- Day 1 (May 22, 2004)

We got to the hall pretty early, early enough to register for four full games that day. I chose the first table on a whim, basically because I had met the outrider earlier that day.

Game 1: table 17, Take and Hold, Black Templar vs Iron Warriors

Chaos! We split up, with three of us playing Black Templar deep in the Eye of Terror against Iron Warrior Chaos space marines.
A pre-battle shot of the troops involved. I ended up commanding the fast attack units, two regular land speeders with heavy bolters, and a land speeder typhoon.
My speeders immediately moved into flanking positions, and stunned their vindicator from behind.
Two full tac squads and a basilisk anchored one end of the Iron Warrior lines.
The Templar Land Raider took out this fully loaded rhino.
John and Jon argue the finer points of heresy with the outrider.
Jon tried a sneaky move with his rhino, immobilizing it in difficult terrain. His troops unloaded, and popped the crusader with two melta guns.

Iggy deep striked terminators close to another tactical squad of Iron Warriors.
And his predator took aim at this other squad.
The predator took tons in coming las fire in return, destroying the vehicle.
Templar troops moved onto the objective.
In order to aid our taking the prize, I moved my now weaponless but mobile land speeders into blocking positions.
The terminators assaulted another squad, tying them up, and another Iron Warrior tactical squad advanced.
For now, the objective was in the hands of the Emperor!
Two terminators display their fierceness in hand to hand.
In the end, Chaos won, advancing to the objective, and killing enough Templars to reduce them below half. A close victory, but a victory for Chaos!

Game 2: table 8, Tank Fest, IG vs IG
Tank Fest! Leman Russes, Demolishers, and Basilisks galore! This was a huge 8x8 table. The point was to have as many tanks on his side of the table as possible to win.
The enemy.
John didn't want to play pretty blue tanks, so he took the soon-to-be-doomed greenies.
We actually had a strategy - we got first turn, and focused our artillery on theirs. At the end of our turn one, we had destroyed one basilisk (John's!) and ripped the main weapon off of another.
Our pretty blue tanks advance under the cover of our fully functional Basilisks
Turn two saw their remaining basilisk destroyed, and our armor started putting the hurt down on theirs.
Boom! another green tank goes smush.
You can see the steady blue line advancing in nice formation. Their lone, non-shooting basilisk is about to cross the table...
only to meet its final demise from that demolisher in the firing pit. Note the number of other tanks lie ruined on the green side of the table.
And how intact the blues are!
Still raining fire down from above, the blues cross the table half. This is turn 4 and we're still pretty much full strength!
Karump! More green russes bit the dust.
In the end, it was a slaughter - we only lost two tanks out of our entire force! Pretty blue does not mean pansee blue! This game fortunately ended a full half hour before it should have, and we were able to grab some lunch.

Game 3: table 4, Grab the icons, Orks vs Sisters of Battle.
I really wanted to play Sisters, but the other kids who showed up were already anchored on that end of the table. So, alas, orks it was! The mission was whoever held the two icons in the gardens won the game.
Some of the cool models on the table were these flagellant driven walkers.
I ended up in command of some tankbustaz, two wartrakks, and the warboss and his retinue. First turn found on of Iggy's squads opened up on the tankbustaz, wiping out all but the nob who quickly beet feet. As an aside, the ork forces were stupidly chosen - none of the tank bustaz had rokkits (out of two full 10 ork mobs), the warboss didnt' even have a powerclaw, and the nob of the slugga boyz was encased in power armor!
Being good orks, we advanced straight up the road.
Shooting started to take its toll as the cleansing flame of the Sisters burned up slugga boyz by the droves. This is the before.
And this is the after.
On the other side of the table, the warboss hit and wiped out the sisters squad that shot up the tankbustaz, and the buggies moved in to add their firepower.
The second tankbusta squad goes after the rhino.
His trukk destroyed by the flamers of the flagellant walkers, the warboss dismounts and prepares to charge.
The orks get closer!
The warboss charges the walkers, but lacking a powerclaw (how stupid is that!) he is unable to damage the machines (need a six to glance)
Backed by the killer kanz, the warboss continues the fight, as the majority of the orks march down the road.
These sisters are not happy.

"Get dem kanz ofer 'ere now!" The warboss is getting nervous.. In the end he died, and we tied the game. How? Well one sneaky ork player managed to run the only mobile ork trakk all the way up the edge of the table and claim one of the icons.

Orkses, you see, can't be beat!

Game 4: table 5, Kill the General, IG vs Chaos.
I had played on this table last year, and was happy to again! This time I ended up commanding an IG unit, including a mortar team. It turned out the player next to me was Deamonone from the WAAAGH - how cool was that? He did a great job protecting my flank. The point of this battle was to kill general, and I had the IG one - John Larkin the Chaos!
John advanced his troops right across the bridge. My first mortar salvo missed this squad, but drifted right onto his sentinels, destroying one outright!
Vinnie put his big muties in this ruined building for cover.
Chaos forces advanced along a broad front against the beleaguered IG. Look at those troops on the bridge!
Chaos vehicles take aim at the lone IG demolisher.
Vinnie's hellhounds advanced quickly across the river, and assaulted dug in Catchans.
Meanwhile Jon Pito and Deamonone duked it out on the other flank.
Chaos troops take site on the IG commander
Here the chaos commander advances under cover of his troops. These troops on the bridge were ill-fated, however, as three well placed mortar rounds wreaked havoc, killing 13 in a single salvo.

The spawn scrambled across the table, but met their match in hand to hand with the Ogryns. Four assault rounds later the combat continued.

In the end, it was tie as the IG and Chaos commanders both lived - but numbers wise the IG were crushed.

Back to Intro - Day 2 (May 23, 2004)