The first day of the Breaney-Hammer league.
It was a wet and wild Thursday in the South West of Cornwall, when children gathered to find out who would be the greatest tactical genius.
The battleground? A 3ft by 3ft (ish) neoprene mat with the remains of chapels and gothic buildings.
The objective? Hold the centre of the battlefield by the end of turn 5.
The armies? Well, we had:
Aurellia with her Black Templars: A Castekkab with Sigismund's Seal and a Primaris Crusader Squad
Ellyott with his Redemptor Dreadnought, sporting a Macro Plasma Incinerator and a heavy flamer.
Matthew with his Razorback, Infernus squad and Assault Intercessor squad
James with his Infernus Squad, Bladeguard Veterans (proxies) and an Invader ATV with an Onslaught Gatling Cannon.
Aurellia was paired against Ellyott, whilst the brothers, Matthew and James, were pitted against one another, all bonds of family severed.
Aurellia vs Ellyott
This looked like it might go only one way, but with Aurellia advancing her troops up the board on turn one, and the Redemptor incinerating 4 with its first shot, the match promised to be closer than initially thought. The Templars made it into close combat and heroically slashed and stabbed at the metal behemoth. It looked like the entombed ancient was going to wipe away the nuisance that assaulted him with powerful blows from its fist, but somehow Aurellia managed to make all her saving throws! It then became a battle of attrition, with the dice telling the story of a heroic band of infantry who took down a goliath who stood in their way.
Victory for Aurellia.
Matthew vs James
Cautiousness was the plan at the start of this game, with turn one involving just one bit of shooting, that was ineffectual, and no charges. The Invader took up position behind a corner of one of the buildings, whilst the Bladeguards and Infernus Marines slowly made their way forward. The Razorback, Assault Intercessors and Infernus Marines on the opposing force also set themselves up for good firing positions in subsequent turns, with the Razorback sitting on the central objective, lascannon turret scanning for the enemy.
Placement, lines of sight and great rolling caused the game to see-saw between the two players - James forcing Matthew out of position and torching his infantry, whilst Matthew eliminated the ATV with a combination of anti-tank fire and close combat fighting.
In the end, Matthew's forces overcame the amazing dice rolls that James was able to produce.
Victory for Matthew.
Next week we will have the next two games in our league, and see who has the greater tactical nuance. Or, at least whose dice favours them the most!
Battlemats provided by Deep Cut Studio.
Terrain provided by kind, individual donors.
Children provided by their families.
The battleground? A 3ft by 3ft (ish) neoprene mat with the remains of chapels and gothic buildings.
The objective? Hold the centre of the battlefield by the end of turn 5.
The armies? Well, we had:
Aurellia with her Black Templars: A Castekkab with Sigismund's Seal and a Primaris Crusader Squad
Ellyott with his Redemptor Dreadnought, sporting a Macro Plasma Incinerator and a heavy flamer.
Matthew with his Razorback, Infernus squad and Assault Intercessor squad
James with his Infernus Squad, Bladeguard Veterans (proxies) and an Invader ATV with an Onslaught Gatling Cannon.
Aurellia was paired against Ellyott, whilst the brothers, Matthew and James, were pitted against one another, all bonds of family severed.
Aurellia vs Ellyott
This looked like it might go only one way, but with Aurellia advancing her troops up the board on turn one, and the Redemptor incinerating 4 with its first shot, the match promised to be closer than initially thought. The Templars made it into close combat and heroically slashed and stabbed at the metal behemoth. It looked like the entombed ancient was going to wipe away the nuisance that assaulted him with powerful blows from its fist, but somehow Aurellia managed to make all her saving throws! It then became a battle of attrition, with the dice telling the story of a heroic band of infantry who took down a goliath who stood in their way.
Victory for Aurellia.
Matthew vs James
Cautiousness was the plan at the start of this game, with turn one involving just one bit of shooting, that was ineffectual, and no charges. The Invader took up position behind a corner of one of the buildings, whilst the Bladeguards and Infernus Marines slowly made their way forward. The Razorback, Assault Intercessors and Infernus Marines on the opposing force also set themselves up for good firing positions in subsequent turns, with the Razorback sitting on the central objective, lascannon turret scanning for the enemy.
Placement, lines of sight and great rolling caused the game to see-saw between the two players - James forcing Matthew out of position and torching his infantry, whilst Matthew eliminated the ATV with a combination of anti-tank fire and close combat fighting.
In the end, Matthew's forces overcame the amazing dice rolls that James was able to produce.
Victory for Matthew.
Next week we will have the next two games in our league, and see who has the greater tactical nuance. Or, at least whose dice favours them the most!
Battlemats provided by Deep Cut Studio.
Terrain provided by kind, individual donors.
Children provided by their families.