Alamo 40k GT 2011: Day 1

Day one of the Alamo is over and I've got to say I've had a lot of fun. Beer, Gam ing, and fun people just makes a day great. The tournament is nice and relaxed, 2 and 1/2 hours of game time for 2,000 points, which for me and my games have given us plenty of time to play without running in any time issues or even a warning to hurry up and finish.

My first game was against Space Wolves. It was a quick and fun game. I was able to get first turn, and pull off scout move with the Dreadknight and a Purifier squad. The two squads then charged his two long fang squads on the first turn, Vindicare blew up his Land Raider and the Autocannons took out the Vindicator tank. After that it was wittling the rest of the army down. I ended up getting full points for the game.

Game Two was fun too. It was against Codex Space Marines, he was running 3 10 man tactical squads, 2 10 man devastator squads with missiles and lascannon and a 10 man terminator unit. It was capture and control, and he castled in his corner and I spent many turns trying to break through his defenses. I ended up pulling off the win with a bad die roll on his part that caused his last scoring squad to get pinned, I think was able to take them out and was left with the only scoring unit on the table and an objective.

Game Three was by far the most difficult game I've played in a while. It was against Nick Rose from Bell of Lost Souls and he was playing a hybrid deathwing Black Templars list. We literally beat each other to pieces and pieces. It was an anhilation game and was a lot of fun. Nick's a great guy and puts up a good fight, it was also nice discussing the game and seeing what I could have done differently next time.

Overall I'm really enjoying the Alamo and can't wait for tomorrow!

TGR - TWG April 25th Tourney Results

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to share the results of yesterday with you. The tournament started quite well with 15 out of the 16 players showing up. Luckily I had brought up an extra army, and made the offer to the odd man out of taking a Bi or playing me. They all played, which I can understand, no one likes sitting out for 2 hours.

Everyone said they enjoyed the missions, well except for the first one, which will either get re-worked or dropped from future tournaments. But that is why I appreciate the Feedback, that way the next time I run it, I'll have that info.

Ok... ok... so before I keep babbling on. I would just like to thank everyone for showing up, and I hope you all had a great time.

Here are the results.

Best Overall went to Nick V. playing Salamander Space Marines:


Best General went to Trevor playing Tyranids;



Best Painted went to Nam for his Beautiful IG;




Once again, thank you for everyone who showed up and supported the tournament. For plenty more pictures go to the Flickr Page I set up.

The Snakes Head: April 25 Battle Mission 3

The earth trembled with the movement of the heavy war machines, silence not being a priority. Inside the mighty beast the artifacts of ages past were being held. The men had grown quite uneasy, complaining amongst themselves of whispers from no where, but not one of them would say anything to the Inquisitor for fear that they might be possessed and purged on the spot.

He's near, very near...

'Yes yes, I know... we have located them on auspex' Loreal said to himself. 'Soon I will have his head on a pike, and I will hang it atop my chimera'

"Sir, are you alright" asked Seth, looking a little worried as Loreal mumbled. "You seem to be elsewhere at the moment, and we are closing on the enemy very quickly."

"Of course I'm fine you idiot, what would make you think otherwise?"

Calm yourself, it will be his time soon enough...

"I'm sorry interrogator, I'm just agitated with all the men we lost during the bombardment," Loreal said gently, "Soon soon, we will be ready to strike at the head of their army, and retake the artifacts they were able to get during the battle."

* * * * *

The battles have been fierce and drawn out. But you have finally caught up with leadership of the opposing force, and your superiors want a trophy. Kill their leadership, and bring them back to be put on display for all to see. But do not let your leader die, for if he does you'll have to keep the enemy at bay so that he can be given a proper burial.

Click Here: For rules to Mission 3

The Whispers: April 25 Battle Mission 2

The winds howled, carrying slow burning embers and ash across the field. The first battle, an ambush had taken the party by surprise by it's furiousity. Only moments ago had the cries of bloodshed quieted, both sides withdrawing to regroup and patch wounds.

Inquisitor Loreal looks out across the battlefield. Large piles of debris is smoking, billowing black smoke that rises into the sky blocking his sight to the enemy behind it. Still scanning the field he sees unexploded ordinance. He knows if they must cross the field it could prove to be quite dangerous.

"Sir!" Interrogator Seth calls out as he runs over to Loreal, "You're going to have to see this." Loreal follows the bewildered interrogator. "What is it Seth?" Loreal asks as he cautiously walks over a low hill.

"Emperor..." he breaths silently seeing the gleaming gold ruins of some ancient artifact protruding from the nearest crater. Extruded from the dirt he could make out what appeared to be a bird or eagle, with it's wings spread, buried up to it's chest. It was about 3 meters across and on it's neck sat not one but two heads.

