Birthday Spankings--A Hazy Shade of Winter: Post-Game Analysis   by Patrick Eibel
What a fun game! The scenery was great, most of the miniatures were painted (there were a few Eldar I didn’t get to), and the game was pretty close. Plus the weather was just fantastic. What more could I ask for my birthday?

Since I didn’t know the mission before the battle, I tried to write up a fairly balanced list that would do well in both shooting and assault. I also reasoned that close combat was where I would excel against Necrons, as they were better shots than my average gun toter. For the shooting units, I focused on weapons with as many multiple shots as possible (multi-lasers) or with a low AP (star cannons). For assault, I wanted units that could kill a Necron outright and avoid the armor save, hence Banshees (love the power weapons, even at Strength 3) and Harlequins (of course, remembering Furious Charge might improve my opinion of them).

It’s a good thing The Loyal Green Die ™ ended the game: another turn or two and the outcome might have been very different. I would offer some more scholarly analysis of the game, but at my advanced age, I can’t remember all that much. 

Birthday Spankings--A Hazy Shade of Winter: Post-Game Analysis   by Kenton Kilgore
Usually when I lose a game, I feel bad. Not this time. “Meatgrinder” is very difficult for the Attacker to win, even more so if you play Necrons, which are very hard to kill and thus, “recycle.” Pat also brought a lot of figures and spread them out, which made it difficult for me to get to them.

I was surprised when he sent most of his force to engage mine—at the beginning, I thought it was a foolish gamble on Pat’s part. But Jain Zar was much more resilient that I thought she’d be, and she slowed down my advance long enough for time to run out on my ‘bots. 

My only significant regrets are that the Heavy Destroyers and the Tomb Spyders didn’t do much, but then again, they didn’t get many opportunities. In the later rounds, instead of relying so much on the Monolith’s particle whip, I probably should have used it to get my Warriors and Immortals closer to Pat’s guys. Ah, well. 

Before this battle, I had a dim view of Pariahs—they’re very expensive and they’re not “Necrons” (and thus, don’t have “We’ll Be Back,” can’t be teleported, etc.)—but they really shined in this game, killing heaps of Banshees, Dire Avengers, and Rangers; and they took down the War Walker. They’re definitely my MVPs (Most Valuable Players) for the game. 

So, again, I’m pleased with the outcome. It was a gorgeous day and a good time (followed by a very good dinner and a few kickin’ hours of playing my second-favorite game, Rock Band). The mission was difficult, but my army did well (another turn or two, and those pointy-ears would have been toast!), and I like how the scenery turned out. What’s not to like?

Posted June 2008
 

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