Gauntlet Tournament 2003 Aftermath

Results
At around 5:00pm all of us exhausted gamers were gathered together in the main hall for the results ceremony. There were two sets of prizes, one for the Fantasy players and one for the 40k players. I was surprised to learn that there were actual prizes for the winners; I had thought it was just bragging rights. It didn't matter to me anyway, because I had lost two games and only won one, so I had no chance of coming out on top.

I was utterly shocked, then, when I was announced as winner of best painted army! I had no idea that there were different categories. I had noticed a GW guy wandering around the tables during our games, but had thought nothing of it at the time (now I know that this was Paul Rudge, judging the models).

I went up onto the stage in a state of disbelief and came away with a certificate, a Chaos Marine Forgeworld bust and shiny medal. A copy of the certificate is reproduced below (I can't find a bigger pic I'm afraid).


On the coach journey back, we had the final results read out to us. My final placing was 9th out of 50, with my painting scores compensating for my two losses. I still picked up points for those losses, though, and my one win gave me a stack of points.

Gary finished a respectable 13th, winning two out of his three games - not bad for his first tournament. Poor old Ken finished rock bottom, with 3 losses out of 3 games. Oh well, there's always next year!

Most of the gamers from our store placed in the bottom half of the table and this was the source of much discussion on the coach. I reckon it is because we encountered some seriously competitive armies brought by the players in other stores. It just goes to show how the local culture and environment influences army composition. Fortunately, we have few real power gamers at our local store, so we rarely see really 'cheesy' armies - that's why it was such a shock to see them at the tournament. Although these hard armies would have taken a hit in their composition scores, meaning they were unlikely to win the tournament, they would still probably win the three games they played. All this was a good learning experience for me and I'll bear it in mind for my next tournament.

Looking at my army after the event I wonder what I was thinking? I had very little chance of even winning a game and that wasn't very clever. It's all well and good building a 'fluffy' army, rich in background material and backstory but it's going to get harder and harder to keep playing it if you are getting thrashed in every game you play. I don't see why you can't have a fluffy army that performs well in games. I want to be able to compete as well as have a cool looking army.

So going to the Gauntlet really gave me the bug. I want to come back and do better. Bring on 2004!

DAEMONHUNTERS versus Eldar - Biel-Tan

Game: Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition, Gauntlet Tournament game 3
Opponent: Ken
Mission: Pitched Battle
1st turn: Daemonhunters
Points: 1000
Location: Ellix, Strophious Reaches, Skolarii sector
Background: Kill-Team Severus clashes with Eldar from Biel-Tan craftworld upon the surface of Ellix. The Inquisitor strongly suspects that an Eldar webway portal entrance exists upon the planet. The presence of Eldar troops confirms his suspicions.

Eldar - Biel-Tan

• Farseer with guide
• 2x3 man Dark Reaper squads
• Wraithlord with star cannon
• 3 Vypers (2x star cannons, 1 bright lance)
• 10 Guardians with D-cannon
• 10 banshees with exarch in Wave Serpent with twin-linked star cannons

Terrain and Deployment
Aaarrrghh! Another game against a regular opponent.

This time it was against Ken, who also plays at our local Games Workshop store. In fact, we had just played a practice game for the tournament the previous week. Rather worryingly he had thrashed me. I knew he was a tough player and had a hard army, so I was mystified as to why he was on the bottom tables with me. Ken was despondent as he had been soundly beaten in his last two games and his mood didn’t lighten as the game unfolded.

This was played on a snow table, with very little terrain. There were a lot of woods on my left flank, a Watchtower in the dead centre of the table, and a small wood on the right. I set my army up to deliver a strong right hook with my assault elements, and kept a couple of Stormtrooper squads up in the centre and left to try and grab table quarters.

The Game
In the centre my Stormtrooper squad with two grenade launchers took down two Vypers, while my melta guns took out Ken's Wave Serpent (he hadn't spotted the melta guns in the squad and had zoomed up for a second turn assault).

On my right the two rhinos reached the Eldar deployment zone unhindered and the Stormtrooper squad with flamers roasted his guardian squad. The Farseer failed his tank shock roll just as he had done last in our practice game and once more he routed straight off the table. Meanwhile, the Daemonhosts appeared and laid into the Reapers along with the Inquisitor.

