At the end of September, my buddy Kyle made and I made a quick trip to Wichita, Kansas for the Flying Monkey Warhammer 40k Grand Tournament. I brought my Space Wolves "wolf jail" list and Kyle brought his Custodes. The tourney was held in a massive hall in an even more massive convention center. It was fairly nice and the tables were mostly spread out enough to move around and not bump butts with the chap at the table behind you. There weren't any support tables for your gear but it was much nicer than the LVO end-to-end layout. Day one didn't go well for me... I was thumped hard by a World Eaters player. We only made it through the top of turn 3 in the 2.5 hours and talked out the rest of my turn 3. I hadn't had many problems reaching turn 5 in my games before so I'm not sure who or what was eating the clock. Round 2 I played solid Templars army but I could not make a 4+ save when it counted. It was a big loss for me.  My third game was against an Ultramarine...

This last weekend I took my Eldar "big boy" list to a Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader Tournament just north of where I live.  The organizers scheduled it long before Pariah Nexus and new FAQs were announced and decided to keep the missions and rules for Leviathan even though they were just released. Because of the hype for Pariah Nexus and the new Balance Data Slate, a lot of players dropped and skipped the whole event. I thought it would be fun to bring my double Wraithknight and Yncarne list to try my luck and see what happens. It needs a little luck when drawing tactical objectives because it struggles scoring primary. Long story short, it's fun but not a great tournament list.  My list:   Eldar (2000 points) Aeldari Strike Force (2000 points) Battle Host CHARACTERS Farseer (80 points)   • 1x Eldritch Storm     1x Shuriken pistol     1x Singing spear Farseer (100 points)   • 1x Eldritch Storm     1x Shuriken pistol     ...

The 2023 Las Vegas Open is over for me. I finished with a disappointing record of 2-3-1 and placed 576th with 473 points. My tie and two of the losses were very close and I scored well in all but two of my games so I feel a little better about my performance. There's a lot to love in giant events like the LVO. You can meet a lot of famous players, see new games, get great tips from pro painters and hobbyists, make new friends, play out of your usual pool of gamers, and generally have a great time. I got to meet a couple of people I follow on YouTube and Instagram and I made a few new friends too. That's really the best part of the tournament. However, there are a few downsides too and areas that could be improved. First, Frontline puts on a great show. They obviously do a ton of work to pull something this large off. However, I am disappointed that it's being run in Warzone Nephilim and not Arks of Omen. I think AoO is a much more level playing field and the balance patches...

I'm playing in the inaugural Topeka Open Warhammer 40k Grand Tournament. It's a 25-person GT hosted in a nice event space by Away Games.  Away Games always has the best terrain and if you have a chance to play in one of their events, I highly recommend them. They've always had great prize support and Eli has a great sense of humor running his events.  I was lucky enough to be selected for an interview on the wonderful Wargames Live stream (and I played my the second game on the stream as well!) During the interview, we talked about my army, strengths and weaknesses, and the hype for Arcs of Omen. Wargames Live viewers voted for my game to be streamed in the second round and I got to play Mitchell and his TSons lead by Ahriman himself. It was a fantastic game that ended in a 74-point tie! It came down to the wire and I don't think I would have done anything differently. Great game, great opponent.  Link to YouTube I'm at the 4 hour mark. I can't say enough nice t...

Last weekend I played in an Away Games RTT at the Game Café in Independence, Missouri, near Kansas City.   I brought my usual Dark Angels Deathwing list and went 1-2. I beat an Imperial Fists player in the first round, I was tabled by Word Bearer and Daemon soup in the second game, and took a frustrating loss against Tyranids in game 3.   All of the players I faced were fine folks, but the third game against the Tyranids only got through 3.5 turns… The game was called just after my charge phase at the bottom of turn 4 and I didn’t get to score and took a 20ish point loss. I think I would have won that game if we played all 5 turns and may have won after 4 if we were allowed to play it out. We had the option of putting it on a clock, but I didn’t bother since we weren’t in the running for the podium, but I should have in hindsight. Also of note, I broke my thumb and index finger on my right had recently and trying roll dice, pick up models and “thumb” through a codex was pain i...

