Happy Tanksgiving!

 40K Events, Warhammer 40K  No Responses »
Nov 252010
 

I wanted to send a warm Happy Thanksgiving to everybody at The Assault Phase!  Also to remind you of the special Tanksgiving 40K Apocalypse event this weekend at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne open to everybody.

Parker Banner Kent Wayne
8301 Magnolia Estates Dr
Cornelius, NC 28031

Entry fee is one metal folding chair (or $15 if you do not have one).  GW prize support will be awarded throughout the game.  You can read more on the event.

Don’t forget also that this weekend, Parker Banner Kent and Wayne will be having a Black Friday sale.  Take advantage of the day of gaming combined with super sales and support the store.

Gobble Gobble….

“Tanksgiving” Apocalypse Event

 40K Events, Misc Events, Warhammer 40K  No Responses »
Oct 282010
 

We will be hosting an apocalypse event at Parker Banner Kent Wayne.  If all goes according to plan this will be at the NEW LOCATION with more room and bigger and permanent tables.  EDIT: *sad face* the new building won’t be ready.   This event will be a bit special in terms of entry, play, and prize support.

Time: Game will start at 10:30am with a 1 hour lunch at 12:30 and 30 min break at 3:30.  Dice go down at 6pm.

Prizes: They will be giving out throughout the day.  Example, most points scored before lunch, longest play without dying, etc (just examples, subject to change)

Entry Fee: 1 Metal Folding Chair
The new store is easily 2 or 3 times the size as the current store.  Many things will be able to go on at the same time (magic, warhammer, warmachine, etc).  You may think that the current store has plenty of metal folding chairs, but the new store will be in dire need of it. 

One thing you can do is get with some friends to purchase a pack of chairs from some place like BJ’s or Staples.  If you do not have access, I will be bringing chairs for people to “buy” ($15 each) until they run out.  If we run out of chairs then further entry fee’s will be $15 and will go towards the purchase of chairs and other logistical items we use and will need in the future at PBKW.

21500 Catawba Ave Suite A
Cornelius NC 28031

Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031

You may come and go as often as you like during the day.  Between then and now we will be using the forums to plan the event.  We will try to assign Generals and 2nds in command who will want to organize strategy for each team before the event and at breaks.  Should the game at any point appear to stalemate or become chaotic, there may be a “reset” where the game begins anew giving people the opportunity to change up things.

Rules:  1500 points per person, Apocalypse rules with Imperial Armor and Formations allowed.

You must have the rules for any vehicle or formation you are running available for review.  Hand written rules and lists will not be allowed.

WYSIWYG: All vehicles must be GW models, scratch built or otherwise converted.  I know that not everybody has the money to purchase $500 forge world models, so very convincing count’s as “toys” that you happen to find will be allowed at the TO’s discretion so long as it has been converted and uses GW parts to Warhammerize it and it.  Counts as for any model sold at your FLGS will not be allowed.

Points will be tracked all day on a white board.  It will be a combination of objectives and basic kill points with a few caveats to encourage vehicles and super heavy’s as follows:

  • Destroying an enemy vehicle with a vehicle 2 pts
  • Destroying an enemy vehicle by ramming 3 pts
  • Destroying an enemy Super Heavy or Gargantuan Creature 5 points
  • Simply bringing a Gargantuan Creature or Super Heavy 10 points

So as you can guess, teams will get an automatic boost by fielding large models.  But they are worth more kill points.  And it goes to the spirit of Tanksgiving.

Rules Clarification #1: Allies and Time Limits

Page 198 of the apocalypse rule book has the allies matrix.  There are some quirks, like how the Tyranids hate everybody.  But for simplicity here are the following teams.

Imperial: Eldar, IG, Inquisition, Space Marines, Tau

Choas: Chaos, Dark Eldar, Necrons, Orks, Tyranids.

Also for simplicy, try to only choose one army, not a mix.  Your going to be on a gigantic team, chances are most races will be represented.

 Both sides will have 15 minutes each to complete their turn.  The nominated generals will need to help coordinate the phases.  If one player starts moving into assault phase ahead of the other players, any units involved in that combat are locked.  So if you wanted to shoot at the enemy, but you ally locked them in combat before you could, it’s too late.

