Day 1
Team0Comp is representing well so far at the NOVA open, Frankie, Geoff and Reece are all so far undefeated at 3-0 going into the second day of the open. Geoff had to slog through two Tau players and barely squeaked by with a win by first blood in his third game. Frankie drew a double imperial knight, triple wraithknight army round 3, and managed to seize the initiative with Vect. A hot first turn of shooting gave him enough momentum to carry the game for a victory. Reece drew three tough opponents, Neil from the 11th company round 1 with 3 imperial knights and 3 riptides to kick it off. He drew a brutal centurion star round two commanded by a finalist of the invitational event, winning the game by 1\8″ on the final turn. His final game was against Kurt’s dual beast pack list, winning the game on the last turn after trailing the entire game in kill points until Vect took a battle cannon to the face and rolled a 1 and got splatted to allow the Astra Militarum to pull ahead.
It’s been a great event so far, and tomorrow promises even more intense 40k action!
Day 2
Well, not so good for old Team Zero Comp day two!
Frankie made the top bracket by beating former NOVA champ, Justin Cook who was playing Adamantine Lance with 3 Riptides (a lot of the east coasters are playing that list). The highlight was his Wraithknight kicking one of Justin’s Imperial Knights in the nuts, blowing it up, and having the explosion kill a nearby Riptide! In round 5, Frankie drew a young player with his worst matchup: Wave Serpent Spam Eldar. Venoms just don’t stand a chance. Plus, at NOVA they play that the serpent sheild has a 270 degree fire arc….ouch. Frankie went down for the count in that game. His next game was against Rob’s Drop Pod Marines, another rough match for Dark Eldar, and they tied primary, tied secondary and Frankie lost by 200 VPs. Frankie is sitting at 4-2
Geoff drew Tony Kopach’s Serpent Spam Eldar round 4, and lost soundly to ignores cover shooting. His round 5 was against a Dutch player with a Centurionstar round 5, and lost a narrow game by VPs. He drew an IG blob army round 6 with dual Death strikes! He barely won after getting his backfield wiped by the Death strikes in a close game. Geoff is sitting 4-2.
Reece drew a bad match round 4, Flying Circus Daemons. He set up for an alpha strike but got seized on and it went downhill from there, with his shots scattering onto his own troops, and Knights blowing up in a single round of combat and then scattering onto his own troops…again! It was comedy gold. He lost quickly. His round 5 was against Farsight Tau, and won narrowly with only two knight with 3 hil points left. Round 6 was against the younger Kopach brother Andy’s Centurionstar. Andy made a deployment error that Reece capitalized on to take the game. Reece is sitting at 5-1.
Post Event
Well, that’s a wrap! NOVA is over and what an event it was. We had a great time, and highly recommend the event. It is close to the airport, at a nice hotel, and in general, a great event. There were some minor details that we disagreed with, such as some rules calls, etc. but in all, NOVA is a worth the trip.
Frankie ended up 5-3 with his dark eldar, Geoff went 6-2 with Nids, and Reece went 5-3 with knights+Astra militrqum , losing his his last game in hilarious fashion as an Astra Militarum opponent with dual deathstrike launchers and red hot dice blew up all three knights in two turns! The highlight being when a death strike fired, rolled a 6 to pen and then a 6 for damage, blowing a knight up, and then scattering onto another knight, and D slapping it. Que hilarity!
Tony kopach won again, with serpant spam this go around. Congrats to him.
Now for the trip home, see you all tomorrow!
Wow great job guys! I hope you guys can keep it rolling on day two.
The price for failure is….Dutch oven by Keno Khan!
good job guys
Go get em!
Those lists sound horrorific. I’m not sure how I feel about them.
It’s a massive competitive tournament, what do you expect??!? Haha The team0comp guys will have just as horrific armies, don’t worry
Actually Geoff and Frankie have normal lists, mine is pretty crazy but still tame compared to what we’ve seen so far, lol. East coasters definitely crank their lists up to 11.
Thats because Geoff is a Nid man. And all Nid mans know how it do. You dig?
Any chance u could put them up?
Put what up?
The lists that u guys brought
Yeah, we can do that =)
Awesome !!! Keep it up !!!
