Playing by Intent: Redux

In December - post the Masters - I wrote a blog on Playing by Intent. You can see it here

It was a general discussion that then highlighted that what you intend should also be physically doable. I missed a couple of things in retrospect.

One of the key things about playing intent is that you must signal your intention PRIOR to it becoming a point of contention.

To do this you need to state to your opponent at the time you do it what your intention is. If you intend to be in 6" of the enemy then say these are within 6". If you believe your unit is out of LOS check with your opponent.

Only in Captain Hindsight's world is it acceptable to say "But it was my intention......"

I have got into the habit of asking my opponents when they move something - if I think it may prove "interesting" - as to what their intention is. Then as long as what they intend is doable, I am happy that a problem won't develop. I am trying to train myself to say "I understand/I agree" whenever an opponent signals an intention.

If you want to play by intent then you need to be open and you need to seek affirmation.

The Long War - Bombardment: Results

Yesterday we had the first of The Long War series. It was 2000 points ITC using the finalised 2020 Mission Pack. Three rounds.

Congratulations to Aaron Wilson for winning his first event and to Sam Whitt who was debuting his new Alpha Legion/Emperor's Children army (won Best Army).

Now there is 6 days until lists are due for the FOB NZ Open.

#	Player	Faction	RPs	VPs	Score	SoS
1	Aaron Wilson	Adeptus Mechanicus	3000	101	3101	1730
2	Sam Whitt	Chaos Space Marines	3000	78	3078	1396
3	Louis Thomson-Gregg	Eldar	3000	73	3073	1739
4	Sean Sullivan	Space Marines	2000	79	2079	1731
5	Scott Paterson	Tau	2000	78	2078	2080
6	Jasper Ford	Grey Knights	2000	76	2076	1752
7	Simon Smith	Imperium	2000	72	2072	1729
8	Michael Stewart	Custodes	2000	72	2072	1051
9	Matthew Tansley	Orks	2000	65	2065	1734
10	David Hodgetts	Dark Angels	1000	81	1081	1393
11	Kent Jackson	Space Marines	1000	73	1073	1731
12	Chris Sims	Space Marines	1000	70	1070	1053
13	Jordan Green	Chaos	1000	67	1067	2079
14	Locky Reid	Sisters of Battle	1000	62	1062	1392
15	Paul Knieriem	Grey Knights	1000	58	1058	1396
16	Jacob Arthur	Space Marines	1000	50	1050	2073
17	Ross Brewster	Eldar	1000	47	1047	1045
18	Chris Parkin	Space Marines	1000	36	1036	1743
19	Scott Engebretsen	Chaos	0	44	44	1067
20	Aaron Twose	Space Marines	0	26	26	1394

40k - Playing By "Intent"

One of the big things to come out of the Masters weekend was the concept of "Intent" in relation to gameplay. This is mostly with regard to model placement.

Intent is not a Get Out of Jail Free card. Intent NEEDS to be agreed by BOTH players. 

If it is important then it needs to be clearly spelled out and agreed. 

In some cases at the Masters I think that there were instances where people didn't want to signal their plan and then fell back on intent....and other cases where suddenly something became evident and then it was "But my intent....."

We all do this at times but with increasing competitive games I believe people need to be aware and precise re intent. It is also an easy excuse when things don't go your way.

The other situation is that what you "intend" has to be actually do-able. For instance, if you want to put three Aggressors in an enclosed ruin and not be charged by units that can't enter the feature then you need to place your models >1" from all inside walls. Mathematics says that the internal footprint of the building needs to be at least 91mm x 171mm to make you immune from a charge from any direction. You will still however be vulnerable to Infantry on 25mm bases. 

The key takeaway should be that if it's important, be explicit and to get agreement. Should your opponent be suggesting something you don't think is achievable, get them to place the models

40k - 12th Annual New Zealand Masters Results

Last weekend I ran the New Zealand Masters for 40k.

This was the 12th time the event has been run and we had a good turnout for the tournament with 15 of the Top 20 ranked players (plus NZ ETC member Aaron Wilson) battling it out on the tables.

For the first three rounds I had eight tables set up. As we moved into Rounds 4 & 5 I introduced two more so that players could avoid playing on the same table.

Also with the random first round draw I ensured that the out of towners avoided playing guys from their own area.

With the terrain, I tried to give a variety of tables that ranged from 'light medium' through to 'heavy' density. This was to reward an army that didn't have a single game plan and could be adaptable.

This also gave me to introduce some of my recent mat purchases (Frontline Gaming through Mighty Ape). I particularly like the Overgrown City which is ideal for my existing GW City terrain.

So onto the results:

 Well done to Sean for winning his third Masters crown. He went through undefeated, winning all five of his games. Effectively, the Top 8 armies were all Space Marines, IK/Ad Mech or Eldar.

Appreciate all the participants making the journey.

FOB Event Structure for 2020

With the 2019 tournament year over, I thought I would post a breakdown of the events that Fields of Blood will be running next year.

