Mike is a very good friend of mine from North Carolina. We used to play each other a lot & our playtesting helped us both to become better gamers. Our win/loss record versus each other is very tight with many draws. Mike probably has a few more wins but I was able to win our last engagement, my Khornate daemons versus his Space Wolves. I first met Mike when he was just starting the game and in a matter of weeks he was very hard to beat. I am not one of those guys who relishes easy wins clubbing baby seals so it's okay. I like to think both Mike & I learned just as much from each other over the course of our many games played together. We are both highly competitive & don't like to lose but over the course of our relationship we both learned that winning ranks a distant second to the time we spend together enjoying the hobby.
Gareth is another one of my best friends and we also have played many games together. Back in 4ed I beat him my fair share but have not been able yet to hand his patented Fatecrusher spam a solid defeat. Gareth won the 2008 Ard Boyz and unfortunately to this day is still ostracized by some of the other national veteran gamers due to a couple of rumors that surfaced immediately following his big win at Baltimore back in 2008. In my mind the two rumors are unfounded. I know Gareth extremely well. I think a lot of other veterans would have quit the hobby if they had come under the spiteful attack directed at Gareth. GW stood behind him & upheld his title, that says a lot to me as I know for a fact in the past GW has reversed decisions regarding the awarding of titles for both tournament & painting competitions. Gareth is by far the best tournament player I know and have ever met. He is never shaken & knows exactly what to do come game time.
Last night I had hte opportunity to play Mike Walsh's Loganwing (proxied) versus Gareth's Fatecrusher spam.
[b]Loganwing[/b]
Logan Grimnar
Ragnar Blackmane
3x Wolfguard terminator/2x lightning claw & stormshield, power fist & stormshield + Arjac - drop pod
Wolf Lord/Thunderwolf mount, thunderhammer & stormshield, wolftooth necklace
3x TWC/stormshields, powerfist, meltabombs
5x Grey Hunter/meltagun + Wolfguard/combi melta - rhino
5x Grey Hunter/meltagun + Wolfguard/combi melta - rhino
9x Grey Hunter/Mark of the Wulfen, Standard + Wolfguard/power fist - drop pod
6x Long Fang/5x multi-melta - drop pod
6x Long Fang/5x missile
6x Long Fang/5x missile
[b]Fatecrusher Spam[/b]
Fateweaver
Lord of Secrets
Nurgle daemon prince/Iron Hide, Unholy Might
Nurgle daemon prince/same
Nurgle daemon prince/same
8x Blood Crusher/all wargear
8x Blood Crusher/same
8x Blood Crusher/same
5x Plague Bearer
5x Plague Bearer
5x Plague Bearer
5x Plague Bearer
I hadn't played the Loganwing before so of course I made a few mistakes.
We decided to play the 2nd mission from the Ard Boyz 2010 preliminary round - victory points & table quarters. Gareth won the roll for deployment and opted to go second. I deployed in a castle back in the corner of my deployment zone. All three Long Fang squads were up on a hill with Logan in front of the melta squad. I deployed both rhinos with Grey Hunters embarked in front to cut off daemonic charges. Ragnar joined Arjac & the terminators to my right behind the rhinos. The mounted Wolf Lord with the Thunderwolves were placed in front of the Long Fangs and also behind the rhinos. There was a big clump of wooded terrain to my left to slow down any daemonic units advancing towards that side of my castle. I dropped the two empty pods in the far table quarters to contest. The pod full of 9 Grey Hunters was held in reserve & did not arrive until the 5th turn. :(
[b]-Daemons, 1st Turn-[/b]
Gareth got his preferred wave. Fateweaver landed first in front of my two rhinos. The three squads of Blood Crushers came in on the left, center and right to my two rhinos. The greater daemon dropped back towards the two empty drop pods. Fateweaver shot at the rhino to my left & immobilized it. My 1st mistake - should have popped smoke, not a biggie though by any means.
[b]-Loganwing, 2nd Turn-[/b]
The mobile rhino turned sideways to lengthen my screen. Grey Hunters disembarked behind the rhinos outside the daemons' charge arc. All my other units were also outside of the daemons' charge arc as well. I shot everything into the Fateweaver, he failed one save but passed his leadership test. Rune Priest fails his psychic test... What a punk he was! :(
[b]-Fatecrusher Spam, 2nd Turn-[/b]
One unit of Plague Bearers came in along with one Nurgle Prince. The Crushers to my left advanced into the woods. Fateweaver and the central Crushers advanced towards the two rhinos. Crushers to my right also advanced towards the rhinos. Fateweaver shot at a rhino but failed to inflict any damage. Crushers charge the rhinos, destroy one & wreck the other.
