Nova Invitational Round 1

So after getting all of 3 hours of sleep due to a combination of excitement ad restlessess it was time to roll dice. I went down stairs with my friends George and Andrew whom I shared a room with. We walked over to a near by starbucks and I kind of forced myself to eat. As a 17 year old on summer break I couldn't fathom being up at 6am, let alone eatig a full breakfast. But, I knew it was for the best so, I forced half a sandwich and a hot chocolate down my throat and called it a morning.

When I got back to the hotel I found that I was playing Marc Parker on table 7. I played on table 7 for my whiskey challeng for what it's worth. Marc is an awesome dude, and is really laid back. He is the leader of the 40k wrecking crew and has won more GT's tha anyone I know. Nothing about this game was going to be easy.

The mission was the same one we played for my whiskey challenge, hence why we practiced it. Pitched battle, Objectives, Kill Points, Quarters.

My list was,

HQ
Coteaz 100

Elites
5 Purifiers- 2 psy cannons, demon hammer 145
Rhino- dozer blades 45
5 Purifiers- 2 psy cannons, demon hammer 145
Rhino 40
5 Purifiers- 2 psy cannons, demon hammer 145
Rhino 40

Troops
5 Strikes- psy cannon, demon hammer 120
razorback- psy bolts, dozer blades 55
5 Strikes- psy cannon, demon hammer 120
razorback- psy bolts 50
5 Strikes- psy cannon, demon hammer 120
razorback- psy bolts 50
5 Strikes- psy cannon, demon hammer 120
razorback- psy bolts 50

Heavy
Dreadnaught- 2 Twin linked auto cannnon, psy bolts 135
Dreadnaught- 2 Twin linked auto cannnon, psy bolts 135
Dreadnaught- 2 Twin linked auto cannnon, psy bolts 135

1750

And his,

HQ
Cannoness- evicerater, closk, litanies, other stuff
Cannoness- evicerater, cloak, litabies, other stuff

Troops
20 sisters- 2 melta guns, evicerater, book, priest with evicerater
20 sisters- 2 melta guns, evicerater, book, priest with evicerater
Infantry Platoon- 5 infantry squads, PCS, 2 heavy weapons squads
Infantry 1- naked
Infantry 2- naked
Infantry 3- naked
Infantry 4- Auto Cannon
Infantry 5- Auto Cannon
PCS- Auto Cannon
Heavy Wep Team- 3 Auto Cannons
Heavy Wep Team- 3 Auto Cannons

Heavy
Exorcist
Exorcist
Exorcist

I've tanled with this army once before when a different member of the wrecking crew was using is, Shane (Deadshane on dakka) and I manaed to beat him down pretty hard with tyranids. Let's see if I can do it again.

I won the roll for first and took it. I deployed all nice and castled in the center. He deplyed with his exorcists mostly hidden out of LOS, with 30 guardsmen (naked ones) blobbed up as a screen in front of his army. Then the 20 remaing dudes with auto cannons camped out on the objective in his corner by the exorcists, and the PCS camped out on the other objective in his corner out of LOS. The 2 units of 20 sisters each started with a cannoness and deployed front and center behind the blob.

On turn 1 I moved up to about half way of the field with the pruifiers, with everything else trailing behind except for a razorback or 2. 1 dread shifted over and saw teh corner of an exorcist so I went for it, knocking off its weapon! The my heavy bolters and remaining dreads shread his AC teams.

He just moved up 6 inches on his turn keeping his formation intact. Exorcists both shot at dreads and exploded 2 of them.

this turn wasn't too eventful other than one close combat. I think I should have gotten out with all my strike squads and started putting bolter wounds into his sisters, but instead I just killed 3 or 4 with all my heavy bolter as I moved up 6". My last dread knocked off the weapon from another exorcist. 2 Purifier squads got out, and did I nice dose of double cleansing flame on his blog squad and killed them in 1 round.

Marcs return was pretty much as expected, he charged his sister squads into my purifiers and killed them gaining ground in mid field. His last exorcist did something cool. In combat with one squad I did something a little sneaky. I casted cleansing flame. Then attacked a sword into his cannoness. Since he was afraid of the force weapon he popped litanies, and made his 2++. I couldn't force weapon anyway so I just bluffed him right out.

I got all my strike squads and remaining purifier out. 2 strike squads went backwards to hold my backfield objectives. Everything else moved up and shot the piss out of his sisters. I got both units below 10. I charged 1 squad with 2 strike squads, and the other got charged by a purifier squad. The strike squad heled their own since Marc already popped litanies. After combat they go down to 3 or 4 girls but the eviceraters are really killing me. In the other combat I tried to clansing flame but failed, hen he kicked my ass and got free movement. Not my smartest play ever.

His free sister squad moved up to within an inch of my razorback, coteaz and his crew are right behind. He put the cannoness on one side of my razor, and the priest and sergant on the other. He opted not to shoot and just charged. He rolled a 3 with difficult terrain thanks to scatuary so his cannoness could oly get base to base with a psy cannon, and no one on the other side of my razor could get in base. I piled in and moved coteaz first into a random girl away from his eviceraters, I also moved 2 swords the ame direction (towards the cannoness) into 2 other girls. Now I have a hammer and a sword to move. Instead of having to get into base with the sisters on the other side of my tank (only place I could still make base), I moved to within 2" of the sword guys. This was all made possible because you have to keep coherency suring a charge reaction, if I moved to engage the remaining unengaged models I could not keep coherency. So much to Marc's dismay only 1 evicerater got to swing into my squad, the rest had to go into the razor. On another note he popped his book to stay alive.

The rest of this game was just clean up. I shot my whole army into his ramiaing backfield guardsmen and got his infantry platoon and PCS to run off the board. my dread blew up his exorcist. In combat I charged a strike squad into coteaz's combat to save them and ended up wiping out Marc's squad. In the other assualt I got lucky and killed his cannoness despite her 2++.

It was a great game, and just goes to show how 1 positioning mistake in a key assualt can be the difference in the game. I'd be more than happy to play Marc again and I'm deffinitely looking forward to a rematch.

I take the game, 4 objectives to 0 3 quarters to 1 (his weaponless exorcists hold one) 1840 VP's or something.