Brothers Grim Warhamme 40k Tournament: Game 2

This game had an interesting twist. There were 6 objectives, we each placed 3. The catch was that in order to claim them, you had to have an infantry squad base to base. Once doing so, there was a random chart to see what was "Inside" the box. Bonus points were awarded for capturing the most boxes, killing commanders, etc. But this game was marred by a couple of... issues.

Deployment: table corners
Mission: Loot Counters

I was playing a Space Wolf army and the deployment ended up with 4 of the 6 counters near his corner. Drat. He would end up claiming all 4.

To cut to the meat of this game, I will quickly summarise.

Turn 1: My opponent claims 2 objectives, I claim 1. His two objectives turned out empty, mine was a real marker. I ended turn 1 holding 1 objective to his 0.

Turn 2: Dante moves up, and assaults a large squad with a Wolf Librarian in it. Dante is killed. He had Logan something attached to a squad with bolters. They moved up to secure the center of the table. My opponent captured two more objectives, I captured one. His turned out to be empty, mine was a real marker. End turn two, I control 2, he controls 0.

Turn 3: Realizing that his only hope to salvage the game, my opponent had to try to move Logan and his squad about 20 inches, assault a squad, claim the objective, then move another 12 inches, assault another squad, and claim that one. I assault and kill his librarian with Corbs and the Furioso, and consolidate into cover.

Turn 4: Here is where the world goes to shit. My opponent moves Logan's squad 6 and shoots at my Furioso who was about to pounce on them. The furioso is killed by Lascannon fire. On my turn, I tank shock Logans squad, and he fails his leadership and falls back 6 or so. I have squads within 6", which will force him to fall back next turn. He contests this fact. After a brief "Discussion" involving his hurried explanation of some rule in the Wolves codex, I relent in the spirit of not being a dick. I should have right there gotten a ruling, because I knew I was right no matter what he said, (It turns out he did not have the FAQ and I was right, he should have continued to fall back and off the table, I win.) So, I assaulted the squad with a measly assault squad, he wins instantly, and consolidates, leaving himself no less then 16" away from my objective. I would say closer to 18", definitely not less then 12", meaning there was NO WAY he would be able to assault my objective turn 5.

Turn 5:
The time for the game is coming short. I suggest we do a time check because I dont want to get screwed. He says we are playing the turn, so I should go check time while he moves. Being the trusting sort, I agree, and go check time, we have about 9 minutes. I return to the table, and some how his model was roughly 6" away from my objective. This is a rough estimate since we did not have an exact measurement, but I would say he moved his squad about 9"... I was away from the table though... My mistake. On his assault, he uses his tape to do a quick measurement from a weird elevated angle, then quickly moves his model without confirming the distance, crashing it into base to base with mine, knocking down or away 3 of my models in the squad.... blank stare... mouth agape... I stammer... dumbfounded...

Let me elaborate.

First of all, I am rarely one to gripe about quarters or eighths of inches. But in this case, he screwed me on the Leadership test, and flat out cheated on the move while I was not looking. You wana bet your booty I am going to bust out the micrometer to measure his assault range. It was close, I am a fairly good estimate of assault range playing an assault army, and that was over 6". So he quickly measured, putting the end of the tape at my base, and holding the other end of the tape about 8 inches over the table. Without lowering the tape down to his model to see if it was within 6 inches, or even looking over the top of the tape to get an estimate, he charges his model into mine, proceeding to hit mine, knocking it back an inch, and knocking down other models. I object, politely. Saying that the measurement warranted a close look since it was soo close and such an important stage of the game...(meaning the difference between win or loss) He smirks and says, "well I can move it back 6" and slides his model back to about where it was...(on the short side.) I was shocked. Stupified. Stunned. All I could say was "Really?" and again, he offered a half cocked smirk. I have never been so completely riveted in a game in my life, any game. It was like he reached across the table and punched me in the gutt.

He went on to massacre, then assault my other objective, taking it as well. So, in two turns, my opponent covered about 3 feet of total distance, killed 3 squads, and claimed 2 objectives, with a single squad on foot, turning a major victory for me into a loss.

I tried to be a good sport, and apologized for my poor attitude, but there was little I could say. I did call over James, our club Space Wolf expert, and asked about the Leadership test, and James confirmed that the guy was not using the proper rules. Dave came over, and also confirmed. But Dave is a nice guy, and was hesitant to force a ruling. I calmly explained the situation. I didnt mention the outrageous movement, and grotesque assault "accident". I only said that his failure to have the proper codex, and taking advantage of my good sportsmanship in not wanting to cause a scene, despite the fact that I was certain I was right, turned what should have a been a win into a loss. (Honestly why would I argue, he was so far away from my squads that there was no way he would take them away before I shot the shit out of him.) I said that every thing that happened after that tank shock should be invalid. I asked Dave to make a ruling on that, but seeing that he was hesitant, and the guy was becoming obnoxious with his defense and arguement, I let dave off the hook and suggested we leave it to chance, "in light of other circumstances". The guy threw up a small objection, but shamefully agreed to the die roll. He won.

End result, what should have been a huge victory for me sending me into first place and a chance to win the whole tournament, turned into a Migraine and a sick feeling in the gut.

Now seriously on this, do I have a reason to feel sick? Do you guys think a die roll at the end was fair? Or should Dave have simply invalidated the end of the game due to the guy not having the proper codex.

Did he smack my models on purpose in that assault? It looked so effortless that I have to say yes. He knew it was gona be close, and he knew that doing so would eliminate any chance to question it. I want to give every one the benefit of the doubt, but you never know what people that want to win tournaments are capable of.

All I can say is that this dude made my ultimate shit list. Next tournament, I will give him NOTHING. I will confirm every measurement, contest every rule, watch every die roll. Vid will post as soon as it is ready.