Adepticon Team Tournament - Final Lists - Team Whiskey & 40k

Not a very good picture; we need to really re-take with the display board added; suffice to say, spearheaded by the painting of the more talented members of our team, but with contribution from all, the armies look REALLY awesome together.

The force is predicated on a Great Scourging immediate post-Heresy expedition of recently committed Vostroyans and a group of Space Wolves.  Every wolf model has been heavily converted with forgeworld, maxmini, chapter house, green stuff, multiple GW plastic kits, etc., to look large, active, "in motion," and very Heresy era.  The IG army is ENTIRELY Vostroyan, and props to Kevin for his significant work on so many metal models.  Final count for the lists is 174 infantry models, 18 vehicles.

One of the more interesting conversions we did was in relation to the Razorbacks.  There were no Razorbacks yet for thousands of years still at the time of the Heresy, so anyone running Razorbacks in a Pre-Heresy army without conversion is ... well, not fluffy at all.  So, we envisioned Space Wolves as just the type to crazily hang out the top hatch of a bounding rhino and fire lascannons or double tap plasmaguns out of it on the move.  Hence, the conversions have accurately placed weaponry and double wolves sticking out of the tops of standard rhino hatches for the Razorbacks.  All appropriate clarity and weapon placement maintained, of course :)

Here are the lists ...

Imperial Guard Army #1
Mike Brandt
Team Whiskey & 40k
Adepticon Team Tournament 2011

HQ (1/1)
Company Command Squad - 235
Includes:
Command Squad - 50
Company Commander Upgrade to Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken - 95
2 x Veteran Upgrade to Meltagun - 20
Veteran Upgrade to Regimental Standard - 15
Veteran Upgrade to Laspistol/Close Combat Weapon - Free
Dedicated Transport - Chimera with Hull Heavy Flamer - 55

Elite (0/1)

Troop (3/3)
Veteran Squad - 155
Includes:
Veteran Squad - 70
3 x Veteran Upgrade to Meltagun - 30
6 x Veteran Upgrade to Shotgun - Free
Dedicated Transport - Chimera with Hull Heavy Flamer - 55

Veteran Squad - 155
Includes:
Veteran Squad - 70
3 x Veteran Upgrade to Meltagun - 30
6 x Veteran Upgrade to Shotgun - Free
Dedicated Transport - Chimera with Hull Heavy Flamer - 55

Infantry Platoon
Platoon Command Squad - 45
Includes:
Platoon Command Squad - 30
3 x Guardsman Upgrade to Flamer - 15
1 x Guardsman Upgrade to Laspistol/Close Combat Weapon - Free

Infantry Squad - 60
Includes:
Infantry Squad - 50
2 x Guardsman Upgrade to Autocannon Heavy Weapon Team - 10

Infantry Squad - 60
Includes:
Infantry Squad - 50
2 Guardsman Upgrade to Autocannon Heavy Weapon Team - 10

Fast Attack (1/1)
Vendetta Gunship - 130

Heavy Support (1/1)
Manticore Rocket Launcher with Hull Heavy Flamer - 160

Imperial Guard Army #2
Dave Gonzales
Team Whiskey & 40k
Adepticon Team Tournament 2011
HQ (1/1)
Company Command Squad - 170Includes:
Command Squad - 50
2 x Veteran Upgrade to Lascannon Heavy Weapon Team - 20
Veteran Upgrade to Regimental Standard - 15
Veteran Upgrade to Laspistol/Close Combat Weapon - Free
Add Regimental Advisor - Astropath - 30
Dedicated Transport - Chimera with Hull Heavy Flamer - 55

Elite (0/1)

Troop (3/3)
Veteran Squad - 155
Includes:
Veteran Squad - 70
3 x Veteran Upgrade to Meltagun - 30
6 x Veteran Upgrade to Shotgun - Free
Dedicated Transport - Chimera with Hull Heavy Flamer - 55

Veteran Squad - 155
Includes:
Veteran Squad - 70
3 x Veteran Upgrade to Meltagun - 30
6 x Veteran Upgrade to Shotgun - Free
Dedicated Transport - Chimera with Hull Heavy Flamer - 55

Infantry Platoon
Platoon Command Squad - 50
Includes:
Platoon Command Squad - 30
4 x Guardsman Upgrade to Flamer - 20

Infantry Squad - 60
Includes:
Infantry Squad - 50
2 x Guardsman Upgrade to Autocannon Heavy Weapon Team - 10

Infantry Squad - 60
Includes:
Infantry Squad - 50
2 x Guardsman Upgrade to Autocannon Heavy Weapon Team - 10

Infantry Squad - 60
Includes:
Infantry Squad - 50
2 x Guardsman Upgrade to Autocannon Heavy Weapon Team - 10

Fast Attack (1/1)
Vendetta Gunship - 130
Heavy Support (1/1)
Manticore with Hull Heavy Flamer - 160
Space Wolf Army #1
Tony Kopach
Team Whiskey & 40k
Adepticon Team Tournament 2011

HQ (1/2)
Rune Priest with Jaws of the World Wolf, Living Lightning - 100

Elite (2/2) *EXTRA ELITE SLOT
Wolf Scout Squad - 85Includes:
5 x Wolf Scouts with Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons - 75
1 x Wolf Scout Upgrade to Meltagun - 10

