Sunday, April 10, 2011

Hive Fleet Conqueror: Conquering the Gladiator


After 2 months of blood and sweat, finally the Conqueror Conquers them all, taking home the bacon as this year's Gladiator Champion (John Cena's intro music playing in the background... "♪You can't see me my time is now...♪"... too much wrestling). Among all 40++ players that joined the league, only the top 8 went in for the finals; the top 2 for each of the 3 sectors and 2 wildcards. Here's a link for the rules in this year's Gladiator: Rules

Monday, March 07, 2011

Come and Get Them

WHY I PLAY ELITE ARMIES


“This is serious. We're Rangers, not some sorry-ass JROTC. We're elite. Let's act like it out there.” – Sgt. Eversmann (Black Hawk Down)



Like most new 40K players, I had no particular battle plan in mind when I built my first army. Needless to say, I also had no idea on army composition, what works best with what… etc. However, after a full year of getting pulverized on the table top (I got my first ever win only after 7 months of playing), I learned a thing or two. One marked improvement was in my army lists.

“At age 7, as is customary in Sparta the boy was taken from his mother and plunged into a world of violence. Manufactured by 300 years of Spartan warrior society to create the finest soldiers the world has ever known. The agoge as it's called, forces the boy to fight, starves him, forces him to steal... and if necessary, to kill.” – Dilios (300)

Of course, Neutral Grounds is no Sparta and I am not/was not 7 when I started, but seven months (and then some) of early “learning” from the veterans made me the player I am now. At that time, I saw how they can get many from so few (ie min max) so I naturally went through that path. My mindset was how many “X’s” can I fit into “Y” points. Long story short, I had an army that was alternatively called “The Light Show” by the sheer amount of lascannon/plasma/missile/assault cannon/bolter shots it can throw at the opponent. However, the focus on guns and guns alone left me with just less than a hundred points for my HQ. Although it is rare that an opponent’s army reaches my lines, but when they do, my army folds like a poker player does with a bad hand.

After years of using token HQs and armies with limited close combat ability, I decided to go the other way. This turn came around at first during the Eye of Terror campaign, when a souped up Space Wolf list was made available (13th Company). From then, I saw the value of what a strong HQ can do and what elite forces provide. Coupled with my affinity for the cinematic or the flair in everything, I slowly went through the elite path. The decision was cemented with the recent codices/codexes providing options to field entire armies made up of elite units.

So, why do I like to play an elite army? Let me talk you through some bits of my warhammer psyche and show you the reasons why.

  1. I will “know my army” better.

“You know, you shouldn't jump around when this nice woman is holding a sharp pair of scissors. If you move she could slip and slice your jugular vein, on accident. There is no way to stitch the jugular. All of your blood will be on the floor in four minutes. I have seen this. I have done this. You don't want this.” - Zohan

“Knowing” my army is two-fold. Since elite armies specialize in only certain aspects of the game, I would know what my army can or can’t do like the back of my hand. Second, hobby wise, I would have fewer figs to assemble and paint, so I would have more time to make the army look better (all things being equal).

  1. Elite units are usually harder to kill.

“I once fought two days with an arrow through my testicle.” – Godfrey of Ibelin (Kingdom of Heaven)


Why you do this? You know I feel no pain.” – Zohan

“Then we will fight in the shade.” – Stelios (300)

I am not bold in real life. I’m not a coward, but neither am I brave. I am just a regular schmoe. So, given the chance to play make believe super humans in the far future, I would take it and go to the extreme. There are few better options in warhammer than having the confidence of being able to take almost everything the opponent’s army can throw at you and still come out of the smoke alive. Of course, in 40K nothing is certain, and there are times when the best protection doesn’t work and your supermen still drop like flies, but more often than not, they shrug off most stuff. This is good for me, and demoralizing for my opponents.

  1. Elite units are better at killing.

“You see, old friend? I brought more soldiers than you did.” – Leonidas (300)

Can your squad take-out an enemy army in close combat? Mine can. Mine did.

  1. Elite armies are harder to use.

“They will ask for terms. We must ask for terms.” – Almaric (Kingdom of Heaven)

I have nothing against it, but I want my gaming life to be better than me just me lining up all my guns and shooting. I have been there, I enjoyed it, but I want something else. Using an elite army, I have to be careful of every deployment, every movement, every target. One mistake, I die. It’s that simple. This is good for me since one reason why I got into miniature gaming is to use that parts of my brain I don’t use in my everyday life. Most games, my options would be limited from the start because of the size of my army. There would be missions where my only option would be to not get killed. Every game is an uphill battle. This is fun for me. It’s make believe anyway. I’d like to think of it as brain calisthenics.

