A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away

So... A long time has passed and much have changed. Last time I wrote a post on this blog of mine, we were barely into the 6th edition of Warhammer 40k. Now it's 7th and it is a dark time for the Rebellion.

The Rebellion? Yep, it's all about the brilliant X-wing Miniatures Game these days.

I've been a Star Wars fan ever since I saw "A new hope" on VHS many years ago. The game itself is very easy to learn, but offers a surprising amount of depth. Warhammer 40k has unfortunately become too cumbersome to follow for me these days, both with a bloated and convoluted rule set and a huge amount of new models to buy and paint every time there's a new release.

X-wing is the total opposite of 40k in this regard. It has a small, clear and concise rule set, few (and pre-painted) models, a clear FAQ and official tournament rules. This is something I've never seen GW do; actively support tournament play. Color me baffled.

So anyways, I attended my first X-wing tournament this last weekend, in Gothenburg, Sweden. I took a "meta" list consisting of Han Solo with the Millennium Falcon title, Engine Upgrade, Luke Skywalker, C-3P0 and Veteran Instincts. Supporting him was a Gold Squadron Y-wing with an Ion Cannon Turret and R7-T1 and a Z-95 Headhunter of Bandit Squadron.

To make a long story extremely short:

#winning (Photo: Johannes Haglund)

Yep, I won the entire thing. Man of the match every match was Han Solo. The support ships were taken out or severely damaged every game, but the Falcon flew on and destroyed everything in its path (or behind it, in some cases).

I'll finish up this post with a shoutout to the great guys at Gubbspel Galore that hosted a fantastic event. There were a lot of other amazing-looking games hosted here this weekend, check out the pictures my buddy Briefspite took.

Tournament report: Strategikon 8

During the weekend of 6-7 October, me and Briefspite hosted the 8th Strategikon. 6th edition, 2000 points, two Primary Detachments allowed, two Allied Detachments allowed, two Fortifications of any type allowed, total Forge World allowance. Yeah, it was a blast!

Warhammer 40k tournament report: Invasion 2012

This weekend me and the boys went to Kristiansand, to our first tournament of 6th edition 40k: Invasion. It was 1750 points with minimal restrictions.

5 missions pretty much straight from the book, and tournament scoring was Victory Points. This meant that if you won a battle 4-2 in Victory Points, you got 4 tournament points. However, if you lost a battle 6-20, you got 6 tournament points. Yeah, losing could be better than winning. Kinda strange, but it was the same for everyone.

Anyhow, here's the tournament report. I reported in Norwegian this time, so if you don't understand what I'm saying, just look at the video and listen to the tone of my voice to figure out if I did well or badly ;-)

A brief video report from Strategikon 6

On the weekend of the 15th and 16th of October 2011, we hosted the 6th Strategikon Tournament. It was a blast, and the outcome was very surprising, as none of the usual heavy-weights won!

Ready for Strategikon 6

The night before Strategikon 6, the terrain is out, the tables are ready, and a couple of players are here playing already!

Team Norway's lists at ETC 2011

This year is the first time Norway sends a team of 40k players to compete at the ETC. Here are our lists:

PLAYER 1: Henning «Illumini» Lundheim
ARMY DESCRIPTION : Blood Angels

HQ 1 : Librarian (100), Shield of sanguinius (0), Unleash rage (0) [100 pts]

ELITE 1 : 5 Assault Terminators (200), 3 Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield (15), TRANSPORT 1 [215 pts]
ELITE 2 : 5 Assault Terminators (200), 3 Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield (15), TRANSPORT 2 [215 pts]
ELITE 3 : 2 Sanguinary Priests (100), 2 Power Weapons (30) [130 pts]

TROOP 1 : 10 Assault Marines (190), 2 Meltaguns (20) Power Fist (25) [235 pts]
TROOP 2 : 10 Assault Marines (190), 2 Meltaguns (20) Power Fist (25) [235 pts]
TROOP 3 : 5 Scouts (75), 5 Camo cloaks (15), Combat Blades & Bolt Pistols (0) [90 pts]

TRANSPORT 1 : Land Raider Redeemer (240), Extra Armour (15), Multi-melta (10) [265 pts]
TRANSPORT 2 : Land Raider Redeemer (240), Extra Armour (15), Multi-melta (10) [265 pts]

TOTAL [1750 pts]



PLAYER 2: Kenneth «KaldCB» Lomeland
ARMY DESCRIPTION : Space Wolves

HQ 1 : Rune Priest (100) Storm Caller (0), Jaws of the world wolf (0) [100 pts]

