Allies of Inconvenience: Episode 13- NOVA Narrative Recap and Changing the 2018 Meta

This Episode the Evan "Gothmog" and Chris "Discordian" recap their excellent experience attending NOVA and playing in the Narrative event for 40k, Evan with his BA Dreadnoughts and Chris with his Dark Eldar spooky bunch. After that we launch into talking about the meta, what it is and where we would like to see it go!

Also, here is a link to the KHARN we talk about!

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00:00 Intro

04:16 Hobby Progress

26:30 NOVA Narrative Recap

53:09 The Meta and What to Change

Songs and Soundclips

Blue Mark- Atlan Urtag

Kaap mere- Bugotak

Clip 1 - The Wrath of Khan

Clip 2 - Zeonic Front

Clip 3 - Blade Runner

NOVA Narrative Recap- The Unstoppable Dreadnoughts

NOVA was this last weekend and man was it a BLAST. It is definitely a smooth run operation and I plan on going back again for a third time next year. Last year I took my all Death Rider Army to the NOVA GT and Trios. This year I intended to do the Trios again, but due to team mate issues, I instead went to DC and did the tourist thing on the day of the trios. This is one of the untold bonuses of NOVA, you are practically in Washington, and taking an uber or the Metro to the museums/monuments is easily done and worth it if you are not from the area.  But after a day of site seeing I got to jump into the NOVA Narrative! Check out their mission pack here. Some really fun and cool missions you should try at home (especially Shuttle Crash and Refinery IMO).

My 2500 point army. All my armies would be made from this!

I had started this article a few days ago, but now I feel I must temper my enthusiasm before I launch into the review.
Edit: I leave the following 2 paragraphs for completions sake, but I wan't it to be known I have since spoken to Joe the TO. He is a real class act and got back to me with a solid explanation and apology of what happened, and "honor is satisfied" on my part from what you are about to read below. It really wan a GREAT event and the mistakes that follow in the next 2 paragraphs really are just a confluence of bad luck and pre-con impediments to a 100% smooth Narrative. That being said, I really do appreciate the explanation and discussion with the NOVA Narrative TO.

The narrative, while being great for come and go play and just general fun, had some record keeping issues apparently. I get that is can be really really hard with the open format that it is, but I played every non-kill team game. But reviewing the records afterward, I have the wrong Fame Score (I should have 0... they gave me 27. I saved no civilians). I am missing 2 rounds of battlepoints. My APOC score is not associated to me, and I am missing a hobby score.

As they record shows, I am #9 on the virtue team. If I it JUST added my battlepoints, I would be 4th. With a measly 5 hobby points I would be tied for 3rd. 11 would have had me tied for 2nd. 19 tied for 1st. Seeing as no one got less than 9 if they got judged, I should have placed, and I'd like to think at least 2nd if not 1st (by maybe 1 point)... Its really disheartening to have put all this effort into something and then learn I walked away empty handed not for lack of my effort, but because of just bad book keeping. I know they are volunteers, but as a customer, I feel a bit cheated. I know little can be done at this point, but if there was a certificate or medal that the people who placed got, it would be nice to have one sent. Not looking for the prizes. Just something to mark my accomplishment.

Anyway, onto the coverage! I was on Team Virtue (story in the mission pack), helping eliminate the Forces of Humanity. My Battlegroup was the Guns of Waaaghust.

All my lists are available here. But I'll sum up below
I had 13 dreadnoughts
-Chaplain with Claws and Heavy Flamers
-Librarian with Halberd, Fist and Melta-gun
-Contemptor with Assault cannon and Fist+combi-bolter
-2 x Furiosos
-2 x Death Company Dreads (Cassor the Damned and Moriar the Chosen)
-3 x Mortis Dreads w/ autocannons, assault cannons and the occasional heavy bolter
-Deredeo w/ Autocannons and heavy bolters and  a nice shield projector the FW still hasn't released despite showing it off at every event they do for over a year.
-Leviathan in a Drop pod with a melta lance and siege claw OR no drop pod and Storm cannons (Yay magnets)
-Redemptor with Gatlings, Icarus, and Frag launchers

A key to each of my lists was the Deredeo with Mortis surrounding it. His Atomantic Pavaise (the shield projector) gave my dreads a bubble invlun. I would then spend my CP pretty much EXCLUSIVELY on popping wisdom of the ancients on the same Deredeo to give my shooty dreads rerolls. My Warlord ALWAYS had the Veritas Vitae to regain this CP, which usually stretched my measly 4 or 5 into 6 to 8 CP, which was more than enough to pop Wisdom and get a few 1 time rerolls for saves or damage. I also found myself usually taking Shield of Sanguinius or Quickening and Wings of Sanguinius for my psychic powers.

When my Warlord was my Librarian I took the Gift of Foresight WL trait (6+ FNP rerolling 1s). If it was my chaplain, I took Soul Warden, allowing him to deny the witch, which was often useful as my Librarian usually suicide charged turn 1 or they would be on my flanks opposite each other, giving me good coverage with 2 denies.

