After 48 hours I’m more-or-less recovered from the physical and mental onslaught
of A Sector Ablaze, however I’m still struggling to find the words to describe
it. So rather than writing an essay, instead please enjoy this photo diary,
which begins below the fold.
I had a fantastic time, despite several calamities, and despite only managing
one draw and four losses, I had loads of fun. It was also really cool to meet
online acquaintances face to face, notably Tetsugakusan (aka
Miles), TKEPaints (aka
Rick) and The Unrelenting Brush (aka
Chris), whose work has
appeared on this site before
([1][2][3][4][5][6]). I was lucky
to have four* very pleasant and very good opponents, who were very nice
while they wiped the floor with me.
I did not have the best start to the event: upon arrival at Warhammer World I
realised that on my way out of my house, I’d left behind a box containing a
Warhound titan, and the Xiphon Interceptors and
Forward Operating Bases I mentioned in my last
post! That left my lists in disarrary, and
did not enhance my calm. However, after five minutes of swearing I was able to
rejig my lists (made more difficult because I’d only brought the models I
thought I was going to use, which gave me very few options) and get back into
the swing of things.
I was also very, very lucky that another competitor, the estimable
John, lent
me a Warhound to replace my missing model, which made a huge difference.
If you’re interested, check out the campaign
pack
and the
missions.
I wasn’t a big fan of the secondary objectives (or of secondary objectives in
general) but I quite like the Battle Honours, although I think if I were going
to do something similar, I’d issue laminated cards at the end of each game to
reduce the amount of paperwork players needed to do. But these are minor
complaints.
Anyway, enough of the waffle. Photo dump below!
View of the Gaming Hall, first thing Saturday morning. The first two 1,500pt games used the "Hidden Deployment" rule.The briefing from the Events team, who were awesome throughout the
weekend.Game 1 (1,500pts), Turn 1, initial setup.Sneak peak of a neighbouring game. Sons of Horus versus Solar
Auxilia.Another calamity! My tape measure broke the first time I tried to
use it. Off to the store I ran to buy a replacement.Mid-way through Game 1. Without my Xiphons, I didn't have much that
could deal with my opponent's artillery.Another sneak peak of the neighbouring game on the other side, this
time, Mechanicum vs Dark Mechanicum.More SoH vs SA.Game 2 (also 1,500pts), turn 1. Word Bearers vs Adam Heasty's
beautiful Ultramarines. The canonical Horus Heresy showdown! John's
Warhound takes to the field.Mid-way through Game 2. I managed to scrape a draw (we each scored
exactly 50VPs).Some beautiful Iron Warriors.Game 3 (3,000pts), turn 1. Word Bearers and Blood Angels, versus the
mighty Ken Chambers.Ken's Blood Angels.My Word Bearers.Next door's game. There were a few Warmasters deployed for this
game.Mechanicum vs Solar Aux.Dark Mechanicum vs Blood Angels.Mid-way through Game 3. Ken is an excellent player and I learned a
lot from being on the receiving end of his Blood Angels!Game 4 (2,000 points), turn 1. Paul (brother of John) playing
Collegia Titanica with [Salamanders](/tag/salamanders.html) allies. This game
was fought under the "Reduced Visibility" rule, which limited all weapons
(except Barrage weapons) to 18".
After Game 4, those participating in the Painting Competition laid out their
armies for their fellow participants to inspect. Here are some pictures of the
incredible armies that were on display.
Lots of Blood Angel drop pods!Lots of Spider bots!Close-ups of the spider bots.Harpax swarmers.Richie's Emperor's Children, which won the "Best Painted" award. He
explained to me that he deliberately chose a clean and shiny style, because the
Emperor's Children seek perfection, and would never take to the field in a dirty
tank!Sons of Horus.More Emperor's Children.Adam's Ultramarines.Paul's Collegia Titanica and Salamanders.More Blood Angels, but done in a very different style. At first I
thought they were Word Bearers.Rick (TKEPaints)'s Legion soup.Some lovely Tallarn Solar Auxilia.Miles's Solar Auxilia.SA/Titans.Night Lords and Solar Auxilia.An incredible Dark Mechanicum army, I wish I'd taken a better
photo!Sons of Horus/Solar Auxilia (possibly Cthonian
Headhunters?)More Dark Mechanicum.More Salamanders.Some lovely Iron Warriors.SA/Collegia Titanica.Blood Angels with a Dire Wolf titan.Another amazing Iron Warriors army.Martin's Solar Auxilia.Ultramarines and Mechanicum.
After lunch, the final game of the weekend, and I ended up playing Adam again.
By this point my brain was mush, and the final game was a bit of a mess. But we
had some fun moments, for example, when a Spartan, a Kratos and a Terminator
squad engaged a Warlord titan in close combat!
The huge pile of my tanks that Adam destroyed.Paul's titans and Salamanders versus those Iron
Warriors.
After Game 5 finished, Miles and I wandered into the legendary exhibition area.
I’ve been to Warhammer World a few times, so did not spend too much time poring
over every exhibit, so what’s below is just what leapt out as new or
interesting.
Old-school Chaos engines from 2nd edition Space
Marine.Banelord!High-altitude picture of one of the new Legions Imperialis
displays. This is an absolutely mind-boggling feat of model-making.The Dark Mechanicum attacks!The Dark Mechanicum attacks!Close-up of the breach in the wall.Dark Mechanicum constructs infiltrate the loyalist
defences.A close-up picture of the second diorama, where Blood Angels fight
Iron Warriors, both sides supported by titans.An area smaller than a post card, showing just how much detail is in
these dioramas.Looking down on the battle.The Blood Angels man the barricades as the Iron Warriors
assault.A Reaver from Legio Fureans deals a knock-out blow to an enemy titan
from (I think) Legio Krytos.Some Iron Hands miniatures on display.
After our tour of the exhibition, we walked back to the Gaming Hall to hear the
results, watch the awards being handed out, and say our goodbyes.
A narrow victory for the traitors!My part in the traitor victory was small, but enough to earn a
trophy!
