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TheChirurgeon's Road Through 2025, Part 37: The Tabled Talk GT
My army up for paint judging
My List
Let's start with the list I brought to the event, just to put all this into context. After some back and forth with Mortarion and Vectorium, I chose to stick with Mortarion's Hammer and just run triple Plagueburst Crawlers. As I've said many times, despite their new, higher costs, nothing else does what PBCs do and they just win you some games outright.I took Rattlejoint Ague (-1 to saves) in every single game.
I've also mentioned before that the big downside to playing Death Guard is that it more or less stops me from getting Best Painted. At a smaller event like this, that's not necessarily true, however, and I like my chances after looking at the competition. My Death Guard have some warts, sure - there's a broken spike and horn here and there - and dark green and brown armies just tend to not draw the attention you want when it comes to judging. That said, my stuff is still pretty good on a technical level despite being among the older models in my play rotation. The other upside is that, this being a local event, I have a display board I can easily bring.
Also worth noting: This event had brand new terrain that was a huge step up from the usual terrain at Ettin. It was all 3d printed and they'd just finished having it made. So it wasn't painted but I'll take great unpainted terrain over bad painted any day. What's notable about this particular terrain is that it folds up extremely well, and I was very pleasantly surprised by how little space it took up when folded.
The event terrainI had a quick breakfast that morning - a couple of cheese kolaches - and hit up the event a bit too early (first round was 9, I got there at 8), but that gave me lots of time to just hang out and talk to the TOs and the crew heading in. There were a lot of local folks I knew and had played before at the event, and my initial read was that everyone there was a solid opponent and no one I'd heard bad things about or had a bad game against.
Round 1: vs. Eric Caredenas' Tyranids
Take and Hold + Search and Destroy
Eric is running Subterranean Assault, which I haven't played against yet, but I know what their main deal is - dropping tunnellers who then make holes for other units to come through.
Eric's got a lovely "mechanical Tyranids" list with lots of converted and 3d-printed models. It's an interesting list and I know it can get up to some real shenanigans if I let it but I really just need to keep the Tyranids dropping in front of me and not behind, which mostly means screening for 9". The big priorities here are killing the Biovore - dropping that with mortars is what I call a "twofer," or one of those situations where you kill a key backfield unit and then opponents have to spend the rest of the game using another, more valuable unit to hold home, effectively "killing" that unit as well. It also gives me the indirect supremacy I need. After that I need to kill the Swarmlord and the Exocrines and once they're dead the game is over.
I'm Going Second.
That's good news, and my only big concern here is being on Search and Destroy. Eric rumbles forward with his army to set up staging on turn 1 but doesn't have line of sight on anything but my lone MBH and my Poxwalkers. Eric pulls up with his Exocrine to take shots, wipes out the Poxwalkers, and uses Deathleaper to take the lower right objective. He also pokes out with his Swarmlord.
That's all fine with me, and I promptly push to midtable and kill the Exocrine and the Swarmlord and use the Mortars to kill his Biovore, keeping him off primary and forcing him to use a unit of Raveners to hold his backfield objective. This is more or less game in my eyes, but there's still some work to do - both Trygons and the Hive Guard are in reserves and I'm not entirely sure what they can do once they arrive but I know I won't love it.
That instinct proves correct - Eric goes full send and drops his Trygons on the table, bringing upgraded Raveners and Hive Guard with him at the northern objective and a legion of Zoanthropes at the southern objective. The Hive Guard wipe out one of my Bloat-Drones but just barely whiff on killing the other, which escapes to cause more problems.
That's a lot of stuff - but it's not too much stuff and it's time to retaliate. I bring in both units of Deathshroud, dropping the LoC unit on the right side behind Eric's Exocrine where it can shoot his Raveners and still charge, and dropping the others toward the lower right end of the table, where the plan is to use them to kill Zoanthropes (who are infantry!) and Gargoyles and finish the Trygon off in melee.
This all goes according to plan and I kill most of Eric's army, wiping out all the Gargoyles, the Exocrine, all of the Zoanthropes and Neurotyrant, both Trygons, and a bunch of Raveners and Hive Guard. Eric doesn't have much to punch back with and on the following turn (3), I table him. We talk it out from there.
