PARANOIA 7-player superfight!

Hoo boy.

I showed up at AFK games for my usual 40K night.  It was not to be.  Instead, it was madness.  Seven players brought 20 Power Level armies in a fight of betrayal and surprise called:

PARANOIA.

Here are the rules:

• Players get 20 power points in a Battle Forged list.
• No selection can be larger than 8 power points.
• Players receive a card.  This is their “Identity.”
• Players receive a second card.  This is your “Target.”  You can only attack your target.
  • If you have a Target that matches your Identity, you can attack anyone.
  • If another player attacks you, for your next turn, you can attack them in retaliation.
• If you are responsible for tabling an opponent, you gain their Identity and Target cards. (these do not replace yours)
• If, by some quirk of eliminating enemies, no one can attack anyone, anyone can attack everyone.
• A third deck of cards is shuffled at the beginning of each turn, and you take your turn when your card is drawn.
  • Tabled players have their cards removed from this deck so that the player who tabled them don’t get multiple turns.
  • If you are involved in a melee with the current player, you get to fight.

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Bozeman – Azure Flames

• Captain Edgard of the 3rd Company, Power Fist, Combi-Melta, Salamander Mantle, Rites of War
• Tactical Squad x5, Power Fist, Combi-Melta, Lascannon
• Apothecary
• Dreadnought, Twin Lascannon, Heavy Flamer

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Setup:

Players get one octant.  Set up anywhere in this square, but you must remain more than 3″ from an enemy.

As you can see I hid out in the blue-gray building.  To my left, Dan playing Mordians (who had my card, unbeknownst to me).  To my right, Nathan, whose card I had!  In front of me, another Salamander player… who… had my card? That’s odd…

I moved up and to my right, to try to nonchalantly get closer to Nathan and hide in the trees…

…only to be attacked by the other Salamander player!

Meanwhile, Nathan turned on the Crimson Fists, whittling them down quickly.

Annoyed at being shot, my Dreadnought charges!  This led to a chain of events which led me to completely table the other Salamander player!  I received his target card… only to realize it wasn’t mine!  The cards are literally gloss black on matte black, and he mistook the Jack for the Joker…  Sadly, this left me open to be targeted by other players…

Dan charged my lord with his combat unit, and other players (some with their own cards!) took pot shots.

Meanwhile, the Crimson Fist Primaris Lieutenant takes all comers, valiantly making a last stand against Nathan’s Guard!

My forces were shot down to the characters.  A Tactical Squad charged the Mordians, but that proved fatal as Mordians hit on a 5+ on Overwatch!

Finally, Captain Edgard stood alone, charged by 30 Mordian Conscripts.  They rolled 4 wounds… and I rolled 1, 1, 2, 2!

Eliminated, I watched the other players slug it out.  They eventually decided on a 4 way tie as it was getting past 2am.

Soon: more 8th ed and painting!

1500 Ambush (post dated)

Two weeks ago, I battled Nathan again, but I was busy and didn’t write up the batrep.  So, it’s time for one of my truncated battle reports, just to clear out my camera’s memory card.

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Mission: Ambush

I was the defender, so I deployed in a 12″ wide column, and Nathan deployed around me.  I needed to get models off the far table edge.

Nathan started with an OLD FASHIONED PRELIMINARY BOMBARDMENT!  Just like in 3rd edition!  Meeeeeeeemories…

Anyway, there’s a new mechanic where you can essentially become pinned and get a 4+ save against the damage of the bombardment.  I did not do this.  I RECOMMEND YOU DO THIS AND I WILL DO IT IN THE FUTURE because there is a 1CP Strategem which lets you become un-pinned.

Further shooting eliminated two of my dreadnoughts, and Thunderfire Cannon!

One of my Tactical Squads charges an Armored fist squad to try to distract them…

Assault Squad and Chaplain charge a squad, but the Captain didn’t get the charge off.

Sadly, the Assault Marines took so much damage that the survivors ran away!

Survivors charge the Leman Russes

The fight rages on as model after model escapes…

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In the end, my Captain, Chaplain, Thunderfire Cannon Techmarine, and Dreadnought escaped.  This was several points short of the threshold for victory… had the Assault Marines or one of the Whirlwinds escaped I’d have won!  But the traffic jam of the Leman Russes prevented the Whirlwinds from driving through.  In addition, had I saved a few of the wounds on the Ironclad caused by the preliminary bombardment, it would have been a VERY different game.

Also, I made my list to be the attacker, but so did Nathan, and so I drew the short straw.  The Scouts were awful.  Sniper rifles look great on paper in 8th edition, but good lord they are expensive and don’t do much unless you specifically have a character to snipe.  Careful players avoid this.

