The Texas Chainsword Massacre: 11/10/2001 by Michael Lietzke
A lot of people think that to enjoy great gaming events they have to go to Games Day or sit around and wait for Games Workshop to come to them with a tournament. But that's not true at all. Events like Fall From Grace,  Spring Offensive, and this one prove that all you need is some space and enthusiastic gamers. I'll let Michael take it from here.

On November 10th, a few Texans from the Millenium Gate forum got together for a weekend of 40K mayhem. We descended on the store Central Command in San Antonio; so naturally David (D3720), a resident, attended the event. Thomas (Templar Cerebrus) and Matt (Clonelord) drove down from Longview, picking up Scott (Wandering1) after a detour through Houston. Brother Julian drove the furthest, all the way from his home base in Oklahoma. I  (Inquisitor Ryjak) naturally attended, since it was my idea in the first place. 

Central Command
This is one of the best 40K stores I’ve ever been to. Located in the corner of Purple Cactus Comics, Central Command has a proliferation of space, tables, and terrain. In fact, they had hosted a Rogue Trader Tournament the prior week, and had apparently built a ton of urban terrain for it. I abused the supply whenever I set up a table, cramming just about anything on that could fit. A normal 40K table for me, but many had never played with so much terrain at once, or with such beautiful scenery.

Day 1
After a shaky start, we settled down to some 40K. Scott and David quickly started a fight to see which blue army was best: David’s Eldar or Scott’s Short Hairs (Space Wolves). Meanwhile, I battled Matt’s Nurgle Sorcerer and some Possessed Marines with power weapons and 3+ invulnerable save (uck!). Neither of us knew how potent a Nurgle Sorcerer could be, but by the end of the weekend, Matt was regularly spewing death with Steam of Corruption. It was a fun, close game, with my Vindicator Siege Tanks doing little except pounding a Predator in the woods and getting shot by meltaguns.

Both games finished about the same time, and as we started our 2nd round, Brother Julian showed up. I don’t remember anything else 40K-wise, but we had a nightcap at a Taco Cabana, famous for their drive-thru margaritas (don’t ask how that works with open-container laws).

Day 2: Cityfight
We had all planned to meet when Central Command opened on Saturday, but I was too tired to wake up at 9:30. David and I got there around 11:00, and everyone else got there about ten seconds later. Relieved at being mutually late, we eagerly started some 40K action.

Since Codex: Cityfight had just come out (and I had just read through the rules the night before), Scott (Short Hairs) Thomas (Stygian Space Marines) Matt (Chaos) and I (Tyranids) played a 4-way, free-for-all, 750 point battle on a table packed with some very nice ruined buildings made out of ¼" Styrofoam ceiling tiles. We also used some Free-for-All rules I had developed over time with some players in College Station, Texas. We played the Cityfight scenario where you try to capture buildings; perfect for a free-for-all. While the four of us played, David’s new Deathwing army pounded Julian’s Sisters of Battle on a nearby table.

Since I play my Nids for fun, not to win (that’s my Vindicators), I split my forces and attacked both the Stygians and Chaos. My Gaunts quickly engaged both forces, and were also quickly defeated, while my Warriors attempted to climb through the rubble and not get shot. The Short Hairs aggressively went after the Chaos forces, fighting a brutal hand-to-hand combat in the building between them. The Stygians sat tight, shooting at targets of opportunity, while the Chaos forces beat back an assault from two sides.

After a few turns, the Gaunts were practically gone while the Warriors attempted to hold the three buildings I had captured. The Stygians came after me in force, as did some Chaos forces. The game was kinda dragging after 4 turns, each with 4 player turns, so we mutually decided to stop, with no clear victor. But we had a fun time hanging out while one person did his stuff, and thoroughly tested two sets of rules.

Overall, the Cityfight rules are great! They definitely encourage units and equipment that you may not normally take (like frag grenades!) and are fairly straightforward and easy. The only gripe I have with them is how they handle jump pack troops. From my understanding, if jump packers land on top of a building, they are considered to be inside the building, meaning they can’t jump off the next turn. While this would make sense when landing on small ruins, it doesn’t seem right when jumping on mostly intact buildings with a definite rooftop.

Cityfight defines three types of terrain: open street, rubble, and buildings. I suggest you use a house rule to include rooftops, so jump packers and flyers can leap from building to building.

I didn’t get to use my Vindicator Siege Tanks, so I have no idea how they’ll perform in a cityfight. My guess is that I’ll point ‘em at some building I think my opponent will crawl through, and either deter or destroy him. But I just KNOW I’ll often only hit 1 or 2 guys with the d6 hit rule. Why didn’t they make it 2d3?

After this battle, we did some more 40K stuff, and were kicked out of Central Command sometime that evening. We went to a local burger place, and gorged ourselves on ½ pound or larger hamburgers. Afterwards, we journeyed to David’s garage, where David, Scott, and Julian played a three-way "Take and Hold," using paint cans and other stuff for terrain, and using the Free-for-All rules.

Day 3: Megabattle
Due to prior commitments, David was unable to join us this day. It’s too bad, because he missed a massive megabattle between the rest of us. We played a 3000 points-per-side Recon, pitting Thomas’s bikers (using White Scar rules) and my Vindicators against Matt’s accursed Chaos army, Scott’s Short Hairs, and Julian’s Sisters. 

After the megabattle, which took almost all day, Brother Julian had to leave. Scott, Thomas, and I tried to get a three-way Take ‘n Hold in, but they kicked us out after Turn 1. And it was the best opportunity I’d had all weekend to nuke someone with a Demolisher round….

We eventually ended up at an International House of Pancakes, the four of us hanging out and having a good time, despite the rather small portions this IHOP gave us. We concluded with some preliminary plans for a second Texas Chainsword Massacre, plans for a weekend of terrain building and 40K in Longview, and promises to make it to the second Spring Offensive in 2002 at Borderlands in Greenville, SC. Overall, the Texas Chainsword Massacre was a success, but next time it’ll be bigger and better!
 

Related Pages
Free-for-All Rules
 

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© Copyright Michael Lietzke, December 2001. Used with permission
 

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