Inquisitor with Terminator Armor and Psycannon

 40K Events, Painting, Warhammer 40K  No Responses »
Oct 242010
 

  I tried to get this guy as finished as possible to shoot up zombies in the recent Zombie fest held for the group.  This is the Forgeworld Inquisitor Hector Rex.  His left arm has been replaced with a psycannon from a Grey Knight terminator.

I painted the armor to be sort of that antique ivory color of many of the statues you’d see in a catholic cathedral.  He’s also basically an old and weathered man himself.

He stands on old runes of a shrine.  You can see the colors of an image of an inquisitor.  It was created with the tied and true cork board base painted with a transfer laid on top and some inking.

IMG_0564IMG_0563

He served well in the 125 point zombie fight.  I ran a fluff squad based losely on the first Grey Knights novel.  He acted as Inquisitor Valinov with three Balurian guardsman and Cardinal Recoba acting as a Sage in the retinue.  Story and background fluff below along with my list below after the break….

IMG_0559

Much of the history on Valinov comes from source material on lexicanum.com
Rogue Inquisitor and Retinue (5#, 125 pts)
   1 Inquisitor Valinov – Prophet of Garggartuloth @ 125 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Power Weapon x1; Psycannon; Independent Character; Psyker)
      1 Cardinal Recoba (Sage) (Unit Type: Infantry; Close Combat Weapon; Laspistol; Sage)
      1 Balurian Veteran Guardsman (Warrior) (Veteran Guardsman; Unit Type: Infantry; Frag

Build For 1st

 40K, 40K Events, strategy, Tactica, Uncategorized  1 Response »
Oct 012010
 

 List Construction-build for 1st

            The topic of list construction is one that I think I have beaten to death here on TheAssaultPhase, but this is a slightly different spin on the topic and I think it’s worth mentioning. Some people can count themselves out of a 1st place victory before they even roll their dice, because they have built a list tailored for minor victories(At this point in the article, you will need to open this link in a new window, listen to the song, continue reading and remember…there can only be ONE! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgpylExfL0c ) This was the essence of my Chaos army. This is how I played my Marines and Necrons as well. I built my list(army) to win the game. I didn’t build my army to win the main scenario objective, side objectives AND bonus points. There’s a huge difference. The way I built my army was mainly defensive with offensive capabilities. I played a denial game and it gave me wins, but no 1st place tournament placing. This is a point that I really want to drive home with you guys, because a 40k tournament is not like a basketball game, or the superbowl or something. In the super bowl you can beat you opponent by 1 point and you win the whole thing. In a tournament you have to beat the scores of everyone else there.

In the future I want to write a piece on Actionary VS Reactionary play styles, but this idea that you build a list that works to dictate the pace of YOUR game is key in building for 1st. Its not about building a army so you can handle whatever is across the table from you, its about building an army that your opponent wont be able to handle. My Ork Horde is a prime example of this. I have a hard time with skimmers, high AV armor and really anyone Mech heavy. BUT everyone has a hard time with 164 Ork Boyz, that only give up a few kill points/ cover the entire table/ can span multiple objectives with one unit/ and the entire army is a troops choice. When your thinking about your army, think about how you would go about killing it! I know I know…its hard to think about the destruction of your master painted 40K army of choice, but if you can quickly think of several units or models that you have no response to, then your setting yourself up for disaster. Every codex(some are better then others) has a unit or two that is a little bit better then the points that the unit cost, find the cheese in your codex and use it to your advantage, give your opponent something he has no answer to. The word “cheese” is something you hear mumbled and spoken like a dirty curse word in the gamming world. And I used to think the same thing, now however I feel like “cheese” is just the cry of the unprepared commander. “Cheese” is jealousy, its people wishing they had the unit/tactic/special rule/commander/special character/ model/ lucky dice role/ whatever you have that they want…and I don’t feel bad packing every single bit of cheesy 40k goodness I can into my tournament lists (please note how I said TOURNAMENT list). Here is a quick checklist that might help determining if you’re built to place 1st at a tournament.

a)     Can you control and maintain several objectives.

b)    Do you plan on surviving with your force and playing a reactionary game, or commanding the pace of events?

c)     Could you completely wipe someone off the board in 6 turns?

I know there are a million and one different factors that play into each of those 3 checks above, but if you don’t think about this, then at least know someone else is. What do you guys think about the article and which checks can you mark off?

