Feast of Blades 2013 A quick look

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!! I had the chance to go down to Denver with my good friend Mordian 7th to attend the annual 40k Grand Tournament called Feast of Blades. While Feast of Blades has a highly competitive side to it (with Invitational and Open Tournaments) both Mordian 7th and I went down to participate in the narrative Apocalypse game. I went along to help Mordian 7th move all of his guardsmen and more importantly help him remove the casualties that were inevitable when playing Imperial Guard in Apocalypse.

Before the game got going I had a chance to wander around a bit and snap some pictures. Here is the main hall of Feast of Blades:

A sample of the terrain used for the gaming tables:

A World Eaters Banner was placed near our Apocalypse gaming tables:

Mordian 7th begins the Imperial Guard deployment:

Mordian 7th and I were the only Loyalist players (there was a Blood Angel force but they were recalled back to Baal to deal with a family emergency) facing off against Tyranids, Chaos, and Angron and his Heresy World Eaters. We were massively outgunned and out pointed so the guy running the game let us use a scratch built Warlord Titan!

The Titan didn't really help at all. We were still massively outgunned with 'D' Weapons; still we both had fun! Let the game commence:
World Eater Drop Pod Assault turn 1:

 They are inside the Void Shields!

 Chaos was all over us in Turn 1 before we could do a thing, it was not looking good for the Guard:

 Tyranids burrowing up in front of the far Guard flank:

 While the Imperial Guard was trying to hold the line long enough for the Space Marines to show up there was a large surge of Green on the far flank. An awesome Ork Bastion drops in while the rest of the Ork army arrives:

 The Ork Bastion was stunning:

 The army was full of custom models that were very well done:

 One of my all time favorites! A stunning Ork Lifta-Droppa:

 Here is the Ork view of the battle unfolding:

 From the Chaos backfield looking at the desolation that was the Imperial Guard gun-line:

After several hours and the loss of just about every Imperial Guard model (some twice) Mordian 7th and I decided to call it and let some of the later arriving folks a chance to get stuck into the game. The Guard held (sort of) long enough for 20,000 points of Space Marines to show up and try and hold back the forces of Evil. All in all it was a lot of fun but I really prefer the more narrative non-Apocalypse games myself. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Take care!

Battle Report: Blood Angels versus Imperial Guard with a twist

Greetings once again InterWebs!!!! Last Monday saw a Holiday in the US, it was Labor Day, and Mordian 7th and I had the day off. We decided to celebrate with a little 1250 point battle in the morning. Instead of being a normal battle we both decided to play each other's list; so instead of my usual Transhuman Killing Machines I got to play with some normal guys with flashlights. It was actually a whole lot of fun! On to the pictures and some reporting........

My force for the day, a bunch of guardsmen, a Vanquisher, a Thudd Gun, and a couple of Sentinels:

Led by Ciaphas Cain Hero of the Imperium!

Mordian 7th had some rules he found which we both agreed represented Ciaphas Cain and his bodyguard Jurgen very well. It was a blast to use him and have him trying to save his own life during the game.

The board setup which was surprisingly not a city fight:

The guard went second and deployed hunkered down in the the defense line. The guard needed all the help they could get!

The Blood Angels setup, ready to sweep the Guard off the table. This is not a sight I am used to seeing as I am usually on the controlling side of the Blood Angels:

The Blood Angels went first and swept forwards rapidly. The Baal Predator unleashed on the Guard Command Squad in an effort to 'cut the head off the snake' but only managed to kill poor Lt Schilling:

Having first-hand experience with how devastating a Baal Predator can be I had to knock it out quickly. Oh looky, I have a Vanquisher:

At this point the Blood Angels are down 1 Baal Predator and the Guard 1 Lt Schilling, I would call that a very good trade off for the Guard. The second turn saw no reinforcements showing up and a lot of maneuvering by the armies and vain attempts by the Imperial Guard to blunt the Blood Angel Assault Squad's upcoming charge:

