Meet the Gang...and the Army

Pre-game team photo (left to right):

Chosen 1, Aerion, Mechastar, Da Goffer

Edit: Below is a picture shamelessly lifted from here.

Adepticon 2010...How We Did.

Place: 90th out of 110 teams

Overall Points: 241/499 (48.3%)
Battle Points: 46/240 (19.2%)
Head Count: 15/32 (46.9%)
Command Counters: 16/32 (50%)
Sportsmanship: 56/56 (100%)
Composition: 24/24 (100%)
Theme: 40/45 (88.9%)
Spirit: 5
Army Appearance: 36/60 (60%)
Quiz: 3/10 (30%)

Opponents:
1st Round = 10-Year Lifespan - Tyranids/Imperial Guard/Space Marines (placed 73rd)
2nd Round = Pack-N-Heat - Space Wolves (placed 57th)
3rd Round = Frosty Treats - Space Wolves (placed 38th)
4th Round = Spellbinder - Tau/Tyranids/Eldar/Space Marines (placed 95th)

Commentary:

Clearly, we didn't end up so high on the list. Looking at the breakdown, it's obvious that Battle Points were our weakness. I mean honestly, we scored better (percentage wise) on that hard-ass quiz than we did on getting battle points. Out of 8 games, we accounted for one win and one draw. As far as what to work on, I think that "winning" is certainly on the list. :) We considered our army "half painted", so we hope to gain points in that catagory as well.

The teams we played, for the most part, gave us enjoyable games. We had no experience with the new Tyranids or Space Wolves codexes, and we played some of each in all four rounds. That was troubling to say the least. Two of the teams were primarily teenagers too young to drive. The Space Wolf teams were our age group (30s-40s) and we especially enjoyed those games.

Bottom Line? We got outplayed. We stressed about getting our army put together and painted on time, so we clearly didn't have time to playtest. We didn't know the abilities of our most likely opponents, and so we were easily outclassed. We earned our "Team Snake Eyes" name as well. Three of my four opponents remarked that they had never witnessed anyone roll as poorly as I had done during my games. I refuse to blame my performance on my dice, however, I just think it's funny when I have 13 year old kids shouting "SNAKE!" with me every time I roll yet another one.

We are going back next year. We will be taking the Salamanders (and boy, there weren't a whole lot of codex Space Marines at Adepticon) again, and in spite of our poor showing, we enjoyed our time there.

Final Countdown

No clever pictures this time. Just trying to wind things up. We'll finish up what we can of the army, which still won't be where I wanted it to be, and get everything loaded up. We plan on leaving the Southeastern Missouri/Southern Illinois area by around 8:00am Friday which will put us in Chicago around 2 or 3 in the afternoon depending upon food and fuel needs. Dice, templates, rulebooks, codex, army lists, display board (also lacking from where I wanted it due to time constraints), team shirts, spending cash, camera, etc...Damn, this is no joke. :)

If any of you who read this frequent "My Battalion", Aerion posted some pics of our stuff that made their Facebook page. You, of course, have seen some of those photos here, but here's the LINK.

Edit: Learned how to add links. So easy you'd have thought I could have figured that out before...

Salamanders

Here are some of the preliminary pictures of some of my Salamander HQ choices and my Land Raider. Props go out to Aerion for all the kick ass work he put into these things. Better pictures will be forthcoming once life settles down for Da Goffer (hectic work and new baby only weeks away!). A very special thanks to Ron Saikowski over at From The Warp for converting the characters, and Chapterhouse Studios & Dark Arts Miniatures for the resin bases and cool Salamander bits. I realize I paid for the product, but the hard work and dedication of those craftsmen allowed me to add more character and feel to my army. It absolutely enhances my appreciation and enjoyment of this hobby. I hope you enjoy, I know I will. :)

Aw Crap

You ever get that feeling that you're up against a wall? I hit that a few weeks ago. You ever get that feeling that you're up against a wall and the guys with guns, who never even offered a cigarette or last request, are laughing at you? That's me. Just under two weeks to go, an increased workload and reduced time to get it done, to Adepticon. I've got 8 Rhinos, 2 Razorbacks, 2 Predators, 3 Dreadnoughts, 2 Land Speeders, 1 Vindicator, 1 Land Raider, 5 Scouts, 90 Marines, 4 Commanders, 4 Objective Markers, & 1 Thunderfire Cannon + Crew to complete. I need to order 25 more Backpacks, and the replacement shoulder pads and BattleFoam transport trays are on their way. We don't have shirts or a display base yet. Madness. The best part? I can't take a detailed digital photo to save my ass, so the only pictures I have so far of 4000 points of Salamanders come from my cell phone. How lame is that? Pretty damn lame if you ask me. With our difficulties it will be a miracle if we even manage to get to Chicago to play this year. Next year, if we play with the exact same list (which will be eaten & shot off the board THIS time around), we should make it just fine. :)

Them's the Breaks

Work continues apace on the Adepticon army. Infantry is painted, just awaiting final highlights and basing. Tanks are almost ready, and the T-shirts have been ordered (draft logo pictured above). We were prepared for homework (one team member returned to school after MANY years), births (first child for Da Goffer on the way), and writing my thesis (which has suffered because of my work on the army). While we've already lost or been "fired" by two others, one of the Snake Eyes' own has abandoned them. Shipped a quantity of material for painting, he has sent no word, and has made himself unavailable for contact. We can find an emergency replacement for this guy (we don't want to), but not having the material he was supposed to paint means we won't even be able to compete. We can't write it off and start over as we don't have the funds, having just ponied up the dough for 4000 points of converted Salamanders Space Marines, nor do we have the time to order new bits and get them ready in time. The fate of our team, literally, rests in the hands of a guy who won't speak to us. Basically it looks like the money, effort, and time spent on this project is about to go to waste. Yes, I'll have an army (without shoulder pads and backpacks?) but the point was to go to Adepticon. Needless to say, I'm less than pleased. Is it irony when Team Snake Eyes rolls the dice and gets burned? Nah, that's just "How We Roll". I look forward to updating this post with good news.

EDIT: Good new / Bad news. Turns out our silent partner has sailed into some shitty waters. Bad things happened and he has his priorities (as he should). I would have liked to have known earlier so I would have had time to adapt, but regrets aren't terribly useful now are they? We don't hold it against him, and we wish him all the best. Looks like a trip to Chicago might just be a field trip.