WINTER EVENT December 22nd 2005 – 5th January 2006 Winter approaches and another opportunity to bring OGC people together arises. This time a hard-line ‘game a day’ approach to 40k is the order and thus the period that brought the transition of the calendar to 2006 brought also a load of OGC rabble to Ormskirk for a mix of whisky, bitter, and some bizarre tasting spirit. And of course, the games…. The 40k sections of this event book follow a narrative; in short the planet of Aradian is about to have nine armies converge on it for a full-scale war. All narrative will be in italics so as not to confuse. Event opener – 22nd December 2005 Whenever OGC people get together in Ormskirk it usually begins at the Hayfield and so where better to have an afternoon of Magic? The multi-player threw up a similar result to the Tournament with Simon winning and Luke coming last, however Luke did manage to win one later on, much to the shame of the other players. Everybody though, got a taste of some victory, perhaps except for Monovie who was modifying his deck as he played….using the library he was drawing cards from and of course calling the phrase ‘Hurry up!’ Not content with closing time things continue elsewhere, Luke demonstrating his oh so confusing Golgari deck. What the hell is going on? I’d feel rather bad about myself if I did…. 23rd December   Simon Gray’s Tyranids 19 – 7 Luke Greensmith’s Subterra Marines Things kick off with a grudge match, back at Dissidence in March a victory for Luke over Simon would have finally lifted him off the bottom of the rankings however Simon managed to pull off a good run and over the past nine months has put some distance between himself and Luke. How much had things changed? Luke was summarily executed here, his plan was instantly torn apart by two Lictors and a Biovore shot killing a terminator with Assault Cannon which brought much ‘impossible to win’ comments. Luke insisted on keeping his marines hidden in the tanks throughout the battle before they were forced out and eaten in the late game, and eventually even Luke came to admit ‘I am the worst 40k player in the club’.  Particular attention can also be drawn top Simon’s face of glee in the picture, a true ree if ever there was one…      The Subterra Marines had been assigned to mine clearance on Aridia that were currently held by rebel dissenters but had received more than they had bargained for. The rebels had disturbed something that had attracted Tyranids, and the Subterra Marines were the first to fall before the Great Devourer. 24th December       Mike Brandon (Eldar) 20 – 5 Andy Townley’s Ultramarines Seemingly out to prove a point, Brandon’s first game came at the helm of a borrowed Eldar army. Having never actually fielded Eldar before it looked to be a suitable challenge and consequently the Ultramarines where annihilated save for three men. Classic Swooping Hawk and Warp Spider terror tactics mixed with a covered Guardian advance saw the Marines cut down. Their inability to bring any firepower to bear allowed the Eldar to run riot, culminating in a brutal strafing run executed in the deployment zone by a Falcon in the late game. The Ultramarines third company were based on planet Daxx when they suddenly came under fire from Eldar forces. Unable to react in time to the surprise raid, the Eldar dealt significant damage to allow them to bring a small fleet past the Ultramarines post.  28th December         Tom Leatherbarrow’s Tyranids 14 – 11 Andy Townley’s Ultramarines New to OGC, Tom Leatherbarrow made his 40k ‘baptism’ against middle ranked Andy Townley. Subsequently a close fought game ensued, but with Tom’s army being so unlike Simon’s, there were learning experiences for both players, and subsequently Tom overpowered the Ultramarines and caused significant damage to their lines. A good win for the newboy. Now in prepared positions the Ultramarines on Daxx were to face another shock, a Tyranid force suddenly lay assault, forcing the Ultramarines to fight a delaying action, they had no choice but to evacuate towards Aridian, along with hundreds of thousands of refugees. December 24th With the annual ‘nothing happens’ the following day, December 24th seemed like a good night for everyone to get together and unwind.              Mark and Luke on Burnout & May and Rick on Pro Evo Some highlights from midnight Magic playing, including the strange hand reaching for the deck shot… December 28th More Magic in the Hayfield, with James (???) decks being describable as nothing other than annoying. Plus, check out those goblin tokens, there were eventually over thirty of the things spawned from goblin warrens in a competitive game, consequently they were all destroyed.   