I had a marvelous weekend playing at the US Open Warhammer 40k tournament! I met so many cool players, made new friends, and saw some amazing models. I went 5-3 and placed 69th. (I know, I know...) GW knows how to put on a show and this is maybe the best tournament I've ever been to - sorry LVO. The staff were great, well run, little delays, YouTube famous players, and the most amazing swagbag and prize support I've ever seen! My only regret is waiting too long to buy the the Gigantic Squigoth and it was sold out at the store. On the tabletop, I scored wins against Space Wolves, Necrons, Tau (my friend Gabe,) Harlequins, and Custodes.  I lost to Tyranids (by inches!), a mirror match Deathwing, and Ultramarines. My favorite game has to be with Jimmy and his Ultramarines. We pushed our armies and generals to the center of the table and threw down. I killed Roboute Guilliman, Tigurius, a Chaplain, a Techmarine, and three Redemptor Dreadnoughts - and still lost! Jimmy is a fantas...

Yesterday, I played in a nice 18-person RTT in Kansas City (nay, Independence) at the Games Cafe, run by Away Games. I neglected to take any pictures, but Away Games run amazing tournaments and every table has pro painted terrain from Big Bear 3D and uses the GW Open terrain rules and placement. *Chef's kiss* I'll post some of their pics when they get them posted.  I brought a slightly altered version of my Deathwing list that included a unit of Incursors. The Incursors are there to help earn a few precious secondary points from Stubborn Defiance. Without a scouting unit, Dark Angels can only score 10 out of 15 points in that secondary and I thought they would be able to see me through. However, 5 primaris guys are easy to kill in the current meta and in one mission, you can forward deploy so they were kind of a bust. I would have been better off not bringing them, keeping my 2 command points, and not trying to score any Dark Angel or Space Marine secondaries. I need to stick t...

With the success I had at the Midwest ConQuest, I bought a ticket for the Showme Showdown 2022 Warhammer 40k Grand Tournament. I went 2-3 at the ConQuest, but with two games lost by a single point, I would probably have been on the final table (two points!) I was so close to a top finish I could taste it, and with my Dark Angel Deathwing list scoring a lot of points, I wanted to keep my momentum going to earn a podium finish.   Just before the Showme Showdown, GW dropped a couple of bombs with Chapter Approved Nephilim, point corrections, and FAQs that dramatically changed the competitive scene of Warhammer 40k. The tournament organizers wanted to run the Nephilim missions and list building format (6 CPs, pay for Warlord Traits and Relics, new secondaries, etc.) and there wasn’t much time to playtest a new army or even adjust my current list. The FAQ for Nephilim hasn’t been released yet and I was a little annoyed about adopting the new format so quickly, but I had to soldier on. ...

The Midwest ConQuest is an excellent event run by a Kansas City gaming club that features five to six tournaments in a single convention. I've always had a good time there and I made the short drive to KC to join in the action this year. I brought my Deathwing Dark Angels list; I think it's the most meta resistant. There was a Blood Angel cos-player with a well made suit of holy armor. I was a little jealous of the quality and layouts of the Bolt Action tournament. The quality of the 40k table were ok, but the Bolt Action folks really know how to dress a table. Game Results: In my first game, I played a young player who brought his Dark Eldar to his first tournament.  It was a close game that came down to wire, but I won 81-75. It was a typical Deathwing game where I barely left my deployment zone and tried to roll 4+ for 2 and a half hours.  My second game was against a Deathguard list. He had an interesting build with a similar game plan as mine to just score my points and d...

  It sucks to suck. I played in a small 40k RTT this past weekend and I didn’t fair well, going 1-2. The tournament organizer allowed a player to bring his Crusher Stampede list despite it just being removed from competitive events (this player just finished buying and building it so no real hard feelings) and allowed the new Balance Data sheet changes with the Armor of Contempt. In my first game, I played against a new ‘Nid list and scored a solid victory with my Deathwing. Their psychic powers are @#%^&* filthy and one of my biggest weaknesses so I was pleased that I scored a W for the match. It was close and if the player had played keep-away from me, I don’t think I could have won. My second match pitted me against a Thousand Sons player who brought termie spam with Magnus. Outside of cultists, I killed only 4-5 terminators and was shredded by mortal wounds. I failed twice to get my Litany of Faith off, which might have saved me a few wounds, but the T-sons ran away with th...

