#24: Second Strike Game 4 - Do you want to see a magic trick?

As the last game of the tournament loomed, I found myself in a fantastic position. I was at the top of the leaderboard with 60 out of a possible 60 battle points. The closest player to me was on 47. What this meant was as long as I didn't get a Major Loss, first place was mine. I was pretty confident, but at the same time, very nervous because I knew that all my hard work could be for nothing if I couldn't handle business at the finish line. And then there is the old proberb...

Don't count your chickens before they hatch. 

My final opponent was a player I have only ever played once before in fantasy, where he systematically dismantled my army with a left-of-field Wood Elf army. By running elements I was not familiar with, he was able to press small advantages into horrific and devastating game changers. And in true fashion, he did not disappoint, deploying Harlequins of all things. 

Now, while I know that Harlequins are quick, very elite and very points-heavy, I honestly did not know what I was facing. I've battled harlequins all of once and it was in a very casual and non-competitive setting. 

And while I was unable to get a copy of his list, here it is from memory. 

Shadow Seer 

Solitaire

4 Harlequin Jetbikes with Haywire Cannons

A 5-strong troupe with a power sword, Caresses, in the Venom-esque transport whose name escapes me

Again, very unfamiliar with the army. I knew not to let the Solitaire live, and I knew the Shadowseer could cause me some serious problems with his tricksy psychic abilities. Past that I was running blind, and that terrified me. This is a player who can think three turns ahead, and I think I was already in the wrong mindset. I wasn't focussed on winning this game. My goal was to make sure I didn't lose horrifically. And therein lay my first mistake. 

I will say as well, apologies but there are very few photos of this game due to the intensity of the situation. After turn two, half the tournament was gathered around our table, which only heightened my nerves, so taking images completely slipped my mind for the most part.

I deployed centrally in my usual formation, with the only objective being "KILL". If anything, I perhaps deployed too far forward, having the upper hand when it came to range, but alas, against an army that ignores terrain pretty much completely, the dense ruins on the did not play to my advantage. Perhaps I also should have spread out a little more, but hindsight is 20/20. 

As for his deployment, the Shadowseer and Troupe in their transport lurked in the ruins on the right, while his bikes and lone solitaire deployed in very open ground, taking advantage of the intervening terrain to protect them. 

I seized first turn, and wasted no time in moving to clear fire lanes with both my Blades and Destroyers. 

The Destroyers moved to the left and gunned down the lone Solitaire before gliding back into formation, claiming a tertiary objective for first blood, while the blades pushed forward to draw the troupe out and perhaps force an error. I think this was a blatant mistake and expressed my mindset in this game perfectly. I was in damage control before my opponent had picked up a dice. 

My opponent's opening gambit was swift and lethal. The troupe piggybacked out of their transport, flipping and twirling into combat with my exposed Tomb Blades, losing one of their number to Overwatch. 

 The Jetbikes advanced into range of my Stalker, unleashing their haywire weapons, which bypassed my Quantum Shielding altogether and wrecked the towering construct. This was a huge blow, stripping me of the bonuses of the target array as well as a versatile flamer weapon that would have doubtless caused catastrophic damage if applied to the right target. 

The Tomb Blades surprised me by not being slaughtered, instead slaying another Harlequin in exchange for two of their numbers. This combat dragged on until the end of my turn, when the harlequins Hit & Ran, leaping toward my Warriors. My shooting phase achieved very little, thanks to a nasty Malediction on my Destroyers and my warriors standing helplessly by as the Tomb Blades blocked any remotely useful shooting. 

Thanks to their newfound flexibility, the troupe charged headlong into the warriors and began their systematic slaughter. Not to say it was an easy fight for them! Toughness 4 with Reanimation Protocols is nothing to sneeze at for any eldar to bring low, but thanks to a well timed charge from his Jetbikes, my warriors were slaughtered to a man in the space of two combat phases. From this point onward, things were a blur of dice and panic. But, with a distinct lack of photos thanks to frantic gameplay and more than a little bit of stress, the key game changing points were as follows.

My single living (and I use that word with a pinch of salt) tomb blade successfully gunned down the skimmer lurking in the backfield, netting me some valuable points, before hiding behind a building in my opponents right backfield for the rest of the game.

The troupe was disintergrated by my destroyers before the bikes charged in and killed a single model at which point, I failed a LD9 check and was cut down as I ran. 

And lastly, despite the urgent traversing of the board, the Harlequin Jetbikes could not kill my Tomb Blade before the game ended. Everyone around the table was chanting for me to rush out guns blazing from behind the safety of the building, but I refrained. 

And so, by a whisker, I managed to land a Minor loss with an extra two points for killing his Solitaire in the first turn. If that tomb blade had died, I would have missed out on the podium altogether, so caution saved the day! This left me with a final score of 67, landing first place. My game 4 opponent, thanks to the brutal victory over me, came second with 65 battle points, while the other Necron player got 64 battle points. 

Despite the win, it was a tough and exhausting way to end the day. As I mentioned in my Tournament preparation post, I mentioned that I didn't really have an answer for elite assault armies, and Harlequins proved that to be true. I think I panicked and made some errors early on that cost me dearly later in the game, but my opponent was ever the gentleman, even allowing me to roll for Illuminor's augmentations mid-game due to my complete absent-mindedness in deployment. It had next to no outcome of the game, but it's gestures like that that go a long way towards being a fantastic sportsman! 

So, at the end of the day, I managed to tick off a New Years resolution, with this event being the second tournament this year in which I came first. The first was a similar 40k event that was held before 40k made its way onto my blog, in which grey knights performed admirably! 

But I digress.

Second Strike was an absolute joy to be a part of and was an incredibly satisfying and enjoyable day, in which community felt like the focus. 

Thanks for reading, 

Gabriel