Casual Pre Match Predictions

Three games to look at this week with a clash between the two league leaders looking to be a juicy scrap. Hopefully I will have tabled Leo by turn 2 so I can get to watch some of it.

Luke V Dave – Votann/DG – Purge the Foe/Targets of Opportunity

Both players used to 90+ scores already means someone is likely in for a rude awakening. Will it be the PBC bunker (which effectively dismantled my Keeper of Secrets recently) or the sturdy shooty stunties?

Purge the Foe means kill count matters and both armies are pretty lethal so I honestly don’t know who this favours. It is basically impossible to hide from DG so getting T1 could be quite influential here but Votann can also pop tanks for fun so the deployment and reserves will be key.

Dave will likely have more models on the board so scoring triple secondaries will be easier for him, however this will often force him into firing lines for the Votann which, in turn, means he can be punished back on primary.

Luke winning keeps the title race more alive but Dave winning also allows me to believe Luke’s Votann can be beaten.

My prediction is a mad high score from both players with Dave’s PBC’s busting too many 2W Votann to lose – 100-90 to Dave.

Brett V Phil – Nids/CSM – The Ritual/Chilling Rain

OK so both Phil and Brett are looking for their third win here to put the pressure on the players above and it is a hard one to call. The mission is a weird one – creating lots of primary objectives is important and the Tyrannids will likely have the bodies to do that but will they be murdered off them too quickly to hold?

Both armies have a variety of ways to be built but not a clear way to tech into the opposition. Phil tends to enjoy a Keeper and Forgefiend and Brett likes his Zoans – the Zoans being a pretty solid counter to both gives them the edge here. An Abaddon brick would be really hard to for the Tyrannids to counter but also ties up a zillion points in one unit. They could feasibly hold three objectives on this mission though until a thousand gaunts/gants/gargoyles descend.

Really hard to call and will likely be list dependent here but I am going to say Brett for a small victory – 70-40.

Simon V Ben – Wolves/Ultras – Vital Ground/Supply Lines

The two newest faces to the league showdown – I can only assume the Wolves have fallen behind on logistical documentation and need to be reminded that bureaucracy is the backbone of The Imperium.

Vital Ground means going second is a big advantage here – scoring additional VP at the end of the mission really allows you to limit your oppositions tally or boost yours to where it needs to be.

I hope to see Murderfang back out taking names but a single Lancer will make Mr Fang very sad indeed. If Ben can thin out the Thunder Wolves and banish Murderfang back to Fenris before they hit his lines I think the game is his. Some cunning hiding or use of reserves could swing it back to the Wulfen (who btw are awesome now with D2 Thunder Hammers).

I will go with Simon here as his recent games and lists have shown he has teeth but I think it will be down to the wire as Ben is now quite comfortable in charge of his Smurfs. 70-50 to Simon.