Tacticon Day 1- Warhammer 40k

Day 1 is here. I got to throw down some fun games of 40K, and managed to take 31st with a win and two loses. There were 44 players, so I didn't make my midfield goal. It was a load of fun, and depending on how they change things for next year, I am definitely going.


Lysander with Crimson Fists and White Scar support
My first game was against a Lysander Space Marine list. He also had White Scar Bikers that come from the army with Bikers and Speeders on the giant over pass with the Emporer Protects Condoms billboard. This is my first famous encounter of the day, and it grows from there.
The game was good, and this was my win, by 1 KP. I managed to spawn Lysander in this game, who then went on to basically give the Bikers a free move and a free KP. But this was after Lysander and his squad drop podded in behind my dread and left it smoking. I loaded fire into the squad, leaving Lysander and a missile launcher guy. The next turn they split and Lysander assaulted my critical unit of Thousand Sons, while the ML held back and shot. The next turn was when he became spawn and I gunned down the missile guy. This left a Pod in my zone that I just couldn't do anything with, since my Defiler was across the table trying to bring the fight to the Land Raider holding his critical squad of Terminators. It failed, and died. Did create a nice bit of terrain for his Bikers to have to circumvent, but then I gave them a spawn to aide in doing so *sigh*. The Obliterators show up to take out the Landraider and leave his Terminator squad in the open for my Terminator squad. Thunder Hammer/Storm Shield terminators are tough, but against 8 Lightning Claw Terminators and a Sorcerer Lord, they just can't hold out. The Daemon Prince also makes his presence known, dropping into the Space Marine back field, holding the Tactical Squads Razorbacks up, forcing them to react, and eventually wrecking one and killing its squad. On my backfield, the Bikers have made it around the flank and are threatening my critical squad of Thousand Sons in their Rhino. I didn't know it at the time, but this would be the game decider, while I knew that them dieing would give my opponent 10 bonus points, it would also have given him the draw, but I made an UNGODLY number of saves. He popped the Rhino, leaving my guys in a smoking crater, doing little the following turn. Then the shoot everything, and assault, and 2 Thousand Sons hold off 7 Biker, an Attack Bike, a Sergeant, and a Space Marine Captain, rolling 5s and 6s for saves, winning me the game, and costing my opponent those 10 extra points.
Final Score: 50:12 Me.

Purple Immortals
Game 2, and I'm facing Space Marines lead by Lysander. Oops, that was last game. Nope, its this game, too. Oh, yeah, this one hurt. This game was two objectives, and started by him poping my rhino with the Thousands Sons on my objective, and killing the Icon. Well, forgetting my 'no guts, no glory' deep striking motto, I wussed and used the other squad's icon, putting my Terms across the field. The Daemon Prince also deployed on that side, wrecking the enemy line, and buying my guys time to move foward. This however left my own objective defended by 1 unit of Thousand Sons, and, later, my Obliterators. Not nearly enough. My opponent's Terminators in a Landraider Redeemer, jumped out after the Redeemer ended my Rhino, and rolled over the Obliterators and right into the Thousand Sons, with predictable results. This left my objective wide open for the rest of the game, and a unit of Tactical Marines moved in to claim it. On the opposite side of the field, my Daemon Prince took a heavy toll, destroying Razorbacks, and Tactical squads with ease. However it was not one sided, and the constant combat and fire began to take its toll as well. In the end, he was unable to slay a unit sergeant, who took his vengeance with a power fist. My Terminators were getting cloe to being in range, but my Thousand Sons lost their ride, leaving them to far out to make the objective. It also didn't help that, as I moved in, he moved back, leaving me out in the open. As one would expect from a servant of the false emporer. In the end, my Terminators fell to combined fire, leaving the lonely sergeant to move back in to claim the objective, giving him a win, and 2 bonus points for controling both objectives. My mistake this game was my Terminators, and I knew it almost right away. I should have put higher strength on my objective, forcing him to commit more here, maybe giving my Daemon Prince a better chance, and my Thousand Sons' Rhino a better chance as well. All in all, a good game, well played by my opponent.

Lamenters(as seen on BolS)
My second famous meeting, which also led to my third, Duke from BolS, the one with the awesome Blood Angels army. Anyway, on to the game. To start things out, the other dude and I are both named Allan(different spellings), then we rolled for deployment. Not once, not twice, but FIVE times before we didn't match, and that was on 2 different dice each. Alright, so deployment decided, I go first, I pick the wrong side. Picked the side I wasn't on, should have stayed, grass greener and all that. So I deploy, he states that a squad in a transport is 2 units, not one for Dawn of War, I have to take a Rhino off, DP foward right flank, Rhino back right flank. He deploys. I bring my stuff on, with my Defiler and Dread coming on near center, other Rhino, coming on back and toward center from the other Rhino. Don't pop smoke relying on Night Fight. He comes on, almost exclusively along his left(my right). Now my Daemon Prince and Thousand Sons are feeling the pressure, while my Dread and Defiler are rather lonely. This guys plan was to beat me and make me cry. He did, but I didn't. What I should have done here is seen the large number of tanks facing me, just dissolved from the right flank, circling the volcanoe, moving to the left, leaving his guys shooting air and forced to redploy, instead, I puffed my chest and said "I can take 'em." Well, I couldn't. He didn't roll over me, and I used my Thousand Sons Meltabombs for the first time. In the end, I was in bad shape with barely a squad of Thousand Sons left. I managed to wreck his rhino, leaving a squad unable to claim the 6th objective, meaning he couldn't get all the mission objectives and 2 whole points short of max. The last turn, he forgot himself and went for the total kill, which my Thousand Sons accepted and my Aspiring Sorcerer pulled out his force blade, and took his Librarians 10 bonus point head off.
Final: 52:22 Him

All in all a good day. Both my second and third opponent gave me exceptional in attitude, due to my ability to take crushing defeat with a smile. One said I was the best loser he had ever faced. Not sure how to take that. They both invited me to come to Stonebridge Games in Longmont to throw down some games. I plan to take them up on the offer on the 18th. I didn't get sportsman, I think due to my first game, as I know the third guy voted for me, and think my second opponent did as well. Its because I'm a sore winner. No, actually I'm just in shock.

"Wait, I'm winning? What? God, you must suck!"