Hello again! I’ve returned from a long September weekend filled with Warhammer, and wanted to wrap up the experience.
The Time Before
Leaving on a Friday afternoon, the journey to Spokane went more or less smoothly. After a 5 hour drive with a few friends and a stranger asking me if I liked stingrays, we arrived at a hotel near the venue with some hours to kill. After a few sets of Guilty Gear Strive, and devouring some oversized burritos with several shared pitchers of beer, I had the tools needed for a good night’s sleep the night before. We rolled up to the venue the morning after with time to kill, and said hello to old friends and the other members of our local club that had made the trek as well.
The event was taking place in the gymnasium of a church across the street from the Gamer’s Haven; which thankfully meant lots of space and plenty of room to move around for most tables.
Pairings would be up shortly, and I regret not taking more photos across the course of the event. As a refresher, here was the list I decided to take to the event;
Harvester 2022 – Ken Bush
Battalion Detachment 2CP (Adepta Sororitas) [ 100PL, 1,999pts ]
Order: Bloody Rose
-No Force Organization Slot-
Hospitaller
Repentia Superior
-HQ-
Canoness: Blessed Blade, Inferno pistol, Stratagem: Saint in the Making, Warlord Trait: Blazing Ire, Word of the Emperor
Morvenn Vahl: Warlord, Stratagem: Warlord Trait, Righteous Rage
-Troops-
Battle Sister Squad: x5, Sister Superior, Chainsword, Frag & Krak Grenades
Battle Sister Squad: x5, Sister Superior, Chainsword, Frag & Krak Grenades
Battle Sister Squad: x5, Sister Superior, Chainsword, Frag & Krak Grenades
-Elites-
Celestian Sacresants:x5, Anointed Halberds, Spear of the Faithful
Dogmata: Refrain of Blazing Piety, Verse of Holy Piety, Stratagem: Relic,The Sigil Ecclesiasticus, Stratagem: Saint in the Making, Beacon of Faith
Paragon Warsuits: x3, Multi-melta, Storm Bolters, Paragon War Blade, Paragon War Mace
Sisters Repentia: x8, Penitent Eviscerator
Sisters Repentia: x8, Penitent Eviscerator
-Fast Attack-
Seraphim Squad: x5, 2 Seraphim w/Special weapons, 2 Ministorum Hand Flamers
Zephyrim Squad: x5, Zephyrim Pennant
-Heavy Support-
Castigator: Castigator Autocannons, Heavy Bolters
Retributor Squad: x5, Retributor Superior Chainsword, Four Multi-Melta, Armorium Cherub
Retributor Squad: x5, Retributor Superior Chainsword, Four Multi-Melta, Armorium Cherub
-Dedicated Transport-
Sororitas Rhino
Sororitas Rhino
Over the course of the weekend, I would ALSO sorely regret not having opted to take more Zephyrim; the Warsuits didn’t quite get the job done but I was lazy. The Castigator on the other hand performed far and above what I’d hoped for.
With that said, let’s get into the games. All rounds at the event were played with Player Placed Terrain per ITC guidelines. The “laser walls” you’ll see in the photos are considered completely Opaque, Defense Lines, and Dense Cover. Notably they are not Obscuring.