Result: 97-47, Win
That was a solid game and Eric was a fun opponent with a lovely army. But this will set the stage for a recurring theme: My opponents will, more often than not, just run out of stuff. Most of my relatively cheap units punch up well into things or can easily remove multiple units per turn to make up their value, and opponents will feed me threats piecemeal, allowing me to take advantage of that and win the war of attrition.
I set up for paint judging and head over to lunch at a nearby Italian place. It's not great - you cannot get good Italian food in Texas - but the chicken parm sandwich is passable and lunch only costs me $11 with a soda and tip and that's a hard price to beat.
Round 2: vs. James Harnish's Leagues of Votann
Scorched Earth + Tipping Point
I've played against new Votann before, but only in testing against Shane's Brandfast list. James is running Needgard, who have what looks like infinity YP by round 3. James is also running a very cool looking army of teal-and-purple Kyn, all painted well (though still a work in progress). James also had a cool theme going on - his army were 100% ironkyn, and he only used the little dome heads for his models. Very cool!
My big concerns here are the Thunderkyn, who can do real damage and even split fire against my vehicles, killing them relatively easily. That said, I'm not super worried - Votann are a bit too expensive right now and they likely just won't have enough stuff to compete in this game. Plus, they don't really have an answer for Deathshroud and once those hit the table they'll clean up.
I'm Going Second.
That helps too - I blunt James' initial scout moves with Poxwalkers, but him coming out is what I'm looking for. That said, he's playing it a bit coy with his units, smartly avoiding exposing anything big. I wipe out his bikes and just have to set up and take mortar shots at the Land Forts until they come out. The good news there is that they're a bit range-limited, and on his turn James doesn't take that into account, coming up short with several weapons and splitting fire with several guns. It doesn't work out and I don't lose a single vehicle, meaning that both James blanks on Bring it Down (oof), and that I can clap back hard - I down one fortress and heavily wound another while taking out his Yaegirs. I drop in the Deathshroud and they go to work.
After I take out the Land Fortress in melee with the Deathshroud the Thunderkyn get out and do some work but it's too little, too late - I make short work of those as well and James just doesn't have enough units to respond. The middle of the table is mine and James can't do much from here.
We talk this one out as well when it looks like it'll be a tabling. James has only scored 10 primary VP all game, owing to a need to hold objectives at midtable and hasn't made much headway killing my units.
Result: 97-36
A quick break between rounds and I'm put in one of the two side rooms for game three. This means a larger table, quieter environment, better AC, and comfortable chairs. Hell yeah. That means a more laid-back game as well.
Round 3: vs. John's Space Wolves
Purge the Foe + Crucible of Battle
Another game against Team Swamp Fox, who are some of my favorite guys to play in this game. John's an absolute pleasure to play against and his Space Wolves look great. We had an extremely chill game, despite his dice being horrible.
John's running Saga of the Beastslayer, which can be useful for him punching up into my vehicles. My big priorities here are:
- Kill the Repulsor Executioners before they can kill more than one thing each
- Don't let Ragnar and his unit get into combat with you
- Don't let Bjorn mess up your Stratagems
I'm going Second.
On Purge that's a godsend, so I'm ready to go on this one. John can't afford to not play aggressively, but I haven't given him anything to shoot turn 1. He pushes out and takes shots with his RepEx at my Bloat-Drone and manages to pick it off for an early kill but that's all he gets. On my turn I go full send - my goal is to pop the repex and kill everything inside, then kill as many thunderwolves as I can to prevent them from being a threat. This is where John's dice were horrible - he failed quite a few saves but also the RepEx exploded and took a lot of wounds off his nearby units, making it easier for me to chew through them. A single bloat-drone downed his entire 6-man Headtaker squad in one volley - they had paired weapons instead of shields, meaning they were saving on 6+.
