+ GAMES DAY 2008 CARNAGE +

Games Day Baltimore has come and gone, and was as usual good fun. Nice to see a few new things - Dark Elf hydra, direct only kroot shaper, FW plague ogryns - and met some online friends in person, but really it was the open gaming that made the day for me. I brought the Chaos boys along and threw down in a big game that lasted a good chunk of the event and then a smaller one to finish the day off (was there 'til they kicked us out).

Undivided & Iron Warriors & Death Guard vs Ultramarines & Tyranids & Ultramarines & Tyranids [7000] - All on a fairly terrain-light 6x4 table, delicious. I put down 3 zombies from my case and we called them objectives, 6 turns to hold more than the other team. The game I feel was still in the balance up until Turn 3 or 4, but after that things had tiped solidly to Chaos, and the other side was starting to get demoralized at the beating they were taking. Quick recap:

- Vast majority of early Chaos firepower went into stopping all the genestealers rushing our line, something like 70 with a broodlord in there. They lasted until Turn 6 amazingly, my 1k Sons creating a speedbump that force weaponed out the broodlord and let my fisty CSM deal with the stragglers.
- One Ultramarine player was stalled in the corner by combined fire from my Anarch boys and the Iron Warriors, and then locked down for 2 turns when a forward plague champion summoned 4x7 demons into all his infantry squads. Only a crusader with assault terminators punched through, assaulting my shooty CSM squad but eating 2 chaos lords with demon weapons the following turn. The crusader would survive to contest an objective.
- The other Ultra player spent the game being shelled by 2 defilers (who both survived) and learning how tough plague marines in 5+ cover are. Despite the rough game his troops would go on to contest another objective.
- That plague marine champ (with powerfist) who summoned down the demons collectively crumped 1 zoanthrope, finished off an Ultra tactical squad w/ fist, smashed an Ultra dread and insta-killed the Ultramarine commander, all with the support of just 2 plaguers to soak wounds. Go plague guy!
- Late game move of the IW vindicator and CSM squad captured the final objective, securing a ...

CHAOS WIN

Undivided & Iron Warriors vs Imperial Guard & Tau [3000] - With less than 2 hours left at the convention and needing something to do 'til the Costume Contest (gooooo titan!), I challenged out two dudes and nabbed the IW player to team up with me. This turned into a total bloodbath, helped along by our opponents' general inexperience and some really solid dice on my part. Recap:

- First Guard roll and Undivided rolls of the game were impressive. Demolisher shot 1 lascannon & 2 plasma cannons at my havoks in 5+ cover, hit with all of them, hit with all partials, wounded with all of them. In return I passed all 7-8 of my cover saves. Sweet. Then the demolisher died to an IW lascannon to the side.
- the Guard player forgot to shoot his basilisk the first couple turns, but I reminded him cause hey, it's killy. My plasma termies dropped back there and cooked the artillery off the following turn, lost a man to broadside fire, then next turn chainfisted the rear of the stationary ionhead, then assaulted a monat fusion suit but couldn't get through its 4+ inv.
- Both Tau fish of furies were stalled when their devilfishes were knocked down, with one group of fire warriors devoured by 12 lesser demonettes and the other shot up and then eaten by a Great Generic One. My girls would go on to eat some guard for good measure.
- The Tau player consistently did not jump his suits back behind terrain after moving out to shoot us up. Unlike the basilisk I didn't remind him, but instead shot a lot of AP2 and 3 at him ;D
- 1000 Sons not only survived the battle but killed stuff, including hurting the Tau HQ suit squad, killing the Guard HQ squad and, after many turns of them making their cover save, the platoon HQ as well. Waaaagh robots!
- We called the game at Turn 4.5 at 6:00, with just 1 Guard squad and the broadsides surrounded on a hill, and Games Day officially over and breaking up around us. A suiting end and another ...

CHAOS WIN

So I ended Games Day 2008 with 2 bloody wins, a Forge World rhinox thunderlord, a Chaos dread blastmaster arm and a sweet Ghazghkul shirt. I'll take it.

Painting: N/A
Building: 2 Demon Princes