ELITE 1 : 3 Wolf guard (54) 2 power fist & combi melta (50), TRANSPORT 1 [104 pts]
ELITE 2 : 5 Wolf scouts (75), 1 Meltagun (10) [85 pts]
ELITE 3 : 5 Wolf scouts (75), 1 Meltagun (10) [85 pts]

TROOP 1 : 5 Grey hunters (75), 1 Meltagun (5), TRANSPORT 2 [80 pts]
TROOP 2 : 5 Grey hunters (75), 1 Meltagun (5), TRANSPORT 3 [80 pts]
TROOP 3 : 5 Grey hunters (75), Flamer (0), TRANSPORT 4 [75 pts]
TROOP 4 : 5 Grey hunters (75), Flamer (0), TRANSPORT 5 [75 pts]

FAST ATTACK 1: Land speeder (50), Multimelta (10) [60 pts]
FAST ATTACK 2: Land speeder (50), Multimelta (10) [60 pts]

HEAVY SUPPORT 1: 5 Long fangs (75), 4 Missile launchers (40), TRANSPORT 6 [115 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 2: 5 Long fangs (75) 4 Missile launchers (40), TRANSPORT 7 [115 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 3: 5 Long fangs (75) 4 Missile launchers (40), TRANSPORT 8 [115 pts]

TRANSPORT 1 : Razorback (40), Lascannon & twinlinked plasmagun (35) [75 pts]
TRANSPORT 2 : Razorback (40), Lascannon & twinlinked plasmagun (35) [75 pts]
TRANSPORT 3 : Razorback (40), Lascannon & twinlinked plasmagun (35) [75 pts]
TRANSPORT 4 : Razorback (40), Lascannon & twinlinked plasmagun (35) [75 pts]
TRANSPORT 5 : Razorback (40), Lascannon & twinlinked plasmagun (35) [75 pts]
TRANSPORT 6 : Razorback (40), Lascannon & twinlinked plasmagun (35) [75 pts]
TRANSPORT 7 : Razorback (40), Lascannon & twinlinked plasmagun (35) [75 pts]
TRANSPORT 8 : Razorback (40), Lascannon & twinlinked plasmagun (35) [75 pts]

TOTAL [1749 pts]



PLAYER 3: Knut Bjarne «ReX» Gandrud
ARMY DESCRIPTION : Eldar

HQ 1 : Autarch (70), Fusion Gun (10) [80 pts]
HQ 2 : Farseer (55), Runes of Warding (15), Doom (25) [95 pts]

ELITE 1 : 5 Fire Dragons (80), TRANSPORT 1 [80 pts]
ELITE 2 : 5 Fire Dragons (80), TRANSPORT 2 [80 pts]
ELITE 3 : 5 Fire Dragons (80), TRANSPORT 3 [80 pts]

TROOP 1 : 5 Dire Avengers (60), TRANSPORT 4 [60 pts]
TROOP 2 : 5 Dire Avengers (60), TRANSPORT 5 [60 pts]
TROOP 3 : 5 Dire Avengers (60), TRANSPORT 6 [60 pts]

FAST ATTACK 1: Vyper (45), Scatter Laser (15) [60 pts]

HEAVY SUPPORT 1: 2 War Walkers (60), 4 Scatter Lasers (60) [120 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 2: 2 War Walkers (60), 4 Scatter Lasers (60) [120 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 3: 2 War Walkers (60), 4 Scatter Lasers (60) [120 pts]

TRANSPORT 1 : Wave Serpent (90), Twin-linked Shuriken Cannon (10), Shuriken Cannon (10), Spirit Stones (10) [120 pts]
TRANSPORT 2 : Wave Serpent (90), Twin-linked Shuriken Cannon (10), Shuriken Cannon (10), Spirit Stones (10) [120 pts]
TRANSPORT 3 : Wave Serpent (90), Twin-linked Shuriken Cannon (10), Shuriken Cannon (10), Spirit Stones (10) [120 pts]
TRANSPORT 4 : Wave Serpent (90), Twin-linked Scatter Laser (25), Shuriken Cannon (10) [125 pts]
TRANSPORT 5 : Wave Serpent (90), Twin-linked Scatter Laser (25), Shuriken Cannon (10) [125 pts]
TRANSPORT 6 : Wave Serpent (90), Twin-linked Scatter Laser (25), Shuriken Cannon (10) [125 pts]

TOTAL [1750 pts]



PLAYER 4: Bjørn-Erik Hytt
ARMY DESCRIPTION: Dark Eldar

HQ 1: Haemonculus (50), Shattershard (15), Venom Blade (5), [70 pts]