One Stormtrooper squad got caught by the banshees emerging from the wrecked Wave Serpent but they held out long enough for the Inquisitor to arrive and bludgeon them all to death with his Daemonhammer. Now the Wraithlord strode in and the Inquisitor chose to fall back only to be caught and killed by the behemoth (note to self – buy purity seals!).

It was of little consequence though, as only the Wraithlord and a single Vyper remained of the Eldar army while my Stormtroopers had captured three table quarters.

Finally, a win!

Result: Decisive victory - 25 points

Learning points

• The flamers were devastating in this game, as they had been in my test games. They wiped out an entire unit in just one shooting phase.
• The Eldar army is so frail that once they started getting killed they had less and less chance of getting back into the game.
• Tank shock worked a treat, killing the Farseer for a second game running. Superb!
  

DAEMONHUNTERS versus Imperial Guard

Game: Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition, Gauntlet Tournament game 2
Opponent: ?
Mission: Pitched Battle
1st turn: Imperial Guard
Points: 1000
Location: Makazar, Salazar Systems, Skolarii sector
Background: Inquisitor Severus uncovers heresy in the command chain of the Makazar 31st Imperial Guard regiment. Although he swiftly executes the leaders of the Chaos Cult, isolated pockets of resistance still need to be mopped up.

Imperial Guard

• Command section with Commissar
• Platoon of troops
• Armoured fist squad in Chimera
• Hellhound
• Basilisk
• Leman Russ

Terrain and Deployment
At last a new opponent - a guy from the Darlington store with a shooty Traitor Guard army rather incongruously dedicated to Khorne made using the regular Imperial Guard list.

I knew I would have to charge forward into the teeth of the enemy guns due to my short ranged weapons and lack of tank busting ability. I set up for an attack on the left flank with the rhinos while the Stormtroopers advanced on foot up the middle and right.

He had a Leman Russ and Hellhound in the middle, the Basilisk, Command section and an Infantry squad on my left, and the rest of his army to the right.

The Game
The Rhinos unexpectedly survived until turn three, despite having to advance in the open, and then everything went pear shaped.

The Leman Russ hit a Stormtroopers squad with its battle cannon and killed every model. The Hellhound toasted four men in another unit and the survivors fell back 11”. The Armoured Fist squad roared up my right flank, the Guardsmen dismounted and then actually beat a Stormtrooper squad in assault and routed them off the table.

My Daemonhosts arrived and one was instantly killed by a missile launcher shot while the other fell to a volley of lasgun shots.

Even one of my poor Death Cult assassins was instantly killed by the Multi-laser on the Chimera.

Finally my Inquisitor slaughtered the Guard Command section in combat, swept after the routing survivors and ended up taking a point blank hit from the basilisk. He and his entire retinue perished in the blast.

In one devastating turn my army was shattered.

Result: Decisive Loss - 5 points

Learning points

• I desperately need long range firepower to take on tanks and such.
• The Daemonhosts are terribly vulnerable to a) massed small arms fire, and b) shots of Strength 8 or higher which kill instantly. I may have to think more carefully about their deployment.
• Most of my army have Toughness 3 and can therefore be instantly killed by Strength 6 weaponry like multilasers and grenade launchers. Ouch.

DAEMONHUNTERS versus Dark Eldar

Game: Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition, Gauntlet Tournament game 1
Opponent: Gary
Mission: Pitched Battle
1st turn: Dark Eldar
Points: 1000
Location: Nomolos, Kandaeon Worlds, Skolarii sector
Background: After years of investigation, Kill-Team Severus track down the base of Eldar pirate raids to Nomolos and launch an attack on the alien leader.

Dark Eldar

• Dracon (agoniser and shadow field) with 5 Incubi in Raider
• 10 Wyches with Wych Weapons
• 2x10 Warriors with 2 dark lances
• 10 warriors with 2 splinter cannons
• Ravager
• Talos
• Warp beasts

Terrain and Deployment
This game was played on what looked like a Chaos table, maybe meant to represent the Chaos Wastes in Warhammer Fantasy Battle. It was a dark black/grey/brown table with a few patches of gnarled, leafless trees and two ruined wooden buildings. We quickly classified everything as woods, so that we would at least have something to deploy our armies in and around and behind.

