Battle for New Panama - W40K

After a battle, I usually go into my fantasy world and write a fictional story. However, this past Sunday's battle with Mike Willner deserves a real life report. It was a battle fought tooth and nail, without a clear winner, every turn fought. We had agreed on a 1850 point game between Imperial Guard and Orks; needless to say, lots of figures were on the table. We had kind of a late start since we brought our kids over and they needed obvious parental attention. Mike had to exercise his vice-presidential obligations and attend a prospective new member until other members arrived to assist as well. I knew it would cost us later in the battle as far a the time frame Mike had and it did; such is war. We rolled the worst scenario possible for two armies with so many figures; annihilation. The winner had to have more kills points than the other. No tactics, just kill units. We ended up having to setup in a dawn of war deployment, with turn one having night fighting rules. I am always ready for that slight chance of night fighting and had searchlights on my battle tanks. So far so good. We could only setup 1 HQ unit and 2 troops choices in the beginning and Mike chooses to let me setup first when he won the dice roll. First mistake in my own humble opinion. He had to setup at least 18 away from my units and I placed them as far as I could to deny him any units in cover in turn one.
Turn one
My army and tanks come in, and illuminate two of his units. His troops take heavy fire but survive the turn, passing morale checks. Orks roll in and immediately target strong veteran unit in a terrain piece in the middle of the board. They take a lot of fire, but make it. I see he is going for a large building terrain on the corner of the table. I hold this building strongly though, so I know this is where the battle will be decided.
Turn two
Paratrooper time! Two trucks with Ork troops are attempting to flank the building I hold by charging up the middle. I intentionally left this area wide open and covered from far with a lascannon squad and a Hellhound flamer throwing tank. I successfully roll all my units and drop behind and to the side of two trucks. When I rolled for scatter, they could not do wrong. They were deployed exactly we I wanted and I fried his trucks. Sure, they die later as a result, but their mission was done, halt the assault and create targets for my long range bombardment. The disembarked Orks charge the valiant paratroopers and kill them to the man. The veteran unit in the middle dies. A unit of some kind of Mech Orks with a 2+ save relentlessly charge towards the building, backed by many Orks.
Turn three
I begin to concentrate on killing entire units. I wipe out a unit of choppers racing up the middle-right. Mike planetary bonus of making me re-roll my scatter dice begins to annoy me. I see a biker squad racing to my HQ unit and I dwindle it down a bit. The bike reaches my HQ squad, the Mech Orks reach the building ground level and all hell breaks loose. My HQ squad is almost wiped out, but my Commissar pulls out a last man standing power-fist swing and destroys the last bike. The Mech Orks chew up my ground level squad and take the elevator to the second floor. An Ork truck with troops and a power klaw rush my 2nd Hellhound and destroy its weapons. Damn!
Turn four
My tanks back up and blast the unit that killed my hellhound; two guys left. I wipe out a unit of Orks backing up the Mech Orks. I wipe out a squad of vehicles sneaking up the rubble in the middle. Some Orks units break and retreat of the table. At this point we Mike sees that its late in the day and we agree to end the battle at the end of the botton of turn 4. The Orks press the down button on the elevator instead and decimate a Sentinal, the commissar and the lieutenant squad. The kill points rack up.
Summary
The Imperial Guard win by one kill point. I realized that I used every tactic I could muster to pull this one off. Mike almost had me. The kids were a bit distracting and dice roll luck varied for both of us. I believe sacrificing my airborne troops and original deployment may have tip the battle. This battle is by far one of the most enjoyable I have had in a long time. Mike's son, Sam, was very pleasant to share the game with. His knowledge of the game and his great demeanour made those long hours on my feet endurable. My son left the club with with a greater passion to play his Space Marine army as soon as I paint them. First advice, "Son, avoid those Orks. You are not ready!"
Imperial Guard conquer New Panama!

Great Kid Game Day at the Club

Many Thanks to James for organizing a kids day at the club this Sunday.

The 'next generation' played a tank battle, a horse racing game, Conflict of
Heros, and even
lent a hand in the epic Imperial Guard vs Orks 40K game. James supplied agenda,
the hot
chocolate, plenty of encouragement, and lots of fun.

We should plan more kid-friendly events. And, let's not forget the strategic
benefit of
converting one of your kids into a gaming partner!

Painting Seminar: Saturday November 21 @ 12:30 PM

Igor, our resident professional artist, will present a hands-on painting class at the club on Saturday, November 21st starting at 12:30 PM.

He will show us how to paint quickly and effectively for table top gaming. Igor's method is well recognized as a great, quick way to paint an army that looks fantastic on the table.

You should bring any figures you'd like to paint, primed dark brown, brushes and paints. If you don't have any then you can paint the 1/72 scale Romans for Sam Willner's MAD army.

This event is no charge to full members, per-diem members pay the usual $10 and can stick around to game.

The Shield and the Sword - W40k

CPT. Saburo Sakai reviewed his data slate with the new orders directly from Major General Jeffrey J. Schloesser. The 501 Airborne was to divide its company between defensive and offensive operations; Sakai’s team got the defensive half, it was about time thought Saburo.
“Moving again?” asked 1stLt Pandovani, holding two smoldering mugs.
“We have our orders. We are to join a mechanized infantry combat team in defensive operations. The Orks are coming.”, as Saburo took the hot beverage from the LT.
“To Illsha?!”
“There is a method to their madness; this is a Forge world”
“The whole 501st, 1st and 3rd Corps is here in Illsha, it is madness and foolish!” said the LT as he sipped his own drink.
Saburo smiled, “No, half the division is here. The other half went with 3rd Corp to Panama.”

The Imperial Guard holds at Illsha and attack Panama.

