My Tau Go Pew Pew: Marmalade Dog 18

Marmalade Dog, 2013

I've been slacking on my blog posts for a few weeks, so hopefully I can knock out write ups on the last 3 tournaments I went to starting with this one.

Marmalade Dog is an annual game convention in Kalamazoo, MI held at Western Michigan University, this year being their 18th event. It's relatively small as far as cons go by my estimation, but it still featured some vendor booths, including one from Big Kidz Games who brought their Battletech pods and a bunch of gaming, mostly pathfinders, blood bowl, MTG, and the reason I was there, a 1850 pt 40K tournament.

The T.O. did a credible job and ran a decent tournament. Terrain was done by the book, with a box of terrain set aside for each table, and we used mysterious terrain and objectives which all worked out fine (except for game 2). Based on Game 2, I think it is unfortunately ill advised to do terrain placement strictly btb in a competitive environment and TO's should follow the revised method of doing it by the book, but only allowing players to place terrain pieces on their table halves. This is unfortunate, as I think it removes some of the strategy of terrain placement, but until GW gets their collective head out of their collective arse and actually provide flyers and/or skyfire weapons to every codex, allowing a player to negate the ONLY anti-air weapon some armies have access too by placing a free piece of terrain in front of it, is anything but competitive and or fun.

Now I enjoy tournaments, mostly because I enjoy 40K and like to meet and play new opponents. I'm not a particularly competitive player, which explains why I continue to bring the Tau to said tournaments. I've heard tell that the Tau have ended up at the top tables at some GT's as of late, but I have never had much luck with them in a tournament setting.. Marmalade Dog was no exception.

Tau - 1850 - Eldar allies

My list for the day was as follows:

1850 Pts - Tau Empire Roster
Total Roster Cost: 1848

(HQ)
1 Commander Shas'el, Fusion Blaster, HWMT, Iridium Armour, TL-Flamer
1 Shield Drone

1 Eldrad Ulthran

(Troops)
8 Fire Warrior

10 Kroot

5 Pathfinders (Rangers)

(Fast)
7 Vespid Stingwing,
1 Strain Leader

7 Vespid Stingwing,
1 Strain Leader

4 Warp Spiders
1 Warp Spider Exarch

(Heavy)1 Hammerhead Gunship + Ion Cannon, Two Burst Cannons, Disruption Pod, Multi-Tracker, Blacksun Filter

1 Hammerhead Gunship + Ion Cannon, Two Burst Cannons, Disruption Pod, Multi-Tracker, Blacksun Filter

1 Broadside Shas'vre + HWBF, HWMT, HWTL, TL-Plasma Rifle, TA, Team Leader, Shas'vre
1 Broadside Battlesuit + TL-Plasma Rifle, Multi-Tracker
1 Broadside Battlesuit, Target Lock 5
1 Shield Drone

4 Dark Reapers
1 Dark Reaper Exarch, Crack Shot

(Fortification)
Aegis Defence Lines
1 Aegis Defence Lines
1 Icarus Lascannon

Game 1: I drew a tyranid player as my first opponent. Turns out she was playing her husbands Tyranids army who may or may not have been the T.O, I couldn't quite tell... Anyway, since I have 3 tournaments worth of reports to write, I'm giong to skip my usual attempt to summarize my opponents lists, and just provide some pictures and a summation where possible.

The mission was objectives the placement of which were pre-determined. I deployed first:

She deployed second and then seized the init if I recall correctly. It wasn't until turn 2 when I went to roll for reserves that I realized I had forgot to deploy my Pathfinders whom I had declared as infiltrating.. The nids moved forward with the Tervigons spawning small units of termigaunts.

I stupidly failed to focus fire on one Tervigon and ended up putting wounds on both of them turn one.

After that she continued to advance and I wizened up and focused fire better, killing first one tervigon gaining first blood, then the other, then her warlord, and finally the Zoenthropes.

The Mawlock came in from reserves and ate 7 vespid, and a shield drone, and she shot up my dark reapers and immobilized one Ion-head. I then focused on the Mawlock killing it on my turn before it could get in an assault or burrow away.

My kroot came in away from all the action but near an objective which they would hold and do nothing else all game.

Things started to look a bit dim for me here, with her controlling 2 objectives, and me only having 2 troops and the fire-warriors not being very durable.

As if to prove my point, the firewarriors were ~~all but~~ wiped out by termagaunts even with the cover from the wall they were behind.

The broadsides finally took down the warlord, while the remaining Vespid leapt into action to fend off the bug-ish advance. (I had planned to shoot and assault the warlord in a desperate move to keep it back from my line, but they were unneeded in that task)

My warpspiders, who had come in earlier and helped dispatch some backfield gaunts and a tervigon, moved up and helped take out a Zoenthrope. Subsequantly they fell victim to a psychic attack and went and hid behind the wall there.

At this point my camera died and I was left with my phone. The large group of Vespid jumped forward and shot at the large gaunt squad in the open. The Strain Leader from the other team who was the only member still alive, jumped towards the center and shot at and assaulted the gaunts on that objective. Combined fire elsewhere finished off the Zoenthropes, and I killed all but 2 of the gaunts on the left. With all they synapse creatures dead, the gaunts failed moral and fell back. The single strain leader won his assault, but failed the sweeping advance and they fell back.

After the bottom of turn 3, my opponent conceded the game. With no synapse creatures her few remaining gaunts continued to fall back and she could not claim any objectives. I already had first blood, and slay the warlord. My kroot were on an objective and spread out to grant linebreaker along with the remaining Warp Spiders. A minor victory for me.

Game 2:

No, I didn't place the hill or ruin in front of my line.

I drew the GK player. He tried to argue that the round bump outs on my defense line "didn't count" so he could deploy the hill in the photo to the right directly between the center objective and my icarus gun.. It needed to be 3" from the line, and 6" from the objective.. It was only 2.5 from my line and he only begrudgingly moved it to the side after I wouldn't let him cheat with his false argument about my line. He then place the building there to further block my gun from being able to shoot. He also brought 3 dreadknights with personal teleporters and flamers, and 2 Storm Ravens, and Coteaz and a Grand Master.. He won both the tournament, and the "Worst opponent I've ever played" award.. Good job mister GK player! You brought a totally OP list, and still had to be a dick with terrain placement vs my Tau, as if I ever stood a chance against your army.. Hope you had fun, I surely didn't.

Game 3:

I drew the Necron Player

He was a fun opponent with a nice looking army (other than the flyers being unfinished). I got first blood having gone first and having exploded his ghost ark? The long ship.. After that things pretty much went down hill.. I shot at his warlord a bunch focusing fire on him and the few models that got no cover saves.. He look out sir'd a bunch of wounds.. I killed 8 necron a turn, 7 stood back up. His melee units rushed forth and engaged my units.. His flyers and deathmarks arrived and... The TO yelled "Dice down, TIME UP".. What? Did I say he ran a good event earlier? Take that down to an ok event.. I've never seen a TO refuse to let someone finish the round when they were in the end of the movement phase at the bottom of a turn.. Inexcusable.. My opponent held 1 objective to my none at that point and so he won. He would have won with more points had it continued.. But at least he won, he deserved it.

I'm out of time today, so enjoy these few remaining pics of game 3, and a couple shots of some other armies that were there.