I wanted to begin my posts with a little bit of background on the series. This was the third Patriot Games tournament I have attended, but it was the first one that was supported by GW to be a Vegas Invitational qualifier. It was also the first one to be a two day, 5 game event, of the three I have attended. The event was hosted in Fayetteville Arkansas by T-shirt Explosion and they always do a phenomenal job with the event. T-shirt has hosted 8 Patriot Games 40k tournament events, and they have it down to a well oiled machine!
My first experience with Patriot Games two years ago ended with myself walking away with an overall win. It was really unexpected and I consider it a complete fluke. I won one game at the event and tied two, but painting, comp and sportsmanship saw me through by a lowly pair of points. I was still using an almost all foot guard list with only a pair of leman russes and one chimera in my list. It was only weeks after the move to 5th edition and the rules set was new to everyone!
Last year's patriot games was more focused on battle and a little bit less on soft scores. I had changed my list to include a pair of hydras, another chimera and a single unit of psykers. I would say I was about half way through the transition from 4th to 5th at this point. It was a rough series of games - but I was able to stay competitive and I managed to scrape out an overall win by one single point over another HoW - Brent Simon. We raced for the end on different tables to see who could pull out more points!
This year - the heat is on and I certainly feel some pressure to perform well again. I would really love to repeat once again, especially with the Vegas trip as a prize, but I am not in any way expecting to do so. There are a ton of great looking armies on hand and plenty of excellent players. I have again twinked my list to include more of a punishing mix of troops and the harder nosed variety of guard you might expect. I feel the list has evolved completely to a 5th edition list, at this point.
Here is the list I will be running:
HQ: Company Command Squad (7#, 165 pts)
4 Company Command Squad @ 165 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon x4; Lasgun x1; Meltagun x3; Officer of the Fleet)
1 Company Commander (Flak Armour; Refractor Field; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon; Senior Officer)
1 Officer of the Fleet (Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon; Laspistol; Intercept Reserves)
1 Chimera (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Turret Multi-Laser; Heavy Flamer; Amphibious; Mobile Command Vehicle)
HQ: Company Command Squad (7#, 165 pts)
4 Company Command Squad @ 165 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon x4; Lasgun x1; Meltagun x3; Astropath)
1 Company Commander (Flak Armour; Refractor Field; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon; Senior Officer)
1 Astropath (Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon; Laspistol; Telepathic Relay)
1 Chimera (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Turret Multi-Laser; Heavy Flamer; Amphibious; Mobile Command Vehicle)
Troops: Veteran Squad (11#, 165 pts)
9 Veteran Squad @ 165 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Flak Armour; Krak Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x9; Lasgun x6; Meltagun x1; Plasmagun x2)
1 Veteran Sergeant (Flak Armour; Krak Grenades; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon)
1 Chimera (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Heavy Bolter; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Turret Multi-Laser; Amphibious; Mobile Command Vehicle)
Troops: Veteran Squad (11#, 165 pts)
9 Veteran Squad @ 165 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Flak Armour; Krak Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x9; Lasgun x6; Meltagun x1; Plasmagun x2)
1 Veteran Sergeant (Flak Armour; Krak Grenades; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon)
1 Chimera (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Heavy Bolter; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Turret Multi-Laser; Amphibious; Mobile Command Vehicle)
Fast Attack: Vendetta Gunship Squadron (1#, 130 pts)
1 Vendetta Gunship Squadron @ 130 pts (Deep Strike; Grav Chute Insertion; Scouts)
1 Vendetta (Extra Armor; Searchlight; Twin-linked Lascannon x3)
Fast Attack: Vendetta Gunship Squadron (1#, 130 pts)
1 Vendetta Gunship Squadron @ 130 pts (Deep Strike; Grav Chute Insertion; Scouts)
1 Vendetta (Extra Armor; Searchlight; Twin-linked Lascannon x3)
Heavy Support: Hydra Flak Tank Battery (2#, 150 pts)
1 Hydra Flak Tank Battery @ 150 pts
1 Hydra Flak Tank (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Auto-targeting System; Heavy Bolter; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Twin-Linked Hydra Autocannons x2)
1 Hydra Flak Tank (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Auto-targeting System; Heavy Bolter; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Twin-Linked Hydra Autocannons x2)
Heavy Support: Manticore Rocket Launcher (1#, 160 pts)
1 Manticore Rocket Launcher @ 160 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Storm Eagle Rockets; Heavy Bolter; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Limited Ammunition)
Heavy Support: Ordnance Battery (1#, 140 pts)
1 Ordnance Battery @ 140 pts
1 Medusa (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Open-topped); Heavy Bolter; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Medusa w/Bastion-breacher Shells)
Troops: Infantry Platoon (26#, 205 pts)
1 Infantry Platoon @ 205 pts
4 Platoon Command Squad (Unit Type: Infantry; Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon x4; Flamer x4)
1 Platoon Commander (Flak Armour; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon; Junior Officer)
1 Chimera (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Heavy Bolter; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Turret Multi-Laser; Amphibious; Mobile Command Vehicle)
9 Infantry Squad (Close Combat Weapon x9; Flak Armour; Lasgun x9; Combined Squad)
1 Sergeant (Flak Armour; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon)
9 Infantry Squad (Close Combat Weapon x9; Flak Armour; Lasgun x9; Combined Squad)
1 Sergeant (Flak Armour; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon)
Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (9#, 100 pts)
8 Psyker Battle Squad @ 100 pts (Psyker (Santioned Psykers Only); Unit Type: Infantry; Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon x8; Laspistol x8; Psychic Choir; Ultimate Sanction; Soulstorm; Weaken Resolve)
1 Overseer (Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon; Laspistol)
Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (9#, 100 pts)
8 Psyker Battle Squad @ 100 pts (Psyker (Santioned Psykers Only); Unit Type: Infantry; Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon x8; Laspistol x8; Psychic Choir; Ultimate Sanction; Soulstorm; Weaken Resolve)
1 Overseer (Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon; Laspistol)
Elite: Inquisitor (4#, 75 pts)
1 Inquisitor [OM] @ 75 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Emperor's Tarot; Psychic Hood; Independent Character; Psyker)
1 Hierophant [OM] (Unit Type: Infantry; Close Combat Weapon; Laspistol; Hierophant)
1 Mystic [OM] (Unit Type: Infantry; Close Combat Weapon; Laspistol; Mystic)
1 Mystic [OM] (Unit Type: Infantry; Close Combat Weapon; Laspistol; Mystic)
My Army:
And here is a shot of the tables before the event kicked off:
Stay tuned for my first mini battle report and for pictures of the armies at the event!