Skulls - 1750 Tournament, 6 games (3/4 March) - I take 1st Overall! - Videos up

Thought i would start this now so i could add to it as i go...

Skulls is one of the biggest 40k events here in Western australia and this is the 10th anniversary. They average 30-40 players every year and the top players come out for it including interstate visitors this year.

I won have won the event a number of times over the years...

2002 - Biel Tann eldar (1st over all)
2003 - Dark Angels (1st over all)
2004 - Daemon Hunters - pure grey knights (1st over all)
2005 - Did not play - I was the TO! After i lost a bet... i said i would not possibly win 3 in a row given i was playing daemon hunters... who knew
2006 - Did not play - daughter was born!
2007 - Ulthwe Eldar (1st over all)
2008 - Ulthwe Eldar i think... not sure... (1st over all)
2009 - Did not play due to illness
2010 - Siam Hann Eldar (5th over all i think...)
2011 - Daemons of Chaos - Pure Khorne - i lost another bet (20th or there about over all)

So in the past 9 years i have 5 trophies for 1st over all! Not bad IMO

This year - its the dark kin

The event is comped so the list has to be tonned back slightly (ie no spamming if possible) but i think the list still works ok...

HQ – Duke Sliscus
HQ – Haemonculus, Shatter Shard
Elite – 7 Incubi, Klaivex upgrade, Raider, Dark Lance, Flicker Field, Shock Prow, Torment Grenade Launchers
Elite – 5 Kabalite Trueborn, 2 Dark Lances, Raider, Dark Lance, Flicker Field
Troops – 3 Wracks, Acothyst Upgrade, Hex Rifle, Venom, Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon Upgrade, Flicker Field
Troops – 5 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster, Venom, Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon Upgrade, Flicker Field
Troops – 5 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster, Venom, Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon Upgrade, Flicker Field
Troops – 5 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster, Venom, Splinter Cannon, Splinter Cannon Upgrade, Flicker Field
Troops – 9 Kabalite Warriors, Blaster, Sybarite Upgrade, Raider, Dark Lance, Flicker Field
Heavy Support – Void Raven Bomber, Flicker Field, 2 Void Lances, 1 Void Mine
Heavy Support – Ravager, Flicker Field, 3 Dark Lances
Heavy Support – Razorwing Jet Fighter, Splinter Cannon upgrade, 2 dark lances, Flicker Field, 4 Monoscythe Missiles

The duke joins the 9 strong kabalites while the haemy joins the Incubi.

It packs a real punch though its a little on the light side in terms of AT for my likeing...

The duke gives a bunch of tactical options thanks to the deep strike and the unit he joins can be quite dangerous thanks to the 3+ poison. I know i have no wych units to take advantge of the 2 drug rolls but meh... i have none painted

I will post the fluff in a sec!

And my army fluff...

Welcome to Commorragh Inquisitor, I trust the transition through the webway was not too disorientating. You are one of the few mon-keigh to visit the dark city voluntarily… that in itself speaks volumes of you. Please stay close to me and my troupe and keep your crude chameleon cloak wrapped tight lest my dark kin take a fancy to your pure soul. You may call me Massaen… and I will show you the horror that awaits you and your kind here in the dark city…

There! You can see the star docks clearly now but beware - should the corsairs see you I fear your life would be forfeit. Me? We followers of the laughing god benefit from a special status here in the dark city and so I have no fear of them. Follow me and keep quiet. I will give you the knowledge you seek…

Firstly we have already passed the outer perimeter of defences, your camouflage is better than I had thought. The faceless half born that patrol the borders would be severely punished was it known we had breached the defences. They are keen eyed and sharp eared - That cloak you wear is the only reason you made it past them in the first place. Even now they sense something is amiss and hunt us, I hope you covered your tracks...

In front of us are the common warriors of the Kabal. They carry the famed splinter weaponry of the dark kin, dripping in venom and excruciating to all. Lithe and swift, they take great delight in inflicting pain. You can see them preparing for the next raid, weapons loaded, blades sharp.

