Tuesday, July 30, 2013

40k Battle Report: Grey Knights/Necrons 2k Team Tournament


This past weekend, Capn'Moe and myself attended a 2000 point, team tournament at a LGS. The games were pretty normal, with a few rules changes here and there. The Missions caught us off guard, but more on that later. Army Lists rules were the standard 2000 point total, 1000 points per person. Everything counted as Allies of Convenience at a minimum. Warlord traits were changed to a popular rule going around, which I greatly enjoy, where you roll the d6, then choose which chart you will select from.

We anticipated there to be around 10-12 teams total, with maybe 8-9 showing up. Turns out 14 teams showed up.

Things got intense quickly.

We saw a list with 2 Heldrakes and 3 Vendettas, One list with 4 Heldrakes, and tons of other weird combinations like Tyrinds/Imperial Guard, and Necrons/Daemons.

Surprisingly no 4 Land Raider lists, Tau/Tau, Tau/Eldar, or Necron/Necron, all of which we had planned for.

Actually we only saw 2 Tau Players all day at the tournament which was surprising.

Our List:

Grey Knights: (Makers)
Inquisitor Coteaz
Henchman Warband - 2 Jokero Weaponsmiths, 3 Plasma Cannon Servitors, 5 Acolytes with Boltguns
Henchman Warband - 8 Acolytes with Boltguns
Dreadnought - Auto-cannon, Auto-cannon, Psybolt Ammunition
DreadKnight - Heavy Incinerator, 2  Nemesis Doomfists, Personal Teleporter
DreadKnight - Heavy Incinerator, 2  Nemesis Doomfists, Personal Teleporter
Aegis Defense Line - Quad-cannon

Necrons: (Capnmoe)
(Warlord)Necron Overlord - Mindshackle Scarabs, Gauntlet of Fire, Sepiternal Weave
7 x Necron Warriors in a Ghost Ark
7 x Necron Warriors in a Ghost Ark
6 x Necron Warriors in a Ghost Ark
Annihilation Barge
Annihilation Barge
Annihilation Barge

First game mission rules were interesting. 
Dawn of War Deployment, Night Fight in effect 1st turn.

Primary Objectives: 10 points for win, 5 points for draw, 2 points for loss.
- 1 objective placed in the center of each table quarter worth 2 points, and 1 objective placed in the middle of the table worth 3 points.

Secondary Objectives: 5 points for win, 2 points for draw, 0 points for loss.
- 1 kill point for each troop unit you destroy, 2 kill points for all other units.

- 1 bonus point for First Blood
- 1 bonus point for Slay the Warlord
- 1 bonus point for Line Breaker
- 1 bonus point for "Last Laugh" (Being the last team to kill a unit in the game)

Our opponents for the first game were Blood Angels/Daemons

Reclusiarch with 10 Death Company in a Rhino
5 Assault Marines - Meltagun, Infernus Pistol
Predator - Autocannon with Heavy Bolter Sponsons
5 Terminators - Assault Cannon
5 Devastators - Lascannon, Multimelta, 2 Missile Launchers, Stormbolter

Skulltaker
20 Bloodletters
Herald of Nurgle - Loci of Fecundity, Mastery Level 2, Gift
20 Plaguebearers
5 Tzeentch Flamers - Pyrocaster with a gift
Soul Grinder - Mark of Nurgle, Phlegm Cannon

Jokero extended range of their unit by 12" and made everything rending.
Coteaz rolled on Divination and got Prescience and Perfect Timing.


48" Twinlinked Plasma Cannons that Ignore cover, and 36" Twinlinked Bolters that ignore cover and are rending...Essentially, the best possible outcome.

We put everything on the table except for the small unit of Acolytes, and castled up Coteaz and his unit behind the Aegis Defense line with Coteaz on the Quad Cannon. The Dreadnought was just to the side of them with a firing lane straight at the Terminators and Devastators, but still in a good position to charge in if the Death Company were threatening. We deployed the Dreadknights on both flanks to clear objectives, and maximum coverage on shunt moves. The Necrons formed a wall on the line in case they stole the initiative.

They deployed everything on the board except for the Flamers and the Assault Marines. Plaguebearers on our right, in a large blob behind a hill. Just to the left of them...in the open was the devastators. The Soul Grinder was in the middle behind a forest (Which they never moved him into for some reason) The Terminators were between him and the Devs. On the left of us was the Bloodletters behind a hill, and the Predator and Rhino full our Death Company, both of which were out in the open.

They did not steal the initiative.

We started by moving the Necrons forward and taking their down the Predator to 1 hull point and wrecked the Rhino for First Blood. The Dreadknights shunt moved across the board and use their torrents to take the unit of bloodletters down to almost half. A few more shots here and there took out a terminator or 2, and one Devastator. We ignored the plaguebearers completely, hoping to just out range them and let them have one objective.

On their turn they fired a few shots here and there, Warp Storm table took out few models from Coteaz's unit, but no real major loses. They assaulted in the Bloodletters and Skulltaker to one of the Dreadknights and challenged, I accepted, then casted Dark Excommunication. It was successful and took away his Cloak and Sword. He was then instant killed, giving up Slay the Warlord.

