Daemons at Panzershreck

Over the weekend I went up to Panzershreck in Palmerston North for a six round 2400 point event that used the Swedish Composition system. I believe that math comp achieves nothing, it just shifts goalposts from one place to another creating a new set of most efficient armies. That said, it was a great opportunity to get away for an event and meet up with the local gaming cohort.

I got up at 5.00am on the morning of the event and drove north picking Sam Whitt up on the way. We bowled into Palmy just after 8.00am ready for the 8.30am start. I posted my list earlier so you can check it out there.

Game 1 - Ryan Lister (Vampire Counts) - Battleline

Ryan has beaten my DoC the last two times we played. This time he was rocking Mannfred and a block of 9  Blood Knights (Flag of the Blood Keep) plus two Vamps one with MR2. I realised early I wasn't going to get the bus so worked over the rest of his army, including Mannfred for a moderate win.

Win 15-5

Game 2 - Peter Williamson (High Elves) - Blood & Glory

Peter had Fortitude 6 to my 4. I also realised that he would be my main opposition in this event so it was always going to be a hard game. In the end I picked up more VPs for killing units but Peter managed to destroy the Lord of Change in one round of shooting combined with a Sunfire Gem IF Fireball and that broke me. A deserved win for Peter who'd go on to win the event.

Loss 6-14

Game 3 - Adam Richards (Dwarfs) - Battleline

I hate Dwarfs. However if I have to play Dwarfs I want to play Adam. He is always looking to make it a fun game and while other Stunties will see him as far too loose, I'm sure he gets a lot of enjoyment out of his play. In this game I gave him a unit to chase after which he caught and destroyed. While that was happening the DoC went wild on the rest of his army picking up a lot of points.

Win 20-0

Game 4 - Neil Williamson (Warriors of Chaos) - Dawn Attack

Neil's army was a 16.5 on a scale that capped at 13. He had Valkyia and then fitted in some Forsaken, a Shaggoth plus a huge bus of Dogs. It was rounded out with a unit of Knights, Skullcrushers and three Marauder Horse. The key in this game was my ability to force Neil in piecemeal while my Death Chicken cleaned up his Knights and chaff. In the end I got the whole army for minimal loss.

Win 20-0

Game 5 - Stuart Robinson (Warriors of Chaos) - Battleline

Not much to say about this game. If it could go right for me, it did. If it could go average to poor for Stuart it did. An example was a shot with Skullcannon through Tzeentch (3rd Eye) Disk Hero. He rolled a 2 for his ward. In the end it was a big win.

Win 20-0

Going into the last round I was 5 Battle Points behind Peter but 21 points ahead of 3rd. So I had no downside but big upside if Peter stumbled.

Game 6 - Hamish Gordon (Empire) - Meeting Engagement

Hamish had what I thought was the strongest list at the event. A few things went wrong for me straight away - no Gateway and my Skullcannon blew up on Turn 1. Key to the game was me rolling snake eyes for the Winds of Magic Turn 2. This removed a single Beast that was diverting a second unit of Demigryphs. This allowed them to clear out a Horror unit and threaten my rear. Going into Turn 5 I was up 12-8 and decided with no downside to go for it. My LoC was on 2 wounds and charged demigryphs. He fluffed his 7 attacks and then failed a series of 5+ AS and 5++. This turned game into a small win for Hamish.

Loss 8-12

Summary

While this was going on Peter crushed his father (who I'm sure rolled over and let him tickle his tummy) so anything I would have achieved was for naught anyway. Peter was clear winner with me second. Mike King snuck into third.

Charlie Lloyd won Best Painted and Sports. He got my Painting Vote while I gave my Sports vote to Hamish.

Great event with excellent opponents. Big thanks to Jeff Kent for running it and for allowing Sam and I to crash at his place.

Next event for me is Call to Arms in just under a fortnight.