Phil Millar: No Joke

April 26th saw the arrival of the first Corehammer 40K tournament The Dark Throne. Hosted by Chris Kaye & myself and (ably assisted by the rest of the crew) at the North West Gaming Centre in tropical Stockport, Dark Throne was something we’d all put a lot of time and love into setting up and running in a style that best refelcted our attitude and approach to gaming. A lot of new players are put off from entering tournaments because of the (sadly often true) preconception that they are teeming with gobshites wearing fedoras and them daft leather trenchcoats bellowing Family Guy quotes and getting on everyones tits. That’s not what Corehammer is about brah, we try to run things like a hardcore show, keep the door price low, the spirits high and the attitude chill. Filth lists were actively discouraged as were gamey twats and annoying neckbeard sensibilities. This was to be a day for relaxed gaming and some laughs with other somewhat functional humans.

‘Functional Humans”

Tickets for the event sold out surprisingly quickly and though inevitably we had a few drop outs, proceedings were not hindered in the slightest. Ten pounds got you three games of 40K, a bite to eat at the gamers cafe and the opportunity to bro down with enthusiasts cut from similar cloth. There was also a Warmart taking place on the day with a load of bring & buy tables full of pre-loved hobby items anxious for new homes as well as some demonstration games of Dust Tactics taking place.

Loada Fellas

The tournament was run using the Swiss rules format. Three rounds with points allocated for secondary objectives and game points for the victor. The first round was quite simply Crusade and we offered participants the opportunity to grudge another player in this portion of the tournament. The next two rounds were mission based and matchups were then drawn based upon results accumulated in the previous round.

Tau Tit Vs Worst Legion

There was a very even split between forces on the day. We’d naturally expected the tournament to be very power armour heavy but surprisingly that was not the case. All the major factions were represented in fine form with some great fluff armies notably Sean Brennans Gensetealer assault army and Phil Newtons Daemons both in keeping with the spirit of the event. Respect to everyone for leaving the filth and spam at home and getting down with the vibe we were trying to encourage.

Corehammer Shirts: 2014’s essential fashion item

Participants travelled from all over to attend with a solid Kentish contingent representing my homelands along with crews from the Midlands, Liverpool, London and the North East. My main man John Smart deserves special mention here for flying in all the way from Sweden to take part. Smart’s been a part of Corehammer as far back as our proto-CH days in 2007 and we were all delighted to see him despite the fact he plays Emperors Children, widely regarded (well, by me and Chris Kaye at least) as the worst legion ever.

Kaye’s Tin Men Vs Sketchy’s Raptors

We asked that everyone had their armies fully painted, purely to act as a motivator for the likes of me and Boardman (who would be quite content to play with bare plastic) to get our fingers out and actually get a painted army on the table. Seeing all the models painted and ranked up on their respective battlefields really added to the aesthetic and sense of immersion on the day and I’m stoked that everyone manned up,it looked mega. There were some really impressive armies on display and Glen Wareing’s Aurora Marines deserve particular mention here. We were particularly impressed to learn that he’d constructed and painted his whole army over the course of a weekend despite being sick as a dog. A beautiful army painted in really subtle, muted tones that paid definite homage to the old school whilst still managing to look fresh. Good job Sir!

Aurora Chapter

You can see more of Glen’s Aurora Marines HERE

Corehammer Merch Game Is Strong

To everyones credit there were no rows, bust ups or rules contentions, just a bunch of people on the same page, rolling dice and having a few laughs. Matt Geary for Geekpride came down and provided photographic coverage and documentation of the whole day and all pictures used here were by kind permission. We made souvenir poster prints with Joe Wilding’s original artwork and some Judge inspired shirts for the event which were snapped up really quickly and Sketchy Adam had some awesome Chaos Warrior inspired prints up for grabs too.

Stu Smith: Delighted/ Owain Cooke: Weirdo

As far as final placings went, Liverpools Phill Millar’s Brazen Minotaurs took home the crown for 1st Place with Stu Smiths Necrons taking the silver whilst Boro Boy Phil Louther’s Imperial Guard Rough Riders clawed out a very respectable Third place.

Phil Louther: Stoked

Despite stiff competition from many quarters (Matt Beech’s Eldar, Kev Walsh’s Dark Angels and those awesome Nurgle marines to name but a few) and following a vote by all atendees, the Best Painted Army title was eventually claimed by our very own Adam Chandler with his breathtaking Raptors.

Duggan Vs Tony

Shout out to Owain for working the merch stand, Byron at Element Games for his assistance with prizes and sage advice, Boardman and Son for going beyond the call of duty as usual, Full Kit for filling out the numbers and everyone who showed up,hung out and had a b’last. See you next time.

Emperors Children Vs Genestealer Assault

Kev’s Dark Angels on the move

Newts Daemons bumming Nates Wolves