The State of the Nation 2014

I realised a few days ago that I set up this blog four years ago today, and wow, I've dodged a lot of painting since then! A canny reader will see that I've got older posts than that, but they were added retrospectively from my old forum posts so that I still had them after the forum shut down. The very first post concerned itself with my plans to assemble a pre-bought Adeptus Mechanicus Battlefleet Gothic fleet. In the end, it never came to fruition as we never really got stuck in to that game. Instead it went a long way to financing my early Trollbloods. 

I've done a lot since then, and many plans have been devised and sidelined in that time, but I think that it has been for the better.

I wrote a similar post to this last year, albeit a little earlier in the year than this. In it I outlined my plans going forward. I shall do this here this year, but first I intend to reflect on that post a little and provide an update on some of the systems.

I spoke about sticking with one list for each system, namely the chaos army for each but with the addition of a Daemon Army that was in the pipeline. This has stalled. 

I've felt very let down by GW over the last couple of years. I feel that they are stretching the customer's finances more and more with each release and yet are not actually adding much of value for it. I understand that this is just my point of view, however this is sadly how I feel. The only thing keeping my from shedding my collection wholesale is that they are stored for the move that never seems to get nearer. However there is a strong possibility that I shall be unboxing them to go on eBay. 

I plan to keep a couple of armies, and at least one for each system, but this is more in hope than expectation that things will improve. Frankly I'm having more fun with other systems, and the best way for me to finance these is to use money from sales of unwanted armies.

No real change here. I didn't have time last year, and that hasn't changed. A new edition has been, or is soon to be released, I'm a bit out of touch, and yet still as much fun as it was, it took too long to play a game at a worthwhile size; and the amount of clutter from tokens, markers and dice to indicate hit points etc was far too fussy. At some point I intend to re-look at this, but it won't be for some time and will probably be with the Russians. 

This has developed in to my main game over the last year. I'm very much enjoying the game and am really beginning to get the hang of my Trolls. I actually even have some of them painted now. This was so that I went to my first tournament with at least some models were painted.

Last year I spoke of sticking with Jarl and the Hunters Grim, however in a twist of fate, Grissel2 is now my strongest caster. She is the new thing now albeit with a different list to mine), but at the time many didn't rate her too highly. I found that for infantry spam she does enough to help out without having too many options to choose from. She's also got herself a reasonable kill tally in the 'Caster Kill Challenge. At present I don't really have a strong secondary caster, but as Borka2 is out later this year, I may well focus on him being my go to heavy hitter list. 

I've also now delved in to another faction. With the sales of some of my GW armies, I've been investing in Thornfall Alliance Minions, Circle Orboros and Convergence of Cyriss and it is the latter I've recently started. It is early days still, but I'm enjoying them. Having started with Axis, I'm not using too subtle a list, but whilst I'm keeping with him at the moment, I'm looking to the other casters to find something a bit different. However much I try to avoid it I keep heading back to the Prime Axiom for my lists, which means that sooner or later, so heavy duty assembly and painting is going to be required. 

A month or two after last year's article I went by train with Sam into Leeds. On that fateful journey, we bumped in to an acquaintance of Sam's that played Malifaux. He was an odd fish, but he did assuage a lot of my misgivings over Malifaux and as such I began to look further in to the game. I joined as Wyrd were finalising their playtesting for the second edition of the game (M2e) and so things were a little all over the place, however I saw the promise and began to play, and moreover, buy lots of models. 

It was a rough start, and there are still teething problems it seems, however I've played seven games now and I am in love. Initially I have been playing Seamus who is one of the Resurrection's masters. I do intend to branch out from him, but I shall discuss that later. 

I've recently been to a Malifaux tournament hosted by The Outpost and whilst I came 29/30 I had a great day, and did reasonably well on VPs if not wins. I shall write a bit more on this in another post.

I'd resisted it for ages, but as we all know, (wait for it) resistance is futile (boom boom!). Speaking of the Borg, that's one of the fleets I'm collecting. That and the Romulans. I don't mind having a few Federation ships but I much prefer playing the opposition. 

This is going to stay an occasional game and I...will...not...buy...X-Wing!

The plan for the year ahead

This is usually the bit where I get things wrong. 

Neither Warhammer nor 40k are likely to get a look in over the next year. I see things getting worse with those systems, not better and as sad as it is, I think that the sun has set on those games. Yet as I said I shall keep a few options for them in case I'm wrong. 

Dystopian Wars may get a look in, but not for a while. That's about that for that. 

Star Trek Attack Wing is an occasional game for me, so whilst I shall keep my hand in its not something I'm going to go crazy on.

Guild Ball. This is a new one for me. I pledged on the Kickstarter and I'm looking forward to the release in December. Hopefully it will arrive before Christmas as that is my present. I've opted for the Butchers, the Masons and the Alchemists guilds. I'm not too sure how each of those teams play, aside from the Butchers apparently being a bit of a blunt instrument, but I went for the teams that I liked the look of the most, and it was a hard task to be honest. We shall see how it plays out. Since this will be my Christmas present, I'm hoping it will be sent out before the expected release date of December 29th. 

Warmachine and Hordes will continue to be my first game. Not least as it's the most accessible game for opposition. I'm enjoying the Convergence at the moment and will continue to tinker with them including taking part in a modified Journeyman League at the club. The Trollbloods aren't being sidelined. I've got some lists planned which will need testing at some point. Grissel2 remains my main caster, though I'm not really sure whether I'm going to give in to the Meat Mountain list much time. I'm liking the look of a Borka2 list I've come up with, but it will need some playing as I'm not sure whether my theory machine is that strong. 

My plans for Malifaux are to continue with the Ressers. I'm waiting for Molly to come out so I can play about with a summoner. In the meantime I shall develop Seamus and play about with McMourning.

I've also signed up to another tournament in November, is time at Stockport at the NWGC. I think it would be wise to stick with Ressers for this, but I shall be looking at the Outcasts at some point too. I've got the Viks to look at as well as Misaki, and as soon as I can get my hands on Jack Daw, I shall be getting him too. So many choices!

So that's it really, another year on and another set of plans. Maybe the next time I write this type of article, I will actually have moved!

Packing away the GW

Ok guys, just thought I would let you know that I have now packed away all the GW armies I own that I don't intend to sell with two exceptions: Dark Eldar and Empire.

Please note however that neither of those two armies are in a playable state.

I don't intend to unpack anything until after I move, so I won't be playing 40k or WFB for some time, if ever again at the rate the 'move' is progressing.

The only exception to this may be the Sisters of Battle, depending on their forthcoming Codex.

Thanks,

Mark

The State of the Nation 2013

I've not been too frequent with my blog posts lately, but as that is well documented already I won't go in to that too much other than to say that as much as I love writing, I miss wargaming as much as I used to be able to. 