[b]-Loganwing, 3rd Turn-[/b]
Logan joins the Wolf Lord & Thunderwolves. Ragnar, Arjac & terminators advance toward the Crushers on my right. Grey Hunters move up into wreckage. All Long Fangs target Fateweaver... Another wound gets through the 3++/3++ and the big sissy decides to run away! :D Everything changes. Rune Priest passes his psychic test, JAWS the Blood Crushers to my right including the prince... The prince & 2 Crushers are vaporized! Ragnar, Arjac & terminators charge the 6 remaining Crushers to my right while Logan, Wolf Lord & Thunderwolves charge the 8 Crushers in the woods. Ragnar gets 2 extra attacks for everyone & Logan yells & casts preferred enemy upon himself, the Wolf Lord & Thunderwolves. My 2nd mistake - I forgot that one of the TW models was a Wolf Lord & did not use his thunderhammer attacks (I was using bare Crushers as a proxy)... This was a big mistake, oh well. Grey Hunters charge into middle pack of Crushers. The Grey Hunters are destroyed but on my two flanks Crushers are dropping right & left. Arjac loses one wound and Thunderwolves lose a couple of wounds. At this point it looked really good for old Logan & his company. I will have to absorb a charge though from the central unit of Crushers next daemon turn.
[b]-Fatecrusher Spam, 3rd Turn-[/b]
Both remaining princes drop as does the rest of the Plague Bearers. Greater daemon pops one of the pods. Central squad of 8 Crushers move up through wreckage to charge Logan, Wolf Lord & Thunderwolves. Other two Crusher squads are still locked in combat. 3rd mistake - I forgot that Ragnar has Saga of the Warrior... Another big mistake as he completely whiffs then fails all three 4++ saves. :( The power fist terminator dies but they reduce the right Crusher squad to only two with one wound left apiece. Arjac & his two remaining terminators fail their morale check but luckily are caught by one of the two remaining princes who joined the melée. Two thunderwolves go down in the middle but Logan fights very well, taking one wound while killing two more Crushers. Again I forgot to swing with the mounted Wolf Lord, my 4th mistake of the game.
[b]-Loganwing, 4th Turn-[/b]
Unfortunately for old Logan & his company the battle lust is quickly starting to ebb away as is so often the case versus daemons. My Rune Priest fails yet another psychic test again! :( Like I said he was such a little punk. Long Fangs target a squad of Plague Bearers & kill two of them. So right back to close combat again... First the one prince in combat kills the mounted Wolf Lord who failed 3 3++ saves. Logan also dies along with the last of the Thunderwolves. Arjac & his terminators are swept away by the other prince and the 2 Crushers to my right. At this point is pretty much all over... All I have left are the Long Fangs, punk Rune Priest & the squad of Grey Hunters in the pod still adrift. One squad of Long Fangs were able to target & destroy the 2 wounded Crushers remaining from the squad on my right... They both tried to run back into cover but fell a bit short. The punk Rune Priest did manage to cast JAWS again, destroying another prince & 2 more Crushers but it was too little too late at that point.
So we call it a game. At best for the Wolves all that could have survived was the squad of Grey Hunters aimlessly drifting about in their drop pod.
*Daemonjc Kill Count:
Fateweaver (333)
2x Nurgle Prince (300+)
8x Blood Crusher - 1st unit (320+)
4x Blood Crushers - 2nd unit (160+)
I was lucky to pop the big sissy early in the game but my horrid dice in the last eventful melée spelled my doom. If I had remembered that Ragnar has Saga of the Warrior and swung with the mounted Wolf Lord starting with the 1st charge I think it's possible it could have gone the other way, lots of thunderhammer attacks hitting on 3+ with rerolls to hit has a way of making Crushers quickly go bye bye when the big sissy has flown the coop. Well that's one of the reasons why we playtest. While the Rune Priest did indeed rack up a very impressive kill tally, failing his psychic test twice did not help my cause at all.
Good game & this is the best by far that I have fared against Gareth's Fatecrusher spam. I'll be looking for a rematch soon with my new Blood Angels... I think the Stormravens will help a whole heck of a lot.
G
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