Throne of Skulls Recap: Part 1

I plan on doing a Throne of Skulls update in 3 parts:
Part 1: The Tournament
Part 2: The Photo-journey
part 3: General feelings about the Tournament.

Without further ado, here is a brief recap of the 5 games I played during the Throne of Skulls 2011 tournament, held in the Tropicana in Las Vegas, Nevada.

First, a reprint of my Imperial Guard

Company Command w/3 Plasma Guns
Chimera w/Hull Heavy Flamer
10 Veterans w/3 Meltaguns
Chimera w/Hull Heavy Flamer
Platoon Command w/3 Flamers
Chimera w/Hull Heavy Flamer
Infantry Squad w/Flamer, Autocannon
Chimera
Infantry Squad w/Flamer, Autocannon
Chimera
Special Weapons Squad w/3 Meltaguns
20 Conscripts
Valkyrie w/Multiple Rocket Pods
Vendetta
Vendetta
Manticore
Manticore

Game 1: Annihilation, Pitched Battle
Opponent: Adam Gati (His Blog http://yriel.blogspot.com/)
(I didn't realize this at first, but in this picture you can see my army in the background)

The Twilight Host (1495)

Autarch w/Jetbike, Banshee Mask, Power Weapon, Fusion Gun
Farseer w/Jetbike, Fortune, Eldritch Storm, Spirit Stones, Runes of Warding, Runes of Witnessing
5 Fire Dragons
Wave Serpent w/Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannon, Spirit Stones
6 Jetbikes w/2 Shuriken Cannons
5 Dire Avengers
Wave Serpent w/Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannon, Spirit Stones
5 Dire Avengers
Wave Serpent w/Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannon, Spirit Stones
2 Vypers w/Scatter Laser and Shuriken Cannon
2 Vypers w/Scatter Laser and Shuriken Cannon
Fire Prism
Fire Prism

I won the roll-off to go first and deployed, Adam kept everything in reserves. Sadly, his rolls were all over the place and his army came in piecemeal. His first Fire Prism shot did manage to destroy the Storm Eagle Rocket Launcher (or whatever it is called) off of one of my Manticores.
Adam also used Eldritch Storm to semi-good effect, spinning my vehicles so that he could get rear armor shots on them. Sadly, he was massively outgunned by my Guard, and since his army arrived piecemeal, he could not mount an effective counterattack. A win for the guard.
(I should mention that Adam won Best Eldar player, so after his initial loss to me, he rallied and won most, if not all, of his remaining games. Great job Adam!)

Game 2: Seize Ground (5 Objectives), Spearhead
Opponent: Alex Yuen
Eldar - 1499
Prince Yriel
Farseer w/Doom, Runes of Warding
5 Fire Dragons
Wave Serpent w/Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannons, Shuriken Cannon
8 Howling Banshees w/Exarch, Executioner
Wave Serpent w/Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannons, Shuriken Cannon
10 Dire Avengers w/Exarch, Bladestorm, Defend, Power Weapon & Shimmershield
Wave Serpent w/Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannons, Shuriken Cannon
10 Dire Avengers w/Exarch, Dual Catapults, Bladestorm
10 Guardians w/Scatter Laser
5 Rangers
5 Warp Spiders
War Walker w/2 Scatter Lasers

I again won the roll-off, tactically placed objectives and then deployed my units in my board quarter. (For the second game in a row, my conscripts hid inside a Bastion) Alex deployed everything on the board except his Warp Spiders. Everything was behind a Skyshield Landing Pad in his quarter. I scouted my Valkyrie and Vendettas forward and worked on picking off scoring units. My Manticores hammered his Wave Serpents from afar, eventually destroying all but the banshee Serpent (that I kind of ignored, as I am Meched up) With the exception of Yriel, who killed a Chimera, Alex was not able to do much to my Vehicles with S6 weapons. He conceded during turn 4 or 5 when I had wiped out most of his units.