  1. There is always “glory” after every game whatever the outcome.

“The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle is over, that even a god-king can bleed.” – Leonidas (300)

Something special happens in almost every game I play. It’s either a glorious defeat or a glorious victory. We talk about all the saves I made when I shouldn’t have. We talk about all the saves I failed when I should have. We talk about how you thought you can take on my squad with yours and you finding out otherwise. We talk about that little bit that made a whole difference to the game. When all else fails, I can pack my army and put it in my small bag in less than five minutes.

Monday, February 07, 2011

2011 40K Gladiator Scoreboard - Galleria Sector

Gladiator Score Board (unofficial) :

Updated as of Feb. 5, 2011

Players Games Played Total Tournament Points Total Gladiator Points Gladiator Point Differential
Kuneho 0 0 0 0
Emcee 1 15 14 5
Zeb 0 0 0 0
Patrick 1 9 12 0
Joel Tiongson 1 9 12 0
VicVic 1 14 12 7
Kerwin 1 7 10 5
Joshua Soon 0 0 0 0
Martie Wong 1 6 10 8
Matthew Wong 0 0 0 0
Ryan T. 1 2 9 -5
Ryan C. 0 0 0 0
Melo 1 2 2 -8
Nigel 1 2 5 -7
JB 1 2 5 -5

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Journal # 154 - This is where we fight! This is where they die!

January 15, 2011

Attendance - Ian, Zeb, Emcee, Joshua, Phil, Marc, Wiley, Freddie Tan, Jack, Matthew, Joel, and Martie with Special Apperances from Augie, Jeff, Doc Benj, Johnathan, Patrick and Ryan Chung

Warhammer 40,000

Game 1
Emcee (SM-Space Wolves) vs Ian (Tyranids)
Points: 2000
Mission: Seize Ground
Deployment: Pitched Battle
Result: Draw!

Game 2
Zeb (SM-Space Wolves) vs Joshua (Space Marines)
Points: 1500
Mission: Capture and Control
Deployment: Pitched Battle
Result: Zeb wins!

Game 3
Phil (SM-Blood Angels) vs Marc (Space Marines)
Points: 1300
Mission: Capture and Control
Deployment: Pitched Battle
Result: Draw!

Game 4
Phil (SM-Blood Angels) vs Jack (SM-Blood Angels)
Points: 1300
Mission: Capture and Controo
Deployment: Spearhead
Result: Phil wins!

Game 5
Matthew (Dark Eldar) vs Joel (Chaos Space Marines)
Points: 2000
Mission: Seize Ground
Deployment: Dawn of War
Result: Draw!

Game 6
Zeb (SM-Space Wolves) vs Martie (Tau)
Points: 2000
Mission: Seize Ground
Deployment: Spearhead
Result: Martie wins!

Warhammer Fantasy

Game 1
Freddie Tan (Beastmen of Chaos) vs Wiley (Vampire Counts)
Points: 2000
Scenario: Pitched Battle
Result: Wiley wins!

Session Ends 8:00pm (by my estimate lol)

Journal # 153 - We're Alive and Fresh with New Blood

January 8, 2011

Attendance - Vic Vic, Ian, Zeb, Nigel, Emcee, Phil, Jack, Chino, Joshua with Special Apperances from Jeff, Ryan T., Ryan C., Wiley, Dennis, Tony, Augie, Patrick, and Kim

Game 1
Vic Vic (Orks) vs Ian (Tyranids)
Points: 1500
Mission: Annihilation
Deployment: Spearhead
Result: Vic Vic wins!

Game 2
Nigel (Tau) vs Zeb (SM-Space Wolves)
Points: 2000
Mission: Seize Ground
Deployment: Dawn of War
Result: Zeb wins!

Game 3
Emcee (SM-Space Wolves) vs Phil (SM-Blood Angels)
Points: 1500
Mission: Annihilation
Deployment: Dawn of War
Result: Emcee wins!

Game 4
VicVic (Orks) vs Jack (SM-Blood Angels)
Points: 1200
Mission: Capture and Control
Deployment: Pitched Battle
Result: Vic Vic wins!

