[Chairman's note: Another brilliant day organised by Paul Ireland and other fine members of the club. Paul's beautifully-painted collection made up the majority of the forces on both sides of this Pike and Shotte game. The club was well-represented with about five gamers per side taking part for a full day's gaming. Judging by the comments at the end, everyone had a good time. Many thanks to all concerned but especially to Paul and to Tim & Tom who set up the evening before].
What a great day of Battle. Paul Ireland's collection of War of Spanish Succession figures gave a close and narrow victory for the French (one of the Allied players having Family duties!). All well played especially in the Christmas spirit. Great break in between Christmas and New Year. [Tim]
Zombie antics tonight with a great game of Project Z. A narrow win for the outnumbered biker gang over the survivor group. Poor shooting from both groups lead to large numbers of zombies roaming the table. Thanks for a good game Greg.
More pictures here.
9th January Square. Scenario 011.
This didn’t go too well, my troops couldn’t hit a barn door. Even though we were losing casualties at a high rate we pushed on because victory was close. In the end the Germans held the two tall houses that we were tasked to take, and we had to pull out leaving the enemy in control of the 9th January Square.
Take Aim. Scenario 022.
We were allocated a sniper to blunt the German attack, the idea simply didn’t work. The enemy fire was horrendous, I could hear him cheering from my position. You must know how annoying it is when your enemy cheers every hit. Our supporting fire was useless. So we kept quiet and sulked. In the end the sniper had to withdraw. Yet another defeat. Maybe I don’t like this game.
Defend the Lighthouses. Scenario032.
We were allocated artillery support to help clear the two tall buildings called the Lighthouses. I was looking forward to giving the Germans a right good seeing to. They were very effective. The Germans were so shocked by the bombardment that they quickly ran away and left us finally in control of the 9th January Square. So after 2 setbacks we had a great victory and controlled the important Square. The Germans might regret that later
And so it goes on. Some troops get better capabilities, but replacements you receive for losses are worse. So your squads develop as the game progresses. So does the terrain, because a demolished building will stay demolished and you might come across it later in the campaign.
You start with Scouts, Riflemen and Machine Gunners, as the game goes on you might get Snipers Engineers and Tanks added to the pool of units you can call on. Thus your pool of potential troops grows.
I will not tell you how it finishes, but the campaign can take 15 games to complete. As you move from scenario to the next scenario you could take a different path from a previous campaign thus making the game different if you replay it.
The capture of Farseer Altair
Farseer Altair met the gaze of his captors with blue-steel eyes. To the White Scars space marine patrol that had seized the Eldar psyker, it seemed to verge on arrogance. Surely he realised that there would be no escape; that he would be taken back to the chapter and interrogated by the Inquisitors? It had been so easy to take him as he explored alone.
Altair said nothing. His silence only added to the marines’ feeling that their prisoner knew he was beaten and lost to the Eldar host.
The Eldar host, just two kilometres away and still undetected, continued its approach.
The White Scar’s dreadnoughts, which had been posted on the perimeter of the makeshift camp, finally spotted the first signs of an oncoming enemy. ‘Host’ was an inadequate word to describe the vast numbers heading rapidly towards the cratered ruins on the outskirts of the ancient city.
“Report!”
“Five detachments, sir. Advancing on a broad front.”
“Call in support. What do we have close by?”
“Two detachments of Battle Sisters. And there’s a fight of interceptors not too far away.”
The Eldar jetbikes and Vypers skimmed over the planet surface with astonishing speed. The Swooping Hawks and Scouts advanced through the city ruins towards the outlying Space Marine sentries. A host of Aspect Warriors took the centre. Somehow, the Eldar already knew that a relief column would be arriving and posted another detachment to hold off whatever wou8ld be coming its way. A dancing troupe of Harlequins skipped over the landscape, eager for mayhem. The performance was about to begin.
The Wild Riders on their jetbikes and Vypers hit first. Even Dreadnought armour failed under the sheer weight of firepower. Humanity struck back with a sortie from the five Angel Interceptors, raining destruction from above.
The Sisters of Battle leapt into their Rhino and Immolator vehicles, answering the call from the besieged Marines. Racing towards the city, they opened fire on the Eldar set to delay their advance. Would they arrive in time?
The White Scars came under intense pressure, attacked from two directions at once. How long could they hold out?
The answer was ‘not long enough’. The combination of Swooping Hawks, Scouts and Wild Riders wiped out the Space Marines detachment and, although they took many casualties, enough survived to release Farseer Altair from his captivity.
“You are here”, was all he said to his rescuers. It was a statement of inevitability.
It was too late to save the White Scars but the Sisters vowed revenge and headed straight into the fiercest of the fighting. Recapturing the Farseer became their new objective. The Angels reappeared, re-fuelled and re-armed, to strike again and the Wild Riders.
So few left now.
The Eldar delaying force was almost spent so the Aspect Warriors turned to face the oncoming Sisters. The Harlequins saw an opportunity to engage with the second Sisters detachment and also turned around. The end game promised to be brutal to both sides.
The Wild Riders went into overdrive and raced towards the far horizon. If they could get past the Sisters, the Farseer would again be safe.
Laser fire, Eldar shurikens, rocket blasts and deadly hand to hand fighting broke out all along the line. The Sisters were being forced slowly back but enough were left to block the Eldar’s retreat.
The Angels appeared one more time; but which target should they hit? They chose the Aspect Warriors who were about to launch a final assault against the centre of the Sisters’ line.
The few remaining Wild Riders looked up, saw the Interceptors fly over their heads and smiled. Now was the opportunity they had hoped for. Throwing their machines in to maximum acceleration, they roared past the Sisters of Battle and away to their base.
Farseer Altair had achieved his objective. One Space Marine detachment destroyed, two Sisters of Battle detachments severely depleted. Surely even the humans must have realised his capture had been just a little to easy…
Many thanks to Matthew McManus for a hugely enjoyable game of Epic 40K.
Photos of the game are posted in the club’s Facebook profile.
Last nights game at HQ, ACW 28mm, John Sheldon with the rebels, Jim and myself the Union. Same orbat minus the cavalry from Ream’s station, brigade Fire and Fury. Set during the last days before Appomattox. Interesting game, the Confederate grand battery proved quite effective. However the Gods of Dice played their hand and rolled poorly. Fierce fought game with a draw as both sides ran out of troops to secure the crossroads.
