Tomorrow, I set out to (hopefully) get some more Warhammer in at Atlanti-Con in Corner Brook, in the central part of the island. Before I do, I’m looking back at a few of the 10th edition games I’ve managed to get in since the edition started, and reflect a little on what’s going good, what’s going not so good, and what changes I can maybe make the army to be a little less bad at Warhammer 40K from here.

I played a couple of games at Noble Miniatures with a friend from work and it was a blast. Guy is a local legend, his Tyranids are the stuff of nightmares, and everything he brings to the table is Tyranids. Like, we’re talking Genestealer Cult Leagues of Votann, and Imperial Knights, all Tyranidified. Given my long history of getting thrashed by XenonMage, I thought I just might have enough experience to pull off a win or stand my ground decently against the swarm – boy, was I ever in for a shock!

The good news is that all things considered, and considering how good my opponent was at the game, I didn’t get thrashed as badly as I could have, but there were definitely things I learned from the games we played, especially against his Genestealer Votann. Running a transport up into range of heavy weapons while it contains some of my army’s most costly units, and letting it get torpedoed before my Howling Banshees could tie up the bulk of his gunline? Not recommended, definitely not recommended. I’ve also learned the rules to my army a little better, including how essential things like the Wraithguard’s ability to shoot back and command-phase abilities like Fortune are to remember. Small things that all really add up, and that I’m going to watch for moving forward.

I also got a few games in with KinpatsuSamurai recently, and as usual his table game is legendary. This was another game where I made some costly mistakes, but where I think I’ve gotten better at driving the Eldar via strategems and doing shenanigans during my opponent’s turn that keep me in the game longer. Warhammer 40K might not be a game with alternating activations, but I am liking that between changes to Overwatch and some of the new strategem inclusions that in 10th editions there are a decent number of “trap cards” that you can spring that keep you engaged and keep the game going consistently back-and-forth across battle rounds.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t quite enough to cinch a win, and I can’t even be mad about that. I had my Wave Serpent too far out of reach of his infantry this time, and his deployment with some very sneaky, sneaky dreadnoughts made it very difficult for my heavy weapons to line up a shot. I think I’m also learning which parts of 10th are going to be an obstacle for me – the consistent cover that enemies seem to get if they’re partially obscured being the foremost among them. There might be a Vyper jetbike in my future, to make my Shroud Runners just a little more effective at landing hits, since the Scatter Lasers’ lack of AP is really smarting so far. All in all, two very fun matches, and lots of good lessons learned that I can take into my next few games.