Focus
One of the decisions I made earlier this year, which is again well documented, was that I would focus on GW games with a view to maintaining a consistent approach as well as to improve my knowledge. As such I have stuck closely to single armies for both Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000.

Warhammer 40,000
The army I have played the longest for 40k is Chaos Space Marines. I've tried a few different styles over the years be they Night Lords, a mixture of the cults and none cults, but when GW started to focus more on the Red Corsairs more as a unified force rather than a rag tag band that is mentioned from time to time in the fluff, I really started to like them. The Huron model is superb, and as such with the new book I wrote a Red Corsair themed list. The list itself isn't a tournament list by any stretch, nor however is it too weak and as such I have enjoyed using it greatly. As I've tweaked it and become familiar with it, I have looked towards developing a second force, which whilst remaining a Chaos Space Marine force does perform in a different manner. The Red Corsairs were more of a fire base army with a few mobile elements with which to close up to the enemy. However, I have developed a purely Tzeentch army whilst is quite the reverse. It is much smaller even than it's Red Corsair counterpart, and is in truth a bit of a glass hammer, but although I shall need to test and tweak it further, I think it should perform strongly.

Warhammer

For Warhammer Fantasy Battles, I have again developed one army before working on a second. The first being a Daemon Prince led Tzeentch army with a few monsters in it, albeit that I have mixed marks in this army a bit. I liked the idea of men of the North worshipping all the deities, but perhaps some being favoured more and so the bulk is Tzeentch but some of the army is dedicated to Nurgle. Afterall, they are men even if they are servants of the gods, and men follow a strong leader even if he does speak of a different god. This army has done reasonably well. Again possibly not a tournament army, but solid nonetheless. The second army is a much newer beast. All units in this second warband are marked Nurgle, or cannot be marked. It is still early days, but is enjoyable enough to play with.

Children of the Empyrean
I have however begun building my dual system Daemon army. Very early days as yet, but initially I plan to use them as allies in 40k, then develop them as a force in their own right.

Privateer Press

Now, having spent the first half of the year keeping my promise to stick to GW, I find myself yearning to get back to Privateer Press. At the end of last year I felt I was finally starting to get somewhere with Hordes and Warmachine, something which I think I shll have to develop once more due to the break in play. I am still very much in love with my Trollbloods and have spent a lot of time recently thinking about lists. Jarl Skuld is still my favoured Warlock and so he is still going to be the crux of my main list, but I have found myself looking at the new Hunters Grim Warlock unit from the Gargantuans book.

Having played about with some list options, I am happy with the theory of how the units will play, and as such he is now on his way.

Aside from the War Wagon (which I think will have to be a Christmas present) and any of the currently unreleased models, I'm now at full faction and as such I have plenty of options and so I'm trying to vary the lists as much as possible at least up to and including 35 points. Inevitably the Fennblades are a popular option in most lists as are the Scattergunners, but I've resisted putting them both in all lists. I've also varied the Warbeasts as much as I can, though the Impaler, because of his animus and my seeming preference for ranged lists, makes it in to more than one force. Initially I shall concentrate on the two Warlocks mentioned above, though eventually the aim is to get back to developing the Borka list and some of the other Warlocks that I've not used before.

Convergence of Cyriss

Keeping with Privateer Press, I have wanted to have a go at the Warmachine side of the coin for some time, though as they did before I first bought the Hordes Trollblood starter pack when Mk1 was around, none of the factions really captured my imagination. Even the newer Scyrah didn't really hit the spot, and to be honest I had decided to forego that side of the game entirely. However, with the announcement of the Convergence of Cyriss as a playable faction, I decided to wait out the details and see how I liked them, and I must say, I really like them! The idea of them being clockwork beings that have foregone their flesh is a very good one to me, and I like the idea of the Vectors rules. As such, I have ordered the starter set for them and who knows, maybe I can cope with painting silver?

Dystopian Wars
To be frank, this has taken a back seat for now. I still have much less time than I would like to wargame, and either 40k or fantasy will suffer to fit in Warmachine/Hordes. But it is not forgotten, and I shall get back round to it at some point.

The Future
Some of you may know already, however The Whyf has been given a store manager position in Ilkley, and as such at some point the intention is for us to move to West Yorkshire. Their are pros and cons for us that we have carefully considered, but both think it will be beneficial in the long run. It may be in a few weeks that we go, or in a few months. That is the best information we have at the moment, but we are looking forward nonetheless.

In the meantime, thanks for reading.

Progress (of sorts) so far.

Still not painted anything yet. Been building the scouts and the Aegis line (I have one for my Chaos and one for my Loyalists).

Sorry about the rubbish picture, even for me it is a bad one, but since it isn't of anything painted I figured it wasn't the end of the world.

The Scouts for my Blood Angels are Sniper Rifle and Missile Launcher armed so I didn't really want to repeat that with their Dark Angels counterparts. After talking with Ben I decided to go with Bolters. My intention here is to use them to either outflank as a full unit or combat squad them as infiltrators (in the main), but I suspect that other options and ideas shall present themselves once I've used them a couple of times.

So, I'm going to have to paint these things now.

I've also converted a quad gun for my Chaos Space Marines so that the Imperium and the Traitors don't have to share.

I have no idea why, but blogger doesn't want to show this the correct way up. Even though the picture is saved as such on the computer.

Stupid thing!

Rise of the Unforgiven

Well, after nearly a month of not painting anything for my painting pledge, I have decided that Chaos Space Marines will not be the force of choice for this.

I've very much enjoyed playing my Huron led Red Corsairs army and I shall continue to do so for pick up and play games, however if I wish to use a painted army for any given event, then the Dark Angels stand the stronger chance of being painted in time.

At present I have a little over 2250 points of painted Dark Angels, but typically my newest list has very little by way of my originally painted units. Furthermore, I think it about time I actually painted some of these Dark Angels myself.

So this means that I have a little over a month to paint a few models, but at this stage I have no idea which ones I intend to paint.

The first problem I have is that if I choose a Tactical squad to paint, then I need to paint a Rhino with it, though as I have already said, I am hoping that someone will be able to help me out with airbrush painting my vehicles (hint).

So for now, I've just got to decide which units I need painting the most and then find a reasonable painting guide so that this time I can have a unified colour scheme.

Intermission

So guys, I've been making a lot of changes this year and in order to continue to do so next year then something has got to give.

I've pretty much had a hand in the hobby since I was thirteen and I am now thirty one. More than ever this year I have written at an increasing rate and next year I wish to do so even more. In order to do that I need to allow more time to concentrate on it and as such the obvious element that needs to go is the gaming.