29th December       Andy Townley’s Ultramarines 11 - 7 Luke Greensmith’s Subterra Marines In what was to be the first of three games fought between these players over the period, Charly/Andy gained the initial upper hand. A sustained assault by Luke however had him causing some real problems to the Ultramarine left flank culminating in a huge infantry battle which proved that painting your troops is oh so important as models from the wrong sides were being removed, as can be soon below right. Luke’s own left flank assault consequently was very weak and was annihilated by Ultramarine forces in that area which consequently gave the Ultramarines the win. The reams of refugees were an immediate problem for the Subterra forces and the Ultramarines themselves declared that they should surrender their ammo and supply dumps to them as they represented absolute Imperial authority. Seeing this as nothing more than an aggressive action, the Subterra marines defended their lines but were forced to pull back as the Ultramarines captured the area and began deploying for a campaign on Aradian. 30th December         Monovie Asita’s Eldar 21 – 18 Luke Greensmith’s Subterra Marines Monovie returned to action for the first time since his fourth place finish at the Tournament and fought a close game with Luke. Luke’s marines had the Eldar on the run at one point capturing the Eldar right with a holding force and bringing in troops via Wyrm drills to overrun the Eldar left. However the Subterra attack quickly lost momentum allowing the Eldar to counterattack, retaking their left flank and pushing the Subterra troops back whilst reinforcing their left. Consequently casualties were very high on both sides, but it was the Eldar who came out on top. Still, a hard fought game, well above the average standard for both, and very gutting for Luke who pulled out one his best performances in a long time. Oblivious to actions at their base  the Subterramarines launched a surprise attack on the Eldar making planet fall, inflicting tremendous casualties on the unsuspecting Eldar. However in the process the Subterramarines had also been badly mauled and fell back to Ultramarine lines…. 1st January              Simon Gray’s Tyranids 19 – 6 Andy Townley’s Ultramarines The first game of 2006 was fought between the two Tournament ‘flops’. Charly was to make several major misjudgements as the mass Tyranid army descended upon his lines, firstly not realising the power of some of the Tyranid symbiotes led to several squads being in ill positions and consequently being wiped out. A dependency on Overwatch to defend against a Lictor assault also allowed several Tyranid units to reach Ultramarine lines relatively unmolested. The final result was a massive victory for Simon as he continued to sustain his run of victories with the Tyranids. Now deployed on Aradian the Ultramirnes held a permitted defence against a different Tyranid brood to the one they had fought previously. Poor communications led to a disorganized defence and the Tyranid’s began their full-scale rampage on Aridia. 1st January              Luke Greensmith’s Subterra Marines 12 – 10 Andy Townley’s Ultramarines The second match between these two of the period was an even closer fought game, however Charly’s misery was to take a new turn as he fell to Luke. Another successful combination of timing and momentum allowed the Subterra Marines to cause enough chaos and damage in their opponent’s lines to gain them the victory. Not quite as vicious as Luke’s previous effort, it proved his newfound tactics were working however. If the problems of unpainted marines was bad in the previous meeting, check out the picture on the below right. Just what exactly is going on? The small Subterra force, regrouping after the battle with the Eldar found their supplies cut by Ultramarines. They launched another desperate raid, exerting all the recourses the small group had, and despite more losses, seized a supply dump and re-armed their men. 2nd January       Anthony Leatherbarrow’s Blood Angels 19 - 14 Andy Townley’s Ultramarines The brother of OGC newcomer Tom, also made his first OGC appearance a this event. Anthony unleashed upon Charly, a particularly unsavoury surprise…. a First Company army of Blood Angels. Featuring twenty Terminators, and a Culexus assassin it was certainly an army of elites, and despite some teething problems for Anthony, deeming his Chaplain on bike invincible until it got ran over by a tank, the seeming invincibility of the Terminators drove him to victory albeit at some cost. Since this was such an off the wall battle there is no narration linking it to the Aridia campaign. 2nd January      Tom Leatherbarrow’s Tyranids wiped out Luke Greensmith’s Subterra Marines In Tom’s second OGC game he picked up an impressive win, annihilating Luke’s army utterly. Of course wiping out Luke is not exactly an amazing feat (he is wiped out on average once every eighth game) it was still good work for a new player. Of course, Luke did little to help himself, sticking to his previous army choices he charged straight for the Tyranids, a big mistake made even worse by a Venom Cannon Shot that caused a chain reaction killing three tanks and a combat squad. With Luke setting up his own defeat he bravely/foolishly tried to detonate a Krak grenade in close combat against the Hive Tyrant in the final turn resulting in an unwounded Tyranid and an atomised marine. The main Subterra force that had retreated from the earlier Ultramarine attack had to deal with the grisly task of holding back the marauding Tyranids. Hours after first contact, the majority of the Subterra force on Aridia had been annihilated. 