To the left of the warriors you can see the trueborn of the Kabal. These warriors are literally born and bred for this very event. Deadly and elite the trueborn provide long range support to their half born kin… The regeneration of the trueborn bloodlines is difficult and costly – better to keep them out of harm’s way, just the way they like it.

On the right of the warriors you can see the twisted wretches know to your kind as Wracks. The bestial, deformed creatures are the product of the dark arts practiced by the haemonculus covens. Almost immune to pain, these creatures are their master’s hands both on and off the battlefield. You can see them even now preparing their masters dark weapons for war – best not to get to close now or ever…

Hold where you are! Did you hear that? That sound came from the hangars of the corsair flag ship. The swift winged Razorwing and Voidraven fighters and bombers are housed there. Jagged shapes that fly faster and with more agility than any Mon-keigh could hope to match; the terror they inspire in ground troops at their passing is one of their primary weapons. The missiles and bombs do wonders for their reputation though…

Ahead of us you can see the docking grounds for the Kabals various land assault craft. The smaller of the vessels is known as the Venom. It carries a small force of troops swiftly into the thick of the fight and supports them against infantry formations with the deadly splinter cannon. The larger one, more shaped like a spear is known as the Raider. Sleek and deadly it carries more warriors and supports them with deadly dark matter weaponry. The last variant you can see is known as the Ravager. Removing the internal space in favour of extended power generators and containment fields, the Ravager acts as a gunship, supporting the infantry advance and eliminating armoured support. Its extra dark light weapons mean its rate of fire is never compromised and such is the skill of its gunners and crew it can attack while moving at high speeds.

And now we come to the senior members of the Kabal. Directing his wracks like a twisted overseer of twisted flesh puppets is the Haemonculus known as Gerlach. This mad scientist oversees the rebirth of fallen members of the Kabal as well as supplying his own forces and skills on the battlefield. His favoured weapon is a simple mirror, which he uses to trap an opponent’s soul for later torture.

And lastly, protected by the infamous Incubi Sect, the Dread Prince Sarris – the Soul Hunter. You can see them there standing atop the open bridge of the flag ship. The Incubi exist as bodyguards and shock troopers who have no match in the art of war. Deadly and graceful, the warrior elite live to kill. It is rumoured that the score of Incubi are all related to the Dread prince in some way and certainly the resemblance between the warriors is uncanny. Others whisper of them being grown for the Dread Prince by Gerlach. Anyone with any sense keeps their opinion on that matter to themselves.

The Soul Hunter Sarris leads the Kabal of shattered thorns in is real space raiders. Striking like a scorpion, from unexpected places and with shocking and deadly force, the soul hunter is one of the most ambitious and dangerous opponents any warrior could face, both on and off the field of war. Why is he called the soul hunter? A good question. It is said he made a deal with a senior member of the dark city for his life an aeon ago and still searches for the promised payment. Whose soul does he hunt for? Well, let’s just say those who ask that are not with us anymore…

Wait. What's that? Ahhh we may have a problem. The faceless have caught our scent. Escape? Yes you are right, I must take flight. If I were to be caught it would hurt the reputation and the long term survival of my kind. You? What about you? I have done as promised and shown you the dark city – something most mortals have the sense to leave alone. No Inquisitor, our paths part ways here. My foresight showed me your end – why else would I have agreed to bring you here, your sacrifice will save countless Eldar lives now and in the future. You should be honoured… and so I bid you farewell…
Good luck...You will need it...

haha lol, sounds cool and nice job on the trophies

Well the army is finished!



More pics in my project log and plenty more come this weekend and the tourney!

nice a bad list. But a question I would propose is why a sybarite in the dukes unit??? Normally he will be there, so the leadership pip isnt really needed unless duke leaves quickly. On top of that wouldnt the 10 points be used better for a splinter cannon that wounds on 3s???

I think the list is not overall bad - its just less optimised!