ELITE 1: 4x Kabalite Trueborn (48), 4x Blasters (60), TRANSPORT 4 [108 pts]
ELITE 2: 4x Kabalite Trueborn (48), 4x Blasters (60), TRANSPORT 5 [108 pts]
ELITE 3: 4x Kabalite Trueborn (48), 4x Blasters (60), TRANSPORT 6 [108 pts]

TROOP 1: 9x Wytches (90), Haywire Grenades (18) 1x Hekatrix (10) Agoniser (20), TRANSPORT 7 [138 pts]
TROOP 2: 5x Kabalite Warriors (45) 1x Blaster (15), TRANSPORT 1 [60 pts]
TROOP 3: 5x Kabalite Warriors (45) 1x Blaster (15), TRANSPORT 2 [60 pts]
TROOP 4: 5x Kabalite Warriors 45 1x Blaster (15), TRANSPORT 3 [60 pts]
TROOP 5: 3x Wracks [30 pts]

FAST ATTACK 1: Beastmasters x4 (48), Razorwing Flock x6 (90), Khymerae x4 (48) [186 pts]

HEAVY SUPPORT 1: Ravager (105), Flickerfield (10) [115 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 2: Ravager (105), Flickerfield (10) [115 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 3: Ravager (105), Flickerfield (10) [115 pts]

TRANSPORT 1: Raider (60), Flickerfield (10) [70 pts]
TRANSPORT 2: Raider (60), Flickerfield (10) [70 pts]
TRANSPORT 3: Raider (60), Flickerfield (10) [70 pts]
TRANSPORT 4: Venom (55), Splinter cannon (10) [65 pts]
TRANSPORT 5: Venom (55), Splinter cannon (10) [65 pts]
TRANSPORT 6: Venom (55), Splinter cannon (10) [65 pts]
TRANSPORT 7: Raider (60), Flickerfield (10) [70 pts]

TOTAL: [1748 pts]



PLAYER 5: Espen «Rolig» Roligheten
ARMY DESCRIPTION: Space Marines

HQ 1 : Space Marine Librarian (100), Terminator Armour and Storm Shield (40), Null zone (0), Might of the ancients (0) [140 pts]

ELITE 1 : Ironclad Dreadnought (135), Exchange Storm Bolter for Heavy Flamer (10), TRANSPORT 1 [145 pts]
ELITE 2 : Ironclad Dreadnought (135), Exchange Storm Bolter for Heavy Flamer (10), TRANSPORT 2 [145 pts]
ELITE 3 : 6 Terminator Assault Squad (240), 4x thunderhammer and stormshield (0), 2x lightning claws (0) [240 pts]

TROOP 1 : 10 Tactical squad (170), 1x Meltagun (5), 1x Lascannon (10), 1x Power Fist (25), TRANSPORT 3 [210 pts]
TROOP 2 : 10 Tactical squad (170), 1x Meltagun (5), 1x Lascannon (10), 1x Power Fist (25), TRANSPORT 4 [210 pts]

FAST ATTACK 1: 1 Land Speeder squadron (50), 1x Typoon missile launcher (40) [90 pts]
FAST ATTACK 2: 1 Land Speeder squadron (50), 1x Typoon missile launcher (40) [90 pts]
FAST ATTACK 3: 1 Land Speeder squadron (50), 1x Typoon missile launcher (40), Multi-Melta (10) [100 pts]

HEAVY SUPPORT 1: Thunderfire cannon, TRANSPORT 5 [100 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 2: Thunderfire cannon [100 pts]

TRANSPORT 1 : Drop pod [35 pts]
TRANSPORT 2 : Drop pod [35 pts]
TRANSPORT 3 : Rhino [35 pts]
TRANSPORT 4 : Rhino [35 pts]
TRANSPORT 5 : Drop pod [35 pts]

TOTAL [1745 pts]



PLAYER 6: Andreas Ørlyng
ARMY DESCRIPTION: Black Templars

HQ 1 : 1 Emperor's Champion (90), Accept Any Challenge (50) [140 pts]

ELITE 1 : 1 Dreadnought (105), Venerable (20), Skill: Tank Hunter (10), Heavy Flamer (10), Extra Armor (5), Searchlight (1), Smoke Launchers (3) [154 pts]
ELITE 2 : Sword Brethren Terminator Squad: 5 Terminators (200), 5 Skill: Tank Hunter (15), 2 Cyclone Missile Launcher (50) , 1 Chain Fist (5) [270 pts]