Game 1 (Win): 2000 pts vs Death Guard- Mission: Slaughter Zone, Hammer and Anvil Deployment
A great opening game for the Narrative for me. Only my 3rd time facing Death Guard and I knew it would be a close one.  We definitely based each other for a bit, but eventually his disgusting resilience wasn't enough and the wall of steel overcame him. His Plague Drones were beasts though!
My favourite moment of the game was probably when my Leviathan and Typhus met in hand to hand. The first round of combat saw them stalemated, but in the second round I was able to smash his to a foetid pulp before he could even strike.

Game 2 (Win): 1000 pts vs Salamanders- Mission: Open Ground, Font-line Assault Deployment
One of my tougher games at first I feel. Those salamander rerolls can be brutal on a Lascannon or Missile Launcher. My opponent also had a really clutch use of the Flakk missile strategem + Signum against my Wings of Sanguinius Librarian Dreadnought. He gains FLY, so that was a good move. In the end though, my opponents foot Marines couldn't stand up to my Dreads and the NOVA terrain really played to my advantage blocking LOS so my punchy dreads could close. Game ended close points wise, but still a W for me and very few sons of Vulkan left on the table.

Game 3 (Loss): 2000 pts Doubles (1k ea) vs Dark Eldar and Death Guard- Mission: Refinery, Hammer and Anvil Deployment.
This time, myself and Discordian with his Prophets of Bark and the Spooky Bunch Teamed up. I was against the same Death Guard player as turn 1, but teamed up with a very shooty DE list. This game was REALLY close and we lost 16-17, by 1 point - essentially they had first blood and we didn't (I really wish more events used First Strike instead for this very reason. Winning because you went first when all other things means the game would be tied seems silly. We managed to kill something Turn 1 as well AFTER getting shot. But 0 points for that. But I digress). The DE player was the only person the whole weekend who implicitly KNEW to go for my Deredeo to begin with, a lesson all others would learn too late the rest of the weekend. Had he been like them and taken my Furioso bait instead, or we had gone first, the game would have likely came out with Chris and I as the victors. Either way, super fun and a cool mission with progressively scored main objectives (as you siphon off fuel tanks).

Game 4 (Win): 2500 pts vs Orks- Mission: Shuttle Crash, Front-line Assault Deployment
This was one of my MOST FUN GAMES EVER. The Ork player had an amazing "Orkperium" themed army, lead by two PrimeOrks (Growlman was one of them and I forget the other). All the orks had different SM chapter shoulder pads. He had a Gorkanaut and a Morkanaut. Crazy fun! What really saved my bacon is the shuttle crashed in front of my Dreadnought Firebase, and to run at me meant facing a wall of Firepower. Once more the NOVA terrain did me wonders, keeping my Mortis and Deredeo hidden from his big walkers, while my Librarian was able to fly up and severely damage them and my Leviathan come in and do some damage too. Unfortunately, he royally whiffed every melta lance shot I made all weekend... Meanwhile his rockets could roll nothing but 6s (he would do 0 with a heavy 20 weapons, and then nail me with both rockets... 3 turns in a row!). Those orks must have looted some Tau Seeker heads, because they were deadly accurate.
This game was also the first time I got to use my Redemptor. While he didn't last the whole game, he did squish PrimeOrk Growlman, and his Gatlings chewed up some boys good and proper.

Game 5 (Win): 1000 pts vs Death Guard- Mission: Slaughter Zone, Spearhead Assault Deployment.
A great sport who I unfortunately tabled by the top of turn 3... Its rough when a game goes like that. His army was pox walkers, some Plague Marines and Characters, and Mortarion. Turns out when Two Autocannon Mortis dreads have LoS first turn and reroll ones from Wisdom of the Ancients... well Morty doesn't last too long... and to finish him off I was able to charge a Furioso with Blood Talons turn 2. Just not a good day for the Primarch of the Death Guard. In the end my Deredeo and Mortis dreads made light work of the Pox Walkers and Plague Marines while my Librarian ate a few Characters. Could have been different had he gone first, but eventually Mortarion would have had to come into LoS of the Autocannons, and that just spelled his doom.

Game 6 (Win): 1500 pts vs Thousand Sons- Mission: Refinery,  Vanguard Strike Deployment
A fun game amongst a ton of terrain. Firelanes were challenging at times for me. But it proved more problematic for the Thousand Sons. By the end of the game he had 3 models left and I had scored the Maxmimum off my Fuel dumps and at least once off of his. Things I learned- Obliterators are still really scary and Chaos has better Leviathans than the Imperium (and charging one with a Librarian dread may not work out as a result, especially if you fail to cast shield of sanguinius 2 turns in a row)

Game 7 (Win): 3000 pts Doubles (1500 ea) vs Space Wolves and Ad Mech- Mission: Convoy, Vanguard Strike Deployment
My dreads and the Spooky bunch paired up again for fight on a neat winter themed table. Top take away from this game- Wrack Screens are great for shooting dreads! We had a great pair of Opponents from the Crew Shaken podcast. Facing down some Wulfen, my team castled up and left them with no viable first turn charge. Our opponents also threw a Stormfang Gunship at us full of some mean stuff, which we managed to blast from the sky and explode behind our lines, greatly aiding our cause. Our opponents also made an early game push to drive their objective convoy across the field, but our DE Scourges and Mandrakes came in on the edge of our own Deployment zone bottom of 1 and put an end to that. In the end the faltered first turn charge of the Wolves cost our opponents dearly, letting my dreadnoughts take the fight to him first and allowing our firepower and some void raven bombing runs to do the trick and eliminate the worst threats to us early on.