Now, I'm not going all 1 Corinthians 13:11 (go on, look it up) on you all. I've written a 1800 point 40k list, a 2,400 point fantasy list and as for the Kingdom of Britannia and Russian Coalition for Dystopian Wars and Trollbloods for Hordes/Warmachine, I still have plenty of lists for those. But the difference now will mean that it will be much more sporadic. I won't have time to interact with people's blogs, forums, Facebook groups etc. To that end I've changed certain preferences on Facebook to filter out the gaming elements, so if you want me to pay attention to any of it, tag me in a post.

I also intend to radically downsize my collections to just two or three armies for Fantasy and 40k and shall be considering carefully those that are headed for the chop over the next month or so. It is my preference that the armies I do eventually sell go to friends locally rather than eBay, even at the expense of a better price (though I do wish to make enough money to fund a couple of projects that will improve my craft) so please keep your eyes peeled.

Despite this, as you know, I'm a sucker for a bargain and a nice book especially, so if any limited edition items appear for any of the above mentioned systems, please let me know.

As many of you are aware, I've got many alter egos. Some I make known to the masses, some I keep to myself. One of them, the writer, is the Shadow Scribe. Please feel free to pop over there, read and comment as the intention of that blog isn't just for me to show off my work, but to receive C&C. Another thing I wanted to mention about that site is that the original intention for it was for me to use as a means to write up my Army Background for my forces. To that end, I shall actually do some writing for them and place it on there. Should you see anything you like and would like any help writing something for your own army, please let me know. I will need a few details and such about your forces and unless you are one of the early ones that I use for showcasing, then I may well start making a small charge!

I'm nearly finished now, but before I do go, I'd like to state categorically to you Shane that I've not given up yet, I'm still in the painting challenge.

Well then friends, I shall see you on the other side, if not before, but until then, enjoy yourselves in the last hours of 2012 and the first days of  2013!

Love you all,

Mark/Drax/Vanguard/Shadow Scribe/Tzeentch/Forlorn/Jinx/Kalaghar/many, many more

My god, what have I done?

It seems that I have entered a painting competition.

Finished falling about laughing? Good.

Yeah, I know! 'Why' you may ask 'have you, you entered a painting competition?' Well, the main reason is that I want a 40k army that is painted but isn't Deathwing mainly so that I can go to an event at Warhammer World (probably Planetary Empires) with a none Imperial force at some point in the future. So to that end I've put forward the Red Corsairs as my army of choice in the hope I'll actually get something done.

And so, I've joined Nick, Mart, Shane and Chris in their efforts. Now, I don't expect I'll finish, nor that the paint jobs will be brilliant, but if I get something done then it shouldn't be too bad should it? To be honest I half expect the true competition to be whether Shane or I tap out first.

Come on Shane, don't get upset, you know it's true.

From what I understand the rules are to paint 250 points every two months which is feasible for me, so the first step is to paint a squad of Chaos Marines with Rhino.

I'm fine with the painting of the marines, but I may need help with Rhinos and Daemon Engines as I want to use an airbrush to achieve a nice clean finish, so Mart, Nick, you boys are up! Maybe Mart we could even spend the odd Saturday painting whilst you babysit your wife's children? ;)

So, the initial list:


1800 Pts - Chaos Space Marines Roster

HQ: Huron Blackheart (1#, 160 pts)
   1 Huron Blackheart, 160 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 58 & 92); Infantry (Character); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Sigil of Corruption; Power Axe; The Tyrant's Claw; Champion of Chaos; Fearless; Hatred (Space Marines); Independent Character; Psyker (Mastery Level 1); The Hamadrya; Veterans of the Long War;  Warlord; Master of Deception; 6E Psychic Disciplines: ; Biomancy; Divination; Pyromancy)

Troops: Chaos Cultists (10#, 63 pts)
   9 Chaos Cultists, 63 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 38 & 95); Infantry; Improvised Armour; Autopistol x2; Close Combat Weapon x9; Autogun x6; Heavy Stubber x1)
      1 Cultist Champion ((C:CSM, pp. 46 & 98); Infantry (Character); Improvised Armour; Autopistol; Close Combat Weapon; Shotgun; Champion of Chaos)

Troops: Chaos Cultists (10#, 55 pts)
   9 Chaos Cultists, 55 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 38 & 95); Infantry; Improvised Armour; Autopistol x8; Close Combat Weapon x9; Flamer x1)
      1 Cultist Champion ((C:CSM, pp. 46 & 98); Infantry (Character); Improvised Armour; Autopistol; Close Combat Weapon; Champion of Chaos)

Troops: Chaos Space Marines (11#, 268 pts)
   9 Chaos Space Marines, 268 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 37 & 95); Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x9; Boltgun x7; Close Combat Weapon x9; Plasma gun; Plasma gun; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Aspiring Champion ((C:CSM, pp. 37 & 95); Infantry (Character); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Gift of Mutation; Bolt Pistol; Boltgun; Power Fist x1; Champion of Chaos; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Chaos Rhino ((C:CSM, pp. 54 & 99); Vehicle (Tank, Transport); 10 model capacity; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Combi-Boltgun; Repair)

Troops: Chaos Space Marines (11#, 283 pts)
   9 Chaos Space Marines, 283 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 37 & 95); Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x9; Boltgun x7; Icon of Vengeance; Close Combat Weapon x9; Plasma gun; Plasma gun; Fearless; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Aspiring Champion ((C:CSM, pp. 37 & 95); Infantry (Character); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Gift of Mutation; Bolt Pistol; Boltgun; Lightning Claw x1; Champion of Chaos; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Chaos Rhino ((C:CSM, pp. 54 & 99); Vehicle (Tank, Transport); 10 model capacity; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Combi-Boltgun; Repair)

Fast Attack: Chaos Bikers (5#, 190 pts)
   4 Chaos Bikers, 190 pts ((C:CSM, pg. 27 & 99); Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Chaos Bike; Power Armour; Mark of Nurgle; Bolt Pistol x4; Close Combat Weapon x2; Plasma gun x2; Twin-Linked Boltgun x4; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Biker Champion (Bikes (Character); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Chaos Bike; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol; Lightning Claw x1; Twin-Linked Boltgun x1; Champion of Chaos; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)

Fast Attack: Heldrake (1#, 170 pts)
   1 Heldrake, 170 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 52 & 101); Vehicle (Flyer w/ Hover mode); Daemonic Possession; Baleflamer; Fear; Daemon; Daemonforge; It Will Not Die; Meteoric Descent)

Heavy Support: Forgefiend (1#, 175 pts)
   1 Forgefiend, 175 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 51 & 103); Vehicle (Walker); Daemonic Possession; 2x Hades Autocannon; Fear; Daemon; Daemonforge; Fleet; It Will Not Die)