TROOP 1 : Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates (80), 2 Bolt Pistol and CCW (0), 1 Bolter (0), 1 Meltagun (10), 1 Multimelta (10), TRANSPORT 1 [100 pts]
TROOP 2 : Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates (80), 2 Bolt Pistol and CCW (0), 1 Bolter (0) 1 Meltagun (10), 1 Multimelta (10), TRANSPORT 2 [100 pts]
TROOP 3 : Crusader Squad: 5 Initiates (80), 3 Bolter (0), 1 Plasmagun (6), 1 Lascannon (15), TRANSPORT 3 [96 pts]

FAST ATTACK 1: Land Speeder Squadron: 1 Land Speeder (50), Typhoon Missile Launcher (20) [70 pts]
FAST ATTACK 2: Land Speeder Squadron: 1 Land Speeder (50), Typhoon Missile Launcher (20) [70 pts]
FAST ATTACK 3: Land Speeder Squadron: 2 Land Speeders (100), Typhoon Missile Launcher (40) [140 pts]

HEAVY SUPPORT 1: 1 Predator Annihilator (120), Lascannon Sponsons (25) [145 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 2: 1 Predator Annihilator (120), Lascannon Sponsons (25) [145 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 3: 1 Predator Annihilator (120), Lascannon Sponsons (25) [145 pts]

TRANSPORT 1 : 1 Rhino (50), Smoke Launchers (3), Extra Armour (5) [58 pts]
TRANSPORT 2 : 1 Rhino (50), Smoke Launchers (3), Extra Armour (5) [58 pts]
TRANSPORT 3 : 1 Rhino (50), Smoke Launchers (3), Searchlight (1) [54 pts]

TOTAL [1750 pts]



PLAYER 7: Alexander «BlueRonin» Sawyer
ARMY DESCRIPTION: Imperial Guard

HQ 1: Company Command Squad (50) Power Weapon, Plasma Pistol, Medi-pack, Plasma Gun x3, Astropath (125), TRANSPORT 1 [175 pts]

ELITE 1: Psyker Battle Squad (60) +5 Sanctioned Psyker (50), TRANSPORT 2 [110 pts]

TROOP 1: Infantry Platoon
Platoon Command Squad (30) Flamer x4, Krak Grenades (25), TRANSPORT 3 [55 pts]
Infantry Squad (50) Commissar, Power Weapon x2, Autocannon (65) [115 pts]
Infantry Squad (50) Power Weapon, Autocannon (20) [70 pts]
Infantry Squad (50) Power Weapon, Autocannon (20) [70 pts]
TROOP 2: Veteran Squad (70) Power Fist, Flamer x 3, Shotgun x7, Demolitions (60) [130 pts]
TROOP 3: Veteran Squad (70) Power Fist, Flamer x 3, Shotgun x7, Demolitions (60) [130 pts]

FAST ATTACK 1: Vendetta (130) [130 pts]
FAST ATTACK 2: Vendetta (130) [130 pts]

HEAVY SUPPORT 1: Hydra Flak Tank Battery (75) + 1 Hydra Flak Tank (75) [150 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 2: Ordnance Battery, Medusa (135), Bastion-breacher shells (5) [140 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 3: Ordnance Battery, Medusa (135), Bastion-breacher shells (5) [140 pts]

TRANSPORT 1: Chimera (55), Turret Heavy Flamer, Pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber (10) [65 pts]
TRANSPORT 2: Chimera (55) Hull Heavy Flamer, Pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber (10) [65 pts]
TRANSPORT 3: Chimera (55) Turret Heavy Flamer, Dozer Blade, Pintle-mounted Heavy Stubber (20) [75 pts]

TOTAL [1750 pts]



PLAYER 8: Jonas «Xadhoom» Lepsøy
ARMY DESCRIPTION: Chaos Space Marines

HQ 1: Daemon Prince (110), Wings (20), Mark of Slaanesh (5), Lash of Submission (20) [155 pts]
HQ 2: Daemon Prince (110), Wings (20), Mark of Slaanesh (5), Lash of Submission (20) [155 pts]

TROOP 1: 10 Chaos Space Marines (150), 2 Meltaguns (20), Icon of Chaos Glory (10), TRANSPORT 1 [180 pts]
TROOP 2: 5 Plague Marines (115), 2 Meltaguns (20), TRANSPORT 2 [135 pts]
TROOP 3: 5 Plague Marines (115), 2 Meltaguns (20), TRANSPORT 3 [135 pts]
TROOP 4: 5 Plague Marines (115), 2 Meltaguns (20), TRANSPORT 4 [135 pts]