Wolf Guard Squad - 134Includes:
1 x Wolf Guard with Power Fist, Combi-Melta, Meltabombs - 48
1 x Wolf Guard with Power Fist, Combi-Melta - 43
1 x Wolf Guard with Power Fist, Combi-Melta - 43

Troop (3/3)
Grey Hunter Squad - 170
6 x Grey Hunters with Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 90
1 x Grey Hunter with Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon, Wolf Standard - 25
1 x Grey Hunter with Meltagun, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 20
Dedicated Transport - Rhino - 35

Grey Hunter Squad - 170
6 x Grey Hunters with Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 90
1 x Grey Hunter with Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon, Wolf Standard - 25
1 x Grey Hunter with Meltagun, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 20
Dedicated Transport - Rhino - 35

Grey Hunter Squad - 1504 x Grey Hunters with Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 60
1 x Grey Hunter with Flamer, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 15
Dedicated Transport - Razorback with Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasmagun - 75

Fast Attack (0/1)

Heavy Support (1/1)
Long Fang Squad - 1904 x Long Fangs with Missile Launchers - 100
1 x Long Fang Pack Leader with Bolt Pistol and Close Combat Weapon - 15
Dedicated Transport - Razorback with Twin-Linked Lascannon

Space Wolf Army #2
Kevin Comer
Team Whiskey & 40k
Adepticon Team Tournament 2011

HQ (1/2)
Rune Priest with Jaws of the World Wolf, Living Lightning - 100

Elite (1/1)
Wolf Guard Squad - 119
1 x Wolf Guard with Power Fist, Combi-Melta - 43
1 x Wolf Guard with Power Fist, Combi-Melta - 43
1 x Wolf Guard with Combi-Flamer, Combi-Melta, Meltabombs - 33

Troop (3/3)
Grey Hunter Squad - 170
6 x Grey Hunters with Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 90
1 x Grey Hunter with Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon, Wolf Standard - 25
1 x Grey Hunter with Meltagun, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 20
Dedicated Transport - Rhino - 35

Grey Hunter Squad - 155
5 x Grey Hunters with Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 75
1 x Grey Hunter with Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon, Wolf Standard - 25
1 x Grey Hunter with Meltagun, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 20
Dedicated Transport - Rhino - 35

Grey Hunter Squad - 150
4 x Grey Hunters with Bolter, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 60
1 x Grey Hunter with Flamer, Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon - 15
Dedicated Transport - Razorback with Lascannon and Twin-Linked Plasmagun - 75

Fast Attack (0/1)

Heavy Support (2/2)*EXTRA HEAVY SUPPORT
Long Fang Squad - 190
4 x Long Fangs with Missile Launchers - 100
1 x Long Fang Pack Leader with Bolt Pistol and Close Combat Weapon - 15
Dedicated Transport - Razorback with Twin-Linked Lascannon

Long Fang Squad - 115
4 x Long Fangs with Missile Launchers - 100
1 x Long Fang Pack Leader with Bolt Pistol and Close Combat Weapon - 15

One Way Around Leadership ... GK List Notional #5,063

Fairly straightforward purifier spam

Inquisitor w/ psycannon, servo - 83
4 Acolytes w/ Bolters, 1 Acolyte w/ Storm Bolter - 27
Chimera w/ hull heavy flamer - 55

Crowe - 150

5 Purifiers w/ 2 psycannons, Plasmaback - 220
5 Purifiers w/ 2 psycannons, Plasmaback - 220
5 Purifiers w/ 2 psycannons, Plasmaback - 220
5 Purifiers w/ 2 psycannons, Plasmaback - 220
5 Purifiers w/ 2 psycannons, Plasmaback - 220
5 Purifiers w/ 2 psycannons, Rhino - 180

Psyfleman - 135
Psyfleman - 135
Psyfleman - 135


So, what's this thing have going for it ... well, it still disembarks at midfield psycannon wise; you can keep one squad in rhino if you want.  The Inquisitorial chimera is moving 6" and firing psycannon once it is in position.  Against long range armies that try to play stand-off, you've got 5 lascannons and 12 twin-linked missile shots from 8 units (aka at up to 8 targets).  This is the primary reason you don't go with pass/psybacks instead of plasmabacks ... you don't need dinky lil s6 shots (b/c Chimeras blow everybody up, right?), and you don't need more 24" range fire to try and jam into midfield and properly cover the board ... you need the ability to rapidly reach out and touch zippy armies that will try to put the hurt on your boyz while keeping the 24" guns out of range as long as possible.

GK List Development - Karamazov is ... Mandatory?

So here's the deal ... Ld9 is a 1/6 chance to fail.

Grey Hunters with a wolf guard in 5 man squads and razorbacks clock in under 200 points for the whole shebang, and are intended to be scoring and/or one-shot wonders very often ... they don't need to stay alive, endure much damage, or engage the enemy continuously.

Grey Knights aren't like this.  If you're trying to just jam 5 man squads into razorbacks, you're playing the wrong codex.  You can do this with purifiers, but stick 'em in rhinos instead of razorbacks, and still ... I don't think you're as good as you think it's going to be.