Game 8: Apocalypse (Win)
What can I say about this. Crazy big cool game. The biggest thing on the Table was a Manta, but otherwise nothing bigger than a Warhound Titan, and really just a lot of Knights and Mini-Knights. For this game to get up in points, I had to break out some non-dread units. I had some good fun flying my Xiphon and Fireraptor (WHICH WAS SOME HOW THE ONLY FIRE RAPTOR IN THE GAME) up the board killing knights! I also got to step on a Captain Slamguinius with my Knight Atrapos. Crowing moment for our team though was taking our opponents primary objective bottom of Turn 5 by Orks (our Battlegroup Warlord none the less!) making "Da Jump" and charging in to eliminate all before them. Its really good when something like Apoc comes down to the infantry fighting rather than just who has more big guns.

Biggest take aways
-Narrative is WAY less stressful than the GT and a ton of fun
-Get a better camera and use a flash
-Make sure your scores are recorded properly

NOVA 2018 Narrative Recap - Prophets of Bark and the Spooky Bunch

Discordian Here.

This year I decided to go with the narrative event at NOVA. Last couple of years I'd done the GT, and I wanted to do something different. I brought my Prophets of Bark and the Spooky Bunch, Dark Eldar Coven with Mandrakes and some Harlequins (I'm going to make a follow-up post just about that, but you can go HERE and HERE to see some of it now).

The Forces of Virtue (My team) vs the Forces of Humanity. The whole event was divided into a bunch of varied point level games that you could choose to participate in, which all had a bunch of unique non-standard missions. The smaller games were played on 4x4s, some games were doubles, and everything ended with a big Apoc game. There was also a kill team element, but they ended up going with the newer GW kill team rules and literally everything I was planning/painting was made illegal by that. So I ended up dropping that part.

There was this whole warlord mechanic involved, were a few team leaders got to pick were and what you played against. It added a cool background strategy game to the whole event, but since I wasn't involved it mostly came across as a bunch of yelling and being told were to go.

Additionally there was another cool side-game going on, where there were NPCs on each battlefield you played on. You could save them or kill them, resulting in gaining either fame or infamy. I choose to "Save" people, because its been a long time since Dark Eldar could take Sla... Prisoners with Jobs.



Here's a brief run down of what I actually ended up playing against.

Game 1: Night Fight 1 - 2000 points
Shuttle Crash - A plane randomly shows up somewhere, randomly crashes somewhere, and whose captain became a relic you had to keep safe.

Rainbow Marines

I played against some really nicely painted Rainbow Marines. He had a lot of str 4 shooting but Wracks and Mandrakes largely don't care about that, so I just marched forward and eat most of his stuff.

Won.

Game 2: Day Fight 1 - 1000 points
VIP Escort - Escort a kill-able dude to the enemies deployment zone, and kill theirs if you can.

Knights

1000 points, 4 knights on a 4x4 table. Did what shadow monsters do best, hide in buildings. And since the board I played on was 90% buildings, and since my 1000 points of infantry couldn't fight 4 knights in open war; I just didn't.  I walked my dude the long way around and my Mandrakes picked off his.

Won.

Game 3: Day Fight 2 - 1000 points Doubles
Refinery - 6 objectives with a fixed amount of points that can be scored off

Teamed up with Gothmog

(Forgot to take pictures of their stuff)

Dark Eldar / Deathguard

They went first and we lost by 1. They had made several play mistakes which let us gain some ground, but it wasn't enough to to compensate for a turn 1 trio of ravagers being yelled at to shoot us better. We kept to the mission as best we could.

Lost.

Game 4: Night Fight 2 - 2500 points
Convoy - Had to protect and escort a rhino-like vehicle across the table, and kill their's.

White Scars

I went first and killed his Glaive, because the mission was to escort a VEHICLE I had no option. I threw everything I could at it turn 1 and managed to kill it just barely. The rest of the game was me mostly mopping up.

Won.

Game 5: Day Fight 4 - 1500 points
Shuttle Crash - A plane randomly shows up, randomly crashes, and whose captain had to be kept safe.

Daemons of Khorne

It was a bad match up for him, he had a bunch of big Daemons and a few hounds. My army really doesn't care about things like that, and most of his stuff bounced off my things while I slowly whittled him down. But he was a great sport about it and he ended up rightfully wining best painted.

Won.

Game 6: Night Fight 3 - 1500 points Doubles
Convoy - Had to protect and escort a rhino across the table, and kill their's.

Again Teamed up with Gothmog

(Again forgot to take pictures)

Ad Mech with Iron Hands / Space Wolves

They went first, but we had enough to weather it. They threw a Plane full of Wulfen at us turn one, which we grounded and humanly euthanized. It took the steam out of their game, and we slowly marched froward picking things off. Turns out Goofy DE Footdar and Dreadnoughts really compliment each other.