HEAVY SUPPORT 1: 3 Obliterators [225 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 2: 3 Obliterators [225 pts]
HEAVY SUPPORT 3: 3 Obliterators [225 pts]

TRANSPORT 1: Rhino (35), Combi-Melta (10) [45 pts]
TRANSPORT 2: Rhino (35), Combi-Melta (10) [45 pts]
TRANSPORT 3: Rhino (35), Combi-Melta (10) [45 pts]
TRANSPORT 4: Rhino (35), Combi-Melta (10) [45 pts]

TOTAL: [1750 pts]

Aftermath of Strategikon 5

The last Strategikon tournament was a great success! We had 41 people this time, which is up from 27 in Strategikon 4.

Eldar Autarch by Bjørn-Erik Hytt

Ork Waaagh by Jon Bjarne Moe Gumø

The secret secondary missions worked great. People were really happy with them, even though we realized they could have needed a bit more play-testing. Some of the missions were very hard, and some were pretty easy. Well, we've tested them now, eh? Over 200 games were played at the tournament, so I guess the first round of tests have shown that the concept works.

Baal Predator by Morten Fredheim

We played like this: The tournament organizer rolls for mission and deployment, then hands out one secret secondary mission to each player. The primary is worth 3/1/0, and the secondary is worth a single point.

See this post for all the secondary missions.

Secondary missions at Strategikon 5

Here are the secondary missions we used at Strategikon 5, so you guys can try them out at home. Roll for mission and deployment first, then randomly draw one of these secret missions. The primary mission (Seize Ground, Capture and Control or Annihilation) is worth 3/1/0, and the secret secondary is worth 1 point.

1: Lost gear

Your operatives had to abandon some vital equipment in this area. This is your chance to recover it!

The equipment is hidden in the center of the battlefield. You will get 1 point for controlling this location at the end of the game.

You control the location if you have a unit of Troops within 3” of the center of the battlefield, and there are no enemy units within 12”.

2: Great leader

The enemy commander is pivotal to the enemy in the ongoing conflict. You must eliminate the him/her/it!

You will get 1 point if you kill your opponent’s most expensive HQ model.

If the enemy doesn’t have a single HQ model with a points cost, you must kill the most expensive HQ unit to fulfil this objective.

If there are 2 HQs of equal cost, you have to kill both of them to get the point.

3: Winning the war

Even though winning this battle is important, winning the long term conflict is more important.

You need to preserve your forces for further engagements. You get 1 point if you have more units alive at the end of the battle than your opponent.

Note that fleeing or fled units are considered “alive” for this purpose.

4: Heavy gear

The enemy have enormous amounts of heavy forces. You must focus on silencing their big guns.

You will earn 1 point if your opponent doesn’t have any Heavy Support units left at the end of the game.

If your opponent doesn’t have any Heavy Support, then you will have to completely destroy his Elites instead. No Elites either? All his Fast Attack then!

5: Warrior elite

The enemy army consists of highly experienced elite troops. You must target their warrior elites to give your side a chance in this war.

You will earn 1 point if your opponent doesn’t have any Elite units left at the end of the game.

If your opponent’s army doesn’t have any Elites then you will have to completely destroy his Heavy Support instead.

No Heavy Support either? All his Fast Attack then!

6: Control the field

This area is of vital tactical importance in the ongoing conflict.

Split the battlefield in four quadrants. You will get 1 point if you have a unit completely within EACH quadrant at the end of the game.

Note that ANY unit can fulfil this objective, not just units from the Troops category. The enemy can’t contest the quadrants for this objective.

7: Impressive victory

After losing many battles in this war, your side desperately needs to increase morale. A slaughter of enemy forces should do the trick.

You will earn 1 point if you completely destroy three enemy units in one player turn. Show this card to your opponent when you fulfil this mission.

8: Decimation

Your forces can’t stand up to the number of enemy troops! You have to cut them down to size.

You will get 1 point if you completely destroy the enemy unit containing the most models.

Making them flee is not enough, you have to kill them all!

If there are multiple units that can be considered containing the most models, you will have to destroy all of them.

9: Hold the line!

This position is vital for the war effort. It must not fall!

You will earn 1 point if there are no enemy units within 18” of your table edge at the end of the game.

10: Breakthrough

This battle is part of a major offensive, and this is where the enemy line will break!

You will get 1 point if you have a scoring unit within 6” of your opponent’s table edge and no units within 12” of your own table edge at the end of the game.

11: Destroy them!