Round 1: Michael with Chaos Knights
Mission: Secure Missing Artefacts
Michael’s List
+++ New Roster (Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition) [107 PL, 2CP, 2,000pts] +++
++ Super-Heavy Detachment 0CP (Chaos – Chaos Knights) [107 PL, 2CP, 2,000pts] ++
+ Configuration [6CP] +
Battle Size [6CP]: 3. Strike Force (101-200 Total PL / 1001-2000 Points) [6CP]
Detachment Command Cost
Gametype: 4. Chapter Approved: War Zone Nephilim
+ Lord of War [107 PL, -4CP, 2,000pts] +
Knight Desecrator [22 PL, -3CP, 430pts]: 3. Warp-haunted Hull, 4. Knight Diabolus, Arch-Tyrant [-1CP], Character (Traitoris Lance), House Herpetrax, Reaper chainsword, Stratagem: Relic [-1CP], Stratagem: Warlord Trait [-1CP], Undivided – Blessing of the Dark Master [2 PL, 30pts], Veil of Medrengard, Warlord
War Dog Executioner Squadron [17 PL, 325pts]: Infernal Dreadblade, Warp Vision
. . War Dog Executioner [9 PL, 170pts]: Diabolus heavy stubber, Tzeentch – Mirror of Fates [1 PL, 15pts]
. . War Dog Executioner [8 PL, 155pts]: Diabolus heavy stubber
War Dog Karnivore Squadron [18 PL, -1CP, 310pts]: House Herpetrax
. . War Dog Karnivore [10 PL, -1CP, 170pts]: Corrupted Heirlooms [-1CP], Diabolus heavy stubber, Helm of Dogs, Khorne – Blood Shield [2 PL, 30pts]
. . War Dog Karnivore [8 PL, 140pts]: Diabolus heavy stubber
War Dog Stalker Squadron [25 PL, 470pts]: House Herpetrax
. . War Dog Stalker [9 PL, 170pts]: Daemonbreath spear, Havoc multi-launcher [5pts], Reaper chaintalon, Undivided – Mark of the Dread Knight [1 PL, 20pts]
. . War Dog Stalker [8 PL, 150pts]: Daemonbreath spear, Havoc multi-launcher [5pts], Reaper chaintalon
. . War Dog Stalker [8 PL, 150pts]: Daemonbreath spear, Havoc multi-launcher [5pts], Reaper chaintalon
War Dog Stalker Squadron [25 PL, 465pts]: House Herpetrax
. . War Dog Stalker [9 PL, 165pts]: Daemonbreath spear, Havoc multi-launcher [5pts], Khorne – Collar of Infernal Brass [1 PL, 15pts], Reaper chaintalon
. . War Dog Stalker [8 PL, 150pts]: Daemonbreath spear, Havoc multi-launcher [5pts], Reaper chaintalon
. . War Dog Stalker [8 PL, 150pts]: Daemonbreath spear, Havoc multi-launcher [5pts], Reaper chaintalon
Created with BattleScribe (https://battlescribe.net)
Secondaries: Leap of Faith/Defend the Shrine/Bring it Down
My opponent Michael is playing a Chaos Knight build I am partial too, with the Blessing of the Dark Master/Veil Abominant and 10 Wardogs of different varieties. Michael won the roll-off, and opted to choose Attacker so he could adjust the objectives first (Priority Target Rules). I tried to put as much terrain forward first as possible and Michael wisely dumped small pieces forward first to push my line back, and the rest of his to the rear of his deployment to allow for unfettered Chaos Knight aggression early.
I deployed my sisters very defensively, and held my breath. I need to lean into my Secondary scoring as much as possible, as Primary Objectives will be challenging to maintain in this Matchup. If I go first, my Repentia get to “hopefully” maim 1-2 Wardogs and cause some harm before they die, and I can attempt to move-block with my Rhinos to stall for a turn. That is not what happened, and I lost the roll to go first.
I used Usher Forth the Faithful to get my Repentia-filled Rhino behind the wall with a pre-game move (and to make it harder to shoot). Michaels first turn involved him running forward with just about his entire force, penning me into my deployment zone. My brave Rhino dies, as does just about every Repentia inside to Havoc launchers shooting from out of Line of Sight.
The rest of the game is an intense exercise in risk-management, and piece trading. I manage to spike slightly and remove the Abominant from the equation at bottom of Turn 1. I continue to kill several War Dogs per turn; but I’m losing just as much as I kill with Melta’s and Repentia. Michael smartly uses his movement speed advantage to get flanking shots on me, and eventually kills my Hospitaller and Dogmata. The Repentia Superior ALMOST killed a very wounded War Dog, but is evaporated for her trouble.
By Turn 4 and 5 the score is break-even. Michael has maxed Primary Points and scored well on Storm of Darkness and Ruthless Tyranny; but I’m holding him to 9 points on Assassination. Meanwhile I’ve scored 12 pts on Defend the Shrine, Leap of Faith, and will max out Bring it Down at 15. It ends up coming down to a Canonness surviving a charging Kharnivore; through Miracle of Grace and a clutch Miracle Dice, she survives the ordeal to preserve 3 VP. and fall back to safety.
At the end of the Game I have only Morvenn, my Canoness, and 3 Battle Sisters left alive, whereas Michael has 2 Executioners remaining. I’m able to secure a decent Primary score at the end of the game due to going second and we count up points; a Draw. Michael was an excellent opponent, and would go on to finish very well at the event; definitely a nail-biter to start the event.