Next: PARANOIA 40K with a SEVEN PLAYER KNOCKDOWN DRAG OUT!

1500 Cloak and Shadows, Azure Flames vs. Imperial Guard

The other night I got to experience how Maelstrom of War worked in 8th edition, thanks very much to a frequent opponent of mine: Nathan.  Amazingly, Nathan and I figured out that this whole time that I’d been playing against him, he was one of my former students from when I was a teacher!

We put together a game to help introduce me to how Maelstrom missions transferred over to 8th edition.  We played Cloak and Shadows, and it was a blast!

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Bozeman – Azure Flames

• Captain Antonius of the 4th Company, Armour Indomitus, Power Axe, Plasma Pistol, WT: Rites of war (auto pass Morale within 6″)
• Librarian Ory-Hara, Force Sword, Smite, Veil of Time, Might of Heroes
• Tactical Squad x10, Combi-Flamer, Power Fist, Flamer, Multi-Melta
  • Rhino
• Tactical Squad x10, Combi-Flamer, Power Fist, Flamer, Multi-Melta
  • Rhino
• Scouts x10, 9x Sniper Rifle, 1x Missile Launcher
• Assault Squad x10, Jump Packs, 2x Flamer, Power Fist
• Devastator Squad x10, 4x Lascannon
• Ironclad Dreadnought, Ironclad Assault Launchers, Chainfist, Meltagun, Hurricane Bolter, 2x Hunter Killer Missile

Nathan – Imperial Guard

• Company Commander, WT: (on giving an order, on a 4+ can issue another order)
• Tank Commander in Leman Russ with Battle Cannon, Lascannon, 2x Heavy Bolter
• Leman Russ with Punisher Gatling Cannon, 3x Heavy Bolter
• Command Squad, Vox-Caster, Lascannon
  • Chimera, 2x Heavy Bolter
• Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Lascannon
• Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Lascannon
• Infantry Squad, Plasmagun, Lascannon
• Veteran Squad, Plasmagun, Lascannon
  • Chimera, 2x Heavy Bolter
• Armoured Sentinels, 3x Hunter Killer Missile, 2x Plasma Cannon, 1x Lascannon
• Hellhound, hull Heavy Flamer
• Hellhound, hull Heavy Flamer
• Basilisk

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Mission: Cloak and Shadows (shooting over 18″ is at -1 to hit, each player generates up to a maximum of 3 Maelstrom objectives at the start of each turn)

Deployment: Hammer and Anvil (short board edges, 24″ deployment zone)

Setup: Our setup was not pictured.  I fortified scouts, and 1/2 the devastators in a large building, while the other Devastators and the characters sheltered in another.  One Rhino went up each side.  The Dreadnought hid in some ruins.  Nathan created a gunline with most tanks in the front.

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Turn 1 – Azure Flames

Rhinos and Ironclad advance and pop smoke.  Antonius falls back toward objective 3 near my board edge, and secures it till the end of the game (eventually scoring 3 points doing this).  Assault Squad deep strikes.  Librarian uses Might of Heroes and Veil of Time on the Assault Squad, but they can’t charge, even with a re-roll!  Other shots do a wound or two here and there to some tanks.

Turn 1 – Imperial Guard

Shooting kills eight Assault Marines, and the rest flee.  The central Rhino is destroyed.  Pot shots put a wound on the Ironclad.

Turn 2 – Azure Flames

Tactical squad charges the Sentinels, one goes down.  Other tactical squad charges one of the Hellhounds, putting 8 wounds on it.  Fire from other sources is surprisingly ineffective due to miraculous saves and rolls of 1 to wound all around.

Turn 2 – Imperial Guard

Hellhounds drive away from combat and the Tactical Squad is destroyed.  One more Sentinel bites the dust.  Fire strips all but one wound from the Ironclad.

Turn 3 – Azure Flames

Ironclad charges a Chimera full of veterans.  Poor rolls reduce the surviving veterans to 2.  Sentinels are taken out and the Tactical squad consolidates into the Leman Russes.  Librarian charges the wounded Hellhound and whiffs.  Lascannon fire puts 10 wounds on the un-damaged Hellhound.  To score points, Devastator squad charges to kill it in close combat.  4/5 Devastators die, and the last one is locked with the Hellhound, unable to hurt it.

Turn 3 – Imperial Guard

Leman Russ tanks retreat from the Tactical Squad.  Ironclad is wrecked.  Librarian finishes off the Hellhound and advances into the forest.

Turn 4 – Azure Flames

Tactical squad charges around the corner to try to kill the Commander for an objective, but power fist whiffs keep him alive.  Librarian charges the Leman Russ and even with comand point re-rolls just barely dies.  Scouts come out of the building and assault the Hellhound, killing it.