More "pure" GK armies are strong in that they very reliably can get to midfield, from where nobody can "run away" from them (I'm looking at you, internet heroes who think DE and Eldar and the like can easily play keep-away from the GKs' 24" primary range) with any material effectiveness.  Once t here, though, they are at their best DISEMBARKED into cover, sometimes shrouded, and firing tons of S5 and S7 rending downfield at whatever they want, while daring an opponent to run in at them and have to deal with I10, S6 power weapons at a librarian's leisure, or tons of fire and then charges from S5 power weapons without a libby.  It's a hairy proposition, letting a GK get to midfield on  you.


Here's the problem, though - you're going to lose knights; you're going to lose a lot of them, in most games.  They're just power armored marines.  This is actually ok, b/c of how hideous a pair of psycannons are, and how hard it is to drill down into them when covered, often shrouded, and in a larger squad (5-man squads = you lose psycannons long before you want to, purifier lovers).  What's not OK are leadership tests.  You're not running cheapy little squads here, boys and girls ... you're running squads that are almost guaranteed to be in excess of 250 points each.  While their firepower and combat capability (especially with proper buffs) is quite good for this cost, shit hits the fan when a canny opponent with a lot of MSU vehicles and such (especially ones with speed) swamps your army with models and you fail break tests, either due to repeated tank shocking or unlucky vs. 25% casualties (and again, you'll be losing knights, and taking 25% casualties, it'll happen a lot).  Do you trust a single terminator save with the fate of an entire terminator squad?  That's what you do when you trust a single Ld9 test with the fate of an entire PAGK squad.

ATSKNF is nice, sure, but if an opponent is smart enough to realize your weakness and pound it, he can get ird of squads and watch 'em roll off the board, and you won't be able to afford this the way a lot of more MSU'ed armies can.


Now, warning, I fail LD tests like it's my job, and I always take LD reliability and endurance.  Problem is, the Grey Knights lack it.  They really don't have much in the way of "I'm safe from breaking."  What they have is Karamazov, and since GK are a midfield firepower dominance army, a single 12" aura is pretty effective at "my whole army re-rolls failed LD tests."

What are Karamazov's strengths?
He's an independent character now, which means he's joining squads (and looking really silly, towering over everyone)
Relentless twin-linked multi-melta (big deal, esp. for melta-less gk trying to deal with a raider or two without having to burn a ton of psycannons into it)
T5 means if you want to run a pallie death star, you gain incredible resilience against things like DE Lance Spam, where single wound lance hits can be repeatedly allocated to Karamazov's 4+ or 3+ cover save without fear of losing 100+ avg. value models to instant death.
Run with a Grand Master, and he's a S5 master crafted power weapon on an IC, which means you keep him away from their power weapons and eat several marines or whatever.  Run with a Librarian, and he's up to a S7 monstrous creature basically ... pretty cool.
His squad chooses to pass/fails morale, which also means no fearless saves, b/c you still choose to pass or fail, it's not "automatic."
He's also the ONLY way to make GK deathstars unbreakable (paladins, GKT, whatever).
He has rad grenades, which ... I have no idea why, but, bonus!
Beyond anything else, he gives power armor spamming GK armies Leadership durability.

What are Karamazov's weaknesses?
He has no invulnerable save
He's not eternal
He can't ride in a transport

He has some other things good ish and bad ish, like his orbital, but I don't think you'll use it all that often, or any of them all that often.  He's going to pop tanks with a 8/9 to hit multi-melta, he's going to kill basic anythings that get near him, and he's going to make your GK army a lot harder to get rid of.

Where am I going with Karamazov lists right now?

List Option #1

Karamazov - 200
Grand Master + Master Crafted Psycannon + Master Crafted Nemesis Force Sword - 230

10 x Grey Knight Terminators w/ 2 Psycannons - 450

10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280
10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280
10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280
10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280

2000

List Option #2
Karamazov - 200
Grand Master + MC Psycannon + Psychotroke - 240


5 x Paladins eclectically kitted, including brotherhood banner, dual master crafted psycannons, pair of master crafted hammers, master crafted falchions; total cost of - 440


10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280
10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280
10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280
10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280

2000


List Option #3
Karamazov - 200
Librarian + Shrouding, Quicksilver, Might, 4th power (undecided) - 170

10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons - 240

10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280
10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280
10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280
10 x Grey Knights w/ Psybolt, 2 Psycannons, Rhino - 280

Psyfleman - 135
Psyfleman - 135



See if you can figure out exactly the point of the various changes in list; the Grand Master's best ability is not so much to make something scoring (IMO), as it is to get d3 power armored squads in rhinos up to midfield and smoked before the game starts, dramatically enhancing (even if you only roll a 1) your ability to start putting the hurt on gunlines or zippy opponents like DE.

Supporting the NOVA / Thoughts on Tournaments

Well, it was an interesting week at work, I wound up in Texas for most of it (Fort Worth area).

I'm back at work again this Saturday, and though I'd drop a quick note on an important subject.