Result: 81-81 Tie
Round 2: Dale with Astra Militarum
Mission: Tide of Conviction
Opponent’s List
Secondaries: Leap of Faith/Sacred Grounds/Defend The Shrine
My second round was into Dale, who was a great opponent! After joking about Cadian field rations and him having to play against Sisters of Battle again (there were 9 Sisters Players in the Event, out of about 60), we got ready to play on Tide of Conviction. Astra Militarum secondaries in Nephilim are pretty good on a 6 objective map; but my plan is to neutralize his damage dealers as fast as possible and coast on tanking Lasguns.
I won the roll for Deployment, and opted for Defender to place some aggressive forward buildings, and start building my castle for Sister’s secondary’s. Dale tries to keep his Manticore and Leman Russ’s hull down from the Melta shooting, and also puts the allied Armigers on a flank to try and get around my forces.
I lose the roll-off to go first, and use Usher Forth again to put the Repentia Rhino behind the Force Wall I put very far forward, and very safe from everything but the Manticore.
Dale’s first turn of shooting is unfortunately not very effective (dense cover really impacts the Manticore, and it goes downhill from there. Repentia murder an Armiger and some Guardsmen, Paragon Warsuits ice a Leman Russ, and I start doing my Sacred Grounds objectives to get the scoring engine started while defending my Shrine and performing Acts of Faith (my Miracle Dice pool is terrible this game, so I end up chumping a few saves or non-important bolter shots to stay on it). Dale plays the remainder of the game the best he can; but Retributors in cover survive most of the counter-fire, and some double-shooting Seraphim with Hand Flamers make short work of the Infantry Squads. There is a way-too-long fight between a Repentia Superior and Company Commander who eventually comes out on top
As the dust settles, the “Sister’s Special” of Secondary Objectives makes for a high scoring game, and I wish Dale well in his future games!
Result: 97-44 Win
Round 3: Joshua with Tyranids
Mission: Data Scry-Salvage
Secondaries: Leap of Faith, Defend the Shrine, Sacred Grounds
Tyranids! And they’re not Leviathan Warrior Spam!
I did not manage to take any photos of this game; our constant conversation this round means I forgot. Joshua had an interesting build with Triple Tyrannofex with the Acid-Spray guns and an absolute load of Carnifexes with Venom Cannons, that all had Objective Secured. This was backed up by a Walkrant with the Reaper of Obliterax and a few Zoanthropes and a Neuruothrope. Not what you necessarily want to see as a Sister’s player (loads of shooting that mauls power armor), but I felt that my Secondaries would help me stay ahead even if my Primary fell a bit behind.
This was a matchup where I really missed having more Zephyrim, as I could have caged up better and used the Dogmata to send Objective Secured Zephyrim/Morvenn Buffed-up Zephyrim to go carve up Carnifexes and flip objectives. They don’t care about -1D, and the volume of attacks with full rerolls makes it very likely they ice the bug.
As it was; Josh played very well, kept me penned in, and it was an absolute blood bath in my deployment zone all game while he scored just a bit more primary than I did. I did manage to keep his Secondary scoring to an absolute minimum, but quickly fell behind on primary points. Unfortunately I also failed some key rolls first turn that resulted in my Sacred Grounds scoring almost minimal points. While in my mind it was the safer play on player placed terrain, good angles and some psychic screams meant my models died. The irony being I killed so many of the big bugs eventually that Bring it Down had been the better choice in hindsight (why are Carnifexes worth only one point there); in this case what I thought was the safer choice cost me the game handily. There was almost nothing left on the table at the end, but I’d fallen too far behind.
Joshua was very nice, and a pleasure to play. I regretted having to be the one to tell him all of the rules Morvenn Vahl has; she’s stacked!
Result: 41-46 Loss
After a weird day of going 1-1-1, my goals for the event at this point are to end 4-1-1 or achieve the perfect symmetry 2-1-2.
Intermission: Night 2
Our rag-tag band walked to down to Versalia pizza in the cool night air, which feels great after being in a gym with a bunch of gamers for almost 12 hours. We got spoiled with outdoor seating and the food was great.
After making it back to the hotel we played some late night EDH and taught our friend how to play Magic the Gathering. I think we got him hooked and I hope he tries the Chaos MTG deck that’s just around the corner.
