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Saturday, August 13, 2011

Happy 'ArdBoyz Day!

I know it's lame, but I get excited for tournament days.  I'm lucky to get one game in per week and I thoroughly enjoy it whether I win or lose.  I reckon I've played 100 games since getting back into 40k in March 2010.  One hundred games, each entirely different from each other due to the incalculable combinations of terrain, mission, deployment, opponent's codex and build.  Even playing the same opponent twice in a row and only changing who takes the first turn can create two opposite outcomes. 

Two hundred and fifty hours of sci-fi battles on alien planets and I'm still learning new tricks and ways to avoid tricks on the battlefield.  If I replayed all those games starting at dawn and playing until dusk, it would take three weeks and I have yet to face even half of the popular competitive lists.  I recently faced a Kan Wall for the first time at the ATC.  I faced dual lash for the first time last week.  I still haven't had the pleasure of setting up across from razorwolves, decent of angels, deathwing, draigowing, or venom spam.

I know lack of experience is my biggest weakness as I'm usually able to overcome an opponent if I practice against them enough.  In response, I'm bringing a list that nobody around here has attempted or played against in all likelihood.  I will face opponents who have played ten times longer than I, and try to put them in my shoes and take them out of their comfort zone.

I look forward to tournament day as I would Christmas if it came once a month.  Three games in a row to further increase my library of experience and tactics.  Three chances in a row to meet a new hobbyist, get a rematch with your nemesis, or goof off with a friend when you both end up on the bottom tables.  Last month I missed out on our local tournament so I'm jonesin' for these three games.

The army is packed along with two tables worth of terrain.  Lists are packed in with templates and the codex.  My energy drink is in the fridge and the gas tank is full.  Today will be the second best day of the month.  On the 24th, we find out if we're having a boy or girl!

I hope to post minimal updates through the day either before or after each game, if anyone will be following along.  Wish me luck, as I wish all of you luck on 'ArdBoyz Day!

16 comments:

  1. Round #1 against mephiston + 6 drop dreads.

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  2. Minor loss 11kp-8kp. Ymgarls wiffed all 3 alpha strikes. Tfexs wiffed. Meph killed himself in a suicide run on swarmlord killing both.

    Next round against dual lash chaos. I need some massacres to qualify now!

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  3. I fear drop dread lists too - good you kept it close at least. Keep your head up.

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  4. Sucking today. Ymgarls wiffed again actually losing a full unit getting swept by plague marines lol.

    2nd game was a draw with neither army having any scoring units left. I think I'm out at this point unless I get a full massacre and the top 4 don't get much.

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  5. Don't stop. Just eat them all:)

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  6. Transform biomass into experience:)

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  7. Man what a brutal day. Game #3 was against meph's mech angels again. I could have placed with a massacre. I ended up on vps's but not enough so I finished in the middle of the pack.

    Some highlights of the day:

    Game #1 when Meph with 1 wound left hits, wounds, and activates his force weapon on the swarmlord after I failed an invuln. He also rolled 1's and killed himself.

    Game #2 when the swarmlord was locked with a daemon prince for 4 assault phases, despite only needing 3's to hit and 3's to wound and forcing rerolled invulns. Then 9 ymgarls assaulting 7 plague marines, losing combat, failing leadership, and getting swept.

    Game #3 against meph again. 24 ymgarl attacks on meph with preferred enemy should be like 18 hits and 3 rends right? Nope, no rends and meph solo's his way through 414pts of genestealers.

    I hate blaming anything on dice but man, I felt like mine hated me today. There were pivotal moments in each game where I had a mathematical advantage and/or went in with a superior force and ended up getting slaughtered.

    I did make my share of mistakes like not assaulting genestealers that had just outflanked and arrived 1" from devestators. My opponents were all very good and I did enjoy each game despite my failures.

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  8. Cheers, mate. The god of random is a capricious bastard. You recognize and own up to your mistakes, knew when you mathematically had the advantage, took it, and the dice went the other way. That's just a successful day of gaming, and what you were excited about at the start of the day. Hoping I will still be as upbeat after day 2 of NOVA when I finish 0-8 =)

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  9. Batreps wanted:)

    When I criticize severely my dice after the game, our team captain asks me:
    "Hey, man, think, maybe it was possible to play not relying on dice in this game?"

    It's rarely possible to be lucky all the tourney long. One or two games are usually below average of distribution. That's it.

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  10. I took your list to 'Ard Boyz and I won a prize!

    They gave me new dice because I came in last place...

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  11. LOL, nice prize.

    Why would you bring a list someone else wrote though? There's a process in designing a list from concept to execution and practice.

    No list is unbeatable. The design and practice elements are important to it's success in the hands of the person using it.

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  12. Hey, no need for the anecdotes, I wasn't hating! I took it because it was a nice hybrid list that had a good plan against AP3 weapons and because I think at 'Ard Boyz the Ymgarls would be much better than the short-ranged Hive Guard.

    The Ymgarls were spectacular for me all day. I dropped the Harpy and a commando unit of Genestealers and ran a 30 man mob of super-hormagaunts, and they were also fantastic.

    Everything else ran fair, except for the Tyrannofexxen. I guess they did their job as far as soaking up shots, but I couldn't kill anything with them.

    Back to your anecdotes, I got the idea for the list from yours. I piggybacked off your design and testing process and made changes that would suit my resources and play style. I took your process, combined it with my own for a result that was better, I think, in the end for me.

    That's why you write the blog, right? Thanks for the list ideas and advice!

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  13. Ahh I'm glad you tweaked it to your own needs.

    I'm glad the ymgarls worked better for you also. They failed me more than anything else all day. I threw 18 of them into Meph and only scored 1 rend before they were all dead. 9 ymgarls charged into 7 plague marines and ended up getting swept.

    My tfex's did pretty good games 2-3, wrecking and immobilizing vehicles in the early turns.

    It was an experimental list that I definitely thought would perform better, but I was wrong. Erle tried to warn me in advance but I didn't listen. I do write articles to document my thought process, but I don't claim to be an expert and I definitely don't have the results to prove it.

    I just thought you took my list for the wrong reasons and were blaming me for it's failure. Thanks for breaking it down for me and better luck next time!

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  14. No problem! I really appreciate your blog - I visit it just about every day!

    Are you going to the Nova? I'm taking an unconventional bug list - I might send it to you later to see what you think.

    Thanks again!

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  15. Not going to NOVA. It was originally in my plan for the year until we found out we were expecting a baby. ATC and DaBoyz GT are the only big events I can do this year and my wife gave me permission for ATC next year if the team wants me again.

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  16. Bummer about your dice man, Nids can be unforgiving.
    Ymgarls lose a bit of their charm once you realize that their buffs only lasts for the close combat round.
    I'm following your Tyranid posts, don't give up on them! Really enjoying your battle reports, whether you win or lose it's always a good read.
    I'm taking my Nids to my second big tournament in 6 weeks, trying to nail down a build and get on with the painting.

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