Thanks for the update. Glad too hear that keeping out Lords of War kept these lists sane and balanced. LOL
I know, right? Haha, these lists are so crazy.
Knights should be Lords of War, or at least limited to one…. my 2 cents
I think they need a 70-75 points decrease myself =)
yeah, let’s give super-heavies with a 4++/3++ re-roll and a D weapon a points decrease. Um, no.
Only because you are running 3. Its ok though, I understand…. Some people need a crutch to have a shot 😉
The funny thing though, is that three knight here is like, nothing. These lists are way worse.
Perhaps. They’re pretty manageable but for some armies, they can he rough.
As crazy as these lists sounds I’m glad to see such diversity in the madness! 🙂
Nice job guys, keep it up.
Two knights and 3 riptides in a single list? Man I can smell the cheese all the way here in North Carolina. Go get em Frontline!
The cheese is as thick as possible, lol! No mercy at this event, for sure. Its fun though, and well managed.
But dude, no FW and no LoW, so it couldn’t be that cheesy, amirite?! It’s not like they allowed those game breaking Baneblades in to ruin the tournament. 🙂
Which NOVA mission options did you choose in each of your rounds? If ‘normal’ lists are successful versus IKnight+FiB (Fill in the Blank) Spam, my guess is that smart play and smart pre-game choices are the key, yes?
Not really, everyone chose the same missions each time.
Ah, that’s disappointing. I had some hope that their asymmetrical missions would be a legitimate balancing factor.
People always talk big about how [insert key buzzword] missions will solve everything ever, and the powerful armies still win just like always. It’s hard to win missions if you’re just getting completely blown away and shot off objectives and the like.
East coasters sound total fucking cheese dicks. Goes to show you that the better generals live on the west coast……The best coast.
Or in britain, the better country haha
Yup!
Keep it up guys. Sounds like a lot of fun. We are hoping to represent Team Zero Comp as good this weekend at Celesticon.
Before being introduced to 40k, I though “competitive” game play was synonymous with intelligence, strategy and experience. 3 Knights and 3 Riptides, not so much. I’m glad you guys beat that asshole.
Unfortunately in the tournament scene a lot of people do go for it all with lists like this. It just makes it all the better when you see the guys who are winning these GTs not running these one sided lists.
That was like the tip of the icebrug, the lists here are svavage. So crazy.
To be fair, Neil from the 11th Company is not an ass-hole, but he does like bringing extreme lists.
Not at all, Neil is a great guy.
Believe it or not, playing a powerful army does not inherently make you either an asshole nor incompetent. That’s an uncalled-for judgement that you bring to the table. If you’re going to insult people, hold off to make sure they actually deserve it first.
I wasn’t really trying to insult the man, just revel in the fact that someone who brought a spammy list of the models they thought were the cheesiest just had their power-gaming dreams crushed. you’re wasting your breath trying to change my mind.
I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make, actually. Are you saying that a bunch of crappy spammy players showed up and got beaten by “real” armies? Because Tony Kopach won with 5 Wave Serpents and a Wraithknight. From what you’ve actually said, it does sound very much like you’re trying to insult the sportsmanship and competence of anyone who brings a list that you perceive to be cheesy/spammy/insert whatever buzzword you want. Maybe you’re just not communicating your point well, but if you are, then I redirect you to my original comment. Don’t be a judgmental dick for the sake of being a judgemental dick.
No.
Well, considering you called him an asshole, you’re doing a really poor job of not insulting him. If you want people to regard you as someone with a point worth making, maybe tone down the personal attacks in the future.
No to the insult being your intent and that you don’t think that playing a cheesy list automatically makes you an asshole? No, that you do intend to insult someone you’ve never met for the terrible, terrible crime of bringing a competitive list to a competitive event full of like-minded competitive players who came to compete and that you refuse to accept that this isn’t exactly classy no something a mature and reasonable adult would do? No, that you disagree that Frankie is the greatest 40k player in the universe? Use your words, man.