Round 4: Liam with Necrons
Mission: The Scouring
Secondaries: Defend the Shrine/Sacred Grounds/Leap of Faith
Liam is playing Relentless Expansionist/Eternal Conquerors Necrons with a Silent King, two Transcendant C’tan, Lychguard, Skorpekh, Wraiths, Scarabs, and some Lokhust Heavy Destroyers brining up the rear. Some fast moving elements and good shooting to back it up; as well as good amounts of Mortal Wound output/phase gated damage in the C’tan.
I’ve played against “Obsekh” Necrons a lot and know generally what to expect. You have to push the envelope and try to out-violence the Necrons before they can get wildly ahead on Primary and Secondary points. Regrettably, my build will struggle to kill multiple C’tan, since Sister’s don’t have a lot of damage outside of Shooting or Fight Phase. And smart C’tan play means they don’t have to see you to use many of their good powers to punish Sisters running multiple small units.
Liam was indeed a smart Necron’s player, and punished the absolute flesh off of me for daring to try and score. My Castigator did some work with it’s D2 weapons, and Repentia did what they always do, but my scoring engine is not as effective and I couldn’t deal with both C’tan fast enough.
This was a slow grind to my defeat here as C’tan slowly whittled away, and I couldn’t get enough Obsec onto the center point consistently. More Zephyrim blobs would have been preferable here as well, to get boatloads of attacks and Obsec onto key areas while being able to be relatively safe before being committed.
Props to Liam for doing well at the event and being a stand-up guy, coming all the way from Canada.
Result: 69-96 Loss
Round 5: Mike with Chaos Knights
Mission: Recover the Relics
Secondaries: Leap of Faith/Defend the Shrine/Raise the Banners
Chaos Knights again! But this time much more chonky and less low to the ground; 1 Abominant, 1 Desecrator, 1 Rampager, and 1 Tyrant. Tyrant is holding the Blessing of the Dark Master, Desecrator is holding the Diamonas, someone’s holding a Blood Shield, and there’s a Veil on the Rampager. I’m pretty confident in my Secondary plan here though; and as soon as Knights start dying he will struggle to keep up on points.
Just so we’re clear, Mike’s Chaos Knights are BEAUTIFUL, and the conversions are awesome. Ocean Themed display board with an Ork-Beachfront Boardwalk, working-lighthouse pieces, and cocktail umbrellas, I was very distracted for most of our game enjoying all the little details I continued to find.
Regrettably for Mike, 4 Big Chaos Knights is very manageable for Melta and Repentia Heavy Sisters of Battle with the way terrain works currently, and I removed about one Knight per turn through shooting and chainsaws. Also my dice that had been asleep for a few games apparently woke up, with 1 squad of Repentia in particular using Tear Them Down and scoring an eye-watering number of auto-wounds and exploding hits into the Abominant.
Once the Knights started exploding, the outcome of the game is fairly clear. Both of us played rather quickly, so we were able to finish up and chat a bit after the game. Mike was an absolute best-in-class opponent, and in addition to having a super cool army ended up winning Favorite Opponent of the event with a perfect score. Well deserved Mike!
Result: 97-41 Win
Wrap Up:
While I didn’t finish as well as I would have liked; I had a great time. I scored better than I expected on my Paint Score and got plenty of compliments throughout the weekend, which has always been a point of anxiety for me. While I didn’t come out on top myself this weekend; two of my friends took home prizes for Favorite Opponents, and Jaden took home a Painting Award for his lovely army. With everyone in high spirits but exhausted and having to work the next day, we begin the long journey home after some drive-in burgers. The sunset across the Washington-state high desert is something to behold as always, I regret having to go back to “real” life.
Thanks again to the Gamer’s Haven Crew and all the supporting actors for putting on an excellent event as always! If you live in the Pacific Northwest and like Warhammer; do yourself a favor and come play in an event here. It’s great to see communities from all over come out to support each other.
So what comes next? Probably something related to Leagues of Votann; with all of the spice and scrutiny that comes with. I for one welcome our new Space Dwarf overlords; but I’ll probably fall back to Grey Knights if it becomes too much. I’ve played a proxy game or two and am still processing my opinions.
Let me know in the comments about your own games you played at the event, and what you’ve enjoyed playing recently. Thank you for reading till the end; until next time!
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