How To Win Tournaments

 40K, 40K Events, strategy, Tactica, Tournaments, Tutorials, Uncategorized, Warhammer 40K  No Responses »
Sep 282010
 

Bold title for an article right? First let me say this, this is not going to tell you how to win with your army in particular, this is going to be about the general principles behind how you win a Warhammer Tournament.

 1) Winning Big- The nature of a tournament victory.

Before we get to deep into this topic you must understand the specific nature of a tournament and how it differs from a normal game, because winning a tournament is not about winning a game (at this point in the article, please click on link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OvpzForHyU , let the song play, continue reading and enjoy getting pumped my friends). Winning a tournament is about winning each game you play AND winning big. That might seam like something simple, but the fact that you have to win each game “big” is a truth that eluded me for a long time. When I was playing my beloved Chaos Marine / Emperors Children A.K.A The Purple People Eaters army, I did a lot of winning, BUT I won very few tournaments at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne. And after about a year of this I finally realized that minor victories weren’t getting me to the place I wanted to be. Was I winning? Yes. Did I come away with prize money? No.

            This is the first lesson in winning a 40K tournament. You have to realize that winning your game is not enough -you have to win big- because someone there IS winning big and if that someone is not you, then kiss first place good bye. Now this is not the only way to play in a tournament and it is most certainly not the only way to have fun. This is just the way I approach competitive environments in which I have a desire to win. This attitude of winning big can translate to most other areas of life as well, IF it is an area you want to be very successful at. I didn’t want to marry a girl I kinda liked I wanted to be crazy insane about my wife. I don’t want to make “B’s” in nursing school, I want first place! In fact I have told the people that I sit next to that I am “going to win this class” the girls look at me like I have a 3rd eye, but the one other guy in the class heard me say that, gave me a glare and said “psssst…I’m winning this buddy”. I don’t like running, chess or World of Warcraft(anymore) and so I don’t care if I place top 10 or top 1000 in any race, chess match or guild run, but I like competitive Warhammer 40K and so I want to be number 1. This doesn’t mean that you have play like a jerk and freak out every time you roll a “1” on your 2+ invo save, it just means that when you think about tournament play you have to keep in mind the nature of a competitive tournament. So lesson 1 in winning a 40K tournament has to simply be a shift in your mental approach to the competition. Bring your -A- game, play to win big. This is the intro article, next we will get into specifics. But until I put that one up, here are some questions I have for you…

1)    How has your approach to tournament play changed sense you started the hobby?

2)    Look at you current view of your tournament play style; have you been playing to win OR to win big?

3)    Do you still view tournament matches like a casual pickup game?

 Posted by at 10:51 am

Problem Solving

 40K, 40K Events, Battle reports, Comics, Tournaments, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Aug 302010
 

The notion of analyzing problems to find the best solution is something that I enjoy doing. I think there is something in every guy that finds this interesting and fun. And I think this is an aspect of War-Gamming that we often do when we are playing but don’t think about in terms of problems and solutions.

            Here is what I mean…When you are creating a list for your army or trying to decided what unit and HQ to include, don’t look at it like a simple model or troops choice, but instead look at it like a possible solution. Every game and battle we face and play in has its own set of problems. I.E. the mission objectives, the terrain, your opponent, your teammate…coughcough..Simon cough, deployment, etc. Now look at your army and tactics as the solution. Hopefully this will put a slightly different spin on the game. Now when looking at a unit in your army, think of it as a solution to a set of problems you might face on the battlefield.

            This can be a very helpful approach to someone trying to make a competitive army or really anyone desiring to win in tabletop war games. So when you look at your army list think about all the different problems you might face in battle, if you don’t have a solution for them, then I would expect defeat or pray to the dice gods for a match up you can handle. 

            The better of a player you are the more you will be able to incorporate into your solution when figuring out how to beat your opponent. For a beginner, their solution will be found by looking at their army for an answer to the problem of “how am I going to win this game”. They will see the mission objectives and look at their Army list for how to achieve them. The intermediate player will begin to look beyond their army for solutions. They will incorporate terrain and deployment and think about how to use the field itself as a means to achieve victory. The most competitive players will go even further. The will intentionally use not only terrain, deployment and their army as solutions, but they will also use turn and time control (this means playing for the turn you will actually be ending on, so if you know the game is 2 and half hours long and you will probable only make it to turn 4, realize you have 4 turns to win or loose). They will use their opponent as a weapon against himself, goading him/her into making mistakes in order to capitalize on the laps in judgment. This just gets more and more complicated.