This weekend, I played in the rapidly growing Free State Grand Tournament. I brought my Dark Angels Deathwing army, the Rampant Lions. I've been practicing assiduously with this list, and fairing well, so I had high hopes, even against meta lists of Tau and Custodes. In the first round, my opponent played an Iron Hands dreadnought heavy list and I narrowly won a high point game. It came down to the last turn and I eked out a win.  My second game was against another Iron Hands list with Forgeworld landraiders, a Leviathan, and an Astraeus Super Heavy! I previously played Colin from the Denver Trolls in another GT and he stomped me then, but we played a razor-thin game this time and I lucked into victory on the last turn. It's one of those games I'm going to remember for a long time.  The best part though it was broadcast on Wargames Live! Watch day 1 on YouTube My game starts around the 3:40:00 mark. My third game was against a Harlequins & Drukhari list and it was a sup...

What's the objective in games of 40k? Hold the objectives.  I played in a 1,000-point 40k tourney today. In the first round, my Hellbenders faced of against Danny and his Crimson Fists and I effectively talbed him in turn 5 for a 20-point win. I also nearly tabled my second opponent,  Eli and his Nurgle daemons. He only had 2 nurgling bases left, and 1 wound left on a herald. I hadn't lost a model and only suffered 2 wounds on a Repulsor Executioner... I lost the game 72 - 50. Uffda. In round three, I also tabled Jesse's Slaneesh daemon/ Chaos Space Marine force at the top of turn 5. But I lost 62-64. I effectively killed every model I faced the entire tournament, and I only lost 7 models in the whole event, but I lost.  Why?  I didn't cover the primary objectives. The secondaries were troublesome too, but having so few models to cover primary objectives dug a hole I couldn't climb out of, even if I killed every other model I faced.  Luckily, the store I played ...

This past weekend I made my nearly annual trek to Omaha for the Bugeater Grand Tournament. I have been play testing the heck out of the Hellbenders in preparation and I felt pretty good about my chances for a top 10 finish, even against Dark Eldar. The Drukhari nerf came after the deadline for submitting lists, so they were in full shenanigans mode. However, I have been playing well against all flavors of Eldar, including Harlequins and I was feeling confident in my list. The Bugeater GT is a fund raiser for a high school debate team and is normally held in the high school’s gym. Due to some facility issues, the tournament was held throughout the school in hallways and classrooms. It was nice to be spaced out but not all the tables in classrooms had air conditioning and it was nearly 100-degees in Omaha that day. Gamers being gamers, it was a swampy venue to say the least. Plus, my stomach problems flared, and I was running to the restroom between rounds. In the two available stalls, o...

  I played in a small RTT in Holton today and went 2-1, finishing 5th and beat one of the top players in our conference! (I sqeaked by with a 1-point victory...) I may have been able to beat my second opponent if had I made better selections for secondary objectives. In hindsight, I could have easily won but no matter how I plan for games on paper, there's no better teacher than experience.  I'm tuning up my list for the Bugeater Grand Tournament next month in Omaha and I think I'm getting close to my final list. It's not anything really nasty, but it's just solid, durable units. I'm digging it. 

  In played in a small RTT today. And by played, I mean, I went 1-2. Barely. I've got to work on my dicemanship and learn to roll better. I was also pretty rusty with some rules, especially the bloated objective scoring system. It's one of my least favorite things about 40k right now. So much of it is haphazardly cobbled together and it doesn't appear the rules team were working together when they finally went to print.  For example, sometimes you score at the end of your phase, sometimes you score at the end of the round if you declared something in your movement phase, sometimes you don't score until the end of the game (after a few minutes of counting and dividing...) and sometimes you can't find a pen and your dumb app isn't adding all of the points correctly.  The old ITC method was so much cleaner and you don't spend 20 minutes looking at your opponent's list trying to min-max your objectives each game. I just think they needs to be simpler way ...

This past weekend was the 2019 (ninth edition) Bug Eater GT in Omaha, Nebraska - a fundraiser for a high school's debate team. (Which may be my favorite reason to hold a 40k tournament.) I took my combined army of Astra Militarum, Blood Angels, and Adeptus Custodes, and joined my friend Kyle, and made the northward trek to Omaha to play in the 40k grand tournament. I have dishonored and embarrassed myself again with a 2-4 record. I felt really good the first day going 2-2, but I lost two close games on day 2. In all of my losses, my opponents said they loved my army, said nothing was wrong with it, loved the paint job and display base ... but I can't roll dice for shit. I even bought another set from a vendor at the tournament to no avail. I tried to keep my head high but I was routinely missing charges and I can't even say that I had average dice. My army usually sends a pair of smash captains, a pair of shield captains on dawneagle jetbikes, and...