This weekend just gone I ventured up to Nottingham again to the GT Final after qualification through being nominated for Best Army at Heat 3 late last year, I wasn’t particularly confident as my list if anything was weaker then at the Heat and the players are for the most part better - being as to qualify you need to be in the top 45(?) of one of the three heats.
For various reasons (including thinking I had an illegal list after round one - embarrassing - though it turned out I didn’t) I didn’t record half details I wanted too nor take many pictures, hence this is just a brief summary rather then any sort of real battle report of the weekends action
Game 1 - Spearhead, Seize Ground
Played verses Daemons and Mark a heat winner, the list was built around 15 Bloodcrushers. These backed up a Daemon Price and Great Unclean One soaked up almost everything I could chuck at them, the result being that my firebase around one of the objectives was swamped and wiped out around turn 5, however having recognised how the game was going I had set about taking out his ability to hold objectives, with only two small units of Plague Bearers as scoring units, the Veterans accounted for one after being dropped in by their Valkyrie, I then set about hunting down the other, I just couldn’t kill off the last one however, in the end I moved to contest the same objective, turn 6 would have been a draw, but the game went on the Valk went down in assault and I was left with a lone Veteran on the table 1/2" away from contesting.
Game 2 - Pitched Battle, Annilation
My first encounter with Eldar over the weekend, with a considerable number of Kill Points more in my own army this wasn’t going to be easy, but then Kill Points seldom are for Infantry based guard, I gained early success wiping out his Pathfinders and disabling his Falcons Anti-Tank Weapons, a unit of Guardians followed, the first half of the game went pretty much perfectly, however his Farseer and a unit of Warlocks reached combat and my Infantry on the right flank vanished quickly, the centre followed while it wasn’t a run away defeat that it could of been, there was very little I could do by the end of it.
Game 3 - Dawn of War, Capture & Control
My last game of the day saw me against one of the regulars from the Spikey Club with his Space Sharks 'Fin Wing' (using the Deathwing rules), two of his units sat back on his objective the rest Deep Struck, two arriving on turn one. He risked his luck and went in close, and it paid off with Heavy Flamers roasting a good deal of Guardsmen on my objective, in my turn I was able to whittle one squad down and hit the other with my Roughriders with a degree of success, however it didn’t last. I was able to wipe out one squad with his Librarian, but with the arrival of one last Squad with Belial my Infantry was put to flight, in the end I was unable to contest either objective.
Game 4 - Dawn of War, Seize Ground
It's been a while since I've played against a mixed Witchunters force, and with three Exorcists on the other side of the table things didn’t look too rosy, I deployed holding one objective firmly, a Sisters unit deployed in the opposite corner likewise in a good position, be it away from the battle which would develop on my right. The Inquisitor Lord's psychic powers came to could effect, though with his Rhino's stopped early on things were going my way despite several squads breaking only to rally again and push back to their original positions on my objective, a Culexus Assassin arrived on my right and was charged down by a Roughrider unit. In the end the right flank remained mine with the Inquisitors squad all but destroyed, likewise the sisters thanks to the second Roughrider squad, which then went on to finish off an Exorcist with Krak Grenades, the Valkyrie dropped it's Veterans off which dealt with another Sister Squad in the centre and met on an objective in the centre of the board with a couple of my Infantry Squads which had slogged it from my table edge, the Valkyrie itself contesting against the remaining intact Sister Squad despite some hairy moments with their meltaguns. End with a solid victory to me at last.
Game 5 - Spearhead, Capture & Control
My fifth game was played against a mechanised CSM list with two squads in rhinos, plague marines in a rhino two vindicators and two winged daemon princes with Warptime. The Plague Marines deployed to hold his objective while everything else deployed in a clump aimed right at mine. In my first turn everything went right. Both Vindicators went pop, as did the empty Plague Marine Rhino which was shielding the other two, he ploughed forward and another Rhino was wrecked the squad disembarking and taking a head on shot from a Demolisher almost wiping them out, at the same time a full Platoon of Guardsmen and a Roughrider Squad arrived from reserve and started pushing towards his Plague Marines.
His second squad disembarked closer to my lines mostly shielded by their Rhino while a unit of Obliterators arrived and blew up my Demolisher, taking a lot of Guardsmen with it, what firepower I could targeted the Marines softening them a little before the Roughriders charged in, broke them and then escorted them off the table, unable to finish off the last Obliterator meanwhile I charged my Command HQ into them, imitating a combat that would last several rounds. One Daemon Prince
pushed at my lines but it was brought down by massed fire, while the other joined the Plague Marines who were about to be reached by all the Guardsmen on my right. The Plague Marines finally fell, though the Roughriders fluffed their assault bringing down only one, however with my left now unopposed I was able to lay it with my remaining Lascannons first finishing off the Plague Marines and then with the last shot of turn 7 the Daemon Prince wiping my opponent out.
Game 6 - Pitched Battle, Annilation
More Eldar, this time with Eldrad, turn one saw him zipping two Fortuned Waveserpants upto my lines, which unsurprisingly I was unable to touch while an Avatar approached on foot, Fire Dragons, Eldrad, and Harlequins then proceeded to tear up my centre, I was able to take out the Harlequins in return, but the damage was already done with my tanks destroyed or out of action and several Infantry Squads gone, this was compounded by the arrival of a unit of Warwalkers on one flank while my own reserves failed to show, the Roughriders charged the Fire Dragons but failed in doing anything vaguely useful other then locking them in combat during his turn before being relieved by the Avatar. With the aid of Eldritch Storm and supporting firepower from his Grav Tanks my Infantry were either destroyed or broke and ran, by turn 5 when the Valk and Veterans finally arrived I was virtually wiped out, they did take out the Warwalkers which were some what isolated, but given the Eldars speed I was forced into combat with Jetbikes and the remaining Fire Dragon to try an extend their existence, in the end that didn’t help much, by the end of turn 6 I had nothing left.
Well that about sums up the GT Final for me, I finished up 89th Overal, not too shabby, I still had a great time, all my opponents were absolutely fantastic to play against and I had the pleasure of meeting a few other people who read the blog as well as some faces I've not seen for a while from other GT Heats such as Malchek. Saturday Night in the bar was also great fun, the event teams excelled themselves putting on the 'Space Marine Challenge' a series of four team events including a pub quiz, mini diorama contest, pin the purity seal on the Space Marine (which is surprisingly hard when you've had a few drinks!) and my personal favourite the Frag Grenade Challenge (but then I did win that one lol).
Same time next year chaps?