: Aegis Defence Lines (2#, 100 pts)
   1 Aegis Defence Lines, 100 pts (Battlefield Debris (Defence Lines))
      1 Gun Emplacement (Quad-gun)

Elite: Chaos Terminators (6#, 336 pts)
   5 Chaos Terminators, 336 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 40 & 97); Infantry; Terminator Armour; Mark of Tzeentch; Power Axe x1; Chainfist x1; Power Fist x3; Combi-Plasmagun x4; Reaper Autocannon x1; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Terminator Champion ((C:CSM, pp. 40 & 97); Infantry (Character); Terminator Armour; Gift of Mutation; Combi-Plasmagun; Lightning Claw; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)

Validation Report:
c-1. File Version: 1.11 For Bug Reports/www.ab40k.org; b-1. Roster Options: Named or Special Characters; a-1. Scenario: Normal Mission; b-2. Levels of Alliance: Battle Brothers
Roster satisfies all enforced validation rules

Composition Report:
HQ: 1 (1 - 2)
Elite: 1 (0 - 3)
Troops: 4 (2 - 6)
Fast: 2 (0 - 3)
Heavy: 1 (0 - 3)
Fort: 1 (0 - 1)

Total Roster Cost: 1800

Created with Army Builder® - Try it for free at http://www.wolflair.com

It only needs to be 1500 points from what I understand, though I think that maybe I shall try to squeeze 1800 out since Planetary Empires has been known to include 2500 points games.

Here's hoping, and to my fellow painters, Bon chance.

Chaos Decided

Well, I'm nearly done finalising my plans for my Chaos Space Marines and I think I'm settling upon Red Corsairs. I love their background and have often considered going with them in the past, especially having taken part on the secessionist side of the Badab Wars campaign last year. I have also always been drawn to the Huron model being as it is a very strong sculpt and I bought it as soon as it was released intending to use it as a Chaos Lord if not as Huron himself. Sadly however in the previous edition it was a Lash Sorcerer or Lash Daemon Prince every time.

I've gone for a relatively unmarked force in order to fit in with the Red Corsair's background, though I have gone for Nurgle Bikers (I know, I know) and Tzeentch Terminators (I said I know) and I may add in a unit or two of marked CSMs or Legion units from time to time.

For now though it's mainly the same force I used in the last edition but with a couple of the new units such as the new Heldrake and a Forgefiend which may switch with a Defiler from time to time.

I am currently trying to find a second list to give a bit of a varied force, this time edging for a more Legion heavy force, though I suspect that it would be best to focus on the first list for a while to see what works, why how and where.

In other 40k news, I'm nearly there with the Blood Angels army (obviously unpainted) as I just need to assemble a Tactical squad before the intended list is ready. The plan here is to use them as a second force for when I play regularly against other Chaos players to give them an Imperial force to face so they can make best use of the Veterans of the Long War rule from time to time.

Say what you will about my painting...

... but Dark Vengeance is still a few hours away and already I shall be able to field a painted Dark Angels force.



Now it isn't exactly wysiwyg, the Ravenwing aren't armed as they should be, but are distinguishable enough and I never really bothered with a Librarian previously so I'm having to use a Veteran Sergeant as a proxy, but that aside it's the full and painted force.

I've not had much time for 40k since 6th edition was released, but I must admit that Dark Vengeance has captured my attention. Primarily because it contains two of my armies, so there are no redundant models.

So the plan is for me to play a couple of missions against Matt at the club tomorrow. I shall let you know how it goes, and it may be a double post tomorrow as I'll also be playing Dystopian Wars.

Popped my 6th edition cherry!

I had my first game with the new edition against Ben on Saturday night, and we had a really good game!

We decided that we would keep it fairly simple playing Purge the Alien with a Dawn of War deployment but with the use of secondary objectives.

The idea was to get used to the rules as much as focus on the victory conditions, however since we'd need to focus on the secondary objectives going forward we also followed these.

Ben used his Tau which consisted of (I think) 3 Fire Warrior squads (two with Devilfish), 1 Pathfinder squad, 1 large Kroot infiltrator unit, 2 stealth teams, two Hammerheads and was lead by a Commander and retinue with a few drones which Ben kept in reserve.

For my Part I decided to field my Chaos Marines. It has been something of a tradition for me to see in new editions with my Chaos army, so that was a big factor here.

My list consisted of:

• Lash Sorcerer
• 10 Chaos Space Marines w/ Asp Champ w/ Powerfist, Undivided Icon, Plasma gun, Heavy Bolter
• 9 Thousand Sons w/ Sorcerer w/ Doombolt
• 8 Bezerkers w/ Skull champ w/ Powerfist, 2x Plasma pistols. Mounted in a Land Raider w/ extra armour
• 4 Bikers w/ Champion w/ Powerfist, 2x Plasma guns, Icon of Nurgle
• 7 Raptors w/ Asp Champ, Lightning Claws, 2x Flamers, Icon of Slaanesh
• 2 Obliterators
• Defiler w/ extra CCW and Reaper Autocannon

I figured that a varied force would allow me to try and deal with a few different options and I hoped that the biker squad specifically would soak up a fair amount of fire being T6. The
Raptors too would probably take a bit of attention since their aim was to get in combat fast and try and hit first. The rest of the force was essentially taken to try and test possibilities. I'd not really used the cult units in the previous editions - I'd only assembled the Plague Marines prior to 6th ed preparations, so I wanted to trial the Bezerkers and the Thousand Sons.

Finally, I had 100 points left and so I decided to take an Aegis defence line with a Quad Gun. I knew that there weren't going to be any fliers in this game, but I suspected that 4 TL S7 shots would at least irritate any lighter tanks.

Ben took the first turn and I failed to seize the initiative. I shall just note the key points from the battle in order to discuss how it played.

Although there weren't too many successes by Ben in first turn (inevitably) those that he did have were particularly good for him. He immobilised the defiler which really caused me issues as that had been one of my forward forces, thus meaning that I would need to re-think my forward forces. I addition, I lost the my Plasma gun to the CSM squad due to not paying attention to wound allocation. Something that I would suffer from again as Ben took a heavy toll on my Raptors with his rapid firing Kroot meaning that as well as a couple of regular raptors I lost their aspiring champion!

I would retaliate, but first I decided to immobilise my Land Raider on a crater. Great. So the Bezerkers disembarked and got ready to find some blood to spill. The Raptors positioned to make the Kroot burn resulting in a bit of crispy space chicken and the bikes took out a Piranha that was edging Its way towards targeting my Land Raider. Meanwhile, I moved the Undivided squad a few inches out of their deployment zone towards the Aegis Defence line and Quad gun which I had deployed slightly forward so that I didn't use up space within the deployment zone - a position I would leave them in for the rest of the battle albeit that I moved squad members around to make best use of firing positions. I also detached the Sorcerer from the Undivided unit so that I could lash one of the Stealth suit squads into range of the Bezerkers so that despite their ride being stationary, they could get stuck in asap. Ben failed his Deny the Witch roll so I moved the suits a decent 8 inches nearer and between the ksons and the bezerkers I managed to destroy the Drones that Ben was using to cunningly shield his more useful troops in order for the bezerkers to wipe them out in combat, which they duly did.