There are a LOT of people out there who very vocally support the NOVA, and I appreciate that.  The one problem, guys, is make sure you keep things in the context of actually supporting us.  What I mean is - if some fella near you starts up a GT or RTT or whatever and does not use a NOVA styled format ... be very careful about browbeating the poor fellow about how much BETTER the NOVA is ... it's fine to love it, I'm glad you all do - we work as hard as we can to make it great, and to make it constantly better.  That said, tournament organizers are a prissy bunch (I  know, I'm prissy as heck!), and we as a general rule don't like our events shat upon or strongly contrasted with OTHER events.

SOME TO's will take deep offense when this sorta thing happens, and they tend to start talking, and they tend to share with others that they are upset, and it isn't good for the hobby at all.

The NOVA is a great format, and I hope it continues to get better and better; I'm flattered when other events follow suit!  That said, events are great because their TO's care about the way they are pulled off, and have a passion for the format they present; rather than lambasting an event because it "isn't" NOVA ... encourage ALL events to be as great as they can be, while staying true to the foundational ideas of their organizers.  So, support the NOVA ... I really appreciate it ... but don't tear DOWN other events.  It just isn't good for any of us.

A reminder, by the way - if you're planning on signing up for the 40k GT, you should!  We're running out of spots.

 - Mike

Grey Knights Thoughts

Alright

I've had a chance to play some actual games with the new Grey Knights, and to Vassal it up a fair bit with them.

I think, first of all, that the internet is - as usual - starting off on the wrong foot.  There are a lot of bad lists going on out there.  I still think I'm figuring out what's right for me personally, and there'll be more time spent toward this goal as time goes on ... c'est la vie.  The thing of it is - many of the units are quite expensive "built right," and so when you're going through your list you wind up with armies that are strong enough, but aren't using much variety and certainly aren't going to be ticking off all the strong units in a single list; so, variety will result from high points costs, b/c you aren't going to have a lot of cookie cutter builds I don't think.

Over the weekend, I tried out a couple of things:
1) 10 man Grey Knight Squads (combat squad an option) w/ 2 psycannons, psybolt, master justicar hammer, Rhino; this squad is very shooty, only "ok" in combat (I mean, power weapons at S5 is good, but, they really don't have a LOT of attacks)
2) Psyflemen dreadnoughts and venerable dreadnoughts; these guys are hard to kill b/c of where they'll be situated (namely, not in the way of meltaguns), but people who run Riflemen know this; Venerables get banged up, but are very hard to outright kill (though at 195, they pay for it).  I tried one particular list using FIVE ... 2 Venerables and 3 Regulars; while good on paper, I didn't like having quite that many; I think 2-3 is the sweet spot, as fire support for an advancing core of power armored guys toting 16 s5 and 4-8 s7 rending shots per unit, with Rhino support.
3) Vindicare; he needs to be protected, b/c he is too much of a threat, and he is VERY EASY TO KILL.  Putting him in a hiijacked rhino cost me a turn of fire, but I didn't care ... by Turn 2 he was in a safe position messing people up.  While I can see using him against infantry targets with some regularity, he'll most often shoot at tanks.  I rolled over 20 on the pen rolls with some regularity.  The average roll penetrates a land raider.
4) Several other things, that I didn't like as much.  I also liked having a teleport homer summoning shrouding librarian like you would not believe.  It frees you up to over extend with your power armored hammer, and have the Libby with a foot psybolt squad heading toward center, offering supporting fire, and he just yoinks squads back toward objectives and key positions at leisure.  We kinda knew he was going to be money, but he's REALLY money; I also seem to always roll "3" for cover saves on vehicles when he has shrouding up, prompting me to believe shrouding is supremely awesome.  Well, it probably is anyway.

Here's a list I'll be playtesting *next* ...

Grand Master - Psychotroke Grenades, Incinerator
Librarian - Shrouding, Might of Titan, Summoning (Might and Shrouding are required; not sure on Summoning for this list yet)

10 x Purifiers w/ 5 Halberds, 2 Hammers, 2 Psycannons, Psybolt, Rhino
Vindicare

10 x Grey Knights w/ Master Hammer Justicar, 2 Psycannons, Psybolt, Rhino
10 x Grey Knights w/ Master Hammer Justicar, 2 Psycannons, Psybolt, Rhino
10 x Grey Knights w/ Master Hammer Justicar, 2 Psycannons, Psybolt, Rhino

Dreadnought w/ 2 x TL Autocannons, Psybolt
Dreadnought w/ 2 x TL Autocannons, Psybolt


So, as a general rule, you'll see the Grand Master give Scoring to the Purifiers, and the Purifiers themselves will be walking/running into position with the Grand Master and Librarian attached; unit is very combat capable with pairs of hammers, Hammerhand as needed; plus, it shoots like crazy (psybolt is pretty darned good).  The Purifier rhino is for combat squadded GK, or more often - the Vindicare.  Vindicares aren't hard to kill; it can make a lot of sense to scoot them forward in a hiijacked Rhino; you give up a turn of fire, but with shrouding and smoke on Turn 1, and other threats thereafter (plus it being very hard to FF a rhino with Vindi inside to actually get at him in a single turn w/out wasting fire), he's going to put the hurt on from a safe position.

The Psyflemen dreads are good, but I've found in test that you don't want to overload on them.

