last updated:
21.08.08 | 19:44 gmt
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written by:
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First Cap
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They say that you're not a true Dragon Slayer until you have that all-important first cap under your belt. Actually they don't say that - and if they do they haven't said it to me, whoever they might be - but you've got to break your duck sometime, haven't you? With that thought firmly in mind I decided that my personal duck would get the killing stroke at the
GW UKGT Heat 3 this November, 2004...
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organiser:
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venue:
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city:
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country:
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Games Workshop HQ
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Nottingham
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United Kingdom
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system:
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event rules:
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Warhammer 6th
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Vampires For Me
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It's always been my opinion that to cross the line from social to tournament gamer you will need to lose about four hundred and fifty straight games of Warhammer in order to gain the experience to create your own 'dirty list'. Having only lost about forty so far, I knew that I was going to be submitting myself to a baptism of fire. Having woken myself up particularly early to call those wonderful young gents at Games Workshop Direct Sales (to be honest, I didn't actually sleep the night before to make sure I wouldn't miss out), I set about finalising my current tournament army - which for this particular tournament would be the ever-so-undead Vampire Counts.
As mentioned before, I have only lost forty games during my time as a Dragon Slayer so I was still in the frame of mind that 'balanced is best'. With this motto firmly branded across my grey matter, I composed my list for the GT.
Paul Scrivens-Smith (Dragon Slayer, Stags fan, resident Flames of War mogul) had been kind enough to lend me his Vampire Counts army for my practice games, whilst I was getting to grips with painting horde upon horde of shambling bonebags in my dining room. This was a great help, as it allowed me to alter the final list no less than nine - yes, that's nine - times.
Having conquered the defensive aspects of the game through my list tinkering, and being consistently able to gain seven to ten points a game defensively (including bursting open both of
Greg Chambers' (Dragon Slayer, Ogre fetishist, Nurgle's rotter supreme) Plague Rider units I decided that my final list would hopefully see me finish somewhere in the bottom third of the rankings. My expectations were not high, but as you will see I shouldn't have been so modest.
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characters:
Master Necromancer General; Black Periapt, Talisman of Protection
Blood Dragon Thrall; Cursed Book
Level 2 Necromancer; Dispel Scroll
Level 2 Necromancer; 2x Dispel Scrolls
core units:
15 x Skeletons; light armour, shield, full command
20 x Zombies; standard-bearer, musician
5 x Direwolves
5 x Direwolves
8 x Ghouls
8 x Ghouls
7 x Ghouls
special units:
11 x Black Knights; lance, heavy armour, shield, full command, Banner of the Barrows
20 x Grave Guard; handweapon, heavy armour, shield, full command, War Banner
3 x Fell Bats
3 x Spirit Hosts
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opponent:
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army:
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Karl Carracker
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Skaven
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Bloody hell, I'd forgotten all about that other seven o'clock in a day! Nevertheless, I dragged myself out of what would prove to be the warmest thing all weekend - my bed - and made my way down to Warhammer World to await my fate. After a hearty breakfast of grease, animal remains and tons of bread, I decided to set up my army early so as to not delay the first game too much (at this point all Vampire players out there will sympathise with the dreaded 'undead setup' whereupon hundreds of models must try to rank up without the need for masking tape). Ah, my opponent has arrived, by all accounts a very nice fellow too, his name being Karl.
As the case across the table opens up I was filled with a feeling of utter dread as a rabble of filthy ratmen began to clamber out of the foam inner (at this point I should add that my feelings were due to my Vampire Counts army all owning a new, second arsehole given to them by the Skaven of our very own
Chris Legg [Dragon Slayer, baby-faced assassin] the previous Tuesday).
Karl reassured me that he too had gone the way of balance, and I was thrilled to see no Jezzails at all, and in fact the only thing I could see were the one hundred and sixty - count 'em folks - rank and file troops.
With the quiz over and done with (I won't mention more than that, as a five minute 'pick a random letter' multiple choice quiz isn't really worth the repetitive strain injury), we proceeded to get down to our first of six games.