Our next turn, Necrons easily took out the Predator, the other Dreadknight took out the Death Company. Most of the terminators and devastators died to Necron shooting, and things started to snowball from there.

They weren't really ready for the Dreadknight shunt moves at all, and it totally caught them off guard. The Torrents from the Heavy Incinerator made it worse. They deep striked in the Flamers near our small Acolyte unit but didn't shoot at them for some reason. They were then decimated by the Dreadnought and Acolytes at point blank range in the following turn, which allowed the Acolytes to easily claim that objective.

The game ended after turn 3, with us winning by a score of 19-4. We held two of the 2 point objectives and the middle 3 point objective easily. We didn't lose a single unit the entire game, and the only thing they had left was 5 Assault Marines, the unit of Plaguebearers and around 5 Bloodletters locked in combat with a Dreadknight.

1-0

Makers Game Thoughts: Their list was interesting, but I questioned a lot of their decisions in deployment and list building. They were great guys to play against however and very friendly.
Capnmoe Post Game Thoughts: It was obvious that these guys lacked a lot of tournament experience. Some of their tactics and moves just didn't make much sense to me. They were nice guys but would have been better suited to be playing a Rogue Trader Tournament. The unit of PB's and the Herald were tough unit for sure.

Second Game:
Vanguard Strike Deployment
Scoring was table quarters (A scoring unit has to be in that table quarter, with nothing else there to contest it.)

Our Opponents were running Salamanders/Dark Angels

Vulkan and 5 x Terminators with Thunder Hammer & Stormshields in a Land Raider Redeemer
10 Man Tactical Squad - Flamer, Multimelta in a Drop Pod
5 Man Tactical Squad - Razorback with Twin linked Lascannon.

Belial
5 x Deathwing Terminators with Cyclone Missile Launcher, Chainfists
5 x Deathwing Terminators with Cyclone Missile Launcher, Chainfists
5 x Deathwing Terminators with Cyclone Missile Launcher, Chainfists

Jokero gives extended range again this game.
Coteaz powers are Prescience and Forewarning.

No Night Fighting.

We win and choose to go first, deploying everything as close to the line as we could.

They chose to deploy only the 5 man in the Razorback and the Landraider...that's it.


We moved up only what we needed too and popped the razorback easily. We then moved around the right flank with 2 Arks, to put some fire on the Landraider causing it to lose 2 hull points.

On their turn, the drop pod came in on our left flank and scattered to the far left corner of the board. The 10 man popped out and the Multimelta managed to wreck one of the arks, dropping out a squad of 7 Warriors.

They attempted to Deathwing assault directly in front of our lines.

1st unit of terminators dropped in and scattered back about 6" away from Coteaz's bubble. 2nd unit dropped in, scattered and had to roll for mishap. We placed them in the back corner farthest away from us, making them foot it the entire way across the board.

Belial and his unit came on, in the back corner of the table as well.

On our turn we I shunt moved a Dreadknight right in front of the Landraider, essentially blocking it in with no where to go. The Necrons followed up behind me and glanced down the Land Raider, wrecking it and forcing the Terminators and Vulkan out for some hand to hand combat.

Then we were free to just take the Terminators in waves of plasma cannon fire. With the Jokero making them 48" range, it just became a shooting gallery.

The Game ended very quickly after that and we tabled them on turn 5, finishing the game in just over 1 hour.

Vulkan held off the the Dreadknight in close combat for 3 turns in a 1 on 1 duel, but eventually fell when the 2nd Dreadknight assaulted in.

Final score 19-2

Makers Game Thoughts: After the game we talked and I realized a few things. First, the Thunder hammer/Storm Shield option is far better than all chain-fists, I guess it was a modeling choice. Second was that he rolled for scatter on Belial's Unit, and he then rolled for mishap. After looking it up...his unit doesn't scatter. Also deploying only 2 things to start the game was a horrible idea in my opinion.
Capnmoe Post Game Thoughts: Put more than 2 things on the board at the start of a game. Your just asking to loose doing that. Terminator Ork conversions are awesome.

2-0


Third Game: Championship
The last game of the day came down to the two team who had not lost yet, and who had the most points total. We learned that we had a 5 point lead over the next closest team, so we felt pretty good going in.

Our first 2 games went fairly well because of our luck of the draw on matchups.

But for this game, our opponents? Yep, the 4 Heldrake list....Shit.
These guys had all of their stuff painted to Tournament quality, and played a very similar list at Adepticon this year. They were seasoned veterans, who knew the rules, and you could tell weren't here for fun.

We expected to play these guys at some point during the day, so we weren't that surprised to find out who it was. Most of our friends at the store wished us luck...and laughed a little under their breath.

Their List from what I can remember.

Chaos Lord - Terminator Armor, Burning Brand of Skullthrax, Khorne Axe, Mark of Khorne
15 Cultists
15 Cultists
18 Cultists
Forgefiend - Hades Autocannon
Heldrake - Baleflamer
Heldrake - Baleflamer

Chaos Sorcerer - ML3, Mark of Nurgle, Sigil
8 Chaos Space Marines with Mark of Nurgle
5 Terminators - 2 x Combi-Melta, 2 x Combi-Plasma, 3 Axes, 2 Swords
10 Cultists
10 Cultists
Heldrake - Baleflamer
Heldrake - Baleflamer

The mission was Kill Points.