I took the opportunity to issue a challenge trusting that the other bezerkers could cope with with suits. challenge will play a big part in this edition. If you want to keep alive a character that you think will die to a fist sergeant or that would be better taking on multiple opponents (Lelith for example), then it is now possible to sacrifice a Sgt (or equivalent) of your own by issuing or accepting with him. Perhaps using a Fist armed Skull champion to challenge a Shas'ui was somewhat overkill, but at least I know how it works now.

In turn two, Ben managed to explode my Defiler, reduce the Raptors to three (two flamers and the icon), the Bezerkers down to the Skull Champion and a regular Bezerker and took a couple of models out of the Undivided squad.

In retaliation the Raptors wiped out the Pathfinders inc combat. Meanwhile the Thousand sons shot at a Fire Warrior squad reducing them enough for them to fall back thus saving them from being in charge range (note the 2d6 roll required wouldn't reach them even had I had another d6 and got 6 on all!) Also, the bikes turbo boosted to get further up the board and the Obliterators came down, took a couple of shots at the Ion Cannon Hammerhead, both of which penetrated, but Ben managed to pass both his Jink rolls. Say what you want about vehicles in this edition, but Ben is working those Jink saves! out of the approx 15 that I forced on him by the end of turn three, he failed 5, and three of those were on the Piranha's!

Speaking of Turn three, Ben's Commander appeared with his retinue and killed the Obliterators. It seems to me that the only time my Obliterators survive turn 3 or longer is when they don't deep strike, so I think I shall try that next time. The last two Bezerkers died, though it took a great deal of fire power (two squads I think, one being the re-grouped squad that fled in turn 2). In the end I like to think that they took the equivalent number of shots as Boromir and Willem Dafoe in Platoon before becoming the foundations of a giant brass throne. Finally for Ben this turn, a flamer toting Raptor died.

In retribution for the death of the Bezerkers, the two Raptors finished the recently regrouped fire warriors with flame and steel making it fish and fowl for them in a single battle!
The Bikes targeted the Commander's unit taking out most of the drones which the Thousand Sons then also fired upon removing the remaining Drones and one of the bodyguard retinue. The Bikes then charged and won the combat against the commanders unit, but the unit managed to flee, thus meaning that they would keep safely out of charge range if they regrouped, which they would do.

Turn four saw the last squad of Fire Warriors took out the last of the Raptors, though in truth they had done well. They hadn't quite earned their points back (I don't think) but they had occupied what could have been a devastating attack by the Kroot, not to mention the attention of the Fire Warriors. The bikes also died to the Ion Cannon hammerhead, and again they had soaked a lot of fire power before their demise. It's nice to find a use for these guys as I couldn't get them to work in the last edition. The Thousand Sons also took a pounding and were wiped out. They hadn't quite worked how I had planned, but I think that was misuse rather than their ability. They had helped weaken a few units allowing others to wipe out, so maybe that is the way to use them rather than rely on them being game winners.

I'll write up turn 5 and six together as they are a little hazy. Ben managed to wipe out the Undivided squad in turn 5 leaving just the Sorcerer (who was on one wound) and the Land Raider. I cannot remember now, but I think that the Sorcerer died. Luckily however I managed to kill the last of the Commander's unit including the commander himself as well as the last of the stealth suits.

In the end it was a good close game and I did like the changes to the rules that came in to effect here.

Key points to remember are:

• model placement within the unit, remember to make use of the secondary objectives,
• use your grenades at range (I didn't really cover it much here, but I did make use of throwing the odd Krak grenade at the Piranhas - stupid Jink Saves)
• move skimmers - Jink saves can be a real boon
• remember to state when particular models remain stationary in a moving unit.
• Remember overwatch

Thanks for reading, let me know if there are any questions.

Drax

Adaptation

Well, I've not posted in a while for various reasons, but with the impending release of 6th edition Warhammer 40,000 at the end of the month, I have to say that I am looking forward to it.

There seems to have been a degree of disillusion about the new edition. I must admit, I felt the same way when 8th edition fantasy was released, and if I recall correctly, 3rd, 4th and 5th edition 40k. So whats changed with my mindset? I'm a pretty stubborn sod, and I don't react well to change, so why am I so relaxed now when I haven't been at every turn before? I think that the answer must partially lie with 8th ed fantasy.

As it approached I dutifully did what many gamers are now doing: trawling the internet for scraps of information regardless of source as to what I could expect. Looking back now, I think that I had 'given up' on fantasy about a month before it was released and the reason was that I had read abstract information presented in a format that denied the reader the ability to see the 'bigger picture'. A cliche I know, but for a reason. By reading such information on a rumour mill rather than as part of the updated rules it meant that I couldn't understand the context of the new rules set. Sure it may seem odd that fear and terror aren't as powerful now as they were, but does that mean that they are under powered now, or over powered then? Sure a Daemon or a Zombie are scary, but so too is another human running at you with a sharp sword and a determination to survive. The difference is that a soldier is trained to overcome these horrors, and when his own courage fails him, his officers and the standard are there to inspire him to conquer that fear and stand firm against his better judgement.

Another common complaint with 8th edition that unit sizes, in the main, were forced to increase in order to keep up with the changes to the combat rules. People felt that it was unfair how their well honed forces that had done them proud over at least the last two editions with the minimum of fuss between the changes were now required to undergo serious alterations. Yes this can be frustrating, and yes you probably spent hours getting your force just how you wanted it and to have it perform at it's peak efficiency, but what's fun about having all the answers? Sure it means expenditure, and sure Games Workshop are increasing prices, but I've been wargaming nearly 20 years now, as have many of my fellow regular gamers and price rises aren't a new phenomenon and if there is one thing a gamer likes at least as much as a win or achieving a good paint job on a model(s), it is buying something new.

You can't tell me that all the gamers that became despondent at news of bigger sized units and games hadn't previously moaned that they couldn't fit in a particular unit or a few more models within an existing unit.

But I digress. In truth, much of what I have said can be applied to the fears of 6th edition, though I suspect my own reasoning for looking forward to seeing what changes are ahead of us lay away from Games Workshop. Over the last year or two I have for the first time in my gaming career played none GW wargames, namely Hordes/Wamachine by Privateer Press and Dystopian Wars by Spartan Games. Both are very different to 40k and Fantasy, but both are very enjoyable. Essentially both these new systems have forced me to learn an entirely new rules set and in many ways forget how GW has taught me to wargame. Now I won't profess to be a better wargamer for this, indeed I suspect that I now fall under the 'master of none' category as I've not had the opportunity to dedicate myself to one system, however I think what it has taught me is to tolerate a different way of looking at the games I play. For example, for the first time in nearly two decades I am having to really adjust to new and unfamiliar rules sets.