You must show the enemy no quarter and inflict serious damage before they realize what’s happening!

You will earn 1 point if you have destroyed or routed at least 50% of the enemy’s units at the end of the game.

12: It ends here

This battle is the last one of the war. Your two small forces is all that is left. Everyone else are dead. Make sure you win!

You will get 1 point if you are the only one that have a HQ unit alive and not fleeing at the end of the game.

750 point madness

The last tournament I attended had four games at 1750 points and two games at 750 points. No comp in either meant that we saw some quite silly lists from the top guys. I have both hosted and played 500 point doubles tournaments before, and am adamant in that games under 1500 points require comp (restrictions) of some kind.



However, if there's no comp people will undoubtedly try to fit in the hardest units they can think of. Let's take a look at some of the more outrageous examples I can think of, and then you guys can post your lists in the comments! Maybe we'll create real gold here :)

I'm actually stretching the truth when I say no comp, as there was some. A modified Force Organization Chart: 1 HQ, 0-2 Elites, 1-4 Troops, 0-2 Fast Attack. 0-2 Heavy Support. This can't really be called comp, because at 750 points you'd be stretching it if you took three Heavy Support. I guess they tried to quell the urge to spam, and then gave us insufficient points to do any spam anyway.

My Chaos Space Marine list at the tournament was:

• Daemon Prince with Wings
• Summoned Greater Daemon
• 5 Chaos Space Marines with Meltagun, Champion and Rhino
• 5 Chaos Space Marines with Meltagun, Champion and Rhino
• Defiler
• Predator with Heavy Bolter Sponsons

This list can fight almost anyone in CC, has long range, high strength, multi-shot and area effect firepower, several fast meltaguns, mobility and many units.

After the tournament I did a little thinking and came up with this list:

• Daemon Prince with Wings and Mark of Khorne
• 5 Chaos Space Marines with Meltagun
• 5 Chaos Space Marines with Meltagun
• Land Raider
• Land Raider

Yeah, that's two scoring Land Raiders in 750 points. Even against Dark Eldar with as many Dark Lances as they can fit (barring bad luck), you should be able to triumph.

750 point games at the top tables of a tournament are extremely matchup-dependent. If you have a foot list and meet an Ork horde you're screwed. However, if you have the dual Land Raider sillyness i wrote about above, you are pretty much invincible. All due to matchup, which you have no control over.

Building a "balanced" list is also rubbish, because then you'll be equally screwed no matter what you meet. Remember we're talking about the top tables here, folks. You'll see Mephiston, a Land Raider, 5 naked Assault Marines and a Librarian Dreadnought in 750 points. Beat that with a "take-all-comers" list ;)

So, what crazyness can you guys conjure up? 750 points and the modified FOC, above. Otherwise NO RESTRICTIONS!!

Haters gonna hate

After last weekend's tournament, I asked on their forums whether they would send the results to Rankings HQ. Oh, the horror!

Haters gonna hate!

Rankings HQ is a website that aggregates tournament results from all over the world and ranks the players of each country. Each country have their own rules for scoring and ranking, adjusted to the size of the tournament scene of said country. For Norway, a player receives 100 points for winning a tournament of 40 people or more. The three best scores the last 12 months count, so the maximum amount of points a player can have is 300. Even if a player wins three big tournaments and finishes last in a fourth, his score is still 300.

The head honchos quickly informed me that they had discussed it, but had decided not to send in any results. They didn't give any reason as to why they had decided this.

Some local guys then protested, saying that they wanted them sent in and arguing that players from afar would have less reason to come if the tournament didn't rank. Also, by sending in the results, the community would get a lot of useful data. For example, the ETC team would have an easier time picking good players for ETC participation. It didn't take long before the protests started.

One guy argued that you'd need written consent from everyone before posting the results on RankingsHQ, which is nonsense. The results for each of these tournaments had been posted on the internet for the last 8 years, so this wasn't any different. Then, we came to the core of the problem.

• "It will promote powerplay to an even greater scale. Let's be the safe haven everyone can turn to in order to relax and have a nice good tournament."
• "It is an event, not a tournament. This is something some players haven't understood, as they bring ridiculously boring min/max armies."
• "Ranking is anathema to what 40k should be."
• "People shouldn't be completely unimaginative when it comes to army design."

Yeah, I asked them what they meant by "power play" It seems like it is unacceptable to play and win. You should play and only have fun and not win. And if you do happen to win, you'd better not be using an army consisting of more than one identical unit.  If you do, you have no imagination, are boring and an bad person.