            No matter where you are in your War – Gamming carrier the principle is simple. Problem/Solution. The problem is “how am I going to win this game and get the most points possible”, the solution is found in what army and experience you bring to the table.

Joshua

BY YOUR POWERS COMBINE!

 40K, 40K Events, Tactica, Tournaments, Uncategorized, Warhammer 40K  No Responses »
Aug 122010
 

Hello friends…long time no chat.

         Well this month is going to be fun for me, because as of right now I am going to get to come and play in the 40K team event. Because of that I have been thinking about how to best formulate a list and a few tactics that might come in handy when playing with a partner.
         When I was working for the school system here in charlotte I heard several people tell me over the years a simple and annoying solution to problems I would bring up at work. They would say, “well maybe you should think outside the box”, and I would say “well maybe I should kick you in the ear”….not out loud, but I said it all the same. And you know what, I came to a resolution when thinking about this supposed “box” I was being told about. And that’s that everything outside the box doesn’t matter, cause you have absolutely no control over it whatsoever. Not even a little bit. And if you think you do, then you my friend are living in a little place called Delusion, which I think is at the corner of Fantasy and NiceTry. But what does this have to do with 40k Joshua? I’m glad you asked Assaultphase readers. A team tournament is something in which there are a lot of elements that are going to be out side of your box. Who will you be paired with? What type of army will they have? Will they bring troops or all heavies? Should I bring assault units or my big guns? What if they all deep strike? Should I bring reserves? What if I roll all 1’s the whole day and a black warp tears down the fabric of time and space and all my dice get sucked into the time warp and then pop back out a second later BUT they’re all showing 6’s now! Is that CHEATING! IS IT!YOU KNOW THAT COUNTS! (then we all turn into orks)WAHHHHHG!
Sorry, all I am trying to say is, that when thinking about how to play in a game that already has a lot of random whosits and whatsits gallor, the best way to handle the unknown thing-a-ma-bobs is by keeping it simple.
          1) Stick to what you know. If you have a unit that you rock face with, use it.

          2) Make a balanced list, that way no matter who you are teamed up with you can complement their list to help their strengths AND you will be able to fill in where they are weak.

          3) Attitude. I hate harping on this one, but there is going to be a lot of unknowns and crazy 40K Shenanigans in a team event, so don’t freak if the two heavy hitters in the event get paired together, crap happens. You might get paired with your nightmare bizaro-world teammate OR you might get the guy (or girl, I’m looking at you Mrs.Nid) of your dreams. Either way, the picking of your teammate is outside of your control (outside your box) so don’t freak y’all.

         4) Have fun trying for crazy combos you have never had the chance to get. I.E. the Tau player who gets paired up with the Ork Mob OR the Daemon player who is fighting WITH the Grey Knights! Weird….yes, possible…likely.
Either way, enjoy the day the best you can because Team events at this level of play don’t happen often. So savor battles, relish running hand in hand with your sworn enemy for the afternoon and……with your powers combine(the rest is up to you).

Josh

August 40k Team Tournament

 40K, 40K Events, Misc Events, Tournaments  No Responses »
Aug 102010
 
40K Tournament 2

Shaking things up, the next club day will instead be a Team Tournament with randomized pairings.  Games will be played in typical tournament format.  3 games, top seeds playing for 1st.  Missions will also be something different, geared to team format.

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Entry Fee: 10.00

Army composition is per standard force organizational chart per person (not team)
Army Size, each person will need a 1000 point army

Rules clarifications

  • Transports cannot carry models from a teammate.
  • Army wide abilities that are “Chapter Tactics” or affect “Your Army” such as Vulcan’s ability to reroll melta shots do not confer to a teammate. (They aren’t part of your army after all)
  • Abilities that target or benefit “Friendly Models” such as Pedro Kantor’s Inspiring Presence ability will confer to your team mate.
  • Independent Characters cannot join units from your teammates army.
  • You can’t shoot your teammate.  No matter how funny it would be.