I see no reason why one cannot adopt this approach with new editions of 40k or fantasy. Change can be good as it progresses the game as much as it streamlines it. Yes there will be elements that are unpopular I have no doubt. Experience tells me that I won't realise how unpopular they are with me until an opponent, probably at a tournament, points out that I am trying to play the old rule, not the new one, however with the negatives, there will be positives; not least that the models we use are better than ever and that the community is ever more widespread and supportive. All in all, I think 6th edition Warhammer 40,000 will be one to look forward to.

I have been somewhat distracted of late...

I have seriously been considering re-naming this blog "The Nation of Procrasti"

Let me know what you think.

Anyway, just a quick one to show you what I've been doing rather than start painting the Dark Eldar for doubles:

quiet time

Not a pretty sight that photo is it? It was taken at the Planetary Empires at the end of last month.

Apocalypse How?

I took part in the Apoc game on Saturday down at the club. Turnout was a little disappointing, but we made the most of those that did turn up.

I took the Deathwing and was forced into joining the bad guys! I think that Successionist streak is taking hold! Nothing unusual in the list: three Deathwing squads two of which went in the Land raiders, a ravenwing combat squad with the attack bike, and the old faithful, The Ancient's Assault Force! Damn i love these guys!

i opted to keep everything off board to begin bringing them on in turn two, which took for ever, but was worth the wait. We had to finish at the end of turn 3 but i once again managed to destroy a baneblade! i took another down to 1 structure point! the only other thing of note i acheived was to take out the weapon arms of a Warhound!

I failed to get my stupid camera (!) to take any pictures, so curteousy of Chris (Angryhatter) i present to you some of my lists awesomeness!

Rise of the Tyrant

And so the weekend, which was causing so much fuss for Louise, is finally over and she doesn't need to paint anything for a couple more days.

And what a weekend of gaming it was! 5 games, 6 opponents, a teammate and a lot of invulnerable saves to roll!

Before I go into some relatively sketchy details of each game, I'd like to thank all my opponents as I didn't have a single bad one this time! Unfortunately though, I left my opponent tracker at Nottingham, so had to guess who I played from the results sheet - I knew three of you just from names, but the remainder, if I got your name wrong and you see this I apologise.

My first game got me off to a tremendous start, but was a bit embarrassing really. The Loyalist deployed in the centre and the Secessionist within a band around each table edge so we could effectively surround them (well, I couldn't, I was Deathwing). My only requirement was if i was in y deployment zone, i had to be 6" from the nearest enemy. The goal was to take out the three HQ Choices with each one counting as an objective with the player with the most kill points gaining a further objective. If the Secessionist had less units on the table at the beginning of the game, then he got +1 for the first turn

My Opponent was James Fownes, who was also using Dark Angels, and his army was a nice mix of Belial and Deathwing, Landspeeder Samial Ravenwing and power armour. Quite frankly, he, nor many of the loyalists it seemed, stood little or no chance. His deployment was sound, his force was adaptable and not too cheesy (unlike my own), and he made no tactical errors either. The major problem was simply that he had nowhere to run, and needed turn 1, but typically because of that, I got turn 1! By the end of my player turn 1, I had killed two of the three characters and had clearly gained the most kill points, by the end of his turn 1, i had won 4-0 and had lost 5 models.

that game was immensely weighted towards the secessionists and as such it was the one game I was certain in advance i would win. James never really had a chance, but that had nothing to do with me or him, but the scenario (Ok, if i hadn't used a dick list, maybe not quite as much, but still). Word around the hall was that there were very few if an loyalist victories for that game.

As expected, Game 2 brought me back to earth with a bang, but despite losing was the best game I have had at an event. I played against Chris Jarrett and his Red Scorpions, with the mission being to capture a comms bastion worth two objectives, and then I think it was a kill points mission on top. I can't actually remember too much how badly I lost, only that I did, that it was a cracking game and a smashing opponent and that I vowed to kill Culln (which luckily I didn't place a time limit on). I also failed in this mission to kill Culln by the way.

I also remember thinking that I had made a fair few tactical errors in this game, which in fairness I think was the only game where I did make multiple errors. I do understand why though, I had begun drinking!

Game 3, and the last one for Saturday, and it was the mission I was least looking forward to - I needed to get three rhinos from my 12" deployment zone to my opponents 12" deployment zone at the far end of the table. Obviously the opponent would be able to destroy them (and so could i) but they gained sustained assault so would re-enter from my table edge. If a Rhino suffered a penetrating hit, then there was a chance of it exploding. I really couldn't see this one going too well, and that was before 'clarifications' were made by the events team!

My opponent for this one was Dean Walsh. Dean had a good solid list and was a solid and fair player, and despite not enjoying the mission, I did enjoy facing him. The problem though was that we had a different interpretation of the objective rules (lets be clear, it wasn't an argument and we could each see the opposing point of view, we just felt our own was correct) and because of this, rather than d6 it, it was only fair to ask the events team.

I wanted 3 clarifications made: 1) if the Rhino was destroyed, did it return to play in the next player turn or game turn (key as Dean had turn 1 and I needed to know if I'd get it back in my first turn to give me more time) 2) did Dean just roll to see if the Rhino blew up in the event of a glance or pen hit, or did he also roll on the regular vehicle damage table and 3) could the rhino self repair.

On all 3 points, the events team ruled against me, so we played on that basis until it became clear that I could neither wipe dean out nor get a rhino over to his deployment. Dean had played well and deserved the win.

The trouble was however, that it later turned out that the ruling ought to have been in my favour for all three points. I hadn't realises this myself, and instead Dean had approached my to apologise and i think offer a re-match, however given his extremely good grace and the fact that he would have undoubtedly have won anyway, I thanked him and told him it was ok. Much, much kudos to him for that! You have to admit, there aren't that many people at an event that would do that after an event game when they didn't need to.

With that, day one was over and we went drinking. By all accounts we didn't miss a great deal with the boarding missions - i could live without 3 campaign points to be honest as I wasn't likely to be in contestation for much anyway.

Sunday morning and game 4: In an unusual turn of events, I wasn't hung over, I didn't need to live on the bog and purge all morning and I found myself sitting in Bugmans an hour and a half early. The sausage and egg bap was nice mind; though Ben and Sam thought it odd I ate it with a knife and fork.