I added the sybarite for a couple or reasons... firstly i find i tend to run the duke off on his own alot. Second, in the past, this event has included scenarios that require squad leaders or similar.

Lastly - i can not add a cannon to the unit as i could not get the 10th model!

Now I have had 12 hours sleep I thought I would post up the results and battle reports from Skulls 2012.
1750 points, 6 games, 2 days.
Scoring system of – Generalship (50%), Composition/army selection (15%), Painting (15%), sportsmanship (20%).

The scenarios!

Game 1 – Pitched Battle, Seize Ground (4 objectives). Secondary – Suicide Squad – select a friendly unit. Score 1 bonus point if this unit is destroyed at the end of the game.
Game 2 – Spearhead, Capture and Control (2 objectives). Secondary – Leave no survivors – Scopre 1 bonus point if you claim more kill points.
Game 3 – Dawn of War, Annihilation (Victory Points). Secondary – Recon – Score 1 bonus point if you have at least 1 scoring unit within 12”of the opponents table edge.
Game 4 – Dawn of War, Seize Ground (5 Objectives). Secondary – Seize at all costs – Select a friendly unit. This unit becomes scoring and will always score regardless of contesting. Score 1 bonus point is you destroy the enemies bonus scoring unit.
Game 5 – Thunderhawk down! – Spearhead, Capture and control (2 plus 1 objective). Secondary – Assassins – Select an enemy HQ. Gain 1 bonus point is this HQ is destroyed at the end of the game. Thunderhawk – This objective is not placed at the start of the game. Roll for reserves at the start of each game turn for the thunderhawk using the normal rules. On the turn it deploys roll a d6. On a 1-3 it arrives on the left hand short board edge. On a 4-6 it arrives on the right. It moves 10d6 onto the table before crashing. Units within 6” of the newly placed objective take 1d6 wounds (armour save allowed) while vehicles take a glancing hit. Once deployed, the thunderhawk is the 3rd objective.
Game 6 – Pitched Battle, Annihilation (kill points) –Capture the flag – deploy a capture and control objective each. Score 1 bonus point if you capture or contest your opponents objective at the end of the game.

So a good mix for my list though the 6th game would suck depending on the enemy!

Game 1 – Eldar
Game one was seeded by your composition score. I landed on table 13 of 20 meaning I got a very good score. I was the best scoring of the 4 dark eldar players in that regard.

The opponent I drew was using Eldar. She had the following list…
Eldrad
Avatar
10 Scorpions, exarch, biting blade, wave serpent, shuriken cannon, TL shuriken cannon, stones, vectored engines
10 Dragons, exarch, crackshot, flamer, wave serpent, shuriken catapults, TL shuriken cannon, stones, vectored engines
5 Dire Avengers
5 Dire Avengers
10 Guardians, EML
10 Guardians, EML
Wraithlord, bright lance, wraithsword
3 War walkers, 6 shuriken cannons
Falcon, EML, stones, vectored engines, holofields

Definitely not the hardest of eldar lists but still enough guns to worry my skimmers. I won the roll off and chose to go first. I selected my wracks for suicide duties while my opponent selected a unit of avengers. The game went well for me with the incubi destroying the fire dragons and the scorpions while a couple of nice deep strikes meant I got both wave serpents in 1 turn. I did lose duke and hit unit when the avatar and wraithlord blew up their ride and charged. I could not get the 3 wracks killed despite my best efforts while my opponent kept passing 4+ saves vs splinter fire for the last avenger (and the last scoring model on the table! I had some bad scatters with dep strike but nothing to nasty in the end. I completely forgot about the haemconculus in the raider and thus lost my shattershard chance to end eldrad. I also remember why holofalcons are so tough! It just would not go down despite my numerous hits. The incubi also proved what they do best, claiming the fire dragons and striking scorpions.

In the end, I claimed 2 objectives vs 1. Dark eldar win! Bonus objective – failed.