The Grey Knights are *very* shooty, and those squads are solid; they aren't really combat dudes, but when they are, I think it'll be b/c you've got the 5-man squads combat squadded w/ 2 psycannons, as advance/support fire; and you'll have the other 5 in Rhino w/ the Hammercar as a little s10 beat stick wherever needed.  BUT they aren't MUCH of a beatstick; that's why you almost have to go with psybolt (and hence go with 10 man squads combat squadding to get 2 5man) for the GKSS, b/c they just don't have enough attacks to be a combat capable squad.  Psycannons are also just as good as you'd expect.

Warmachine and Hordes @ the NOVA Open!

The organizer for Warmachine/Hordes at the NOVA is Nate Oesch, supported by input and staff support from a large crew of WM/H experts and press-gangers as far away as New England.  I've included an introductory post here to the HUGE amount of WM/H stuff going on for every day of the Open.

WM/H tickets are now available for sale at the NOVA Open website.  A weekend badge still gets you access to the NOVA Open, and a WM/H ticket gets you access to every single event involving that game system that happens over the course of the weekend.  One rate, all events!

1.     Introduction – What is Warmachine/ Hordes?

2.     Never played?  Come get a Demo!

3.     Weekend Long Events

4.     Tournaments

1.     Introduction – What is Warmachine/Hordes? 

Never heard of Warmachine/Hordes?  Heard the term but no idea what it is?  May I direct your attention to HERE.  Warmachine/Hordes are fast-paced and aggressive skirmish level battle games set in the steam-powered fantasy world known as the Iron Kingdoms.  Players take on the role of elite soldier-sorcerors known as warcasters/warlocks.  Though warcasters/warlocks are formidable combatants on their own, their true strength lies in their magical ability to control and coordinate mighty warjacks/warbeasts. 

2.     Never played? Come get a Demo! (Does not require WM/H Pass)

All weekend long we will have demo tables set up for those who have never tried the game but would like to find out what the game is all about.  We will have demos available for both Warmachine/Hordes.  For those who don’t know, while they are separate games, they are compatible with each other and are intended to play against each other.

3.     All Convention Long Events

These Events will be going on throughout the course of the Convention.
            Blood & Steam Battlegrounds – This is the casual/pick-up game portion of the Warmachine/Hordes events that will be taking place.  Want a rematch of a tournament loss?  Chance to play with a longtime friend from another state?  This is the place to come!  Also, players can earn achievements throughout the weekend by accomplishing varying tasks while playing on the Battlgrounds, such as play against 5 different opponents, play a player from another state, play using 4 different casters, etc.  We will track players achievements throughout the weekend, with the top 4 qualifying for the Championships on Sunday.  Each achievement unlocked earns you a ticket, which can be cashed in for prizes throughout the weekend!
            Custom Table/Scenario Contest – Want to re-create a historic battle?  Want to see what it would be like if Colossals were still used on the battlefield?  Now’s your chance to do so.  For those interested in constructing their own custom scenario tables, we will be having a contest to see who can construct the best table/scenario similar to Gamesday Tables.  In order to compete in the contest all you have to do is register your table with us to reserve space and bring your table!
            Grind Ball World Cup – Throughout the weekend, anytime you play a grind scenario your result and number of goals scored will be recorded.  At the end of the weekend, the player with the most wins will be awarded the Grind ball World Cup!

4.     Tournaments

Note – Since there aren’t individual tickets to each tournament, but rather a single WM/H pass that allows you access to all of our WM/H events, to reserve your spot in a particular tournament e-mail nate.oesch@gmail.com to reserve your spot once you have purchased your WM/H pass.  You cannot reserve your spot until you’ve purchased a WM/H pass.  There will also be on-site registration.  If the 32 spots in a particular tournament fill up and there is demand for more, there is a possibility of expanding the field.

Thursday Evening – Grind Ball World Cup Kick-Off Event! (Note – Grind Scenario, not the Boardgame) 

Size - 35 Points

List Restrictions - 2 Lists

Timing Restrictions - Chess Clocks, Death Clocks, Accelerated Time Limits

Scenario Restrictions - Grind Scenario Only

Start Time - 9:00 PM

Rounds - 4 Rounds

Spots - 16 Players

This event will kick off the Grind Ball World-Cup that will be running all weekend. 

Friday Evening – Highlander Tournament

Size  - 35 Points

List Restrictions – 2 Lists, Highlander Format (See Description Below)

Timing Restrictions - Chess Clocks, Death Clocks, Accelerated Time Limits

Scenario Restrictions - None

Start Time - 6:00 PM

Rounds - 5 Rounds

Spots - 32 Players

This tournament will use the Highlander Format.  A player may bring 1 Unit of Infantry, 1 Unit Attachment, 1 Solo.  The remainder of their army can be made up of Warbeasts/Warjacks, but only 1 iteration of each Warbeast/Warjack (i.e., 1 Ironclad, 1 Defender, 1 Lancer, etc.)