Game 5
Chino (SM-Blood Angels) vs Joshua S. (Tyranids)
Points: 2000
Mission: Capture and Control
Deployment: Spearhead
Result: Draw!

Game 6
Ian (Tau) vs VicVic
Points: 1500
Mission: Capture and Control
Deployment: Pitched Battle
Result: Ian wins!

Session Ends at 10:00pm with Ian and Zeb ever so nicely waiting for VicVic to get fetched. :p Kuyang-Kuya talaga! :)

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Basterdz Celebrity Counterparts

Zeb


Kyuzo (the one on the left, but take the whole picture in context)



The Meanderer



Kuneho



Wboy


Balian (the one in the middle)


Martie


Salubri (the one on the right)


Just for the sake of something new to read aside from what the "fembots" in the chatbox say, and out of boredom, I present our celebrity counterparts (this is a work in progress, if you have any suggestions/comments, please contact me).

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Strength and Honour




Written by Martie Wong
Co-winner, Best General - 2010 40K GT

(Photo courtesy of Neutral Grounds)


There really isn't much to say that hasn't already been said by the other players. All I can say is that this has got to be the best tournament experience I ever had and It's not because I won best general. It was because of the joy and thrill of the game and the great company and friendship I have with the other players. Sure I was aiming to win but at the end of the day, it always about the experience and being with people who share your love for the game.

A few weeks before the tourney, I was really wracking my brain on what army to use for the GT. It was bothering me so much that I couldn't work properly and sleep well due to my constant pounding on the calculator. I really wanted to play Tau since I played Orks last year but thanks to the advice of Ian and my brother Mathew, I decided to go with Orks instead. Tau are powerful but they don't have the pushing power of Orks. I needed more than just shooting my opponent to bits. I needed to smash face and grab objectives. So I went for Orks.

And good thing I did because the new Killer Khans were my MVP in most of my games. Tying down units, breaking vehicles, blasting infantry and murdering in the assault. For a mere 45 points each (just 5 points more to a terminator) the Tin Kans did everything! And thanks to them, they won me Best General. (Which is probably the first ever trophy I ever won!)

Before I end, I would like to thank all my opponents in the GT. All my games with them were great. But I have to give a shout out to Freddie Yu. I must admit, Freddie was one of the few people I didn't want to face in the GT and I was like "$*)#!" when we were paired up to fight. But Surprisingly he turned out to be the best match I ever had! Though I lost to him (VERY close fight), I'm proud to say I did all I could to win and couldn't done any better. It was well played and well fought and that's the kind of game I look for. Even though I lost, the match was so awsome that I had a smile beaming on my face! Though I always aim to win and play competitively, what I really want is a challenge. Something to get my blood pumping and my brain juice flowing. And Freddie Yu delivered. Thanks Freddie Yu for a great and awsome game! I hope to challenge you again someday.

All in all, this year's GT was the best. And I am honored to win Best General along with Lucas. Though I'm looking forward to a game between him and me. The only advice I would give to the new and old is honor your opponent with a good fight. What that means is, be fair, be fun and give your best. And in return, your opponent will honor you for it. Thanks again everyone for ending this year's GT with a BANG!

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Pang Sports Pa!




Written by Patrick Chua
Co-winner, Best Sportsman, 2010 Warhammer 40K GT

(photos courtesy of Neutral Grounds)

Coming to play in a grand tournament (or major tournament) has always been a nerve wracking experience for me, considering I have played many competitive CMG games from the past. This years GT was in my mind no different than last years....I was wrong...this years GT was more serious, focused and fun!

Winning the co-sportsman award was actually a shock to me since my tables had their fair share of squabbles (professional squabbles naman) but all in all we all played like gentlemen and continued onwards. But I never imagined na makukuha ko pa ung sportsman award at kasama ko pa si Wiley! (ang aking makulit na partner ng kulitan sa galle)

Well a lot of people have been asking what makes a good sportsman, well basically its about being sport, being able to dish the heat and take the heat and having fun while you are at it. Everybody hates to lose and by losing with a smile and knowing you did your best despite of everything, congratulating your opponent and learning from your mistakes. This years GT was actually a blast and a good experience for me both on and off the tabletop. My Advice to fellow players both new and old, love our hobby, love our community and most of all play nice play fair and be good!