One of the guys complaining about "power play" was the guy I played in turn 1. He had a rock hard Daemon list with 2 Great Unclean Ones, 3x3 Bloodcrushers, 2x5 Plaguebearers, 4x5 Horrors w/Bolt and 3 identical Daemon Princes of Nurgle. I liked his list and he was a pleasant guy to play against, but let's not kid ourselves: His list was spammy. So what? Apparently, it doesn't matter if you don't win.

It was only the top armies that got a lot of flak, so it seems like taking a hard army is OK, as long as you don't win.

Even the guy with the Kan Wall of spam accused me of using a boring list. GG guy!

So yeah, haters gonna hate!


PS: This is not a criticism of the tournament itself. It was very well run and I enjoyed the experience. This post is about the illusion some of the players there have, that there is such a thing as "balanced armies" and that you are a better person if you don't bring what you consider best to a tournament.

Video tournament report: Winter War 8

Video tournament report: Chaos Space Marines vs the World!

Hi guys, I'm back with another tournament report. This was a mini-tournament we played @ the University in Oslo in March 2011.

750 points, 4 games using two of the missions from the upcoming tournament Winter War 8 in Bergen.

Missions 1 and 4:
Deployment: Dawn of War (no night fight in turn 1)
Primary: D3+1 Objectives
Secondary: Kill the most expensive Psyker (or the most expensive non-vehicle, non-HQ model if there is no Psykers in the army)
Tertiary: Kill Points

Missions 2 and 3:
Deployment: Spearhead
Primary: Kill Points
Secondary: Kill the opponent's HQ and save your own
Tertiary: Kill the opponent's HQ with your HQ.

Modified Force Organisation Chart:

• 1 HQ
• 0-2 Elites
• 1-4 Troops
• 0-2 Fast Attack
• 0-2 Heavy Support

My list, 750 pts Chaos Space Marines:

• Daemon Prince w/Wings
• Summoned Greater Daemon
• 5 Chaos Space Marines w/Champion and Meltagun in a Rhino
• 5 Chaos Space Marines w/Champion and Meltagun in a Rhino
• Defiler w/2 extra Dreadnought Close Combat Weapons
• Predator w/Heavy Bolter Sponsons

Watch the video to see how it went!



Game 1: Chriss' Space Marines
Cassius
10 Marines w/Flamer, Missile Launcher, Power Fist in Rhino
Land Speeder Typhoon w/Heavy Flamer
Land Speeder Typhoon w/Heavy Flamer
Predator Annihilator w/Heavy Bolter sponsons
Predator Destructor w/Heavy Bolter sponsons

Game 2: Norau's Space Wolves
Wolf Lord on Thunderwolf w/Frost Blade and Fenrisian Wolf
Thunderwolf
5 Grey Hunters w/Meltagun in Razorback w/Lascannon & Plasma Gun
5 Grey Hunters w/Meltagun in Razorback w/Lascannon & Plasma Gun
5 Long Fangs w/4 Missile Launchers

Game 3: Per Anders' Tyranids
Tervigon w/Catalyst
2 Hive Guard
10 Genestealers
5 Genestealers w/Broodlord
3 Zoanthropes
Biovore

Game 4: Hans Christian's Space Marines
Chaplain in Terminator Armour
5 Assault Terminators (3 TH+SS, 2 LC) in Land Raider Redeemer
10 Scouts w/Camo Cloaks and Sniper RIfles

Preparations for Winter War 8

Our gaming group is going to Winter War 8 in March. For preparations, we are playing a lot of games with the scenarios in the rulespack. Some of them are pretty strange, so it will be useful to have tried them out in advance.

We are also required to bring two armies. One 1750 point and one 750 point army. Army selection has been difficult, because some armies excel at 1750, but struggle at 750. Black Templars struggle very much at 750, for example.

Also, at 750 without any restrictions, it pretty much comes down to matchup. If you get a good matchup you win, if you get a bad one you lose. You can meet Mephiston, a Dreadnought, a Land Raider and a 5-man naked Tactical Squad or you can meet 120 Orks. How do you build a balanced army that can win against both of these extremes? 750 points in a competitive environment is a bad idea.

Regardless, we are looking forward to going and meeting lots of 40k players. The tournament filled all 50 spots a month ago, so it should be a blast! Expect video battle reports ;)

Strategikon 5 secondary missions sneak peek

At the next Strategikon we're mixing things up a bit. Instead of simply playing the standard missions from the rulebook, we're adding secondary missions. Here's a little sneak peek of what these missions can be.

Great leader
The enemy commander is pivotal to the enemy in the ongoing conflict. You must eliminate him/her/it!