Won.

Game 7: APOCALYPSE - 40000 points
MADNESS

It was scored by primary and secondary objectives held at the end of each round. With extra points for killing Titanic and warlord models.

I ended up being placed on one extreme side and slowly moved toward objectives. I threw my planes deep into their lines, hoping the bad guys would kill them and I could take them away to safety, magically my 1 Razorwing did a lap around the table and survived the game with 1 wound left.

My Revenant made a appearance, and was promptly murdered by a smash captain.

Largely the rest of my army didn't do anything because my table side completely collapsed the flank we were fighting, so I spent a lot of the game trying to re-position to do anything.

Some people closer to the battle lines on my team will tell you we won, but I will tell you I was present.




Closing/Thoughts:
I really liked the event and had a lot of fun. Wouldn't be opposed to doing it next year.

Won 7 games with 1 loss. My Team ended up wining. I placed Second in the Fame. And I ended up randomly getting a prize, a 3 primaris marine painting kit.

If I had more time I would have tried to have gotten something ready for the Kill Team portion. But the second they changed to the newer rules I looked at my already made list of Wracks/Mandarkes/Scourge and moved on with my life.

TAKE MORE PICTURES.

NOVA Narrative: Fury of the Ancients (All Blood Angels Dreadnought list set)

This year at the NOVA open I will be participating in the Narrative Campaign. It is a set of 7 games, 4 recon patrol games (which I am not doing) and 1 Apocalypse game. You can check out the primer here. 

Games
2000 Point
1000 Point
1000 Point Doubles
2500 Point
1000 Point
1500 Point
1500 Point Doubles
3000+ Point Apocalypse

I wanted to run a theme for this event and decided this was the perfect opportunity to break out my Dreadening Concept. So I give you my all Dreadnought Force

FURY OF THE ANCIENTS

Dreadening 1k version 1- 997
Spearhead Detachment (+1 CP)
HQ- Librarian Dreadnought: 187- Furioso Force Halberd, Furioso Fist, Melta-gun; Smite + 2 Psychic Powers; Warlord, Relic: Veritas Vitae
Elites- Furioso Dreadnought: 184- Blood Talons, Melta-gun, Heavy Flamer, Magna Grapple
Elites- Relic Deredeo Dreadnought: 237- Anvillus Autocannon Battery, Twin Heavy Bolters, Atomantic Pavaise
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 135- 2 x Twin Autocannons
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 135- 2 x Twin Autocannons
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 119- 2 x Assault Cannon

Dreadening 1k version 2- 999
Spearhead Detachment (+1 CP)
HQ- Venerable Chaplain Dreadnought: 204- 2 x Dreadnought CCW, 2 x Heavy Flamer; Warlord, Relic: Veritas Vitae
Elites- Furioso Dreadnought : 169- 2 x Furioso Fist, Melta-gun, Heavy Flamer, Magna Grapple
Elites- Relic Deredeo Dreadnought: 237- Anvillus Autocannon Battery, Twin Heavy Bolters, Atomantic Pavaise
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 135- 2 x Twin Autocannons
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 135- 2 x Twin Autocannons
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 119- 2 x Assault Cannon

Dreadening 1k version 3: 995
Vanguard Detachment (+1 CP)
HQ- Venerable Chaplain Dreadnought: 204- 2 x Dreadnought CCW, 2 x Heavy Flamer; Warlord, Relic: Veritas Vitae
Elites- Death Company Dreadnought (Moriar the Chosen): 189- Blood Talons, Melta-gun, Heavy Flamer, Smoke Launchers
Elites- Death Company Dreadnought (Cassor the Damned): 179- Blood Talons, Melta-gun, Storm Bolter, Magna Grapples
Elites- Furioso Dreadnought : 149- 2 x Furioso Fist, Melta-gun, Storm Bolter, Smoke Launchers
Elites- Contemptor Dreadnought: 165- Dreadnought CCW, Comb-Bolter, Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 109- 2 x Heavy Bolters

Dreadening 1500- 1499
Vanguard Detachment (+1 CP)
HQ- Venerable Chaplain Dreadnought: 204- 2 x Dreadnought CCW, 2 x Heavy Flamer; Warlord, Relic: Veritas Vitae
Elites- Furioso Dreadnought : 149- 2 x Furioso Fist, Melta-gun, Storm Bolter, Smoke Launchers
Elites- Death Company Dreadnought (Cassor the Damned): 179- Blood Talons, Melta-gun, Storm Bolter, Magna Grapples
Elites- Relic Deredeo Dreadnought: 237- Anvillus Autocannon Battery, Twin Heavy Bolters, Atomantic Pavaise
Spearhead Detachment (+1 CP)
HQ- Librarian Dreadnought: 187- Furioso Force Halberd, Furioso Fist, Melta-gun; Smite + 2 Psychic Powers
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 119- 2 x Assault Cannon
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 109- 2 x Twin Heavy Bolters
Heavy Support- Relic Leviathan Dreadnought: 315- 2 x Storm Cannon Array, 2 x Heavy Flamer, Hunter Killer Missile

