Caledonian Review

Last weekend myself and John Holland (aka Mc Tic Tac of the Blood Claw blog) headed over to the North-West Gaming Centre in Stockport for three days of wargaming. The main event of the weekend was the two-day Caledonian Uprising tournament, and as a bonus, organiser Tim King also ran a 1000pt warm-up event on the Friday night named 'Caledonian Open.

Since detail is not really my thing, here is a summary of my weekend's games!

 

1850pts of Cheese!

CALEDONIAN OPEN

The 'Open' was intended as a fun warm-up event for those attendees who travelled on the Friday. 18 brave folks entered the competition, with a real varied array of lists. I was taking a slimmed-down version of my Serpent-Spam army, as follows:

HQ1 : Farseer (100) + singing spear (5)+ Eldar jetbike (15) = [120]

ELITES 1 : 5 Fire Dragons = [110] + TRANSPORT 1

TROOPS 1 : 5 Dire Avengers = [65] + TRANSPORT 2
TROOPS 2 : 5 Dire Avengers = [65] + TRANSPORT 3
TROOPS 3 : 3 Windrider Guardians = [51]

HEAVY SUPPORT 1 : War Walkers (60) + bright lance (5) + scatter laser (5) = [70]

HEAVY SUPPORT 2 : War Walkers (60) + bright lance (5) + scatter laser (5) = [70]

TRANSPORT 1 : Wave Serpent (115) + Holo-fields (15) + twin-linked bright lance (5)  = [135]

TRANSPORT 2 : Wave Serpent (115) + Holo-fields (15) + twin-linked scatter laser (5)  = [135]
TRANSPORT 3 : Wave Serpent (115) + Holo-fields (15) + twin-linked scatter laser (5)  = [135]

GAME 1

 

My first game was against a top bloke called Tim who was using a 5th-edition style drop-pod Blood Angels list. I set up my forces on the board, and awaited the oncoming storm! All of Tim's forces were 'podding in, and so over the first couple of turns, all his units (Dreadnoughts & Assault Marines) were in my face and causing problems. However, the game was for 5 objectives, and so I played it smart; I reserved my Dire Avengers and Jetbikes, and tried to keep 'em safe until turn 5 when I ran/jumped them forward to claim objectives. In the end, we both held an objective and so the game ended in a draw.

 

Game 1 result - draw

 

GAME 2

 

My second game was against Jason and his all-Khorne Daemon combat army. His forces included a Skull Cannon, a Bloodthirster, two units of Bloodletters and (I think) a Soulgrinder. As would be the case in all my weekend's games, I was going second. Jason pushed forward with his forces, but failed to do much damage to my serpent-shielded vehicles. In my first turn I retaliated, and I was lucky to take out all of Jason's big threats - the Soulgrinder, the Bloodthirster and the gun on the Skull Cannon. With those gone, it was just a matter of time; I simply sat back and shot for the next couple of turns, taking out Jason's remaining units. It was a good win but a bit of a disappointing game for Jason as my lucky first turn of shooting pretty much ruined it as a competitive game.  

Game 2 result - win

GAME 3

 

My third game was against Rob Graham, and another drop-pod Blood Angels army. I must admit that the game is a bit of a blur to me, mostly as the round started at 9.30pm and by that time I was knackered from driving and the fast pace of the three games. All I know is that I managed a draw!

 

Game 3 result - draw

Having managed a win and two draws, I was therefore astounded to find out that I had finished third overall in the Friday night Open event! It is easily my best-ever result in a (semi) competitive environment and it gave me great hope for the main event to follow - the Caledonian Uprising...