Saturday Day – Softcore Tournament

Size - 50 Points

List Restrictions – 1 List Only

Timing Restrictions - Hardcore Time Limits

Scenario Restrictions - Killbox Only

Start Time 11:00 AM

Rounds - 5 Rounds

Spots - 32 Players

This tournament will use the Hardcore Format without the painting requirement.  Each player will have 7 minutes per turn with one 3 minute extension during their 60 minute match.  No mercy!

Saturday Evening – Doubles Tournament

Size - 50 Points Total per Team, 25 per Player

List Restrictions - 1 List per Player

Timing Restrictions - Chess Clocks, Death Clocks, Accelerated Time Limits

Scenario Restrictions - None

Start TIme - 9:00 PM

Rounds - 4 Rounds

Spots - 16 Teams

Double your pleasure, double your fun!  Character restrictions apply (i.e. both armies cannot contain the same character). Armies will count as friendly, but not friendly faction unless they are of the same faction.

Sunday Morning – NOVA Open Championship

Size - 50 Points

List Restrictions - 2 Lists

Timing Restrictions - Chess Clocks, Death Clocks

Scenario Restrictions - None

Start Time: 11:00 AM

Rounds - 4 Rounds

Spots - 16 Players (Must Qualify for Championship During Convention)

The top 4 players from the Highlander Tournament & Softcore Tournament Qualify, as well as the 2 best teams from the Doubles Tournament, and finally the 4 players with the most achievements earned in Blood & Steam Battlegrounds.  These 16 players will duke it out for the NOVA Open Warmachine/Hordes Championship Title!

Sunday Morning – Caster Madness

Size - 41 Points (No Warcaster/Warlock)

List Restrictions - 1 List

Timing Restrictions - Chess Clocks, Death Clocks, Accelerated Time Limits

Scenario Restrictions - None

Start Time: 10:00 AM

Rounds - 5 Rounds

Spots - 32 Players

Bring 1 41 point list with no warlock/warcaster

For those who don’t qualify for the NOVA Open Championship but want to finish the weekend with a bang, than this is the event for you.  Construct your 41 point force with no warlock/warcaster built in.  Then, each round a warlock/warcaster will be randomly assigned to each player, whether it be from another faction, or even another game system.  Every wanted to see Stryker lead the nation of Khador to victory?  This is your chance!  In cases where a Warcaster is leading a Hordes faction or vice versa, Fury will be counted as Focus and vice versa.

Bad Attitudes and Dread Babies!

Here we have pictured the brand new Grey Knight Dreadknight Model, which is SUPER BADASS, AM I RIGHT?

Hero of the Imperium right there. 

Also, just going to go ahead and call it on the PSYFLEMAN DREAD being a mainstay in army lists after the Infant Transporter of Doom (ITD).  Not mine, mind you, but, definitely in a lot of them ... reinforced aegis for GK gunlines + quad twin-linked s8 shots / turn on a non-shake/stunnable platform.

I think the GK codex is going to be really good and really bad.  First, the ability to affordably spam 70+ S7 rending shots with good range per turn in a meta-bucking mostly foot army is ... well, going to be problematic for a lot of basic players for a while.

I think it will have a ton of builds, and that's a good thing ... there won't be a "this is the best" and there won't be just a smallish handful.  I also think it will be somewhat easy to build a competitive enough build ... there will be a lot of armchair generals and commenters who suddenly think much more highly of their abilities ... and that's fine.  Also, psyspam will prove problematic for "pure" MSU armies that rely on cheaped out shooty transports and platforms (like razorback spam).  Psy defense becomes a bigger deal, but not THAT big a deal ... it's more that if you have really strong psy defense and can keep it alive, GK are going to freaking hate you.

In other news, Blood of Kittens posted up about the winner of the St. Valentine's Massacre, and basically went on a mini-rant since it was Guard, suggesting the list probably had all the "standard" Guard list inclusions, and was a big yawner, yatta yatta.

What is the problem with people these days in this hobby?  That approach to just starting off with antagonistic and negative viewpoints still resides, and I swear it's getting old.  Why not just congratulate the winners and say good show on an event that was well-received by those who attended?  Why the need to editorialize with bullshit presuming it was a "boring" list and implicitly condemning the winner?  It's that kind of needlessly negative crap that makes Tasty a hard person to trust with articles and data about your own events.  It's that kind of needlessly negative crap that makes this hobby such a turn-off sometimes.


It's Ash Wednesday, and I'll be following last year by giving up booze outside of with meals (as I tend to prefer a beer or two with dinner to a coke or two with dinner, just for the taste), and never in great excess even at meals.  Since I'm hardly a perfect Catholic, and just like last year, I'll be suspending this for Adepticon :)

Upcoming Events - Adepticon, Colonial GT, Etc.

Morning all,

Well, it's been busy at work, I was sick all last week, and some free time is invariably being spent on Adeptiteam prep.

Speaking of which, Adepticon is just around the corner ... easily the largest 40k event of the year is the Adepticon Team Championship, bringing together 440 players for a one-day Saturday event.  Adepticon has also dramatically improved its 40k Singles offering this year, moving from a very indeterminate 3-round battle points system to a largely single elim 4 round + 4 finals rounds format.  They've taken a page from the book of Epic with multiple accomplishable objectives per round, where wining more of the objectives than your opponent secures a win for the round.  Ties are still possible, with the top 16 players from Day 1 (a Friday) advancing to Sunday's Sweet Sixteen finals.  This event sold out quickly, and I got one of the spots; I'm still trying to decide if I'll participate, and in what capacity.