Game 3: Capture and Control (Capture the Draw), Dawn of War
Opponent: Tony Grippando
(Sadly, I did not get a picture of Tony's army)
1500 Orks
Ghazghkull
Big Mek w/Kustom Force Field
8 Lootas
8 Lootas
30 Boys w/Nob, Power Claw, Bosspole
30 Boys w/Nob, Power Claw, Bosspole
30 Boys w/Nob, Power Claw, Bosspole
29 Boys w/Nob, Power Claw, Bosspole
10 Boys w/Nob, Bosspole

Tony was a very orky dude. His models were in bags instead of a case and his army list was a 2x8.5 strip of paper. I put him down as favorite opponent. We basically both realized that this would be a draw and each of us played "not to lose". We got a good number of Victory points from each other, but in the end, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. At this point, thanks to the in-room bar, we were both a little "saucy".

At the end of Day 1, I am 2-0-1. Awesome! I can't possibly have a losing weekend, so needless to say, I am pretty psyched for day two.

Game 4: Annihilation, Spearhead
Opponent: Patrick Kendall

Patrick is a Vegas local and a pastry chef. He is my second ork opponent this tournament.
1500 Orks
Big Mek w/Kustom Force Field, Bosspole, Eavy Armor
30 Shoota Boys w/3 Big Shootas, Nob, Powerclaw, Bosspole, Eavy Armor
30 Shoota Boys w/3 Big Shootas, Nob, Powerclaw, Bosspole, Eavy Armor
20 Slugga Boys w/Nob, Powerclaw, Bosspole, Eavy Armor
10 Grots w/Runt Herder
15 Lootas
15 Lootas
Battlewagon w/Deff Rolla, Armor Plates, Red Paint Job, Big Shoota, Grot Riggers
Battlewagon w/Deff Rolla, Armor Plates, Red Paint Job, Big Shoota, Grot Riggers

I rolled a "2" for my roll to go first, sadly, Patrick rolled a "1"...

I deployed everything in my board quarter (which left Patrick with a rather barren Deployment Zone). Patrick deployed only his lootas, keeping everything else in reserve. In my first turn, I pinned a squad of lootas and the other one ran of the board. In turn 2, I killed the rest of the lootas. It was downhill from there for Patrick. He came on piecemeal, and had no ranged firepower to deal with my shooting. I was also able to "tactically withdraw" (run away) to avoid his foot rush. Another victory for the guard.


Game 5: Seize Ground (5 Objectives), Pitched Battle
Opponent: Russel Jacobson
(Sadly I have no picture)

1500 - Space Wolves
Rune Priest w/Chooser of the Slain, Wolf Tail Talisman, Jaws of the World Wolf, Living Lightning
8 Grey Hunters w/Wolf Standard, Meltagun, Power Weapon
Rhino
9 Grey Hunters w/Mark of the Wulfen, Wolf Standard, Power Weapon, Meltagun
Rhino
9 Grey Hunters w/Mark of the Wulfen, Wolf Standard, Power Weapon, Meltagun
Rhino
9 Grey Hunters w/Mark of the Wulfen, Wolf Standard, Power Weapon, Meltagun
Rhino
Land Speeder w/Typhoon Missile Launcher
Land Speeder w/Typhoon Missile Launcher
6 Long Fangs w/5 Missile Launchers
5 Wolf Guardw/Terminator Armor, Cyclone, 4 Powerfists, 4 Combi-Meltas

So, I rolled a "3", and Russell rolled a "2". Talk about bad luck for the wolves. I deployed everything except the conscripts on my side. Russell deployed everything. The rhinos were in a 4-square, the speeders hiding behind a ruin, and the long fangs were deployed in a crater. The wolf guard, of course, split up to join each squad. I executed a textbook Alpha Strike. (I was later asked what textbook I read, by some smartass. I may now be required to write a textbook on Alpha Striking so that I can use it as a reference) I rolled well and destroyed the speeders, all four Rhinos, one long fang plus the pack leader, and a couple of Grey Hunters. The game really ended here for Russell, I just spent the next 5 turns killing everything except the two Grey Hunters left at the end.

Between Russel and Patrick, I only gave up 130 Victory points, I wish there had been a prize for fewest VP given up, but there wasn't.

So, I end the tournament at 4-0-1. While not good enough for best overall, I did receive:

Next up, Part 2.

-mike