You will get 1 point if you kill your opponent’s most expensive HQ model.

If the enemy doesn’t have a single HQ model with a points cost, you must kill the most expensive HQ unit to fulfill this objective.


Control the field
This area is of vital tactical importance in the ongoing conflict.

Split the battlefield in four quadrants. You will get 1 point if you have one or more units completely within each quadrant at the end of the game. Note that ANY unit can fulfill this objective, not just units from the Troops category. The enemy can’t contest the quadrants for this objective.

Missions at Strategikon 5

The fifth tournament in the Strategikon series is from April 30th to May 1st. At Strategikon 3 and 4 we simply played the standard missions from the rulebook. Win, draw or loss was the name of the game, giving 3, 1 and 0,5 points each. The feedback we got from the players indicated that they were very happy with the missions being simple and familiar. However, several players also said that they wanted to mix things up a little bit.

This time, we're going to try to do just that. We're still playing the standard missions, but are also introducing our secret secondary mission cards. After matchups, each player is given a card with a secret mission objective. If they manage to fulfill this objective during or at the end of the game they get 1 point extra. The secondary mission isn't something you compete with your opponent to do, and in most cases both players can fulfill the requirements for the secondary in the same game.

Victory in the primary mission will still count much more than the secondary, so that will still be imperative to win if you want to do well in the tournament.

Another reason for including the secondary missions is that many players ended up with equal scores after five games. We did have tiebreakers to separate them, but several players voiced their discontent with this solution. We hope that the secondary mission will separate players more than before, so it will be more clear who are the top 40k players in Norway and who aren't.

Let's ban all Special Characters!

After becoming the team captain for Team Norway at the next year's European Team Championship, I started reading both the rules pack and the discussions in the Captain's Council that lead to these rules.  You see, all aspects of the ETC is decided in a democratic process, where the team captains of each nation have one vote each. The majority rules.

Most of the decisions have been excellent, and the tournament format is undoubtedly very good for this kind of event. I did however wonder why they decided to ban all Special Characters Here in Norway, we have allowed SCs for  quite some time now, after GW started removing the need for "opponent's consent" whenever fielding an SC.

The discussions prior to the vote mostly dealt with some characters breaking the game. Some argued that allowing Special Characters would decrease the number of viable builds available to players. If Vulkan was allowed, for example, every Space Marine player would do a flamer/melta-heavy Salamanders list.

I don't agree with this at all. I find that by banning all SCs, you limit the possible number of high-level armies and skew the metagame into something that is easier to quantify and systemize than you would by allowing them. Sure, the SCs are powerful, but they all have drawbacks. Some are expensive which gives you less support (Logan Grimnar, Ghazkull Thraka, Abbadon), some are great in close combat but lacks firepower or are slow (Swarmlord), some act as a force multiplier but are vulnerable to shooting and assault  (Eldrad).

You pay premium points for their abilities. Sure, some of them are cheaper than you'd expect, but that can easily be said about many units too! Terminators with Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields are cleary undercosted. Let's ban them. Thunderwolves are a little too god, let's ban them too. And Fire Dragons. And while we're at it, take the Vendetta, Manticore, Plague Marines, Obliterators and Hive Guard too. In fact, the best way to make sure the game is fair is if we all play Necrons!

And ban the Monolith...

Team Norway 2011!

OK, it's official! We are going to participate at the European Team Championship, the ETC, next year.

ETC 2010. Photo by dafruk of The Warhammer Forum

I have been asked to be the team captain for Team Norway, and we are currently in the process of putting out team together. Seven of the eight people that are required to participate have more or less confirmed that they are clearing their calendars for August 2011, so we really only need one more player and job's a good'un!

This will be the first time Norway participates in the 40k event at ETC, and we have much to learn in the coming year. Making lists, testing lists, adjusting lists and of course playing a lot of games! Fortunately, we have a lot of resources on hand, among other things the entire terrain collection of the Strategikon tournaments.

Best painted @ Strategikon 3

No tournament is complete without a painting competition. Here are the nominees for "Best painted army" at Strategikon 3.

Tournament video report: Strategikon 3

Me and Briefspite hosted the 40k tournament Strategikon on the weekend of 13th and 14th of March, 2010. 26 players played 5 games each @ 1500 points, and the tournament was a roaring success (it´s hard to be humble!)

During the weekend, I took some video of some of the matches. Check them out here!

Tournament video report: Winter War 7

I shot some video of my games at Winter War 7. Not quite enough for full battle reports, but they give you guys a good rundown of my games this weekend.