Team Tournament Hints/Tactics

  • You do not need to load up on troops.  Since each army needs a typical 2 troop choices, there will be a guaranteed minimum of 4 troops per team.
  • Watch out for “Your Army” vs. “Friendly Units” wording.  Post here if you have a question about any rule.
  • Chaos marines and Chaos Daemons both have “Chaos Icons” and can be used between teammates if you are lucky to be paired together.
  • Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.  If you plan a horde army it does not play well with a gun line blast marker firing army.  You’ll shoot your own guys.
    If you have other questions about rules or want to share some tactics help, please post in the forum.

April Warhammer 40K Tournament – Happy Anniversary

 40K Events, Misc Events, Tournaments, Warhammer 40K  No Responses »
Mar 312010
 

40K Tournament 2

 

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Time: April 24th.  Registration begins at 10am, games begin at 10:30am
Entry Fee: 10.00

This months tournament will be different than normal.  Be sure to read the details below!

Now for the details!
1776 Points (very bicentennial)

No Named Characters

FOC
1 HQ
4 Elites
4 Fast Attack
2 Heavy Support
3 Troops

Elite Units can hold objectives / Troops cannot hold objectives

Troops are without number (not transports)

Game ends at end of turn 5 on roll 1-3, automatically on 6

1st round – HQ Hunters!!! (pitch battle setup)

No more than 50% reserves

Killing opponents HQ 10pts

Wounding opponents HQ 5pts

HQ unwounded 10pts

HQ wounded 5pts

2nd round – Acid Atmosphere!!! (spearhead setup)

All AP weapons are -1 (ap 3 becomes ap 2)

5pts for every unit in opponents deployment zone (table quarter)

3rd round – Massive Battlefield!!! (dawn of war setup no sight penalty)

Open terrain is difficult terrain, difficult terrain is dangerous. Everything has FLEET.

5 objective markers (1st player places first objective then alternate)

7pts per objective

Games will have a strict 2.5 hour time limit.  There will be 1 hour between the 1st and second game, 30 minutes between the 2nd and 3rd game.

You must have a clean written army list with you to show your opponent. It’s unfortunate that this needs to be reminded to people.

You can help us plan by preregistering at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne before the event.

Forum Link

Foodhammer Charity Tournament

 40K Events, Misc Events  No Responses »
Mar 032010
 

 

  

 

By rjstreet

On March 13th, we’re going to try something a bit different at PBKW and help out your local Second Harvest food bank at the same time.  We’re hosting a charity 40K tournament where your entry fee is paid in cans of food donated.  But we’re not going to stop there…oh no…  In addition, we’ve devised some rules to allow you to tip things in your favor during the course of your game (for a few more cans of food)…of course, your opponent can do the same thing, so you should stock up.  In all seriousness, this is a great way to help support your local community and enjoy a fun afternoon of some 40K to boot.  The full flyer is available at this link and details are below.  We hope to see you there!

Where: PBKW Comics
 & Games
Entry Fee: 5 Cans of Food
Points: 1500
When: March 13, 2010
Time: 11am-6pm
More Info: rjstreet@newmyths.org

Prize Support
Best Win/Loss: 
$50 in GW credit @PBKW
Runner-Up: $25 in GW credit @PBKW
Most Cheating in a Game: $25 in GW credit @PBKW
*Ties will be resolved through kill points

FoodHammer is a unique event where you get the opportunity to throw down with some of the best Warhammer 40K gamers in the region and contribute to a good cause.  When you donate a can of food to Second Harvest at the event, you get can points (1 for veggies, 2 for fruits and soups) that you can spend to bend and break the rules to your advantage – or stop your opponent from doing the same!  Its all in good fun and for a good cause!

Cans – Benefit

1 – Reroll any attack or armor save roll (yours or your opponents) or prevent a reroll (by matching the bid); the cost to use this cheat increases by one every time it is used during a turn

1 – Measure the distance between any two models

2 – Reroll any morale or vehicle penetration roll

3 – Move terrain 5″ before start of game (may only be used once)

3 – Ignore difficult terrain roll (take maximum possible result)

5 – Prevent deep strike scatter (no roll required)

5 – Grant one unit a cover save (usable once per turn)

10 – Force opponent to deploy a reserve or deep striking unit as a standard unit (usable once prior to start of game)

Stop by the forums to read more and respond: http://www.assaultphase.com/assaultphase/?page_id=76/warhammer-40k-1/foodhammer-charity-tournament-pbkw-on-march-13th/#p1904