I was pleased with my deployment - albeit a little congested thanks to the seven pieces of scenery blocking all but the final third of my zone - and gladly accepted the first turn. My only concern were Karl's two Ratling Guns and the menacing prospect of three Rat Ogres shouting obscenities in the direction of my badly placed Black Knight unit, complete with Vampire Thrall - who from this day shall be known as 'The Rubber Bullet' for reasons you shall discover.
Offering up a unit of Direwolves as bait for the Rat Ogres proved a calculated and well thought out lucky break, as their overrun saw them whistle past my Black Knights by no more than a few millimetres. This effectively took them out of the game to the far side of the table, and saved my Black Knight unit from certain death. Looking over the rest of the enemy, the only real concern now was an unnaturally large unit of fully togged Stormvermin complete with filthy banner and all manner of magical goodness. Turn two saw my Black Knights smash through a unit of Slaves with Rubber Bullet missing with all attacks, but my overrun took me into a very thorny looking wood. It would take me two turns, and a change to column formation (I know, I know) to get them out, and cost me a lot of victory points in the end. The rest of my army was holding its own, helped by the horrendous explosion of Ratling Gun and crew, not to mention the poor magic phase of a very jovial Karl. It was a little to and fro until turn five, so I will move straight on to that very turn.
Turn four had seen my Grave Guard charged in front and flank, and I would need to take steps to remove the threat, as the combat would probably hand the lion's share of victory points to the winner. My Black Knight unit finally burst forth from the wood to charge a very handy flank, with a unit of Ghouls catching a glimpse of a welcoming rear. With my Fell Bats (or Bat by this point) joining in another flank, thing looked promising. Rubber Bullet proved his worth and killed a Skaven Clanrat champion (that would be his only kill all weekend), and as the dust settled I had luckily won the combat by outnumbering, causing all units to break. As Karl rolled his flee distance, I could only rejoice at the maximum roll of seven. With two 3D6 pursuits, and the Ghouls only needing to beat a 4 on 2D6 I was there - my first tournament game as a Slayer and it's a solid victory!
Of course it would have been if I had managed to catch anyone, which of course I didn't.
We didn't have time for turn six (lucky, as Karl's Rat ogres had decided to rejoin the fight right in front of my general), and so both happily took our ten points to game two.
It couldn't have been the dice; couldn't have been.
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Vampire Counts:
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Skaven:
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10 points
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10 points
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opponent:
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army:
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Carl Norman
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Empire
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Another Carl - maybe it was an omen of good fortune?
Carl was playing Empire and had brought along a Steam tank. A what tank? A steam what? Oh how I now wished I'd bothered to read the Annual... Carl took first turn, and was a little apprehensive about playing a Vampire Counts army hence his movement phase(s) consisting of a lot of shuffling and re-shuffling, adjusting and re-adjusting.
I'm not going to mention anymore about game two, because it was dire. Not because of Carl, far from it. It was down to schoolboy errors, bad charge declaration, and not enough respect for that bloody Steam Tank. Even the advice of 'Angel on my shoulder'
Singe Frost (Dragon Slayer, RAF man, nicest bloke in Universe 2004/2005) halfway through couldn't save me. Bleh. Three points was a blessing as I deserved to have my army jumped on by pre-schoolers after their shocking display.
Things had better look up for the afternoon.
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Vampire Counts:
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Empire:
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3 points
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17 points
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opponent:
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army:
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Hordes of Chaos
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At lunch, I had been joking with
Tim Fisher (Dragon Slayer, Langwith slut, varnish king) that if indeed we were on similar points a face-off in the next round would be an easy pickup of ten points each. We also said that we would not even bother deploying and simply fill in the result card, come back to the bar and watch the rugby. Well, you never guess what happened...
I drew a fellow Vampire Counts general who looked to be a Games Workshop employee. On the next table along who do I spy but Mr. Fisher himself - not wanting to sit out a war of attrition with more shambling masses, we agreed to swap so Tim became my third round opponent. I know what you're thinking at this point - I'm going to tell you the rugby game was very good. Well you're wrong as I am a gentleman. Well that and the fact that last time I played Tim he allowed my Beasts of Chaos to trample all over his Dogs of War army. Yes, we did the only honourable thing and decided to play it for the full amount. Vampire Counts against a very nice Slaanesh Chaos army - this was going to be interesting!