What’s Geoff running? Is be bringing out the Hierodule again?
he can’t , no LOW’s 🙁
Hence the IKnight Spam.
well, the Iknight spam isn’t being taken by Goeff and… you might well take a lance formation regardless of wether or not Lws are allowable 🙂
Sorry, I left an incomplete thought as a response: Without LoWs allowed, IKnights are the next most powerful thing (given the Super Heavy Walker status and D attacks). So, there is an incentive to spam IKnights. I didn’t mean that Geoff was spamming IKnights, I was addressing the the ‘no LoW allowed’ part. 🙂
Unfortunately, IKnights really aren’t the bee’s knees, I love them, and I frequently play with them, but they’re not at all what they’re cracked up to be.
Knights appear in similar numbers whether LoWs are allowed or not, at least presuming that stuff like the C’tan and such aren’t permitted. LoWs rarely have the sort of weapons you want to use to kill a Knight, so I don’t really see why you would think they act as some sort of counter to them.
@Abuse: I don’t think LoW are a counter so much as I think IKnights are the next thing going down the list. If LoW are neutered (no D ranged weapons), then they may not even be worth their points. D stomps are a thing and IKnights have them.
Here are some links from the torrent of fire FB page (https://www.facebook.com/torrentoffire) for Geoff and Reece’s lists. Some other lists on on there too, but only from the table that’s streaming, I think:
https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10600585_359380077549581_1782923535148990334_n.jpg?oh=60e84b2cd1866c8aec69bd554e378095&oe=5476AAD9
https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10345581_359630657524523_7527304867265787801_n.jpg?oh=c83c8276dd6107f06a71729d04c757ff&oe=546AA55E
Very handy, thanks.
Can we see your lists somewhere?
Live stream from the finals (Tony Kopach Serpent spam, winning) http://www.twitch.tv/torrentoffire
You said wave serpents get a 270 arc on SS like that’s not normal…i’m not an eldar player, but from my experience they always have a 270 arc…
The Serpent Shield, when used in weapon mode, is (reasonably) played as ‘fixed forward’ (45 degrees?), which gives it a limited field of fire. Where I play, I’ve never seen anyone even TRY to claim a 270 degree field of fire, nor have I. There isn’t even a vehicle-based argument (using the Wave Serpent model) to justify it.
Ok, this was bugging me. Page 104 of the Eldar Codex states, ‘Can deactivate shields to shoot forwards.’ There is no justification for claiming that they have a 270 degree firing arc. That’s just bad.
If it’s not backward, it’s forward, right?
There is sideways, when a vehicle has front, SIDE, and rear armor. 🙂
I’ve always played it as 45 degrees…
This kind of stuff makes me mad.
http://imgur.com/HBppRwz
Treat it as a hull mounted weapon – weapons point in a specific direction (usually measured along the barrel, we’ll let the Eldar off on the fact that only the old (pictured) model has a projection point. Especially as the rules say the hull mounted weapon is pointing forward. Therefore following the rules for hull mounted weapons, it is assumed to be able to track 45 degrees up, down, left, right. There you go, a 90 degree horizontal and vertical arc.
Where does 270 degrees come from?
Clearly says hull mounted weapon, which has its own set of rules and arc. Not sure where they are gettin 270
@TinBane
Hull Mounted (there is a vehicle image in RB) 45 degree weapon arc (LoS) is horizontal and vertical which actually means 22.5 degree up and 22.5 degree down, 22.5 degree Left and 22.5 degree Right.
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?270? yep, right there with you on the wtf aspect.
quick, no lords of war, they are far too powerful and unbalancing…. boy those eldar wave serpents need help:P
If you are balancing things and there is a grey area…. why on earth make the best unit of it’s kind even better??
Because it helped some of their cronies.
lol. Go figure.
It’s not like Eldar did well anyhow. So who won?
Final was Thomas Donslund (Eldar/DE – Beast Pack) vs Tony Kopach (Eldar – Serpent spam). Tony won but it was surprisingly close considering Thomas was in a bad place after failing to get Invis on 11 rolls on Telepathy. The final straws for Thomas were rolling snake-eyes on a 3″ or 4″ charge and a Farseer dying from Perils which could have turned the tide.
Kopach’s list was good, but not as crazy when you look at it on paper. However, I will concede the 270′ arc of fire for a Wave Serpent is the most bizarre ruling I’ve seen in a long time. It doesn’t even make sense when you read the Serpent Shield and then look at the diagram in the main rulebook.