I set up the Stormtrooper squads to hold the centre and my right, with the Inquisitor and retinue behind, ideally placed to counter attack the inevitable Dark Eldar assault. Gary hid his fragile army largely out of sight, screened by the woods and buildings.

Unfortunately for me, I had spoken at length to Gary on the journey to the tournament and told him exactly what the weakness of my army was, and how I would play against it.

He was obviously listening...

The Game
Gary is normally a very bold player, and when playing an assault army he generally races forward and engages the enemy as soon as possible. It usually works very well for him as it can unhinge his opponents and force them to react to his plan rather than implement their own.

In this game he refused the bait and stood off, hitting me with his superior long range weaponry. I was forced to zoom the Inquisitor and Stormtroopers in their rhinos over the board while trying to hold up his troops with the Daemonhosts.

One of the Daemonhosts fell to a blaster shot from the Wyches while the other deviated away from the enemy, rolling a succession of useless powers and subsequently playing little part in the rest of the game.

Squad Matoso in the rhino actually managed to make it across the board only to botch their shooting and get assaulted by the Wyches and a Warrior squad. Scratch one Stormtrooper squad.

Meanwhile Inquisitor Severus had his rhino shot out from under him, leaving the poor fella right out in the open. The Incubi needed no further invitation and pounded him and his retinue into the ground.

We only completed five turns of the game due to time restrictions but the result was never in doubt; a Dark Eldar victory.

Result: Marginal Loss - 10 points

Favourite moment: A death cult assassin receiving a charge from the warp beasts, killing the Wych and the beasts going out of control and attacking the Talos.

Learning points

• My battle plan depended upon the enemy coming to me and when he didn’t I was in deep trouble. My force needs to be far more rounded to be able to play in different ways.
• The Daemonhosts are fickle; I got unlucky in this game and they achieved nothing. They cannot be depended upon.
• Dark Eldar are surprisingly good in the shooting phase and can make a very good all-round army in 1000pts. Fast, shooty, tough, good close combat ability - they have something of everything.
  

Gauntlet Tournament 2003 Introduction II

Traveling
I had to get up at 4:30 so that I would be showered and ready for 5:00, when Gary was due to arrive. Our taxi was booked for 5:15 to take us down to the local Games Workshop store, where we would meet up with our fellow gamers.

The coach was due to leave at 6:00 so that it could zigzag it's way across the region and pick up more players from different locations. Everything went smoothly until we hit our first pick-up point.

Two people weren't there.

We waited 30 minutes until they showed up. Never mind, we thought, we'll make up time on the road.

We had a 3 hour journey ahead, which would get us to Warhammer World for 9:00 in plenty of time for our first game at 9:30.

During the journey we chatted about our armies, tactics and previous games. I talked at great length to Gary about my lack of range, and my counter-charge tactics. Gary worried how his Dark Eldar Raiders would survive long range weapon fire. We were both a bit nervous because neither of us had any experience of playing competitive games. What would I do if I came up against an argumentative rules lawyer? How would I handle a cheesy army? Would I get slaughtered in every game?

We hit Nottingham at 9:00 but discovered that we weren't supposed to go into the city, but to Lenton on the outskirts, where Warhammer World was situated. It turned out that the driver didn't know where that was and our GW staffer had never been there before. We were going to be late. After several circuits of Nottingham's one way system and numerous mobile telephone calls we eventually arrived at 10:00.

Warhammer World
All of us rushed through the registration process at breakneck speed and were given ID badges to wear. Inside the main hall the rest of the competitors had already arrived and were waiting to begin.

It was the first time I had visited the place and I have to say I was impressed. I immediately recognised some of the battlefields from a White Dwarf battle report (the gigantic ruined Cathedral) but I was unprepared for the sheer number of tables. There were dozens and dozens of them, all organised in 6 long rows. There were snow tables, desert tables, swampy tables, urban battlefields and simple green grass tables. Half of them were for the Fantasy tournament while the other half were for 40k players. There was one thing common to them all, though, and that was that there was very little terrain. Shooting armies definitely had the advantage here.

