Caledonian Uprising - A Lurker's Report

Team Claws and Fists visited Caledonian Uprising on Saturday/Sunday, and I think I speak for everyone when I say it was a great tournament. It was really well organised, and a fun event throughout. In addition to that, our Michael dispensed some classic advise on the true nature of love. Unbelievable and unrepeatable!

So, the event totalled 6 games, 3 per day. On the first day I played a Space Wolves army first (I think - the first day is a blur!) which I lost to. My second game was against a great player called Simon, who was playing Orks for only the fourth time ever after previously running Tau - quite a change! Our game was very eventful, and hilarious throughout, with Simon's Trukks and Battlewagons getting bogged down in terrain on the second turn, and a vicious maelstrom of close-quarter fighting resulting for the rest of the game. It was hands-down the best game of the two days for me, very enjoyable and memorable for all the right reasons.

Day two say me facing Orks, Space Wolves (again) and Flesh Tearers, in that order. The last game in particular was memorable as it was against a previous tournament opponent called Rob, who is another great guy who takes the game in just the right spirit. In that game Rob's Marines crushed my Chaos Marines in a war of long-ranged attrition and some close-quarters action between his Assault squads and my Berserkers.

My final result was three draws, three losses and a tournament tally of between 35-40 points over the two days which left me 76th out of 80. I was happy not to be last in only my second tournament. I also learnt a few things over the weekend (not just Michaels's lessons on recognising true love). Most importantly, I got over my newbie fear of being wiped off the table, which has happened many, many times in my first year back in the game after my 12-year exile. This demoralising string of results forced me into a very defensive frame of mind which resulted in my now-infamous 'HIDE' tactics. Well, after much encouragement from my fellow Claws, I have ditched the tactic and replaced it with 'BLENDER OF DEATH' which is characterised by Berserkers, Raptors and Terminators pushing up middle-and-centre early doors and engaging anything squashy, whilst my gun-line of Predator, Land Raider, Defiler and Obliterators shoot the opponent's mech. It's a work-in-progress but so far so fun!

Graham.