Turn 4 – Imperial Guard

Commander dies, even though the surviving veterans try to charge to save him.  Shots kill a bolter Devastator and a few scouts.

Turn 5 – Azure Flames

Pistol fire the close combat in the shooting phase kills the sergeant of the Veteran squad, and then the Tactical Squad charges another Guard squad.  Overwatch reduces them to the Sergeant, who kills one guardsman.  Devastator Sergeant moves 1″ to control objective 4.

Turn 5 – Imperial Guard

Fire eliminates the Devastators and reduces the Scouts.  Combat against the Tactical Sergeant ends with one more dead guardsman.  Game over.

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Final Score:

Azure Flames: 11 plus Linebreaker and Slay the Warlord = 13

Imperial Guard: 5 plus First Blood = 6

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Final thoughts: Maelstrom still rewards mobile armies over gunlines.  Of all of the objectives I generated, less than a quarter were unattainable.  The rest were possible if not even fortuitous.

In the end I had Antonius, a Bolter from a Devastator Squad, 3 Scouts, and a Tactical Sergeant, while Nathan’s army was mostly intact.  Yet, I still won by more than twice his points.  Maelstrom is all about getting shit done.  Nathan DEFINITELY killed stuff.  He was VERY good at that.  But he didn’t move out to claim objectives or accomplish anything else.  For example, Leman Russes that move less than 1/2 their movement can fire their turret gun twice and because they are Cadians, re-roll 1s if they stay still.  The Punisher Leman Russ pumped out 40 shots re-rolling 1s which killed several things.  But it didn’t score points.

Soon: More painting and games, plus more Big Game 6 fiction!

It’s about time; 8th Edition Debut! 1000pt Relic Azure Flames vs. Blood Angels

I haven’t been in too good of a financial way recently, and my car is not in the best shape, but last night I got a break.  I went back to my local game store, AFK games, and played my first game of 8th edition!  Yes, it’s a bit late, but I haven’t had any time with my new job and such.

One of the regulars at AFK was Chris, who played Blood Angels and was nice enough to show me the ropes in a 1000pt game.

However, before the game begins, I’d like to do a quick musing on the new Space Marine Codex.  Because Big Game 6 is coming up in 5 months, I asked Chris if we could play with points instead of power levels, as that is what we’ll be doing during the Big Game for balance issues.  Making an army with points is now a bit harder, as (except for special characters) no model in the game comes with their weapons.  You must buy all weapons separately.  Most common weapons (Bolters, Chainswords, Frag Grenades, etc.) are free, so it’s not like you have to do math for each individual trooper.  However, tanks come with no guns, that you must pay points for (it’s required) instead of including those guns in the tank’s points value.  This is a bit clunky.  The rationale is that they can release Chapter Approved updates each year to tweak points values so that balance can be addressed, but it makes it harder to use points to make a list.

Enough griping.  Here’s my first batrep of 2018!

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Bozeman – Azure Flames (Salamanders)

Battalion Detatchment

• Leonidas, Captain of the 1st Company (counts as Vulkan He’Stan)
• Ory-Hara, Chief Librarian of the Azure Flames (Librarian), Salamander Mantle, Force Sword, Smite, Veil of Time, Fury of the Ancients
• Tactical Squad x9, Power Fist, Combi-Flamer, Flamer
  • Rhino, Storm Bolter
• Tactical Squad x9, Power Fist, Combi-Flamer, Flamer
  • Rhino, Storm Bolter
• Tactical Squad x10, Meltagun, Multi-Melta
  • Rhino, Storm Bolter
• Attack Bike x1, Heavy Bolter

Chris – Blood Angels

Battalion Detatchment

• Captain in Power Armour, Power Sword, Plasma Pistol
• Sanguinary Priest, Chainsword, Inferno Pistol
• Scouts x5, 4x Sniper Rifles, Missile Launcher, Camo Cloaks
• Tactical Squad x5, Combi-Plasma, Heavy Bolter
  • Razorback, Lascannon with Twin Plasma Gun
• Tactical Squad x5, Storm Bolter, Heavy Bolter
  • Razorback, Lascannon with Twin Plasma Gun
• Assault Marines x10, Power Sword, Plasma Pistol, 2x Flamers

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Eternal War Mission 6 – The Relic

An objective (the Relic) in the middle of the table can be picked up if a model moves over it.  This model carries the Relic until it flees or is slain.  If a player has a model carrying the Relic at the end of the game, that player wins a major victory.  If no one is carrying it, the player with the closest model wins a minor victory.  If both players are equally close, it is a draw.

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Setup

The Azure Flames, mounted in Rhinos, deployed in cover.  Blood Angels Scouts took a vantage point in a high ruin, while the Tactical Marines mounted up in their Razorbacks.  The Blood Angel Captain and Sanguinary Priest took cover in a forest.