Game 2 – Space Marines
Again, seeded by composition so my opponent had a similar score comp wise and won his first game. He had a codex marine force…

Captain on Bike with relic blade
Chaplain on bike
5 Bikes, 1 power weapon, 1 melta gun, 1 plasma gun, attackbike with multi melta
10 Tactical Marines, plasma gun, las cannon
10 Tactical Marines, plasma gun, las cannon
10 Tactical Marines, flamer, missile launcher, power fist, rhino, dozer blade
10 Tactical Marines, flamer, missile launcher, power fist, rhino, dozer blade
10 Sternguard, power fist, 2 melta guns, drop pod

Again an unorthodox list and thanks to the heavy infantry component I felt pretty good. I decided that a mixed deployment was in order and thanks to some good rolls, kept the pressure on all game. The first shot from a blaster (who scattered quiet close to the enemy rhino) cost me the unit as the rhino went up with a 6” blast, and I took 5 wounds then failed 5 saves! That was the only glitch in what was an otherwise lethal display of fire power with both rhinos and the pod going up quickly and pinning the 2 embarked units to boot. The shattershard took out the captain on bike (win!) and the duke dispatched around 15 marines in combat. The incubi were again brilliant, charging cover and wiping a combat squad of sternguard, taking the vengeance rounds of the other combat squad, wiping them out again charging cover and then confronting normal marines again. Stars 2 games in a row. I tabled the list at the end of turn 6.

Win with bonus point!

Game 3 – Space wolves
Now being seeded based on wins put me against a hard as nails space wolf list – I may not be 100% accurate here…

Rune Priest, JotWW, 5++ save power
3x5 long fangs, 4 missiles, razorback with las/plas
2x Dreads with 2x TL auto cannons
3x 5 Grey hunters, MotW, Wolf banner, melta gun, power weapon, Rhino
1x 5 Grey hunters, MotW, Wolf banner, melta gun, power weapon
2 Land speeders, heavy flamer, multi melta
May have been a couple of wolfguard as well… not sure!

This was going to be bad… very bad… luckily with it being VP and not KP I stood a chance. I refuse flanked with deep strike and reserves limiting his targets for the many, many weapons he had. I almost removed 2 LF packs from the start and the duke was needed to clear the 1-2 survivors later in the game. I saved a silly amount of flickerfields with the running success of 11 in a row being a record for the weekend! It was balanced by my appalling terrain tests and lances that were shooting spit balls. The game ended turn 5 with me ahead 130 VP and 175 needed to count as a win. The shattershard claimed all the good models in a grey hunter pack and the haemy survived despite being charged by the rune priest! The incubi failed a charge into cover needing 4” and rolling 3”… then being wiped out to mass missile and plasma.

Draw with bonus point

Game 4 – Space wolves.
Seeded again on generalship put me against the number one – Another nasty wolves list…

Rune priest, JotWW, murderous hurricane – joins 1 pod
2x6 long fangs, 5 missiles, drop pod
1x8 grey hunters, MotW, banner, melta gun, wolfguard with terminator armour, assault cannon & power fist, drop pod
1x8 grey hunters, MotW, banner, melta gun, wolfguard with combi melta & power fist, drop pod
1x8 grey hunters, MotW, banner, melta gun, arjac, drop pod
2x9 grey hunters, MotW, banner, melta gun, wolfguard with combi melta & power fist, drop pod
2x9 grey hunters, MotW, banner, melta gun, wolfguard with combi melta & power fist, rhino
Again I might be slightly mistaken but you get the idea

I got second turn and all bar arjacs pod were on the table prior to my armies arrival. With my incubi scoring (thanks to the mission) I threw them at the centre objective and again charged cover against a full grey hunter pack with termi WG. At the end of the game the klaivex held the objective uncontested! The shattershard continued to claim victims – taking a wolf guard, melta gun, banner and MotW. The haemy survived and contested at the end of the game to boot! I was able to control the game quite well thanks to the pod deplyments and apply fire power conclusively. Ended the game with 2 objectives in my hands and the others contested or unclaimed.

