G Recently I attended my very first Warhammer 40,000 tournament - a local affair called 3RD-A-PALOOZA (3PL) on account of it being played using W40k's 3rd Edition rules. It was great fun and I'm glad my mates talked me into making the effort and joining in.
Why 3rd Edition? Granted that W40k is now looking at 11th Edition, but newer doesn't always mean better... nor does older for that matter. No, I think it's more of a case that the 3rd Edition rules are relatively simple and being time locked, they're also relatively stable. The driving force for this event is a champion called
Nick Beattie, who's passion for the hobby and setting has seen him work with other fans to produce some top-notch materials - setting books, FAQs, rule references - all of which collective make for a great gaming experience.
There was to be a standard 2-day 1500-point tournament coupled with a 2000? point Armageddon-style massive battle happening in parallel. There were a few last-minute changes in circumstances that saw the big games cancelled, but still there were over a dozen players who played 5 games over the course of two days.
The setting was The First Tyrannic War. That meant it was set with Imperial defenders against an onslaught of the Tyranid's Hive Fleet Behemoth along with Genestealers and Orks getting into the action. And Eldar couldn't help themselves and played both sides 😁
I dusted off my Eldar and pulled together a suitably pointy-eared force for the day that I've detailed here. Do win-loss stats matter? I don't think so, because even when losing, whilst playing with the right opponents' you're still able to have fun - in my mind it's the quality of the participation that dictates the enjoyment, not the game's result.
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Here's my army being displayed on one of the beautiful boards made for the event.
Seriously, this was a work of art and just one of many fantastic boards that made for some great gaming. |
I was fortunate enough to be playing with great opponents, all of whom were very helpful and understanding that I was very much a W40k novice and I was going to need some help when it came to both remembering and applying the rules, let alone pulling together any semblance of a strategic or workable tactics.
I was playing on the 'Nid-Ork 'invader' side which saw me going head-to-head against several Space Marine detachments and a beautiful Imperial Guard army over the weekend. Everything you'd expect from playing a whole lot of games against several opponents over a couple of days transpired, including:
- Runs of luck where my dice seeing me mow down targets with gay abandon (SGII).
- Instances where mistakes saw advantages for both me and my opponents.
- Pushing my luck to the edge and beyond - I found this was a solid tactic.
- Some great 'in the moment' stories that will be recalled for years to come.
- Not to mention the afterhours nonsense in the City of Geelong! Creed anyone? And the Hot Chicken Project - yum!
There's talk of further events in due course and I definitely will try and get involved again - who knows, I might be required to paint something other than Eldar! But onto some of the pictures from several of my games - along with some commentary/thoughts.
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| My first game was against Gareth, another Melbourne lad, who fielded a lovely Blood Angels battle group. I managed to cause some pain by airlifting my Fire Dragons behind the frontline and burn... everything. They just didn't have the required staying power. Check out that flier to the right - chef's kiss! |
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| Bunkers were assaulted however! I took out a Space Marine transport then got my Guardians in and tried my best to wrestle it from some determined residents. |
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This was towards the end of a Patrol game that I played with Jerome. Alas, we (well I) were playing too slowly so I didn't get to see this melee through - something tells me I may well have come out on top there! My infantry weren't able to put up an effective defence against a whole lot of war machines - not helped by a defensive placement of my two Wave Serpents that were both taken out early on. I certainly learned a lot during the game which helped in some later games. This table was amongst my favourites (see the glamour shot with my army on display above).
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A fun game vs Angus in a snowy environment. I tried to play very aggressively in this game which didn't pay off as well as I'd hoped. I was assaulting bunkers at two ends of the table with the above end seeing my Avatar getting into the action along with my Scorpions. I'd forgotten that my opponent had reserves arriving and got a little bit ahead of myself on more than one occasion!
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| This wasn't looking good for me. That said, the Scorpions pulled through, went onto to secure a Bunker only to be incinerated by a gravbike's melta (or something) - definitely a lesson for me there! Aren't those yellow jump pack marines painted beautifully? |
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| Meanwhile, the Guardians and Seer were doing their best to stem the tide. Times like this I could have really done with an Exarch. |
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| And speaking of Exarchs, at the other end of the table, my Fire Dragons managed to crash land their Falcon in some ruins, which was followed by most of them getting blasted in short order. Except for this Exarch who did his best. Alas it just wasn't enough! |
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| This was a Night Fighting Mission against one of my friends James. His army (finally) benefited from having spotlights fitted to some of his units and whilst I found the variable spotting-ranging a little frustrating, it made for an interesting game. |
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| Check out the beautiful monstrosity that James fielded: a flamer tank affair with a dozer blade. W40k madness at its best and James did a great job of painting it. My Scorpions Infiltrated onto the board then made their way up to the Tank and a band of fanatics and robodogs - crazy melee ensued with much carnage experienced by all. I suspect that my Eldars' high Initiative value saved my skin on more than one occasion. |
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How is this for a Board?!? I think this one was Nick's. Yes, that's one of my Wraithlords making his way through the ruins. This was an Ambush game with me vs a very tough contingent of Space Marines (maybe Space Wolves? I think there were some Rune Priest-related things happening). My Avatar with his Banshee attendants did well, as did my Fire Dragons. Alas, the Falcons and Dire Avengers were no match for Terminators with their 2+ saves :-(
Regardless a fun game vs Robbie (I think?) who scored the win. If I had only positioned my Wraithlord (I only got one on the table) better, I might have been in with a chance!
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