Dreadening 2k- 2000
Vanguard Detachment (+1 CP)
HQ- Venerable Chaplain Dreadnought: 204- 2 x Dreadnought CCW, 2 x Heavy Flamer; Warlord, Relic: Veritas Vitae
Elites- Death Company Dreadnought (Moriar the Chosen): 189- Blood Talons, Melta-gun, Heavy Flamer, Smoke Launchers
Elites- Death Company Dreadnought (Cassor the Damned): 179- Blood Talons, Melta-gun, Storm Bolter, Magna Grapples
Elites- Relic Deredeo Dreadnought: 237- Anvillus Autocannon Battery, Twin Heavy Bolters, Atomantic Pavaise
Elites- Contemptor Dreadnought: 165- Dreadnought CCW, Comb-Bolter, Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon
Spearhead Detachment (+1 CP)
HQ- Librarian Dreadnought: 187- Furioso Force Halberd, Furioso Fist, Melta-gun; Smite + 2 Psychic Powers
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 119- 2 x Assault Cannon
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 135- 2 x Twin Autocannon
Heavy Support- Relic Leviathan Dreadnought: 356- Cyclonic Melta Lance, Leviathan Siege Claw, 2 x Heavy Flamer
Dedicated Transport- Lucius Pattern Drop Pod: 80

Dreadening 2500- 2500 lb.
Vanguard Detachment (+1 CP)
HQ- Venerable Chaplain Dreadnought: 204- 2 x Dreadnought CCW, 2 x Heavy Flamer; Warlord, Relic: Veritas Vitae
Elites- Death Company Dreadnought (Moriar the Chosen): 189- Blood Talons, Melta-gun, Heavy Flamer, Smoke Launchers
Elites- Death Company Dreadnought (Cassor the Damned): 179- Blood Talons, Melta-gun, Storm Bolter, Magna Grapples
Elites- Relic Deredeo Dreadnought: 237- Anvillus Autocannon Battery, Twin Heavy Bolters, Atomantic Pavaise
Elites- Contemptor Dreadnought: 165- Dreadnought CCW, Comb-Bolter, Kheres Pattern Assault Cannon
Elites- Furioso Dreadnought : 149- 2 x Furioso Fist, Melta-gun, Storm Bolter, Smoke Launchers
Elites- Furioso Dreadnought : 169- 2 x Furioso Fist, Melta-gun, Heavy Flamer, Magna Grapples
Spearhead Detachment (+1 CP)
HQ- Librarian Dreadnought: 187- Furioso Force Halberd, Furioso Fist, Melta-gun; Smite + 2 Psychic Powers
Elites- Redemptor Dreadnought: 206- Heavy Onslaught Cannon, Onslaught Gatling Cannon, Dreadnought CCW, 2 x Fragstorm Launchers, Icarus Rocket Pod
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 109- 2 x Twin Heavy Bolters
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 135- 2 x Twin Autocannon
Heavy Support- Mortis Dreadnought: 135- 2 x Twin Autocannon
Heavy Support- Relic Leviathan Dreadnought: 356- Cyclonic Melta Lance, Leviathan Siege Claw, 2 x Heavy Flamer
Dedicated Transport- Lucius Pattern Drop Pod: 80

Blood Angels at LVO: Interview with NOVA Open organizer Mike Brandt



LVO was a few weeks ago and I thought it was SUPER COOL to see sooooo many Blood Angels in the top 8 (3 lists with BA in top 8, including one pure BA list, and another one with BA in the top 10). Going into the top 8 was one stand out to me, Mike Brandt, founder and TO for the NOVA Open tournament. He was #2 going into round 7 and finished 5th overall! I reached out to him and he most graciously accepted my request for an interview.

Mike's List from the 2018 LVO

 1- First of all congrats for going into the Top 8 in second place and finishing 5th overall! Before the tournament started, did you think you would make it that far?

Well thanks! To be honest, no one should ever think they’ll make the Top 8 / Finals. There are several factors that weigh in to your performance at an event of this size. First and foremost is luck! Even the best lists that attended were not well-rounded enough to tackle every possible permutation in 8th Edition. Lists like the 15 Artemia Hellhounds I faced in Round 6 will almost auto-counter several of the lists that ended up making it to the Top 8, for instance. So you need to go up against the right lists to get there … if you get super unlucky and get paired against 6 straight mirror matches w/ similar lists piloted by good players (which can absolutely happen), can you really say your dice will be reliable enough that you truly think you’ll make Top 8?

Second is army list. I’ll talk about it a bit more in the other questions I’m sure, but I selected my list in part because I could just barely fit it + all my gaming aids/dice into a single KR MultiCase Card Case. Not only are these things durable and lightweight, they fit into my overhead luggage along w/ my clothes. So I didn’t have to check any bags, and only had one small box with a handle to have to carry around with me. Since I was aware I chose a list in part because it was fun to play and compact, I didn’t think I’d do as well as if I’d taken a more traditionally optimal one. But it is still a really strong list.