Again, deployment was sound and first turn was handed to me. I pushed forward with everything, knowing that the majority of Tim's army had a march distance of 16", and sat back to watch the fireworks. To be honest, this was one of my favourite games of the tournament, as it was too close to call right up until the final reckoning. My Spirit Hosts tied up a Spawn for the entire game - eventually rolling a 6 and taking its last wound; the Direwolves again proved an ideal feeder unit; the Black Knight unit once again failed to impress, eventually succumbing to a sound thrashing at the hands of a unit of Chosen Knights. The stars of the show were my unit of seven Ghouls, who - helped by filthy poison - took Tim's Daemon Prince to less than half wounds to score a well needed 250+ points. I'm sure Rubber Bullet would have finished him off too, if he hadn't chosen to spend the entire game swishing at thin air in a challenge with the Chosen Knight champion. Even when the Daemon Prince knocked himself flat in the magic phase - rolling four ones to cast - I was powerless to act because Rubber Bullet couldn't figure out why one end of a sword is sharp.
It was the death of my Black Knight that did the damage points wise (352 and a 152 Rubber Bullet), and Tim took a well earned minor victory to bed with him on Saturday night. I was reasonably happy with finishing on twenty points, but if the expectations of my peers was to be realised (every one of them kept telling me I would qualify, in order that I would feel no pressure in my first ever tournament as a Dragon Slayer), I had a hard Sunday ahead of me...
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Vampire Counts:
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Hordes of Chaos:
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7 points
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13 points
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That Night
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Another blisteringly cold day in Nottingham followed a blisteringly cold night, although my bed was still warm, and I need two massacres for a definite place in the final, added to a solid victory. A tall order, but my frame of mind was good, even if I couldn't feel my fingers.
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opponent:
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army:
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Alan Reed
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Dark Elves
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Alan Reed was my opponent for round four, and he was a real nice chap. This round was doomed from the off as my deployment was all wrong. I underestimated the power of Witch Elves - I was playing Slaanesh Dark Elves - and also forgot that I couldn't roll dice for toffee. During the game I succumbed to all the amateur traps that new players fall for and was beginning to think I was destined for a terrible day. Rubber Bullet missed everything again, causing my Black Knight unit to crumble in front of a unit of only six Cold One Knights. Sixteen Ghoul attacks (so impressive up until this point) turned over one measly hit and no less than fourteen rolls of one; the Fell Bats survived long enough to reach Alan's bolt-throwers only to be cut down by merciless crossbow fire from the Dark Riders.
Another key turning point would be turn five, as Alan managed to cast Arnizipal's Black Horror for the only time in the game.
Paul Corcoran (ex-Dragon Slayer, cheesy git, Warp lightning obsessive) cast a friendly eye over the table and gave all his bad karma to a full strength unit of Grave Guard. After the Horror was finished, only seven models and my Master Necromancer remained alive.
Suffice to say Paul made himself conveniently scarce after my appalling luck. With my two biggest units effectively dead, and everyone else in disarray, I consoled myself with another three points and wondered if I would ever win another game of Warhammer again. Humph, lunchtime better change my luck for the better.
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Vampire Counts:
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Dark Elves:
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3 points
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17 points
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opponent:
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army:
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Rob Clarke
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Bretonnians
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What an absolute gent I had for round five! His name was Rob and he was fielding Bretonnians.
I knew this game was a loss right away though after seeing my entire army cut down by
Adrian McWalter (Dragon Slayer, top copper, Guinness spokesman)'s filth the week before. Then something wonderful happened - the Dragon Slayer 'click' (I had been told that a point would come where it would just 'click', and from then on I would be a true Dragon Slayer, and bask in the glory of victory).
Viewing my deployment zone, I had two woods presenting natural flanks, and a nice bottleneck to the northwest. If I could out-deploy Rob (I had twelve units to his nine) I would be okay. My plan worked perfectly. Again the Direwolves offered themselves up for sacrifice and were duly accepted, allowing my Spirit Host to be the overrun target and my Black Knights to counter-charge in my second turn. Rob's seven hundred-odd point hammer unit got bogged down in the bottleneck by his overrunning cohorts blocking his advance, which left my Skeletons and Zombies to amble unhindered towards the remaining battle line.