Win with Bonus point

Game 5 – Blood Angels (Sanguinary Guard)
On paper I had this game in the bag – small number of elite combat units that dislike dark lances… my opponent however played very well and pressed me hard.

Dante
Mephiston
2x Priests with JP & PW
3x5 Sanguinary guard, 1 infernus pistol
1x5 Sanguinary Guard, 2 infernus pistol, 1 banner
Storm raven w extra armour, TL Las, TL MM

Small and elite – just the way the dark eldar like it. I knew I would win should I catch him in the open and he played very well, hugging terrain and still advancing on my objective. I poured fire into the 2+, 4+FNP units and whittled them away and then suddenly only Dante’s unit, the storm raven and mephiston were still on the table. Through clever placement I could not stop dante and he claimed my objective at the bottom of turn 5. Mephiston contested the downed thunderhawk after taking out the duke (he did take 4 wounds though) while the raven contested his objective. Thankfully the game went to turn 6. I poured splinter fire into mephiston and just managed the last wound while the SR finally succumbed to the 20 somethingth lance. The game did go to turn 7 but my opponent conceded knowing that should he leave the cover with dante, my 10+ lances would table him.

Win but no bonus point

Game 6 – Grey Knights
The mission I was dreading… kill points… and I drew against a draigowing… sigh

Draigo
Karamazov
Techmarine with all grenades
10 Paladins, 4 psycannons and multiple weapon options for wound allocation
10 strike knights, 2 psycannons, swords
10 interceptors, 2 psycannons, hammer, swords

6KP vs 19Kp…. I had to table him and he knew it. It was at deployment I lost this game. I chose to reserve when I should have deployed and accepted a couple of losses (he had first turn). As it was, I got 80% of my units turn 2 but did not get the ravage till turn 3 and one of the venoms turn 4. The incubi slaughtered the strike knights and between the razorwing and the duke I took out the interceptors. I threw the haemy in to drop the shattershard and managed to get Karamazov and 3 paladins under the template including 2 psycannons. Karamzov passed the test but all 3 paladins failed! Unbelievable! I did lose the haemy but who cares! I poured fire into the deathstar and soon had them all on 1 wound and even claimed his objective for the bonus. My opponent played well trying to minimise LOS while denting my firepower. The end of turn 6 saw him gone to ground with just the techmarine and Karamazov left on 1 wound. Unfortunately for me, we did not get a turn 7 and I lost 6KP to 4KP! I am confident turn 7 would have seen me table him and had I deployed I may have gotten the job done turn 6. Such is the benefit of hindsight. I was just so worried about the 8 psycannons crippling my force I went the safe route not thinking about what I needed to do to win clearly.

Loss with bonus point.

So I finished on 4 wins, 1 draw and a loss. I got 4 of the bonus points available as well and placed 4th for generalship. With a good comp score, a good painting score and sports score I placed first overall! Victory for the dark eldar!

Second place went to my round 4 opponent with my 6th round opponent picking up 3rd.

Videos to come!

Sounds like a great tournie Massaen, although a little more variety opponent-wise might have been more interesting.

Congratulations on placing first overall! You had a very nice army composition and obviously used it to it's full potential.

Great report, and congrats on the win!

Thanks guys!

Videos!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WNS9Zvs-_g&feature=plcp&context=C34bbc7dUDOEgsToPDskKNaSpJB1IlhCt_lHVdyitj

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecqRuMPat-0&feature=plcp&context=C3d091fbUDOEgsToPDskLRfJYVdvnnKdywfQADTu6P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7UUXGvwRCo&feature=plcp&context=C3470bbbUDOEgsToPDskLlI6UYmFa5mpVbN800sOC2

Congrats at the tourny!

A question about the green AWESOME wrecked dark eldar vehicle markers you were using.
Where can I get me some of them?

Thanks!

http://www.thedarkcity.net/t2426p20-greenman-dseign-wrecked-vehicle-templates#26014

Here is the thread about them

Congrats on the win, 1st overall is a great achievement. Nice varied list as well, I'll need to try something like this instead of my usual cheese infested outings.