The interrogator interrupted Loreal's Shock. "Sir, the auspex seems to be picking up other objects, it could be more artifacts, or it could be a glitch with the system after all of the artillery that's been thrown around here, who knows what there really is.

We must retrieve the artifacts....

"Interrogator, we must retrieve the artifacts."

"Yes sir, I'll get on it right away." Said Seth as he started to turn away.

We must retrieve all of the artifacts....

"Not just this one, all of them, do a full Auspex Scan, Dig with your Hands if you need to identify them, but I want them All!" Cried out Loreal, "Is that understood?"

"Yes Inquisitor, right away."

* * * * *

The sun has risen high in the sky but still, it sheds little light on the field of battle. Smoke rises from burned out rubble, buildings, and vehicles. Ordnance litters the ground, some exploded some not. But the ordnance has unmasked something else, ancient treasures that may hold the key to secrets long lost, or treasures that might bring in some mighty fine loot.

Click Here: For rule to Battle Mission 2

Building a Tournament Army

You're going to be playing in a Tournament, a competitive setting and it's time for you to start building your army. You wonder to yourself, what should I take, how can I make my army as effective as possible.

First things First, find out what point level you're playing at, and any rules that coincide with the tournament. It's important to know if you'll be playing a 1,500 pt game, or a 1,750 pt game as this will change your strategy quite a bit. The other thing to find out is what Force Organization the tournament will be using. Often this will be the normal FoC but in smaller or larger matches it can change. For instance a 400 pt Combat Patrol Tournament will often only require 1 Troops Choice and no HQ.

Second, find out if there have been any missions posted for the game, or if there will be. It's important to see the missions as this can change the game play drastically. If there is a lot of night fight, you'll want to take things like Spot Lights, and units with Acute Senses. If it is a majority of Objective Missions be sure to stock up on troop choices so you're not left with your hands tied behind your back when your minimum two troops get killed in the first turn.

Third, try to find out what the Meta Game at the event location is. For those of you who do not know, Meta Game is the typical armies and play styles players use there. In some areas they might be Tank heavy, or they might be chock full of Horde armies, of you might be the only one not playing a Space Marine army. This is very important to find out, as you'll know if you want to take those lascannons to pop some tanks, or if you want to take heavy bolters to mow down the Ork flood.

Lastly, don't be afraid to bug the TO, or tournament organizer, he's there to answer questions and help you out before the tournament begins. Most TO's will agree that questions before hand are more welcomed then questions during or after the event has taken place. TO's like to get things like how does X effect Y and can I take ABC or XYZ in my list out of the way. That way we can all have plenty of fun on the day of the tournament.

-CKR

TarGa-Roth Emerges: April 25th Battle Mission 1

In the cold depths of space there is nothingness. Blackness surrounded by the blinking of stars, seen in their purest form. The twinkling of the lights starts to become obscured, just a few at first, but then more and more, as if a ball of energy is appearing from no where blocking out the view. Tendrils of power? Magic? Electricity? Begin to swarm from this hole in space, reaching out, grabbing onto the nothingness. The hole, the blackness, the obscurity pulses, the shear power of energy being felt light years away.

With a sudden burst of brilliance the anomaly gives way, cracking under the shear pressure of the body being birthed. The stars are completely blocked by this heavenly body, a planet that has appeared from no where. The world, covered with clouds of red and orange swirls chaotically, while the blue waters below appear to be much like Terra, along with the greens and browns of the newly formed land.

The final wave of energy released on the emergence of the planet sweeps through the Sector, thousands falling over dead, blood running from their nose, eyes, and mouth, from the psychic resonance and their untrained minds. The Holy Inquisition immediately demands a force be taken to research the new body now designated TarGa-Roth.

Upon entering normal space after traveling, the Black Ships detect other bodies surrounding or heading towards the new planet. Signatures of the ships show both human and xenos entering TarGa-Roth's atmosphere. With reluctance Inquisitor Loreal orders his fleet closer to the planet so they can send a landing party to begin surveying the planet and find out if the planet should be destroyed utterly.

With the research teams needing a safe place to work, Inquisitor Loreal orders a landing party to secure an area hopefully away from the other groups now invading the planet. The Inquisitor warns everyone to be on their toes as at this point anything could happen.

* * * * *

The chill of night is still in the air, and darkness still sweeps the land. You look at your chrono and see the sun should be up soon and that it's time to get your party together after it scattered during the landing. Initial reports shows that there may be an enemy team nearby and it's necessary to gather your forces to prepare to ambush the enemy before they can ambush you.

Click Here: For rules to Battle Mission 1