By turn four it was really all over. Rob's Trebuchet was now too close to fire on anything, and although I had again lost Rubber Bullet's unit, they had actually done enough damage to accept the loss. Rob's hammer unit failed a panic test to my seven man Ghoul unit (remember them Tim?) and fled from a flank charge leaving the only viable targets open for the slaughter. My stars were undoubtedly my Zombies. Not only did they manage to march all the way into Rob's deployment zone but managed to pursue a unit of Yeomen off his table edge! My skeletons were up there too and finished off a Men-at-Arms unit and the Trebuchet before gutting a hero on foot, and my newly created second Zombie unit - of only nine men - saw off the peasantry to the left.
Rob fought on, and to his credit managed to stay the course until turn six. By the end of the game he had his hammer unit and a lowly sorceress licking their wounds in a contested quarter. Twenty nil, thank you very much indeed. I'd achieved an objective and gotten my first tournament massacre. I even ticked awesome game, as it was by far my most enjoyable game of the weekend!
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Vampire Counts:
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Bretonnians:
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20 points
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0 points
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opponent:
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army:
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Ross Tellick
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Dwarfs
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My opponent for the final round was non-existent, so I had to wait to see what horrors I would be given for my last game. Luckily, on the table next to me were two friends who were not to keen on playing each other. Agreeing to take one of them on, I looked at my choices - an Orcs & Goblins army complete with Giant, or a missile-packed Dwarf force. "I'll take on the Dwarfs!" I exclaimed, knowing they would be the better of the two for points received.
My opponent's name was Ross, a member of the Shenanigans club from Kent. Nice guy, with no preconceptions on how the game would turn out - Vampire Counts against Dwarfs had ten points written all over it. The action was, to say the least, non-existent for five turns. A little shooting killing off a few expendable troops here and there, my magic bringing them back and dogging his Gyrocopter. It stayed 10-10 until his final turn when his units of Warriors and Ironbreakers decided it was time to take on the hill-mounted Grave Guard and get a bit of action going. My Black Knight unit was left to its own devices as Rubber Bullet had left, charged, and been cut down by Thunderers. He'll look nice on eBay though. My Fell Bats finally lost combat to the bolt-thrower crew (terrible dice again), and so it was all down to the final turn.
Ross' combat phase was not great, but my attacks back were not great either. I lost the combat by a single point and removed the offending model. In my final turn I counter-charged with my men of the weekend Ghoul unit, outnumbering him and giving enough punch to break him if I won by even a point. My Black Knight let me down again, giving away half points thanks to a very impressive Thunderer shot, and a very clumsy save throw. The combats saw the Black Knights break through the Thunderer line, giving me some well-needed points, and the hilltop combat would decide our fate.
The Ghouls flew in and managed to kill a single Ironbreaker. In return, the Thane did a bit of damage to them, but at an acceptable level. Everyone else hit the Grave Guard who happily let them. With the Grave Guard killing a single Warrior thanks to the power of the Wight Blade, I had won the combat by two points (God bless the War Banner). Outnumbering Ross' units by a single model, he broke and the game was mine. 1,087 victory points taken in one combat phase - a record? I don't know, and you probably don't care!
In the end it was 13-7 to me, and I finished the weekend on 56 gaming points... was it enough?
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Vampire Counts:
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Dwarfs:
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13 points
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7 points
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Taking Stock
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Looking over the placings after the heat, I had exceeded my expectations and finished a respectable 66th. I could only be happy, as I had hoped to at least finish in the early hundreds and so a moral victory was claimed.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my first outing as a tournament Dragon Slayer, and next year I'm sure I will do the deed and reach the final. To all the guys I played, thank you for a fantastic few games, and hopefully I'll see you next year. But what to play next year? Do I risk Rubber Bullet yet again, and promote him to Count in the hope he will do his job for once? The answer is no. Next year, I'm bringing the Bretonnians to war, and you'd better watch out because they are going to be filthy.
I'm learning fast. See you next year!
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