Arkham Horror League: Masquerade Ball

The NY Metro Wargamers Club's intrepid investigators managed a difficult win against the insidious and numerous followers of dread Nyarathotep in the latest round of the Arkham Horror league.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/arkhamhorror.html

The scenario was "The Masquerade Ball"; several special rules made the Arkham city streets virtually uncontrollable, with maniacs, cultists and Mask monsters automatically causing Sanity loss, mistrust and fear making the acquisition of allies and trading deals difficult or impossible. The prospects for our heros looked grim in the first several turns, and the Mythos events conspired to create a perilous environment. One memorable moment was when Ashcan Pete sacrificed his faithful canine sidekick Duke to an evil forest of animated trees to save himself... for shame!

Finally the ancient one awoke and, thanks to a bit of intelligent preparation, was quickly blown to bits; in barely 4 rounds the team had defeated Nyarlathotep and won the game. However, in the process Ashcan Pete was devoured (hey, what goes around comes around!), and will need to be replaced in the next scenario. Due to Pete's loss, and the trophies and other goodies lost with him the team scored a pretty meager 12 points. No matter, next round we add in the Dunwich Horror expansion and face Tsathoggua.

This round the players were:

Joe Diamond (Bernard Rauch)
Gloria Goldberg (Gaylord Tang)
Vincent Lee (Rotating)
Ashcan Pete (Sean Mannion)
Harvey Walters (Mike Willner)

Please let Mike Willner know if you'd like to participate. The same team of investigators must play each round, but the players can change. So, we can always use extra players to be sure we cover the game. Contact willner90@msn.com.

WARHAMMER 40K CAMPAIGN KICKS OFF!

The first battle of the Warhammer 40,000 (40K) Campaign is kicking off today with a battle between the Tau (Charley Elsden aka Elsden the Ethereal) and the Orks (Mike Wilner aka Big Mik). It will eventually include players representing Space Marines, Dark Sisters, Imperial Guard, Orks, Tau, Necrons and who knows who else (Tyrannids? Eldar? Squats?). Its just a simple framework set up for battles by Gaylord Tang, to take place over Nov, Dec, and Jan. Thanks, Gaylord! Like science fiction miniatures? If you are interested in joining in, let us know. Beginners are welcome (and I'm one). Personally, I'm saving money by using my Star Wars Minis, but the others so far are using approved Games Workshop figures.

Know Your Enemy: The Tau

In the 40K Universe, The Tau are a young race from a fringe area cut off until recently by cosmic storms. Now in their "Third Phase Colonization," they are expanding and meeting the other races established in this Universe. The basic book about them is the Tau Empire Codex (Games Workshop; $15). They are very high tech, but don't usually like assault (hand to hand) combat. Two allies help them compensate for this weakness on the field; the ferocious cannibal Kroot and the flying insectoid Vespid, who may make up additional infantry units in a Tau battle force or Cadre. The Tau are humanoid, looking something like tall, wiry Asians. Their culture and tactics are somewhat based on the Mongols.

If you are interrested in learning about the historical Mongols, I recommend the recent film Mongol (Russian; subtitles). I highly recommend the book Gengis Khan and The Making of the The Modern World (2004; ISBN 0-609-80964-4). Based on a new translation of the Secret History written by the Mongol ruling families themselves during their age of conquest, and hidden until the 20th Century, it will change your mind about them. For example, Genghis Khan was not born on the steppes, but in the Siberian forest of the Forbidden Zone, and the Mongols were not 'barbarians,' but ran a very sophisticated, and in some ways modern, empire.

Here is my attempt to write in the Mongol/Tau style for our science fiction campaign:

"By the time the enemy begins to understand your battle tactics, he should begin to fear. For it will be too late for him to do anything about them!"
-- O'Shovah, Field Marshal Farsight

Commander Farsight, by the way, is one of the great heroes of the Tau, and now that I'm playing my fourth game as his people ("Tau Fourth Cadre"), I'm ready to introduce him on to the battlefield in his blood red battlesuit (ok; its a Mechwarrior Mech). "Farsight's training under the legendary Commander Puretide had taught him to use the terrain against the foe, and O'Shovah's tactical brilliance during the war earned him the famous title "Farsight." (Tau Empire Codex p.44).

The Tau Caste System is divided into four Clans:

Earth Clan: Laborers, artisans, scientists, engineers
Water Clan: Bureaucrats, administrators, politicians, and diplomats
Air Clan: Traditonally messengers and couriers, now 'Naval' spaceship pilots and crews.
Fire Clan (Shas): Warriors, now the Tau Military. Their ranks are Shas'la (Warrior or Private), Shas'ui (Sergeant or Team Leader), Shas'vre (Lieutenant or Veteran Battlesuit Pilot), Shas'el (Captain), and Shas'o (High Commander; from Colonel to General). Note that I translate the rank of the exalted hero noted above as Field Marshal--even higher).

Above the four regular clans stand the Ethereals (Aun), the ruling caste, whose ancestors united the warring tribes in their distant history, and serve as spiritual and political leaders of the highest order. Today, the beloved ruler is currently Aun Va, or un'o'TauAcaya'Va'Denta, (Master of the Undying Spirit). The Tau fight for the Greater Good of All. Their Water Clan diplomats will always invite their prospective enemies to join their Empire before fighting them, and on a basis of equality! Although idealistic in this general way, they do not see any honor in violent combat or warfare. Therefore they will attempt to use technological distance weapons to kill their enemies with the least possible loss to themselves (the historical Mongols were like that too--think horse archers, plus complex strategy and tactics).

You should learn about the Tau Empire, since some day you will be a part of it. As for their battle tactics; read the Codex. Or face me in a game, and I'll teach you about them first hand. MwaHaHa!