Brawl in the Fall Recap

Gather 'round friends, 'cuz its time for a tournament recap.  This weekend me and the rest of the Team Zero comp 'B' team traveled down to sunny Clovis California to take part in the annual rogue trader tournament, Brawl in the Fall.  Image the delight of the tournament organizers when instead of Reece, Frankie, Dan and Grant they get the slovenly Pascal, Jeremy, Keno, and Jason.  The frightful foursome (porn title patent pending) Oops!

Did you know that Fresno had a bad part of town?  I do now!  Not wanting to wake up at 5 am to make the 3 hour drive to Clovis yours truly had the bright idea to simply google 'Motel 6 Fresno' and make a reservation for the first motel to pop up.  I knew I made a huge mistake when we pull into the motel at 10 pm Friday night and it is literally ringed by prostitutes and semi-trucks.  Needless to say we slept with one eye opened and were up and out of there as soon as the sun rose.  Also, there was a tweeker with a pit bull knocking on our door trying to sell us a bag of priceless gold coins he found in a Crown Royal bag.  THAT HAPPENED TO ME.

On to the tournament!

So here is the basics for the Brawl in the Fall tournament.  It is a  one day 1750 point, 3 round tournament using the Bay Area Open mission format.  If you are interested in running a tournament using this format or just curious about what the hell I'm talking about, you can find the info here.  Let me just say that I LOVE this tournament.  It is capped at around 40 players and draws great locals and out-of-towners alike.  Some of the Sacramento crew like the lovely Liz Foster and the guy with the mowhawk haircut came down as well as some people from as far as Bakersfield.  I really encourage anyone who can to attend this tournament at least once.  Here is their info if you are interested.

Before we get to my opponents, let's go over my list for the Brawl

Jason Butler Raw Dogger
Iron Hands 1750

(Self Portrait)

LIST
Chapter Master - Terminator Armor, Thunder Hammer, Shield Eternal
Terminator Assault Squad - 4x Thunder Hammer +Storm Shield 1x Lightning Claw, Land Raider Crusader
Tactical Squad- +5, Vet Sarg with Power Ax, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Gun, Rhino
Tactical Squad- +5, Vet Sarg with Power Ax, Plasma Cannon, Plasma Gun, Rhino
Scout Squad- +1, Melta Bomb, 1x Sniper Rifle
Storm Talon- Assault Cannons, Skyhammer Missles
Land Speeder x2, Typhoon Missile Launchers
Devastator Squad- +3, 4x Missile Launchers
Whirlwind

A fairly basic Space Marine list.  I wanted to try out the Iron Hands' chapter tactics (6+ Feel No Pain, It Will Not Die on vehicles and characters).  I'm not really impressed with those and in the future will most likely run the army as Ultramarines for the greater versatility.

GAME 1  Primary- Purge the Alien  Secondary - The Scouring 
 Result = Win

Opponent: Grant (lives near Yosemite)
Army: Dark Angels

List:  Grant didn't have an extra army list so this is from memory.

Sammael- On the jet bike thing.
Librarian- Powerfield
Ravenwing Command Squad- Apothecary, Banner, Champion
Dreadnought- Twin Linked Lascannons
Ravenwing- x6 Multimelta Attack Bike and Land Speeder Typhoon
Ravenwing- x6 Multimelta Attack Bike and Land Speeder Typhoon
Dark Shroud
Whirlwind
Whirlwind
Devestator Squad- 4x Lascannons

Thoughts:  This game was tough and went down to the last turn.  I had actually thought I lost this game due to Grant getting some last turn kill points but it turned out that I had one more than he did when the game ended.  I forgot how good that 5+ feel no pain is on that damned Command Squad as when it came down to the assault with my Terminators and Chapter Master and his Command Squad he could not stop rolling 5+ feel no pain to thunder hammer wounds.  Oh well.  I really liked his army.  A mix of fast moving, hard hitting bike squads and artillery and lascannons from the back field.  Also, he yelled 'Khan!!!11!!' whenever something bad happened and that ALWAYS scores bonus points in my book.  Thanks, Grant!

GAME 2 Primary- Emperors Will Secondary- Big Guns Never Tire
Result= Loss!

Opponent: Joe (redacted)
Army: Eldar

List
Farseer- Jetbike,
Fire Dragons- Wave Serpent
Dire Avengers- Exarch, Wave Serpent
Guardians- Scatter Laser, Wave Serpent
Guardians- Bright Lance
Jetbike Squadron
Warp Spiders- Exarch
Swooping Hawks- Exarch
Fire Prism
War Walkers x2
War Walker x1

Thoughts:  I knew this was going to be an uphill battle going into this game.  Eldar are a nightmare and this list is exactly what I am afraid of.  Serpent Shields that ignore cover and do d6+1 hits demolish my Rhinos, Whilwind and Speeders.  They out range me and and can hit me from anywhere on the board.  The Bright Lances also make short work of my Land Raider, leaving my assault Terminators to hoof it towards their (fast moving) lines, only to be rended to death by their basic troops (who I can't catch).  The game would have been over sooner had there not been a giant line of sight blocking piece of terrain in the middle of the table that I hid behind.