Lists I've considered bringing range from "competitive" to "lolzybad"

i.e.

Straken + Proper Kit + Chimera + Dozer - 325
Yarrick - 185
10 x Ogryns - 410
6 x Meltavets in Chimeras - 930

Is an example of lolzybad, throwing the vets and chimeras and Straken that I already have prepped/painted/etc., and adding a hilarious full size foot squad of Ogryns led by Yarrick.  I've actually built and painted 3 of my converted up River Trollgryns already, and just have to finish painting The Commissaur, a Yarrick counts-as represented by a Skink with a massive power axe and an Angelus bolter, holding the same pose as Yarrick.

If I didn't want to get any more River Trollgryns built up, I'd go with something more like:

Straken + proper kit + Chimera - 315
Yarrick + 3 Ogryns in Chimera - 370
5 x Meltavets in Chimeras - 775
3 x Vendettas - 390

Again, shoehorning in Yarrick and the Ogryns while filling out with models I have painted and ready to go.


Alternately, I could go with a standardized 1850 straken guard build:

Straken + Standard Kit + Krak Grenades + Astro + Chimera - 350
Grey Knight Brother Captain w/ Hood (Last Hurrah for this guy) - 81
Guardsman Marbo - 65
2 x Meltavets w/ Shotguns, 3 Meltas, Chimera, Bolt Pistol Sarge (yar!) - 314
4 x Meltvates w/ No Bolt Pistol - 620
3 x Vendettas w/ Heavy Bolters - 420


So I have pondering still to do in this category of things ....




In other news, if you aren't going to Adepticon (or even if you are), the week immediately afterward is the Colonial GT.  This is a major legacy event in New England, and they've added 40k this year; it's piloted by the gregarious, and ever affable and competent Chris Nanry, and it also has a couple of free 40k GT and Fantasy GT tickets for the 2011 NOVA Open.  GO.

Old Stuff Day - Two Old Faves

Well, I'm going to choose these two because OTHER people did; little too much ego for me to post what I think is my best, after all.

Inspired by http://www.warhammer39999.com/


First, GETTING OUT OF THE PROBABILITY POOL


And, then, reposted in full glory, this one got posted all over the darned interweb:

I was reading a post or two over at MKerr's blog, Chainfist.com. He reminds me of some other players I know in that I believe we are probably very similar PERSONALLY, but are very different in what we EXPECT out of other players - especially strangers.


The Concept of Needs, and Emotional Maturity

All of us need things in life. We need food, we need water, we need breathable air. Needs are variable ... and sometimes they are just "wants," but it's important to note that emotionally, needs are pretty flexible, and immensely different from person to person.

Some people need to be loved, others need to be respected, others need to be treated as if they are awesome, etc. When these needs are not fulfilled, negativity results - people feel unfulfilled, unhappy, angry, sad, a variety of emotions that most human beings do not wish to reside in (with exceptions ... let's avoid the exceptions for now, as this is more a lead in to a discussion about gaming, than a discussion about psychology).

It is of paramount importance to note that I believe expectations are not the same as goals or needs. You have a goal to have fun, you need people to behave a certain way toward you, but you CANNOT claim emotional maturity while simultaneously EXPECTING other people to fulfill your needs, or behave a certain way toward you. This is fundamentally true - not everyone's needs are the same, and so there is no set "way" for a person to act toward others that is "acceptable" and fulfilling of everyone's needs universally.

Instead, it is everyone's responsibility to be authentic to themselves, to be true to themselves, and the responsibility of those they interact WITH to decide whether or not they fulfill acceptable needs.

To wit, you meet an attractive woman at a bar, and you get her number. You're clearly attracted to each other, and there was some positive chemistry. You get together a week later for dinner, and find out that she's a liberal and you're a republican getting ready to run for senate; she hates black people and you believe everyone is Homo sapiens, period, no sub-species; she likes base-jumping and sky-diving, and you have a fear of heights. What will you do? She's hot, she's still into you (b/c she's not an authentic person, presume), she'd totally be your girlfriend. Should she be? Of course not, you are all thinking ... it obviously isn't going to work, you are fundamentally in disagreement on major issues. You need a supportive, non-racist girlfriend who enjoys keeping her feet on the ground.

OK, so let's take it a step further back, and you'll start to see where I'm going with this. You're single, you want to date, you have an interest in girls who don't enjoy dancing. You're also extremely allergic to techno music. It causes your hair to stand on end. Will you attend a techno club looking for girls? NO YOU WILL NOT. Furthermore, if you were to, and were to loudly proclaim the terrible nature of the music and wonder why they won't turn it off for you ... you're just about the biggest retarded, immature dick out there. Seriously.

Let's segue to gaming.

