planet of Zircon. Elements of the Armageddon 23rd Steel Legion are two days away and making best possible speed. Space Wolf and Dark Angel Strike Forces have responded and are en route. Xenos Inquisitor Lord Augustus and his company are also on the way. The Zircon P.D.F. have contested the landings but have taken heavy losses.

++++THE EMPEROR PROTECTS++++

The (late) Summer campaign has kicked off. Tyranids vs the Imperium. It is scenario based wrapping up with a Apocalypse game at the end of September. Three rounds have been played with crushing losses for the defenders of Zircon III. The first games where Planetstrike, two games of the Battle mission First Contact, and for round three the mission is Ambush.

The Ambush mission went very badly for the P.D.F. We will tweek the starting distance, of have the defender go first. The hapless Guard were wiped out in two turns.
The plan is to have as many games as possible and total up the wins and losses to see which side gets the planet.

The current score is: Tyranids 4, Imperium 0.

Playing or Winning?

The side that makes the fewest mistakes wins. This is a military axiom that has been handed down for many generations. I was taught that in the late '80s and found it applied to most aspects of life.
Especially wargaming. Crushing your enemies on the tabletop is one of life's little joys. Victory through a great plan and/or taking advantage of a developing situation is rewarding. Crazy good dice rolls just when you need then? Yeah, I like that a lot. Your opponent forgets to activate a unit? This happens on the real battlefield, so I am okay with my miniatures having comms problems as well. 
But this is a game, not the real battlefield. At what point is winning no fun?
Like all things, it depends on who you are and what you want. I play games to have fun and socialize. Two things that become more uncommon as stupid adult responsibilities mount. These days I am more interested in playing the game and having a good time than winning. Don't get me wrong, I still have an aggressive nature and like to win. If you have made a tactical error on the field I will make you pay for it. But what if you forgot to deploy a unit or two? What if she forgot the a Bright Lance can hurt a Land Raider?
On the flip side of  bloodlust is the want for your opponent to play the best game they can and have a good time.

I used to go to a lot of 40K tournaments. Rogue Traders, Leagues, and the Grand Tournaments when they where still held in L.A. I won some, (RT and League, not the GT) and had loads of fun for a while. A few years ago things seemed to change. A group of players began to emerge, ones who did not care if the people they played against had the slightest bit of enjoyment. They just wanted to win. They would "play" the game without the fun that usually goes along with playing with toy soldiers. One morning I woke before a RT and realized I didn't want to go. I didn't want to fight over rules, the gameplay based on Codex tricks and cheats. And my favorite, the temper tantrum or sullen pouting when they realized they were going to lose. I have not been to a tournament in six years. I have stopped by and watched for a bit, but it still seems to be only 25% of the players I would like to play a game with.

Which in a very rambling way leads us back to the way I play now. And the way all the people I play with do. We have a multitude of house rules, which in the near future I will inscribe on this very blog. The most important rule is oddly Games Workshop's old rule: Have fun. We allow forgiveness on a whole host of common mistakes, as long as your turn is not over yet. I think the coolest thing we tend to do is talk with our opponents about what to do on a turn. Let's look at an example shall we?

Matt had brought along the Tyranids and I the Guard. We were playing the First Encounter mission out of the mission book. I had two great turns of shooting the hell out of Matt with my tanks. His forces were scattered and it look bad for Matt. Then on turn three he got both his Trygons from reserve. He rolled well for which table sections they came in on. The sections with my tanks.

He was going to deep strike them on the table close to my tanks, but still endure a turn of massed firepower before he could assault. I helpfully suggested he just move them on normally and fleet towards the hated Leman Russes. Tragically for me he took my advice assaulted and killed three tanks.
Did my advice make for a better game overall? Yes it did. I got the firepower base ripped out of my army in one fell swoop. Matt's army would have been finished off if my tanks were not stopped that turn. The last two turns were very closely fought. Yes I lost, but it was a good game that hinged on one moment and was much more enjoyable then the Guard just shooting up the scattered 'Nids for a easy-ish win.

Is there a point here somewhere? I hope so. There is a fine line between showing mercy for a rules/codex issue and tactical errors. I always want to play against my opponents "A" game. If I can help them find it, so much the better.