The game itself was an amended Planetstrike mission whereby i was trying to defend 3 teleport pads which on a dice roll of 6+ would be removed in turn one, turn two a 5+, turn 3 4+ and so on. I faced off against Rick Isley and his Ultramarines. This was just the game I needed this morning, as although I lost, it was clear that I was going to lose quite quickly so we were able to take our time and have a good chat. Essentially it came down to could I roll a lucky dice or two early, and/or hold Rick at bay, which I could not. In the end I managed to get one pad off, so Rick deservedly won 2-1.

Game 5 was the Apoc team mission and I was paired with Chris Steel who used a balanced power armoured force. We faced a reasonably balanced opposition who had a bit of bad luck on results. One of them was Nigel with a Culln led Red Scorpions force, and because I cannot find my card, I cannot be sure the name of his team mate.

My entire 2k army had 18 models in it! Beliel, an Interrogator Chaplain, the Command Squad Deathwing, a regular Deathwing unit, 2x Landraiders and an Ancients Assualt force comprising three ven Dreads and a Techmarine.

The mission split the 8x6 board in to three equal parts and the secessionists were permitted to choose which end. Naturally we chose the built up, defensible end of the table. The victory conditions required us to hold two objectives and in addition nominate a single HQ from our force to act as the Tyrant's Lieutenant. If that HQ was slain, then it would be replaced with a third objective. Chris and I had thought we simply needed him to stay alive to count - had we realised, I think i would have let the character die. In addition, the loyalist could not deep strike in to the secessionist deployment zone for the first three turns without causing a mishap.

The Loyalists took the first turn as standard, and due to the campaign points accumulated were allowed to infiltrate 1 infantry squad and they chose to deploy a 10 man terminator squad.

For our own deployment Chris held one side of the board alone with half his army whilst my Ancient's assault force took up position to support the remainder of Chris' force near to the foremost objective. Due to the Ancient's assault Force granting me Flank March, I kept the Land Raiders and Terminators in Reserve ready to counter strike from whichever board edge i wished. I wasn't alone, as Nigel's teammate also had this idea, and brought his dreadnoughts on as soon as he was able from our rear. Luckily for us though he arrived on the other side of the table to the objectives, no doubt trusting Nigel to take the other side whilst he softened up our counter assault later. To be fair, that’s what I would have done in his place, but perhaps a little more centrally.

Meanwhile, right down the other end of the table in the loyalist deployment, Nigel brought on his Baneblade to sit back and snipe. Without any fliers on our side, it looked like a good decision, but I brought on my flank marching terminators in the regular Landraider right next to it and spent most of the next three turns after initially immobilising it and causing one structure point of damage, tearing it apart a gun at a time before eventually causing an apocalyptic explosion which also took the lives of two terminators. A noble death however as they sold their lives dearly.

Back at the other end of the field, the Techmarine fell to Culln whose adjoining Terminator squad was in return being hacked apart by a combination of the dreadnoughts and the newly arrived Beliel squad and one of Chris' tactical marines. Before Beliel arrived, it looked initially like Nigel was going to take the objectives as in addition to Culln and the terminator squad he also had a second terminator squad, a vindicator and an LRC ready to support the advance and he was actually getting pretty close, seemingly unopposed, but that was just the bait i wanted him to take! With some supporting fire from Chris I was able to whittle down the terminators, take the Landraider out of the running and stave off the vindicator from firing for another turn to give time to focus more attention upon it. Chris meanwhile was still having to keep the opposing Ancient Assault force honest, stop two Landspeeders (one being a scout laden storm) from advancing on my position and also block advancement across the board and position his assault squad to be reading to move to contest either objective if needed.

We played on until we had 3 minutes left on the clock at which point it was clearly a decisive victory with no hope whatsoever of either objective being even contested by the loyalists. In summary for this battle, I feel tat it was again weighted in the secessionist’s favour, despite the background for the game, but i think that Chris and I both complimented each other's forces, communication well together right down to the order in which we took shots, and generally a better focus on what we needed to achieve as a single force rather than as two allied ones. For that, my thanks to Chris for being a great team mate, and also to Nigel and his team mate (if i figure out his name, I shall insert) for being worthy opponents.

And with that, the Secessionists won the weekend. I had a thoroughly good time, met some great people, saw the odd old face and am looking forward to part 2 next year!

i have an idea. an idea so smart, my head would explode if i even began to know what i was talking about!

And it will help matters considerably!

At the moment I have 17 assembled Deathwing models plus an Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator armour, plus two Land Raiders (one being a Crusader). If needed I can build a Librarian in a few minutes and since this is going to be the bulk of my force in three out of the five games, i've decided to go Deathwing heavy regardless!

there are a few extra elements too - i've kept the Dreadnought contingent for the most part (there is one game where i don't use all three) and the vindicator appears a few times. In game three, we are required to take 3x Rhinos, and so i need to take three units that allow this option. As such i took two 5xman Devastators, one with 4x Heavy Bolters and one with lascannons and multi meltas. thats two, but then i was struggling to squeeze in another squad with a Rhino and still be allowed to take the rest of the main elements. Thats when i realised a Techmarine, which i intended to use anyway, could take a Rhino. Happy days!

So with the majority of the painitn left to do firmly in Louise's responsibility, i'm starting to get a little less stressed - I intend to help, but she is the better painter so will be doing most of the details.

With luck, I shall be able to prove a painted force in advance of setting off!

Squeky bum time

It is now two weeks until I will be arriving home from Badab Wars, and as usual I am cutting things fine!

• 15 Deathwing
• 2 Landraiders
• 3 Ravenwing Bikers
• 1 Ravenwing Attack Bike
• 2 Dreadnoughts
• 3 Chaplains
• 1 Predator
• 3 Drop pods
• 10 Assault Marines
• 3 Devastator Marines

thats a list of things I still need to paint! Its getting to the point where i'm having to consider revising the lists (and therefore possibly the codex!) The main issue I have been facing is the weather. The media has been banging on about a drout, and as such, true to form, its belting it down.

now i admit, i've not spent every hour spare with a brush in hand, but i've been loathed to paint the vehicles by hand when i can acheive a much better result with the spraygun. I've one last week to hope to do this before i have to bite the bullet.

Luckily, Louise is on hand to help with the Deathwing, the Landraiders and a dreadnought, but the rest is up to me!

If anyone reading this wants to lend a hand however, let me know! ;)

First Blood and some early re-inforcements!

Finally had my first real game last night against Ben's Skorne, albeit it was a slightly odd game as i've still not had the opportunity to read the rules. As such it became something of a tutorial game with most of the time being used to explain to me what to do.

Nonetheless it was very enjoyable and i'm looking forward to gaming with the Trollbloods again.

I used Madrak, an Axer, two Impalers and the Krielstone Bearer unit.

