New Opponents !!!!

I had a recent game of second edition 40k with two of my best mates as we were all free at the same time which makes a rare change! They are primarily fifth/sixth edition gamers but I am steadily grooming them into all things retro, and so we broke out the old codices and set about drumming up some nineties-style army lists.

They formed an allied army of Imperial Guard and Black Templars whilst I fielded my Crimson Fists...

There was a nice mix of weapons and troops types on the table this time and in particular it was noticeable that the imperial guard had turned up packing a lot of plasma power in their ranks... 

With the armies chosen we drew our mission cards...

I (once again) got dawn raid while the enemy alliance drew engage and destroy. This meant that I needed to go all out to get some of my troops into their deployment zone whilst they could afford to sit still and shoot at my advancing warriors...

The game was great fun with Rhinos charging up the flanks to deploy troops and heroic last stands from multiple characters. As ever the APCs turned into the focus point of heavy weapons fire; and thereby rapidly became glowing metal coffins by the conclusion of turn two.  Three out of the four Rhinos on the table were annihilated and the majority of their passengers and crew died with them...Including my bloody Captain!!!

The predators slugged it out in a heavy duty armoured brawl and there was lots of anticipation as we checked the datafaxes with each dice roll on the various tables (so much better than the current crew shaken, etc, results). 

My predator took a thorough kicking early on...it was spun out of control, immobilised and had its turret locked into place so that it could no longer rotate. The Black Templar's Predator's demise was even more spectacular; it's ammo reserves were detonated, flipping the tank's burning chassis into the air and landing on top of two Imperial Guard Infantry Squads who had dug into some nearby ruins...killing eleven of the poor bastards!! Hahaha!

Unfortunately my brave troops couldn't quite get into the enemy deployment zone by the end of turn four which was annoying as that failure instantly cost me five victory points. This meant that my defeat was assured; and this was further compounded by the fact that my opponents' mission meant that they scored additional VPs for every casualty they inflicted.

I did a quick tally and my suspicions were confirmed...they had scored 19 points to my measly 14 points...and a well deserved victory it was too. 

All in all it was a great game; and they seemed to agree that it was just more 'fun' than its modern counterpart. 

So as a reward for their efforts I gave each of them an assortment of second edition codices and rule books so they could familiarise themselves with the game in the comfort of their own homes.... I'm such a good mate!!