Turn 1 – Azure Flames

Leonidas’ Rhino and the Attack Bike advance behind a statue for cover, as Ory-Hara’s Rhino and the other Tactical Squad’s Rhino advance towards the Relic and pop smoke.  The Attack Bike puts a wound on the Sanguinary Priest.

Turn 1 – Blood Angels

Smoke causes one of the Razorback Lascannons to miss Ory-Hara’s Rhino, but the other Razorback puts 5 wounds on it.  The Captain and Sanguinary Priest move off to prevent being sniped at.

Turn 2 – Azure Flames

Ory-Hara and his squad disembark.  Ory-Hara casts Veil of Time on the squad and rolls boxcars!  Perils of the Warp does only one wound to him.  Smite blasts three wounds off of the Razorback.  Ory-Hara and the squad charge the Razorback.  Before the squad can attack, Ory-Hara unleashes his Force Sword and cuts the Razorback apart by himself!  It EXPLODES, killing three Marines and doing one more wound to Ory-Hara, and killing three Blood Angels!  The Marines, unable to attack, pile in to the second Razorback.  The other Tactical Squad advances, running to get the Relic as their Rhino advances to cover them.  Leonidas’ Rhino and the Attack Bike advance to join the fight.

Ory-Hara opens the Razorback like a can of sardines!

Relic Acquired!

Turn 2- Blood Angels

Assault Squad swoops in from a passing Thunderhawk and assaults the wounded Rhino, finishing it in close combat.  Snipers reduce Ory-Hara to one wound, and shots from the surviving squad finish him.  The other squad piles out of their beleaguered Razorback and charge the Azure Flames squad, reducing them to two with the help of the Sanguinary Priest.

Turn 3 – Azure Flames

Leonidas and his squad pile out to provide cover for the other Tactical Squad that advance 9″ away with the Relic.  Their Rhinos and the Attack Bike advance to form a partial wall.

Turn 3 – Blood Angels

Mostly bad rolls all around reduces the Azure Flames squad in combat to its Sergeant with no other casualties.  The Assault Squad charges the Azure Flames squad with the Relic, and lose two of their number to Melta Overwatch fire thanks to Leonidas’ re-rolls!  The fight is brutal, with three Azure Flames and four Blood Angels going down!  The Relic is dropped by a casualty!  Sniper fire kills three of Leonidas’ squad.

Heroic last stand!

The Relic is down!  Retrieve it!

Turn 4 – Azure Flames

Leonidas’ Tactical Squad grab the Relic and run off as Leonidas joins the battle with the Assault Squad.  The Attack Bike charges in as well.  In the fight with the lone Sergeant, the Sanguinary Priest goes down!  The squad with the Relic continues to advance.

Turn 4 – Blood Angels

Pistols in the shooting phase take out the lone Sergeant, and the remaining combatants charge the Rhino.  The Assault Squad is wiped out.

Turn 5 – Azure Flames

The Attack Bike charges to save the Rhino as the Relic continues to move away.

Turn 5 – Blood Angels

The Captain finishes off the Attack Bike.

Turn 6 – Azure Flames

Fire from the Tactical Squad kills the Storm Bolter Sergeant.  This frees Leonidas to charge the Blood Angel Captain, killing him.  The Tactical Squad also charges, but their attacks are wasted as the Captain is gone.  The Relic moves out of sight behind a building.  Game ceded.

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Analysis

Azure Flames recovered the Relic – Major Victory!

First, let me say that 8th ed is still 40K. Here’s some musings that I had while playing:

• Advancing during the movement phase is a more elegant solution that running in the shooting phase.
• Because of the flat to-hit rolls, anything that gives a +1 or -1 modifier is a HUGE DEAL.  Blood Angels don’t get any sort of extra STRENGTH on the charge, they get +1 to WOUND, so they’re wounding a TANK on a 4+.
• Spitting fire doesn’t break the game and should have been around since 3rd edition.
• Sniper weapons generate an additional Mortal Wound on a wound roll of a 6, but the other wound still stands, and is separate, so they can kill two models with one shot which is weird.
• Pistol weapons can be fired in the shooting phase while in close combat, so you get an extra round of attacks.  This is also weird to me.
• Vehicles are now much cooler, despite not having facing or line of sight issues.  Multiple people at the store explained this as “well vehicles are constantly moving.”  This excuses it but doesn’t make it less weird that a vehicle can draw line of sight for its gun from its bumper.
• Not having templates is faster.  There, I said it.
• 40K is still fun in 8th.
• Just like in all previous editions, play to the mission and keep your eyes on the prize.
• Characters are weird and need to be managed, but kick ass.

Next, I hope to get some painting done and play more games!