Fields of Blood NZ Open

• 21/22 March
• Cossie Club, Upper Hutt
• Participants - 90 (87 tickets have been sold)
• 2000 points
• 5 Rounds
• ITC format
• Included: All codexes, Campaign books, Supplements, Forgeworld
• Excluded: Legends

The Long War (in conjunction with Wellington Warlords) - Five Separate Events

• 5 dates TBA
• Warlords venue, Ganges Road, Khandallah
• Participants - 20-24 (free for Warlords members, $25 each for casuals)
• 2000 points
• 3 Rounds
• ETC format
• Included: ETC acceptable books
• Exclusion: FW, Legends

Fields of Blood Team Championship

• 27/28 June
• Cashmere Ave School, Khandallah
• Six teams of five
• Five Rounds
• ETC format
• Exclusions: FW, Legends

Fields of Blood NZ Grand Tournament

• 26/27 September
• Khandallah Town Hall
• 72 participants
• 1750 points
• 6 Rounds
• Hobby event - painting/selection/sportsmanship/battle
• Inclusions: Pretty much all including Legends

Fields of Blood 13th Annual NZ Masters

• 5/6 December
• Cashmere Avenue School, Khandallah
• Invitational
• Top 20 players as per the FOB NZ 40k rankings for 2020 (31 Oct cutoff)
• 2000 points
• ITC format
• 5 Rounds
• Included: All codexes, Campaign books, Supplements, Forgeworld
• Excluded: Legends

Hope to see you along for one or more of the events

40K Terrain - Lavaland

Another week working on terrain for the upcoming FOB NZ Grand Tournament and I have finished my Lavaland table.

This uses a Frontline Gaming mat sourced from Mighty Ape, TH Miniatures Volcanic Terrain, Games Workshop old school extruded foam pieces (temple and emplacement) and old WHFB pieces - Watchtower and Summoning Stairs. On top of this I created some large themed LOS blocking hills to provide the necessary cover.

Coming to a table near you.

40K Terrain - Valley of the Kings

Continuing the work of creating some new tables for the upcoming Fields of Blood NZGT and NZ Open, this morning I finished repairing some old WHFB pieces and adding in new hills to create a themed table - "Valley of the Kings".

This table has a lot of large LOS blocking pieces on it. From the Sphinxes to the Pyramids to the hills there are a lot of places to hide.

The Sphinxes are about 10" high and 12" long while the Pyramid is approximately 8" tall.

You can get an idea of scale from the Harlequin Skyweaver who is parked at the Pyramid entrance.

The Pyramid is the ultimate Enclosed Ruin - only able to be entered from the front and big enough for 5 Primaris Marines. I have a cool image in my mind of a group of Marines trying to kill a Necron Lord who has retreated back to his Tomb.

Hopefully this will be both a functional and thematic battlefield. Definitely home field advantage for Necrons or Thousand Sons.

40K - Tournament Terrain - Buildings

A few weeks ago I contacted a local manufacturer of MDF buildings and asked him to design a building for me that I could use as tournament terrain.

The brief was that it had to block line of sight, be accessible and flexible, sturdy and easy to construct and store. Last week he sent me photos of the building and on the weekend a sample arrived.

Last night I timed myself to see how fast I could turn them around from pack to ready for table. The answer is 75 minutes and I am very hopeful that with practice I can get it down to around 50 minutes per unit.

Here is the finished building, painted ready for the table. I spray the parts before assembly then use brush to add the detail before gluing it together.

The building arrives in 15 parts - 3 floors, 8 walls and 4 crenulations. The floors I spray black, the walls grey on outside, neutral colour inside and crenulations grey both sides.

Window detail is picked out in metal as are some of the decorations. Other wall detail in alternative grey and roof floor in red. I haven't painted internal floors (plain black)

Really happy with how they have come up after painting. Obviously you can detail more if necessary - and I'll add posters to some.

The important thing for me is that the building hits all the boxes in my brief. It is sturdy, easy to construct and paint, it is practical in that the floors are separate and it blocks line of sight.

I have ordered 50 of these buildings for delivery over the next three months, meaning they will be ready in time for the FOB NZ Open in March.

40k Terrain - The Airfield

Starting to organise my new mats and terrain for FOB NZGT and this morning put together "The Airfield".

This uses the FLG Battlemat "Airstrip" as the base and adds on some of the various elements I've put together over the years.

It has some of my new LOS blocking hills, the crashed Imperial Aquila, a Bastion, craters and the Warehouse, lifter and containers from Titan Terrain.

Surveying the carnage is a lone Soaring Spite Skyweaver (obviously he rolled well for his haywire bringing the Aquila down). You can get an idea of how even the small hills block a lot of LOS.

I now just have to weather craters, Aquila and bastion in line with the mat and another table is ready.

Check back over the next few days to see further tables for NZGT (and NZ Open).

As with all my tables this will pack up into its own tub for easy storage.

Terrain - LOS Blocking Hills for 40k

Over the past month I've been working on and off on some hills that block line of sight. I had some hills for Fantasy made of bluefoam that were just basic steps. I decided to re-purpose them for 40k.

Here is the end result. The observant among you  might be able to see an Iron Warriors Forgefiend lurking on one of the hills. This should give you an idea of the scale of these "hills".

These are no small mounds and should be able to block line of sight of any vehicle up to a Knight and most monsters.

Most pieces are at least 12" across and 6"+ high. The hills have been gritted so you can stand things on them.

Here you get an idea of just how much cover they can provide. 

I've created 14 hills which will be used on 3-4 desert tables with buildings and scatter terrain.