Escalation League, Week 1

I got together with the boys and played 5 games for our escalation league. (Only the first three count)
I took the following 500 point list (actually 550, since we get a bonus for having them painted)
Asurman
10 Dire Avengers (Bladestorm, Defend)
10 Dire Avengers (Defend) (roll with Asurman)

The first game involved a fight against Dark Angels.
My opponent had a Chaplain, 2 5-man squads, and a Deathwing terminator squad with assault cannon.
The game involved me blasting his 2 5-man squads so that they could not capture objectives while being blasted by the deathwing squad. The game ended with Asurman in Combat with the Deathwing Terminators and Chaplain. My lone Dire Avenger captured the only objective in the Game.

My second game was against a Tzeentch Daemon army.
My opponent had a herald, 2 squads of Horrors and 3 squads of 3 flamers. We played Annihilation. His flamers were horribly effective when they landed close enough to flame me. They fell easily to massed shuriken catapult fire and close combat. This was a bad mission for my opponent due to his numerous small units that yielded a lot of kill points.

Currently, I am 2-0

The third of my games that counted put me against Space Wolves. My opponent had a Venerable Dreadnought with Assault Cannon/Heavy Flamer, a squad of 10 Grey Hunters, and a squad of 10 blood claws. The mission is kill points. He surges forward with everything while we each trade fire. By the time he assaults, I have killed 8 blood claws. He assaults with 2 blood claws and the dreadnought, Asurman quickly dispatched the Blood Claws and the dreadnought caused no wounds. I won the combat, but in 5th edition, dreadnoughts no longer take damage for losing combat. With ZERO weapons that can hurt the dreadnought, the game tarpitted into the dread taking his time tearing me apart. Zero chance of victory.

For the first 3 rounds, I went 2-1-0.

I played 2 more games that day.

Game 4 was against Chaos Space Marines. My opponent had a Winged, Lash Daemon prince, 2 squads of 5 Berzerkers and a squad of summoned Daemons. On his turn 1, my opponent lashed Asurman and his squad into close combat. He strategically placed Asurman more than 6 inches away so he received no attacks first round. I lost combat and took some wounds. During my turn, I fired and killed some berzerkers. In close combat Asurman wounded the Daemon Prince 3 times. The prince failed all 3 saves and then bricked a Ld test to get killed by the Sword of Asur. My opponent missed his daemon rolls, charged with the zerkers and they died to asurman. My opponent conceded. Asurman FTW.

Game 5 was against Tyranids. Mission is kill points. My opponent had a Flyrant with Twin-Devourers, 3 gaunt squads (various) and 6 Genestealers with infiltrate. My opponent went first, the tyrant mowed down 6 Dire Avengers. On my turn, I killed an entire gaunt squad. On my opponents turn, the Flyrant killed some more avengers from a different squad. The genestealers walked on, ran, and charged Asurmans squad. 6 Genestealers. Asurman goes first and kills 4 (WTF?) the remaining 2 kill 1 Avenger, they die in the subsequent morale phase. I move in to Bladestorm the tyrant. I cause one wound and assault. I cause another wound to the tyrant. My opponent brings in his other 2 gaunt squads. In a monstrous tarpit, Asurman kills the Hive tyrant and then runs down the other 2 gaunt squads that aren't fearless. Asurman wiped the board of 10+ models in 1 turn.

Currently Co5 and the escalation league put me at 9-3-2 in 5th edition.

-Mike