GAME 3 Primary-Table Quarters! Secondary- Purge the Alien
Result: Win!

Opponent: Matt Majchen
Army: Space Wolves

List
Rune Priest- Chooser of the Slain, Living Lightning, Jaws
Rune Priest- Jaws, Murderous Hurricane
Grey Hunters- Plasma Guns, Rhino
Grey Hunters- Plasma Guns, Rhino
Grey Hunters- Meltaguns
Grey Hunters- Meltaguns
Grey Hunters- Flamers, Drop Pod
Grey Hunters- Flamers, Drop Pod
Thunderwolf Cavalry x2, Meltabombs
Thunderwolf Cavalry x2, Power Fist
Long Fangs- Missile Launchers
Long Fangs- Missile Launchers

Thoughts: I have a LOT of respect for the 5th edition Space Wolves horde lists.  That many armor 3 bodies on the table is going to be trouble for anyone to deal with.  Me and Matt talked a lot about his list during the game and we agreed that he is really struggling with anti-air.  If he goes against a 2 or 3 Helldrake list he will be losing 2-3 units per turn.  A great opponent, major balls for taking this list, and a nice guy overall.  Cheers, Matt!

So that's it.  Another Brawl has come and gone and once again, I had an EXCELLENT time.  Overall, I am happy with my list and barring the Chapter Tactics I most likely won't be changing anything in it for some time to come.  The next big tournament will be Adepticon in April.  This will be 1850 so I will most likely add a Thunder Fire Cannon into the mix and call it a day.  Thanks for reading!

Terminator Ain't No Hollaback Girl!

Hello gentle readers, today I want to talk about something that really gets my goat.  A topic that really grinds my gears.  An issue that violently slaps my nuts (like that's a bad thing...).  The idea that all units should be able to eliminate terminators with ease.  For those uninitiated few reading this post who have no idea what a 'terminator' is and are wondering why their google search for Gwen Stefani's iconic Holler Back Girl sent them here, let me take a moment to explain.

 A terminator is a 7 foot tall human turned biological weapon called a Space Marine in an incredibly ancient suit of neigh impenetrable armor.  These warriors are the finest members of an already elite chapter of 1000 warriors.  They carry devastating weapons that are used to fully eradicate whatever is unfortunate enough to be in front of them.  In the actual game of 40k they come in at a hefty 40-45 points and you are required to take a unit of 5 (usually).  These 5, with a decent weapon load-out will most likely cost you between 225-260 points.  Not an insignificant allocation of points.  In short, they came to chew bubble gum and kick ass.  Just your luck, they're out of bubble gum.

Unfortunately, for some time now any discussion regarding the merits of a unit will inevitably cause someone to compare said unit with terminators.  Usually, it will go something like this,

Newb: Hey guys, what do you think about (x)??
Dork: They're ok, but they can't kill terminators.

WHAT.  Of course they can't kill terminators.  Do you know why? BECAUSE THEY'RE FLIPPING TERMINATORS, CUNT!  BITCH!  They cost 40 points per model.  Oh, I'm sorry you feel your 15 point model sucks because it cant easily eliminate my terminator models.  I just don't get why people feel that they're unit of (x) should for some reason cost half the points of other models and be able to go toe to toe with them.  When a Banshee costs 40 points (or more with weapons) give me a call.

I would like to go further and claim that terminators are now TOO easy to kill.  Yes, they have a 2+ save, but at toughness 4 they are fairly easy to wound and with the prevalence of plasma weaponry (another article) their 5+ invulnerable save will get you dead more than 50% of the time.  At toughness 4, you are taking a lot of armor saves.  How many 1's will you roll on 10 dice?  2 most likely (or 5 in my case).  Even the ubiquitous storm shield/thunder hammer terminators are toughness 4.  In order to have them survive past the 3rd turn you are forced to take them in large numbers, which will eat up your points right quick.  I would propose making terminators HARDER to kill.  Fuck, at 40 points, they better be!  How about toughness 5? Why are they the same toughness as marines in regular power armor?  Maybe making them come with 2 wounds standard?  Lower point cost?  I would like to see them move to a 2+/5+ Feel no Pain that can be taken no matter what type of weapon causes the wound.  Something.  ANYTHING that will make them better reflect the fluff that is written about them. Also, why is Dante not eternal warrior and why is he initiative 7 but the FAQ gave him a power axe? Why women be shopping! TELL ME ASSHOLES!  Ok, I'm sweating now.

Next up!  Kublacon 1500 point tournament with Azrael and Friends!