An A4 sheet was posted up with the first pairings and 50 gamers crowded around to see who their first opponent was. As it was a Swiss style tournament, the first game would be allocated randomly while the later games would be chosen on performance. Initially I misread the sheet and thought my opponent's ID number was the table number, so I ran over to the table and began to take my models out of their case. It was only when a Warhammer Fantasy player began to deploy his High Elves that I realised my mistake! He was unconvinced by my idea to play a game anyway (I fancied my chances with my hellguns versus his spears), so I had to quickly ram everything back in my case and locate my real opponent.

Of course, it was Gary.

I drive for 3 hours and 300 miles and I end up playing my regular gaming buddy.

Unbelievable!

Gauntlet Tournament 2003 Introduction

Every year, 40k gamers from all over North East England converge upon Warhammer World and fight it out in the Gauntlet tournament. In 2003 I took up the challenge and brought Kill-Team Severus, my Radical Daemonhunter army, to Nottingham.

Tournament Rules
The scoring for the Gauntlet tournament worked as follows. Points can be collected in three areas; gaming, painting and army selection.

Gaming
Three games are played in one day, with a maximum of 30 points available per game. The highest score possible from gaming is therefore 90 points.

Painting
There are 54 points up for grabs in the painting category. Although the exact method for calculating scores was never made public, I understand that marks were awarded for highlights, washes, drybrushes, basing, unit markings, conversions and originality.

Army Selection
Each army was judged before the tournament on the basis of the army list and background material. 36 points were possible.

The overall best points score available was therefore 180 points, although this would clearly be very difficult to achieve. My own personal target was to finish in the top half of the competition. Around fifty gamers would be present, so I wanted to finish 25th or higher.

Another little sub-plot was that my long-term gaming partner Gary was heading down too, so I wanted to place higher than him.

Missions
Each game used the same mission: Pitched Battle. Armies would be deployed along the long table edges, up to 18" in and can set up no closer than 24" from enemy units. Infiltrators set up last, at least 18" away from enemy models. Elites and Fast Attack choices could be kept in reserve. Nightfight would be played on the first turn on the roll of a 1, last turn on the roll of a 6. Victory points were earned as normal for destroying enemy units, but 200 extra points were up for grabs per table quarter. Finally, the game would last six turns.

Scoring
There were seven different outcomes for each game, depending on the final victory point tallies. It wasn't just about winning, it was about how much you won by.

• You massacred 'im (+1001 or more victory points) 30 points
• Decisive victory (+501 to +1000 victory points) 25 points
  
• Marginal victory (+201 to +500 victory points) 20 points
  
• Draw (-200 to +200 victory points) 15 points
  
• Marginal loss (-201 to -500 victory points) 10 points
  
• Decisive loss (-501 to -1000 victory points) 5 points
  
• Massacred (-1001 or less victory points) 0 points
  

The Army
I'd like to say that my planning for the Gauntlet tournament was extensive, lengthy and precise.

Unfortunately I can't.

My approach to building the army was haphazard and in order to reach 1000 points I had to include every model I had painted, effective or not. Even then I was short on models, especially in Troops selections. So, on the day before the tourney I bought 8 more Stormtroopers and frantically began painting them up. I finished them at 2:00 in the morning and crawled to bed, only to wake again at 4:30 to leave for Nottingham.

It was going to be a long day.

Army List
This was my final 1000 point list for the tournament. I didn't have a single weapon that could shoot over 24 inches. Yikes!

Kill-TeamSeverus

• Inquisitor Lord Severus Daemonhammer, Bolt pistol, Holocaust, Icon of the Just, 2xAcolytes, Power Armour, Bolt Pistols and Close Combat Weapons, Combat Servitor, 2xMystics, Rhino with Smoke Launchers
• 3 x Death Cult Assassins
• 2 x Daemonhosts
• Squad Matoso, 9 Stormtroopers, 2xFlamers, Veteran Sergeant with Bolt Pistol, Close Combat Weapon and Krak Grenades, Rhino, Smoke launchers and Extra Armour
• Squad Seralvo, 7 Stormtroopers, 2xGrenade Launchers
• Squad Vargas, 7 Stormtroopers, 2xPlasma Guns, Veteran Sergeant with Plasma pistol, Auspex and Krak Grenades
• Squad Godirtho, 6 Stormtroopers, 2xMeltaguns