Ghost Walk Matrix is huge in Kopach’s list when you factor in the amount of terrain NOVA utilizes.
Autarch
3 x 5 DA, Wave Serpent, t/l Scatterlaser, Cannon, GWM (I don’t know if he had Holofields on any tanks)
2 x 5 FD, Wave Serpent, t/l Scatterlaser, Cannon, GWM
2 x 6 (or 8) Swooping Hawks
2 x 1 Nightspinners
1 x 1 Wraithknight
Also, I think some folks learned about the Adamantine Lance formation due to the BAO. I know Team Stomping Grounds and the 11th Company discussed that someone ran that formation with DA IC with Powerfield Generator at the BAO and wondered how it didn’t make it to the top table. Rerollable 4+ inv saves on 3 Imperial Knights; that is a fairly extreme concept.
well, they get stuck in a really small group and won’t do that much damage. also, even with 4+ rerolled, the odd stray pen that explodes can take out 4 hull points, also, once it’s down to one knight it won’t get a reroll.
knights are fun but compared to wraith knights they fall pretty short
Only the Ion shield is rerollable not the PFG save
Oh yea Eldar didn’t do well at all did they… You should do some investigating before you make a statement about past events. Frankie got 8th so thats cool. Well represented were the Dark Eldar but honestly the cheese factory that was 1st and 2nd place, both Eldar, and both made me feel like they were misrepresenting Eldar with 2 of the most stereotypical tournament lists out there. Way to go originality! Not.
Had a great time at this tournament, I hope I can make it to LVO in 2015!
Rematch bro!:P
BA might even have a decent codex by then;P
I’m down, I can’t believe I somehow fit more giant robots into a 40k army than with O’vesa star, dem dirty imperial knights!
congrats on a great showing. Any way of watching the games that you know of. I must see how some of these list performed first hand.
Good meeting you guys again Reece, Frankie, and Geoff. And I can attest to the absurdity that was Reece’s game 7 against the death strikes. 3 lascannon shots and a death strike blew up 3 knights if I remember correctly. Also Reece having his fate sealed on a literal game of Rock Paper Scissors was hilarious.
did you talk to matt “robbo” robinson while there? hes a good lad and my captain o captain…
Was great meeting you all! I’m still sorting through the photos I took. Roughly 900!
For anyone curious as to the size of the GT, here is a quick vid to show you how many tables are involved.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdlC_lI1wAM&list=UUnDcx-SPf3Cx9825w2cXqOw
I also have a short little video of Reese’s bumble bee slamming into some opposing knights for knight on knight action. Want to make sure it’s ok to post that one though!
-G
was a blast! I hope the boys do it justice in the podcast and discuss the good, bad and ugly. Mostly good but definitely some interesting things to contrast and compare!
I found it very interesting looking at various youtube vids that show the amount of LOS blocking terrain – huge tall walls in the center x 2 for example….I wonder how that fact affected the play of the team, and if the LVO will reflect IMO a welcome change to more dense terrain? NOVA seemed to up the ante a bit. ’round here, we’re stuck in 5th edition. 5 pieces of terrain nearly no LOS for our tournaments. They complain when I set up anything denser.
LOS blocking, I meant….opps
Best thing I’ve heard so far: Guy with dual deathstrikes going deep into day 2. I love it when people bust the net-list mentality and do well.
Marc Parker went 5-2 with an ork green tide list with big gun support. Was an absolute joy to see in action! (almost was 6-1, but by mere fractions)
He was awesome. Had a really cool guard blob x2 to go along with it. I had a really narrow win vs him and he was the guy who blew up all of Reece’s knights in 2 turns lol
Stories like these do nothing to excite me about trying out tournament play lol. Broken, douchey lists one after another.
I’m glad that the guys had fun, though.
Exactly.
@ZeroWolf
So, what “House Rules” (limits) does your group use? Please post them so the community can get together.
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We sometimes play scenarios so hard set rule facts are secondary; D-Day, Alamo, 55 Days at Peking, etc., but those games are fewer and farther between, as most players want to play head to head, of which 40k is in a sad state at the moment.
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Just look at all the rule book here;
http://www.3plusplus.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=2926