It didn't get any prettier from there. Ragnar's unit got out of his Repex and then failed a charge into my vehicles after I'd given them -2" to their distance, leaving them to sit in the open and die the following turn. Bjorn bounced off my PBC, and the Thunderwolves just didn't get much done in the middle. John needed good dice here and didn't get it, and on my turn I plowed through most of his army. This one ends up looking like another tabling as the Ballistus and Bjorn go down on turn 3.
John needed better dice in this one but also I think he needed to stage and go full send on turn 2, and avoid putting anything in my line of sight on the first turn. Even without the big rolls into the RepEx and his Headtakers I had the resources to do more. But ultimately this one also came down to going into another elite army where I had more units to work with and could afford to sacrifice something to get an advantage - I didn't want to lose a bloat-drone, but I basically made him available in order to lure out the RepEx to a spot where I could kill it and everyone inside. Losing a single 120-point vehicle to kill 500 points of Transport + guys inside is a trade I'll make every day.
Result: 96-49, Win
That's a hell of a day 1 finish and I'm feeling good about it. Home was only ten minutes away so I was back in time to grab dinner (sushi) and do my weekly Saturday night ritual with the missus of catching up on anime - right now it's Dan Da Dan, which is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorites. A brief bit of Saturday night hobby hangouts on Discord after that and it was bedtime.
Coming into day 2 at 3-0 isn't common for me and I needed to buckle in. That said I was also just expecting to drop a game at some point, likely to Blood Angels, so I wasn't overly concerned. I had extra time in the morning so I made bacon and eggs for Bryce and myself.
Day 2 switches us to Layout 1, which I like less - those big Ls are harder to drive out of - but it still makes the middle a helpful killing field for my shooting units.
Round 4: vs. Brenan Muller's Leagues of Votann
Hidden Supplies + Crucible of BattleBrendan's another player I know very well - he was on my team last year at Rise. He's a methodical player who doesn't like to lose and you know what? Fair. Extremely same, buddy.
This game and my final game were on stream so I unfortunately did not take that many photos. I was hoping to put links up here to watch the games, but those haven't been uploaded to the streamer channel yet. I'll come back and add them if that changes. Brendan's a friend I've played before and this was a pretty chill game.
I've played Brandfast before against Shane and I know how deadly it can be. My goal again here is just to win a battle of attrition, killing more of Brendan's units early and leaving him with nothing left to counter with and a stranglehold on the table. This doesn't go quite as well against Brendan, who gets off some very good early dice rolls with his Thunderkyn to kill two bloat-drones getting out of their transport and a third on Overwatch. That puts me in more of a hole than I'd like but the fact remained that Votann are too expensive and don't have a good answer for Deathshroud.
Two key plays in this game:
- Early on, I roll double 5+ to keep one Poxwalker alive in a big melee on Brendan's side of the table, ensuring everything over there stays in contagion range for my turn.
- I use the Eyestinger Storm stratagem on the objective in the lower right corner to battle-shock a unit of Hearthguard during Brendan's Command phase. They fail, denying him 5 primary VP and also preventing them from re-rolling a failed charge against my vehicles that they desperately needed to make after I give them -2" to their distance.
Result: 60-41, Win
I grab lunch at the same Italian place again (a calzone), this time with Brendan and Oscar Ruiz, another Death Guard player who's currently chasing top honors in the ITC. He would have been my biggest threat at this event... but the event isn't big enough to replace one of his top 6 ITC scores, so he's screwing around with a Flyblown Host list for funsies. He's 2-2 after an 0-2 start right now.
Right now I'm 4-0! That's a first for me, and I'm a bit nervous headed into the final round. That is, until I see who I'm up against, then I know it's just gonna be a great time regardless.
Round 5: vs. KC's Ultramarines
Linchpin + Search and Destroy
Kevin "KC" Camarata is a sweetheart, and a joy to play. I've played him many times, including at home and in previous Road Through 2024 and 2025 columns. He has a habit of having the worst luck against me, and I think Guilliman has never stood back up in a game we've played. I'm hoping that streak continues. He's a very good player who has improved a ton in a very short amount of time.