You go to your local friends' house for your weekly gaming group. Ever since you first went, everyone has taken really casual, laid back, helter-skelter battleforce-style army lists, and everything has been well painted. The group enjoys drinking a few brewskis, and you meet up beforehand at the local dive restaurant to bullshit, laugh, and set the mood for a fun night of 40k. Upon returning from the dive restaurant, a "new guy" one of the other attendees decided to bring places down his spray-primed army of power cheese doom. He complains that he can't really ever make the restaurant b/c it unsettles his digestive system to eat anything other than broccoli, and kindly asks you all to not drink in his presence, because he's vehemently against alcohol. In game, he rules lawyers everything, punks your casual list face in, and criticizes your painting while rambling about how great his army will look "when he gets around to it."

Will you invite him back? Of course not. Your gaming group has a clearly established standard, a clearly established social contract. Behave this way - this is why we hang out together, this is what we all enjoy. If you cannot conform to this, don't expect to be welcome!

OK, so how does this compare to your local game store, then? Suppose you the player in the above example want to attend the local game shop. You show up, and check the window - nowhere does it say whether people there drink beers, play with painted armies, are rules lawyers or use power lists or play casually or what, etc. You walk in, and see a bunch of powerful unpainted armies on the tables and people barking and laughing and competing intensely. You walk into the store further, and ask someone for a game. A giant, stinky douchey guy walks up and goes "WHAT'S YOUR ARMY?!?!" "Why, I play footdar! (sorry, dudes, I couldn't help myself)" and he replies with a big grin and "haha, sure I'll play a game, lol, do you mind if I proxy some stuff??" When you say "proxy, what's that?" he laughs in your face.

Aimlessly, starting to feel a little peeved at this dude, you regardless set up on the table ... BUT WAIT, "WE HAVE TO ROLL FOR SIDES FIRST MAN, AND THEN TERRAIN AND MISSIONS AND SHIT, RAR" ... it gets worse and worse. You keep playing.

What is your problem, you retard? Why the hell did you keep going with starting this game? Is it your opponent's fault? Is he a big flaming jerk? Maybe. Is he to blame for you not having fun? NO. You ignored every signal, and kept on walking right into it.

Didn't your geek brain have some giant mental image of this going off every 3 seconds?

NO, it didn't, b/c you're not emotionally mature enough to walk into an environment not comprised entirely of people identical to you. Sorry, it's true.

Your JOB in life, to attain happiness, is to understand what you need and to see your needs fulfilled. It is not the responsibility of others to make you happy. The big fat stinky douche in the above example is not out to destroy your fun - he's out to be himself, quite unabashedly might I say. Good for him. YOU'RE THE REAL JERK if you spend the game pissed off, hating the guy, and talk shit about him for years afterward to your buddies. It was your choice to ignore every sign and retardedly accept the game with him. What did you think was going to happen?

NOW, here you are, wizened by the experience, getting ready to sign up for a tournament.
On the tournament front page, it reads this:

NO SPORTSMANSHIP. NO PAINTING. NO RULES JUDGES WILL BE PRESENT. SATANIC WORSHIP MAY OR MAY NOT GO ON IN THE BACK ROOM. Your prize is a cookie, that the tournament organizer has taken a piss on, to ensure it is contaminant-free (go NH3).

Are you going to sign up and attend? If you do, are you going to be all pissy when your opponents don't practice sporting behavior, are running unpainted armies, and rules lawyer you into the ground with no judge-based recourse? IF YOU'RE THINKING YES, YOU'RE STILL RETARDED.


The NOVA Open is an event with sportsmanship scoring, a detailed (and soon to be far more detailed) set of expectations of opponents, prizes and rewards for people regardless of their competitive finish, PLUS prizes for people doing well on the competitive front, a 3-color minimum painting requirement, and much more. Should you expect someone at the event across the table from you to be your best friend, happily getting along with you in all rules discussions and game chat? THE ANSWER IS STILL NO. You should expect them to follow the required expectations of the tournament, PERIOD.

If you want your opponents to be friends, game with friends. If your opponents turn out to be friendly, and you get along, and could be friends with them - AWESOME, but rest assured that strangers are still strangers, and not all people get along, nor should they be expected to.

Every game has a social contract ... but that varies from game to game, player to player, environment to environment. It's not static, the same for all. Sado masochists should not expect everyone else to be a sado masochist. Straight people should not expect everyone else to be straight. Catholics should not expect everyone else to be Catholic. Americans should not expect the whole world to love America.

Friendly, affable gamers should not expect every stranger at a tournament to be a friendly, affable gamer. Do I personally wish everyone was? Sure. But if I attend an event full of strangers, I'M THE IMMATURE JERK TO BLAME if I'm disappointed when everyone doesn't embrace me as their best friend and amicably solve every single discussion we have.


95% of the people you run into at the NOVA Open I'm sure you'll get along with just fine ... I'd bet my money on it. When you run into that 5% who are just so wildly different from you that you'll never see eye to eye ... for the love of all that is good and kind don't blame THEM for it. You are as different from them as they are from you, and that's NOBODY'S fault.

Your fun is your responsibility. That's why you don't invite the douches back to your gaming groups. That's why what you don't do is invite them back and argue with them / belabor them into changing who they are.

Celebrate differences, and avoid environments full of different and new people if you can't.

My $.02
Loving and being considerate of others is NOT expecting a social contract of them that they didn't sign. You're just as douchey as them once you do.