3rd January       James Brown’s Necrons 11 – 1 Luke Greensmith’s Subterra Marines Brown from out of nowhere (in true Necron fashion) made his first appearance since becoming champion and set out first on the classic set-up, and once again showed how far his skills had progressed since the days of the 3-3 draw. Brown utilised his troops’ abilities to the full whereas Luke failed to adapt his earlier successful tactics to deal with the different army type. The result was the Necrons dominating the field with each pocket of Subterra resistance being either destroyed or forced back. A classic victory and a good return for the reigning champion. The situation for the surviving Subterra marine forces was about to go from bad to worse. Relocating their reclaimed supplies to prevent it being recaptured by Ultramarine forces they came across a dig site. Scanner and patrols showed nothing but as soon as they moved into the position they were set upon by Necrons. The Subterra forces were driven back out of the area. 3rd January       Mike Brandon’s Imperial Guard 14 – 14 Adam May’s Orks The two previous 40k Champions played out a gruelling match of humans and Orks culminating in a bloody draw. The two sides exchanged like for like early on with the Imperial Guard being held every time they pushed their line forward. Their right flank made a breakthrough later on at the expense of a Hellhound and Chimera but the left was a different story as a single Leman Russ held its own against a Kult of Speed but was inevitably destroyed, though it did plug the line. The Orks advanced down the centre right the way across the table, with heavy fire support from Death Skullz, a Dreadnought and two Killa Kans, however the Guard were saved by a leman Russ arriving to destroy the Dreadnought creating a gigantic explosion that destroyed the entire Ork firebase. Despite the destruction, the two sides were locked in stalemate, a fitting result for the two former champions. Were there is war there is inevitable Orks, and whilst the Ultramarines had established themselves as the main force on Aridia, the Planetary Defence Forces were called upon to quell a small Ork uprising. Ultimately they could only contain the Orks, but it was enough considering the chaos elsewhere. 4th January       James Brown’s Necrons  16 -  6 Monovie Asita’s Eldar Brown successfully swatted off Monovie in a replay of the Tournament semi-final that Monovie had come so close to winning. It wasn’t the same story here however and Brown secured a comprehensive victory over the Eldar forces, ensuring they didn’t have the breathing space that had allowed them almost take down the Necrons back in July. The Eldar had found what they came to Aridia for, but they were also aware that an ancient nemesis guarded it, however they had to secure their objective. A single brief engagement was enough to decide that the Eldar forces were not strong enough to seize their prize…yet  4th January             Adam May’s Orks  17 – 6 Luke Greensmith’s Subterra Marines Now was a chance for Luke to show what he had and work on those tactics he had refined several games ago, before facing Necrons and Tyranids. Instead, Luke hurtled headlong at the Orks, and thus the Orks were able to bring their guns in from all sides using the mobility of the Kult of Speed. The two Wyrm Drills emerged on solo missions, with their aim of taking down the Dreadnought and Killa Kans but lacking the support of the rest of their army which was bogged down under heavy Ork fire they had little chance of success. Consequently the Orks slaughtered their Marine foes and May racked up another victory against his old time opponent. The Orks had not been contained by the PDF troops and the surviving Subterra forces, now caught in the open without supplies took a heavy beating before being forced to retreat. Aridia’s countryside was now rife with rampaging Orks and Tyranids, and only the thin blue line of Ultramarines guarded the cities. 