The Nicon Experience

So back yesterday from Napier and six games of Warhammer at NiCon.

I took the Daemon list I had previously posted as I had spend the last 3-4 months painting Daemon figures and was keen to use them at an event.

Game 1 - Mike King (Lizardmen) - Battleline

Mike and I have been playing this game weekly and both had good understanding of how the other player's army worked. In the end there was carnage on both sides as we set about systematically dismantling one another. I lost a Skullcannon with the first shot of the game, a trend that was going to continue for that  particular model every game on the first day. I managed to clear out one Saurus block and get the Slaan General while Mike brought down the Death Chicken. After 6 turns I had killed 1940 VPs to Mike's 1910 VPs, making it a draw.

Draw 10-10

Game 2 - Nick Munn (Skaven) - Meeting Engagement

Having played with the rats on the odd occasion I had a pretty good idea of the army's strengths and weaknesses. Nick had the toys and the bodies. I managed over 6 turns to destroy his army picking up 2552 VPs while losing 645 VPs in return. This gave me a good win which was totally unexpected as I had heard on the internet that the Skaven were broken.

Win 19-1

Game 3 - Brian Smith (Dark Elves) - Battleline

Brian had the list that I thought was the most interesting in the field - bar my own one of course. It had huge blocks of Executioners and Corsairs backed by two Cauldrons and two Hydras. I quickly calculated that I would try and take out Hydras, Executioners and chaff while minimising losses to furnish a 15-5. While initially that plan worked, both Hydras gone by Turn 2, Brian got a long charge by his Executioners on my Death Chicken and I eventually lost him to the grind. In the end I was up by 199 VPs after killing 1539 VPs. This was a single VP short of a win.

Draw 10-10

Game 4 - James Cardno (Warriors of Chaos) - Dawn Attack

James pretty much had the internet build for Warriors of Chaos and this game was played on the heady heights of Table 1 with James leading the event by 5-6 points. Very early on things were looking very shaky as James made three of four slightly long charges into my Beast of Nurgle anvil. Through a smart challenge I was able to hold the combat with one wound left on my unit. My Death Chicken then went medieval on the Skullcrushers - Multiple Wounds and No Armour Save Gifts - doing 11 wounds. There was much smiling in the poultry farm. At the same time a Gateway (six Strength 8) wounded James Daemon Prince. I only did 4 wounds but James failed all four 5+ wards. James felt he was unlucky but based on averages (7x Str 7) he should die and on actual (6x Str 8) it is highly likely outcome. From here I went on a VP harvest and picked up points. I could have got a lot more but James' BSB made a Ld 4 Break test on the re-roll which was a swing of 800+ points. In the end I killed 2032 VPs for a solid win.

Win 15-5

Game 5 - James Brown (Ogres) - Battleline

James had Irongut Deathstar with RuneMaw and Crown making it largely invulnerable. I therefore planned to pick up the rest of the points and see where the cards fell. Unfortunately (well actually a fuck up of biblical proportions) I miscalculated the shot range of James' Ironbaster on Turn 1 giving him a shot at the Death Chicken. Of course he killed it with that single shot. So down 670 points before I start. Over the rest of the game I lost another 400 points and picked up 1242 VPs in return. I thought I played really well given the start but made two more errors in retrospect. I gave James' a charge on my Tzeentch chariot due to sloppy play and I received a "free" unit of Bloodletters which I threw away for little reward. I should have played a longer game with them.

Just a note on this game and mysterious terrain. I felt it was spoiled by the presence of a Wizard's Tower on the table - and just outside one deployment zone. This gave me free Loremaster on a unit of Horrors which mention I could potentially throw two Gateways a turn. I believe this is a good illustration of why we limit Mysterious Terrain to woods and marshes here in Wellington. It is potentially too unbalancing.

Draw 10-10

Game 6 - Dan Butler (Warriors of Chaos) - Blood and Glory

Dan's army had a Fortitude of 4 which meant I needed to pick up a single FP to win the game. These points were on his Dragon Lord (2), unkillable BSB (1) and Marauder Horse (1). My plan was to concentrate on the Lord - kill him after removing him from his Dragon - and the Marauders. A solid plan, but sometimes everything goes awry. I lost the Lord of Change to a Hellcannon shot Turn 1 and though I killed the Dragon and reduced the Marauders to two, I couldn't seem to buy a trick. I believe that I had about 6-7 dice rolls which would (and probably should) have won me the game but it wasn't to be my day. Saying that, I think Dan played superbly well and thoroughly deserved the win. It gave him the overall prize and I understand it was the first time he had taken out an event. I'd like to think that that was in no small part due to the help I gave him. Well done Dan, much deserved.

I avoided being tabled only by managing not to blow up my remaining Skullcannon after it misfired with the last shot of the game. Dan received 3015 VPs (with scenario bonus) while I managed 845 VPs.

Loss 0-20

Overall I had a great weekend. My record was two wins, three winning draws and a loss. Over the six games I collected more than 10,000 VPs which illustrates how aggressively the army was played. I thought I played well enough to podium but the Chaos Gods are fickle. In the end I finished 5th but had enormous fun. I played the list very aggressively pretty much always being in combat with my Chicken (when he was alive) Turn 1. Both the list and style of play was a surprise to a lot of players. The Daemons are enormously fun to play and I feel provide a real challenge both to me and my opponent. They are chaotic by nature but that just adds to their lovability.

Thanks to Jeff for umpiring and to all my opponents for a fun weekend