Turn 3 and the Blood Angel Stormraven Gunship shows up:

Turn 3 also saw the first (of many) Imperial Guard casualties. Here the Blood Angel Assault Squad (having lost its Melta gunner and was suffering from the 'Red Thirst') forgoes the Chimera troop transport to charge into a hapless squad of Imperial Guard. Oh the humanity! Flashlights (lasguns) do not work so well against power armor:

Yeppers, it went about how I figured it would:

The Blood Angels begin lining up for their next targets:

Turn 3 for the Imperial Guard did have a couple of highlights amongst all the screaming and dismemberment. First off Ciaphas Cain's personal driver Jurgen (who has robust driving style as a rule) decided to get the Hero of the Imperium away from the crazy (and thirsty) Blood Angels ripping apart the Guardsmen behind him. If you have ever read any of the Ciaphas Cain novels you will understand that this is perfectly normal for the Hero of the Imperium! Jurgen cleared the far defensive line with ease but I wanted an 'action' shot:

The other highlight for the Imperial Guard was again the Vanquisher which I had been taunting Mordian 7th with all morning, telling him "I will snap shot the Stormraven out of the air"! Well, I got darn close. 6 to hit, 14 total armor penetration, but only blew the Multi-Meltas  off of it:

The end of turn 3 with the Blood Angels pushing the advance on the Imperial Guard line (and the Guard's Objective):

Blood Angel Assault Troops loose in the backfield is a terrifying problem to have:

Turn 4 was the make it or break it turn it seemed. The second Blood Angel Assault Squad (with Librarian) finally got tired of the movie being shown in the Thunderhawk Transport and decided to show up to confront Ciaphas Cain the Hero of the Imperium. Unfortunately they did not stick their landing all that well:

The Stormraven Gunship (carrying a Sanguinary Priest and a Combat Squad of Assault Marines) felt it was time to get away from the Vanquisher and its brutally effective gunner. As it was zooming towards my table edge it unloaded its payload of Transhuman Killing Machines deep in my lines:

Turn 4 for the Imperial Guard showed a glimmer of hope against the onrushing Red tide of Blood Angel Assault Marines. First off, Jurgen decided to Tank Shock the Blood Angels in front of him forcing them out of Squad Coherence:

The final unit of the Imperial Guard show up (just in time!) to deal with the 6 new Blood Angel Assault Marines recently deployed from the departed Stormraven Gunship. Rough Riders......Charge!!!!!

The Rough Riders gutted a bunch of Assault Marines with their Power Lances, however I am not sure it was enough of them. The 2 nasty ones are still left standing, the Sanguinary Priest and the Sergeant with a Power Sword:

Turn 5 and it would be the final turn saw the Blood Angels trying to secure both objectives while denying the Imperial Guard any chance to secure them. The Blood Angel Librarian and his squad finally assaulted and blew up the Hero of the Imperium's Chimera:

Having butchered the rest of the Imperial Guard Command Squad last turn the one surviving member of the first Blood Angel Assault Squad to hit the lines decided he need to kill the Imperial Guard Squad holding the Objective which he did! Here you can see the Guard breaking a fleeing:

Turn 5 for the Imperial Guard held a lot of surprises! First off the Rough Riders (not shown) managed to slay the Sanguinary Priest and not all die to the Sergeant with his power sword. The fleeing Guard Squad regrouped just as the team of 3 Lascannons blew away the Blood Angel Assault Marine holding the Guard's Objective:

The now ride-less Ciaphas Cain Hero of the Imperium and his penal squad scurry into the woods and seize the Blood Angel Objective.

That is were the game ended with the Imperial Guard winning 3-0. I must say it I had a bunch of fun playing the Imperial Guard against my normal army (the Blood Angels) and I hope Mordian 7th enjoyed his time playing the Transhuman Killing Machines. Thanks for stopping by taking a look! Take care!