Finally is just the chance of the dice and the improvement of the hobby. When I first started playing in RTTs and GTs back in 4th and 5th, I went something like 40 tournament games before I took a loss. The competitive community was a lot less mature back then, and even the “top” players at the time were not really at the level they are today. As much as it’s easy to think highly of oneself, it’s important to recognize that even if you are one of the better players out there, there are plenty of guys who can and will match you move for move and thought for thought. I certainly played several of them at LVO, and you can’t control every little thing to the point of guaranteeing wins forever in that environment. I figured, ultimately, that I would go around 4-2 or 5-1 … and I guess in all honesty I wasn’t too far off my hunch (finishing up 6-1)!

2- Your list comprised of Catachans and Blood Angels. Are you primarily an Imperial Guard player or Blood Angels player?

Historically, I’m an Imperial Guard player. My list included the same Catachan models that won GTs in 4th and 5th. Blood Angels, however, have always been my favorite Marine army, and my first regular play opponent always used them over 10 years ago. It was really exciting to bring a bunch of Jump Pack marines with character support, as that’s largely the type of list he played. I didn’t go into things with intent to have my Blood Angels be a larger or smaller part … just kinda worked out that they were the largest % of the army. That percentage will likely increase going forward, however, as I’m already working on ways to fit Reivers and other bits into my Angels’ list at the expense of some of the Catachan body count.

3- What was the thought process behind the list you designed? Why Catachans? Did you specifically not want to take vehicles and if so, why?

I didn’t take vehicles beyond the Sentinels primarily b/c of travel concerns (see above). It was a very real consideration to turn some of the sentinels into Hellhounds (either Artemia or regular pattern). But they wouldn’t fit in the box.

Catachans are both my favorite guard regiment and the best guardsmen to take in the current game. As fun as it is to shoot better with Cadians, guardsmen just die far too easily to every threat mechanism for them to be relied upon. By taking Catachans with Straken and the Priest, you’re able to create models that all throw more attacks than an Assault Marine at S4. By taking 100 of them, you can take the unavoidable turn 1 hit where you lose 40 or 50, and still have a very effective combat force remaining. By using Catachans, I was able to effectively ignore opponents who threw what they thought were powerful combat threats at them (i.e. shining spears with protect/fortune, Mortarion, Death Company + Characters, etc.). The Catachans, played and maneuvered correctly, would lose 2-3 squads to these threats before promptly throwing so many bullets and blades at them with decent odds that they’d fall over. What this meant was I could spend the Sanguinary Guard going after other things, and opponents often fell into this trap. They’d assume I’d have to use the Sangguard to bail out the Catachans, so they’d throw their “bullets” as it were (their big threats) at the Rambos and leave exposed elements for the SG to exploit. In every single game, this flipped things in my favor. The Catachans also reliably took out things (Between my couple prep games and the event itself) like shining spears, Morty, Mephiston + Celestine + 15 Death Company, big buffed Plaguebearer squads, and more.

The Sanguinary Guard were initially only present once in the list, but that ended up not being correct in test games. I added the 2nd squad and went all in on 3 scout squads instead of just a Patrol because I wanted that “second bullet.” My regular play partner and longtime buddy Tony Kopach actually made the recommendation. I also wanted to be able to deploy a squad of SG on the board at times w/ the Characters, so that I could threaten more aggressive opponents with two reliable charges instead of just one. It worked out really well, and I fell in love w/ these guys by end of event.

4- Blood Angels were in 3 of the top 10 lists, with number 4 going into the top 8 being a pure Blood Angels list. Do you think they can and will stay a strong competitive army as the meta evolves? Do you think Sanguinary Guard may get hit by the proverbial “Nerf Bat”?

I think Angels synergize well with other armies, and work well on their own. I don’t know they are all that reliable as a pure army, but they give you everything something like a guard army is lacking. More importantly, they’re quite reliable - +1 to Wound is an extremely powerful trait, being able to re-deepstrike your key units is crazy good, 3d6 charging solves the biggest problem w/ charging. There’s just a lot to like about them. I liked them right from the get-go during Playtest as part of the Mournival playtesting group for GW.

5- I know from some personal discussion with you after NOVA 2017 that there were issues with Forge World on the tournament scene at the start of 8th. However, from what I see, none of the LVO top 8 have any forgeworld. Do you feel those issues have largely been resolved? If so, do you think codex releases have done that on their own or did Chapter Approved have more influence in balancing it out?

I think they are resolving. I also know many of us don’t believe in taking FW units on principle – they aren’t as well balanced, and often can be pretty extreme. Alex Fennell did have a Cyclops Demo Tank, so I guess it wasn’t totally FW-free. The Fire Raptor is, unfortunately, still an enormous problem that drains the fun out of games for its opponents – hopefully we can get that polished up a bit on the points front, too! I think it also was observed by some that Chapter Approved may have gone too far on some of the problem FW units. I honestly (And literally) can’t say for sure what my opinion is there, but I do know that units which get priced a little too high are generally less bad for the game than units priced a little too low and subsequently spammed. I hope in future CA we can continue to fine-tune the point costs of units (including FW) to get the game into a really sweet place.

6- If you could go back now and change one thing about your list before LVO, would you and what would it be?