One thing i learnt was that perhaps the Krielstone bearer unit isn't right for the smaller games, albeit that later on it may be worthwhile. Essentially in the early days i think i need more aggressive units rather than those that hang back in support - my light warbeasts seemed to do well, but really needed a bit of support.

As such, I've dug out the Kriel Warrior unit which will begin to be assembled over the weekend. Yesterday also saw the arrival of two new models in the form of Hoarluk Doomshaper and a Fell Caller.



Unfortunately I didn't manage to get them assembled in time for the game, but as you can see above, they are now ready to rock! To compliment these guys i've already begun to plan the next wave and as such i am leaning towards a Pyre Troll, a Dire Troll Mauler and a unit of Fennblades, but these may need to wait!

In other news, i'm now within a month of Badab Wars and am still a fair way off. I painted my Power Armoured Company Master to minimum standard on Tuesday night and am hoping to get the command squad to the same state by Friday. After that, the main stay of the models are Deathwing or Ravenwing, so there are still a couple of additions to be made to the former and the latter should be easy enough to get to minimum.

Hopefully i should has some tangible improvement after the bank holiday!

Deathwing Heavy List for game 1

Ok guys, i know these posts are coming thick and fast, but i appreciate your help. I've written a revised list for game 1 and could do with your thoughts:

2500 Pts - Dark Angels Roster - Game 1 - The Massacre at Bellopheron's Fall


HQ: Belial, Master of the Deathwing (1#, 130 pts)

1 Belial, Master of the Deathwing, 130 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Lightning Claws (pair); Fearless; Independent Character; Rites of Battle)

HQ: Interrogator-Chaplain in Terminator Armour (1#, 145 pts)

1 Interrogator-Chaplain in Terminator Armour, 145 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Rosarius; Terminator Armor; Crozius Arcanum; Storm Bolter; Fearless; Honour of the Chapter; Independent Character; Litanies of Hate)

Elite: Venerable Dreadnought (1#, 165 pts)

1 Venerable Dreadnought, 165 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker); Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Upgrade to Venerable; Dreadnought CCW; Heavy Flamer; Plasma Cannon; Venerable)

Elite: Dreadnought (1#, 140 pts)

1 Dreadnought, 140 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker); Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Assault Cannon; Dreadnought CCW; Storm Bolter)

Elite: Dreadnought (1#, 170 pts)

1 Dreadnought, 170 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker); Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Twin Linked Lascannon; Missile Launcher)

Troops: Upgraded Deathwing Terminator Squad (5#, 290 pts)

4 Upgraded Deathwing Terminator Squad, 290 pts (Narthecium; Deathwing Company Banner; Narthecium/Reductor; Terminator Armor; Lightning Claws (pair) x3; Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x1; Cyclone Missile Launcher; Apothecary; Standard Bearer)

1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield; Deathwing Assault; Fearless)

Troops: Deathwing Terminator Squad (5#, 250 pts)

4 Deathwing Terminator Squad, 250 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Power Fist x3; Storm Bolter x3; Chain Fist x1; Assault Cannon; Deathwing Assault; Fearless)

1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Power Sword; Storm Bolter; Deathwing Assault; Fearless)

Troops: Deathwing Terminator Squad (5#, 215 pts)

4 Deathwing Terminator Squad, 215 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Power Fist x1; Storm Bolter x1; Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x3; Deathwing Assault; Fearless)

1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Power Sword; Storm Bolter; Deathwing Assault; Fearless)

Fast Attack: Ravenwing Attack Squadron (4#, 220 pts)

1 Ravenwing Attack Squadron, 220 pts
2 Bike Squad (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Teleport Homer; Bolt Pistol x2; Plasmagun x2; Twin Linked Bolter; Combat Squads; Fearless; Scouts)

1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Teleport Homer; Melta Bombs; Bolt Pistol x1; Power Weapon; Twin Linked Bolter; Combat Squads; Fearless; Scouts)

1 Attack Bike (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Teleport Homer; Bolt Pistol; Multi-Melta; Fearless; Scouts)

Heavy Support: Land Raider Crusader (1#, 265 pts)

1 Land Raider Crusader, 265 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 16 models; Access Points: 3; Frag Assault Launchers; Multi-Melta; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; 2x Hurricane Bolters; Twin Linked Assault Cannon; Assault Vehicle; Power of the Machine Spirit)

Heavy Support: Vindicator (1#, 145 pts)

1 Vindicator, 145 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Dozer Blade; Extra Armor; Demolisher Cannon; Storm Bolter)

Heavy Support: Land Raider (1#, 265 pts)

1 Land Raider, 265 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 10 models; Access Points: 3; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; 2x Twin Linked Lascannons; Twin Linked Heavy Bolter; Assault Vehicle; Power of the Machine Spirit)

: Techmarine (1#, 100 pts)

1 Techmarine, 100 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Artificer Armour; Power Weapon; Bolt Pistol; And They Shall Know No Fear; Blessing of the Omnissiah)

1 Servo-Harness

Validation Report:

c-1. File Version: 1.20 For Bug Reports/www.ab40k.org; b-1. Roster Options: Special Characters; a-1. Scenario: Normal Mission; 1. Chapter: Dark Angels

Roster satisfies all enforced validation rules

Composition Report:

HQ: 2 (1 - 2)
Elite: 3 (0 - 3)
Troops: 3 (2 - 6)
Fast: 1 (0 - 3)
Heavy: 3 (0 - 3)

Total Roster Cost: 2500

Created with Army Builder® - Try it for free at http://www.wolflair.com/

everything is fairly straight forward - transport capacity determines where units go (this is an old dex so only the LRc can fit more than 5/10 in. In terms of weapon allocation in the upgraded DW command squad, the idea is shields/hammers on the apoth and the standard.

The mission this list is for by the way means I need to kill the 3 enemy HQs whilst they need to keep them alive (they count as objectives). plus the side with the most kill points counts as gaining an objective

thoughts guys?

Mobilisation: The task ahead

I thought that i would take some pictures of the forces i intend to use in each game to give me some idea of what i need to do. Hopefully this will spur me on and i wont find myself a fortnight from the event with no progress to show!

Game 1:



Game 2:



Game 3:



Game 4:



Game 5:



So there is a lot to do, including some finalising to assembly such as the assault marines, the LRC is a proxy that Ben has lent to me to practice with until i get mine assembled etc etc. It isn't as bad as it looks as obviously there are cross-over units between the lists - when i complete the models for game one, i will obviously be completing units for other games!

at least the majority of the work is painting, however I have hit a snag; Obviously at some point, either the Whyf or I have seen the spray gun and come to the obvious conclusion that since i don't paint, there is no point in having it clutter up the area and as such it is no doubt 'somewhere safe', so the next task is to find it!