4th January              Mike Brandon’s Imperial Guard 13 – 9 Andy Townley’s Ultramarines Still suffering with ‘teething’ problems using the Imperial Guard, Brandon unleashed them upon Charly who had already defeated them twice before. Now however they were much more organised with a new batch of tanks to support them. The Ultramarines drove up the centre, halting any Imperial Guard advance, however their flanks were totally compromised. Two Leman Russ tanks emerged from reserve to annihilate a predator and swing around the rear of the Ultramarines lines, whereas a Hellhound and Chimera did the same on the opposite flank. One particular problem for the Hellhound was its need to move on fast speed to use its Inferno Cannon, and then having to go speeding past the Ultramarine position the next turn, unable to slow down (due to minimum combat speed movement). The importance of flanks was demonstrated here though, as the Guard were able to surround the Ultramarines ultimately leading to their victory.  Unrest at the blockades put around the cities by the Ultramarines to defend them led to an uprising in the city of Marnor, PDF troops seized their armour and engaged the Ultramarine forces in the area, consequently driving them from the city. Declaring them nothing more than traitors the Ultramarines increased security in the cities they were still defending, and Marnor was left to defend itself. 5th January        Mike Brandon’s Chaos 15 – 4 Luke Greensmith’s Subterra Marines Brandon fielded his third army type in this game against Luke. The Chaos spread their line with covering arcs on all of the centre and in response Luke led his force on a sole flank attack. However it was to prove little more than a turkey shoot as bad fortune saw a razorback head off the table out of control and both Wyrm Drills also suffer the same fate. Later Mike refused to fire some of his forces as ‘it just felt cruel’, and subsequently the game was an unfulfilling but decisive Chaos victory. The battered Subterra Marines decided they would be best retreating to the closest city and holding the line their while awaiting reinforcements. However just south of Marnor they ran into a Nean Dell Legion position. Their equipment now in disrepair the Subterra forces attempted a breakthrough but they could not penetrate through the Chaos lines. Consequently their forces were either decimated or scattered. . 5th January        Andy Townley’s Ultramarines 16 – 9 Luke Greensmith’s Subterra Marines The final game of the period was the ‘best of three’ decider between these two. This time Charly wasted no time and took the fight to the Subterra forces, the subsequent effect of Luke’s assaulting troops being caught in the centre of the table left them in an ill position that even if they could fought out of it, they would not be able to overrun the enemy. This brought about the chance for Luke to bring in his Wyrm Drill’s behind the Ultramarines to sandwich them however but the Ultramarines responded quickly and held the emerging squads at bay. The Subterra Marines put up a heck of a fight but they were fixed in place by the Ultramarine fire, and this allowed the Ultramarines to move into more advantageous positions and thus secure the victory and a 2-1 overall win for Charly. The Subterra Marines regroup East of the city of Arkannes, and prepared to march in a’ non- aggression’ column into the city, their army was defeated and in need of supply and had information on the sudden Chaos appearance. However as soon as they were in sight the Ultramarines commander gave no heed to hail them and instead issued the order to annihilate the ‘non-codex’ pest. The Subterra Marines, quickly occupied positions but the Ultramarine forces were too quick and well prepared and the last surviving Subterra marines on Aridia were scattered into just a few small two or three man pockets. 5th January – Event Close And thus a packed few weeks of games came to its end. We’d had some new players, people who hadn’t seen each other in a long time met up again and overall it was a pretty fun event to be a part of.  Before people began dispersing or reverting to the usual restraints of normal civilian life, a few of us headed down to the usual OGC refuge…the Hayfield! Event Summary 40k Player results table (in alphabetical order) Narrative end: Aridia was overrun by Tyranids, the populace was contained within large urban areas defended by PDF troops under Ultramarines command. Small mobs of Orks were also now present, an old but checked problem now able to spiral out of control. The city of Marnor had also declared independence in the confusion and Subterra forces had ran into a Nean Dell encampment in the Marnor area. The Subterra troops themselves, having been driven out by the Ultramarines were now subsisting in very small bands with little or no ammunition and a seemingly certain death. Eldar troops had also been present in the area Necrons were encountered, though as to the purpose of either of these forces it could only be speculated. A final note…. Purple or Blue? – it’s a cause of much disagreement…. PLD W D L F A Win % VP +/- Monovie Asita 2 1 1 27 34 50% +7 Mike Brandon 4 3 1 62 32 75% +30 James Brown 2 2 27 7 100% +20 Simon Gray 2 2 38 13 100% +25 Luke Greensmith 8 1 7 64 145 9% -81 Adam May 2 1 1 31 20 50% +11 Ant. Leatherbarrow 1 1 19 14 100% +5 Tom. Leatherbarrow 2 2 39 11 100% +28 Andy Townley 8 2 6 82 113 25% -31