I’d really like to find a way to add some Custodes to it. The models I use primarily for guard are Forgeworld Solar Auxilia, and I’d like to be able to have kind of an “Army of Terra” theme / feel to the army. I’d also probably drop the Sanguinary Priest in favor of Encarmine Axes, as most units I wanted to punch the hardest had invuls I’d run into either way (whether AP-3 or AP-2), and this makes one less character that I need to trail back into in order to get buffs. I might still also try and find a way to turn the Sentinels into Hellhounds … the Scouts were so effective at their job when presented in squads of 3 that the Sentinels did almost nothing for me all tournament save cede a few extra kills. I’d MUCH rather instead of HH or Sents, take Reivers or similar, but I run into the issue of needing the Command Points provided by the Guard Brigade. Honestly if not for the need to have a full brigade CP-wise, my army would be MUCH heavier BA than it presently is. Reivers are a very real consideration for a future add.

7- The LVO final was essentially a mirror match of two Eldar/ Ynnari armies What are your thoughts on Eldar, and particularly Ynnari, still being on top of the Tournament scene after such a powerful ride through the latter half of 7th edition? Do you think they need “fixes” and if so, what?

Reapers, Shining Spears, and Spiritseers are all undercosted. I think fixing their point costs will resolve most of the issues w/ Craftworld armies. It wouldn’t hurt to prevent strats being used with Ynnari dets, regardless of included . But I think it’s important to note that the Top 8 all kinda knew each other, and really good players do well at every event. So they knew the kind of lists they were all thinking about, which influences things. Good players DO tend to gravitate toward powerful lists, and the Eldar are no exception, but there were tons of people with similar Eldar lists sitting on the mid tables bemoaning their misfortune and not realizing it was simply b/c the top players really are MUCH better on the tabletop. I wish the community as a whole was more aware of the fact that while some armies are too powerful and obviously get taken by better players as a result, those good players almost always wind up at or near the top. I have no doubt if every one of them had taken the Blood Angel list I used, they’d have all made the Finals or gotten very close, and we’d be having a different discussion on the internet. Bit of a shame, really – it’s better to look at the field as a whole (though in this case, Eldar still did really well across the field haha).

8- Enough about LVO, onto NOVA. You are the founder and primary TO for the NOVA Open. Excited for 2018? Any big plans in motion?

OMG we are so excited! NOVA Open is all about providing a professional, enjoyable experience to our attendees while creating a feeling of family, friendship, and warmth. It’s a big gaming party where we raise money for charity! This year we are expanding all of our events yet again, and there are some really cool tweaks to the famous missions coming up. NOVA’s missions and format are sort of the “Grandfather” of what you see in the ITC, AdeptiCon, and other places (sufficient rounds for an undefeated champ, progressive primaries w/ selectable secondaries, etc.), and we’re always attacking our own system from every possible angle in search of ways to improve. I think we’ve made some pretty neat breakthroughs this year that I’m excited to share with people in the very near future. Outside of the 40K events, we’re also adding a much broader array of entertainment options in the Charity Lounge (located in an awesome rooftop bar/restaurant that we set up overlooking DC and National Airport), potentially to include open mic, comedy acts, and a wider range of musical acts. NOVAOpen.com is the place to go for more information … and e-mail customerservice@novaopen.com to sign up for our newsletter. Registration opens at 8PM US EST on March 1, and a lot of stuff tends to sell out in the first few minutes, so be ready!

(ed. I went last year for the first time and I am going again this year. Great fun, good venue, very professional and well run event! http://www.novaopen.com/)

 

9- Can you take a moment to tell us about the NOVA Open Charitable Foundation?

The NOVA Open began as a picnic tabled 40K tournament in the August VA heat back in 2009. I hosted it to raise money for Breast Cancer Research, as my Mom is a survivor. She was inspired herself by it, and joined the NOVA staff a few years later (she’s still one of / maybe the most important person to its success annually). When we got very serious about charity, we formed the Foundation to ensure all activities were done above board, transparently, and in a way that ensured the greatest % of funds went directly to the charities we support, hence the formation of the NOVA Open Charitable Foundation, which is a formal 501(c)(3). Laurie Brandt now runs that, independently of NOVA proper, and in fact was just selected as one of the first Warhammer Heroes! We primarily direct the funds we raise through at-con activities, global charitable army and mini raffles, and silent auctions (among other things) to Doctors Without Borders, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Fisher House Foundation. At times, we’ll support other charities based on the request of donors or in support of special causes. Check out more information at novaopenfoundation.org.

(ed. They run amazing raffles year round, for beautiful armies and models. Add it to your favourites bar! http://novaopenfoundation.org/)

10- What are you looking forward to the most about NOVA this year?

a. The people, smiles, and warmth of it all. And I don’t mean August in Virginia (but yes that’s a thing). I try to make a point of saying hello to every attendee, and it’s just one of the best times of the year. Customer service and raising money for good causes are two things that are just SO important to the staff (we’re all volunteers), and it shows in how they treat our guests. For first timers, I feel like it’ll be a different experience than you might see at other cons (different, not saying better – that’s all about individual experience). Moreover, we’ve somehow been able to infuse that family / fun / love / professionalism feel in our attendee base over time, so they show up with the same enthusiasm and connectedness that our staff shows.