KC's list can be a real nightmare - it scores well and can hit like a truck if you aren't careful. It has a ton of CP to work with, and while it's a bit slow, once it gets to you that can be goodnight. My big concerns here are the Vindicators, which will kill anything they see, and Calgar's unit. I also need to kill the Scouts immediately with mortars - they're the key to KC's scoring. I'd like to also kill the Infiltrators, since home is worth quite a bit on this mission.
My big advantage here is that they only have 24" range, and Kevin has to be conservative with them in deployment. This gives me a clear spot I can deploy out of the big L and still be out of range for his vindicators, even if they get a 6" advance and use the stratagem or doctrine to advance and shoot:
I'm going first.
That's not ideal, but it's fine - I use mortars to kill the scouts early, then chip one model off his Infiltrators, hoping to get lucky and take out the whole unit, but the dice aren't there. I move out in a way that stops KC from getting turn 1 shoots with his Vindicators, and on his turn he moves out but can't do much with it.
That's fine by me, and I kill his Vindicator, then use the mortars to dump a bunch of shots into Calgar's unit to soften them up. My goal here is to get as much done as I can early before those Centurion Devs show up and cause problems. The Deathshroud fight for the lower right objective, which goes... only OK. True to his army's ability, KC is able to cause problems for me after this, and his other vindicator puts in work, partnering with his Storm Speeder to destroy a PBC while the Dev Cents and Calgar kill the Deathshroud and take out a couple of drones. The Judiciar and BGVs had a huge advance (6") out to midfield, where they killed one of my Blight-Haulers and I failed all three saves with my Lord of Virulence to die there. That's a big blow, and it makes this all closer than I'd like.
Some time in round 2, another player informs us that the third undefeated is currently losing on his table, which means our game won't matter as much - the loser will finish second and the winner will definitely win. KC and I discuss the possibility of playing it out and taking a draw, and agree to do that at game's end. Then about 30 minutes later we're informed that said player was wrong, and didn't see a bunch of stuff in deep strike/reserves, and the third undefeated could still win. This hasn't changed much of anything in our game, but this means we have to play to win now, as merely being undefeated might not be enough.
Like all of my games, this one came down to attrition. The BGVs evaporated to Bloat-drone shooting immediately afterward, and my vehicles killed the Storm Speeder and wiped Calgar's unit. This left KC with four infiltrators, a combi-weapon lieutenant, a vindicator, and his dev centurions. On my end I had a PBC, two blight-haulers, a drone, and the LoC + his unit of Deathshroud, who dropped lower right and killed the dev centurions and everything on that point while my vehicles managed to bring down the Vindicator at midtable after Poxwalkers held it up for a turn. At game's end all KC had left was Guilliman + four Infiltrators and while Guilliman is a beast, I was on all four midtable objectives. KC just didn't have the units to make up the point differential.
We shake hands, share a hug, and call it a win for me. I tell KC we'll still split the prize money, regardless of whether he gets second or third. He'd end up finishing second after the other undefeated player lost to John's Space Wolves (thanks again, John!), leaving us each with $375 in store credit - very solid.
Result: 62-48, Win
HOLY SHIT. I won! This is my first GT win ever, and my first time going 5-0. It's an incredible feeling, even if it means denying KC his first GT win (sorry, KC!). I'm incredibly excited and relieved to be in this place, and I finish third in paint score to boot. I've had some lingering imposter feelings since Ottawa, where even being a big part of the team's success I was still on a team at an event we went to hoping to take advantage of a weak field (which, lol it was incredibly tough - great job, Canada), but winning my first GT puts those all in the rearview. Feels good.
The event itself was a blast - good location, good terrain, great store, great TOs. I'm planning to go back to any future GTs they host. Can't recommend enough.
The best part is that it was a five-round event on Labor Day weekend, which meant that I not only still had an entire Sunday evening to spend with the family, I also had a full day off following. What a great weekend. 10/10, no notes.
Next Time: Back into the Hobby
That does it for this week's update but come back next week when I'll be heading back to the hobby table to work on my Emperor's Children and some more embargo'd stuff that you'll see this Saturday. I may also get a game in. That's part of the plan, but we'll see if it happens - right now I don't have anything lined up for Saturday, and that's usually a bad sign, but weekend games happen.See you next Thursday.
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