And now a final “lightning round”
1- Best Chaos God?
The Emperor

2- Gork or Mork?
WHY NOT BOTH …?

3- Favourite Edition of 40k?
4th

4- Favourite Army you DON’T play?
Sisters of Battle

5- If you had unlimited Time and Money, what would be your dream army/hobby project?
Hive Fleet Dendrobates, with every brood painted and converted to look like Poison Arrow frogs. I got close to this once, but lack the time/money/skill to pull off and/or commission the conversion project required to truly put it together. It would be super neato. Spawning Pools as gorgeous bromeliads … the whole works. Probably would bake in actual Dendrobates microhabitats into the army so there were live poison arrow frogs living in micro-terrariums inside the display. Back in another life, I worked with some pretty exotic and large animals for a number of years, and I’m passionate about space dinosaurs because of it. Nids were my first army.

6- Star Wars or Star Trek?
Star Wars, though I wish it were higher science.

7- Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?
Abstain. ASoIaF (ed. A Song of Fire and Ice)

8- Pineapple on Pizza, Yes or No?
Only when in HI.

9- Preferred brand of Super Glue?
Gorilla gel.

10- Lord Commander Dante- Great Imperial Hero or Greatest Imperial Hero?
Old vampire with delusions of grand martyrdom. I’ve actually never been a huge fan of the named Blood Angels really across the board. I much prefer the image of these cultured but still rank-and-file marines who protect the weak, do their best, but occasionally just snap and go totally batshit insane. The image is so effective a microcosm of the Imperium at a whole – this nominally “good guy” force that’s hiding a sort of abject horror directly resulting from the tragedy of the Heresy, and always one fraction of a second from bursting forth and taking entire civilizations down with it. A super good guy version who never really goes bad and is just sure he’s gonna be the one to save the Emperor at the end of days? Meh. (ed. I'll just put you down for "Great Imperial Hero" then)

Fear the Cavalry! My converted all Death Rider army at NOVA

So I know I have been kinda quite the last few months. I had a Master Thesis to finish (in applied Physics), a cross country move/vacation (23 days CA to VA with a wedding in the middle), bought a house and then painted like a MADMAN for NOVA!

And what did I paint? Well what about 80 Death Riders and a Thunderbolt Fighter (now known as Pegasus)... Yeah I was kinda insane. But I did it. And man was it worth it. I made finalist for Army Appearance (top 14 of 220) and probably placed around 6th or 7th... and I will admit, I still have some detail work to do, so super pleased with these results. I'll get some better close ups and info on them up in the coming months.

2k List
Outrider Det+1 CP
HQ- Death Rider Squadron Commander- Hotshot Laspistol, Demo Charge, Grenades, Lance, Horse w/ Savage Claws
HQ- Death Rider Squadron Commander- Hotshot Laspistol, Demo Charge, Grenades, Lance, Horse w/ Savage Claws
Elites- Command Squad (4)- Laspitols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Elites- Command Squad (4)- Laspitols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Fast Attack- Death Rider Squadron (10)- Laspistols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Fast Attack- Death Rider Squadron (10)- Laspistols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Fast Attack- Death Rider Squadron (6)- Laspistols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Flyer- Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter- Twin Lascannon, 2 x Twin Autocannons, Tactical Bombs

Outrider Det+1 CP
HQ- Death Rider Squadron Commander- Laspistol, Demo Charge, Grenades, Lance, Horse w/ Savage Claws
HQ- Death Rider Squadron Commander- Laspistol, Demo Charge, Grenades, Lance, Horse w/ Savage Claws
Elites- Command Squad (4)- Laspitols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Elites- Command Squad (4)- Laspitols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Fast Attack- Death Rider Squadron (10)- Laspistols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Fast Attack- Death Rider Squadron (10)- Laspistols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Fast Attack- Death Rider Squadron (10)- Laspistols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Heavy Support- Thunderer Siege Tanks (2)- 2 Tanks ea w/ Demolisher Cannon, HK missile, Heavy Stubber

1k List (for Trios)
Outrider Det+1 CP
HQ- Death Rider Squadron Commander- Plasma Pistol, Demo Charge, Grenades, Lance, Horse w/ Savage Claws
HQ- Death Rider Squadron Commander- Hotshot Laspistol, Demo Charge, Grenades, Lance, Horse w/ Savage Claws
Elites- Command Squad (4)- Laspitols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Elites- Command Squad (4)- Laspitols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Fast Attack- Death Rider Squadron (10)-  1 x Hotshot Laspistol, Laspistols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Fast Attack- Death Rider Squadron (10)-  1 x Hotshot Laspistol, Laspistols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Fast Attack- Death Rider Squadron (10)- Laspistols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Fast Attack- Death Rider Squadron (6)- Laspistols, Grenades, Lances, Horses w/ Savage Claws
Flyer- Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter- Twin Lascannon, 2 x Twin Autocannons

I won my standalone trios game and 2 of my 6 GT games, loosing 1 of those by 1 point in a highly contested game vs Tyranids. Had we played more turns than 3 (I know, I know) it could have easily swung back my way.  Tabled by Ynnari 2 times though. But to me the weakness in the list was the 2 Thunderer Siege Tanks.