Spearhead deployment (Similar to Vanguard Deployment, however you and your ally are in opposite corners, and you have to be at least 12" from table center, and 9" from opponents deployment zone)


My Grey Knights were in 3, and CapnMoe's Necrons were in 4.

We deployed everything except for the unit of 8 acolytes.

Cover was sparse, with roughly 1 large piece per corner.

In area 1 he deployed the unit of Marines with the Sorcerer, and in area 2 he deployed 2 units of 15 cultists and the Forgefiend.

Jokero gives his unit rending.
Coteaz got Prescience and Scrier's Gaze.
This was going to be rough.

We won the roll and decided to go first.
They did not seize the initiative.
No Night Fighting on turn 1.

CapnMoe moves an Ark and of course immobilizes himself, seems to be one per game with us on that.

Dreadknights shunt move over to area 2 and torrent the two units of cultists he has deployed behind a large rock, decimating both units, they fail Leaderships and then run off the board.

The Dreadnought pops off some shots and causes a few wounds on the Forgefiend, while the Necrons follow up and wipe if off the table.

With table area 2 clear for now, we push over and focus on area 1. Only 2 Plasma Cannons have line of site, and manage to take out a single Chaos Space Marine.

On their turn, their sorcerer casts invisibility, and they move up a small amount. That's really about it.

On our turn we start to push back over toward area 1 and take out a few more space marines, but mostly our turn is spent getting ready for their turn as we really don't have a lot to shoot at.

I tried to use Scrier's Gaze to try and keep our 8 man Acolyte unit out but I rolled 3 5's so they came on, in the back corner. I spaced them out exactly 2" apart from each other on the table edge to avoid them from getting flamed.


Bottom of turn 2.
They have 2 drakes come in, and the Terminators with the Lord.

The drakes come in, one from each side and start to focus on the GreyKnights and the Quad Cannon hopping to take it out before it can fire interceptor.

One of them ended up being too close and within range of Coteaz's unit for his "I've Been Expecting You" rule. They failed to kill the quad cannon and  interceptor fire lit up the rear end of one and brings it down. The debris scatters onto his Chaos Space Marines taking out 1 more.

The terminators scatter and end up too close to the Grey Knight lines and Coteaz's bubble. The warband gets the free out of turn shot at the unit and takes it down to the Lord and 1 terminator.

Between the vector strikes and torrent weapons, the Grey Knights are reduced to 2 acolytes with Coteaz, a Dreadnought with 1 Autocannon, and the 2 Dread Knights. The terminators manage to get off some shots and put 2 wound on one Dread Knight.

Top of turn 3, CapnMoe unleashes a hail of fire on area 1 and starts lighting up some drakes, stripping hull points everywhere. In the end one drake made 2 saves to keep itself in the air. It would fly off the board next turn with 1 hull point left.

Bottom of 3, all cultists come in.
His sorcerer and marines move up closer to the Dreadnought, Coteaz, and his 2 Acolytes but fail the multi-charge.

He manages to get into close combat with the Dreadnought though, and takes it out before it can strike back.

More shooting here and there, but they are now just trying to take out the Arks and Barges with Balflamers and Vector Strikes, which is causing them issues.

Top of 4
We move everything towards Area 1 and manage to wipe out another unit of cultists with an Annihilation Barge.

The second Dread Knight moves in to assault with the terminators and attempts a Divine Intervention, which passes. This puts a fresh 4 wound Knight, with Assault Bonuses into a challenge with the Terminator Lord which then instant kills the Lord.

The other Terminator fails his Leadership test and starts to fall back.

Bottom of turn 4
Somehow the Heldrake that we killed earlier comes back on the board, as well as the last unit of Cultists, and the other Heldrake.

We failed to realize that the one Heldrake was already dead from earlier, It was getting late and we were both exhausted and starving. Also Capnmoe was coming down from caffeine issues from earlier that day, but you'll have to ask him about that...

After a few more torrents, and some shots from the Cultists they manage to put 1 wound on all of our Arks, take out 1 of the Barges, and finally kill Coteaz and the unit of Acolytes that came in from reserve.

Top of Turn 5.
Both Dreadknights torrent the last unit of Cultists and wipe them off the board. They then BOTH roll 1's for consolidate moves...moving 1" away.

We put a few more wounds on some Heldrakes that are in range, and we shoot everything left at the lone terminator who makes 14 saves in a row and refuses to die.

As of this moment we have 8 Kill Points and they have 5, We have Linebreaker and First Blood, they have Linebreaker.

Bottom of Turn 5.
The Sorcerer casts Hallucination on one of the Dreadknights, which is successful on a roll of 3!
He rolls a 5, the Dread Knight smashes himself, activates his own fist and Instant kills himself.
Giving them 6 kill points and a guarantee on Last Laugh, they are now down by 2 kill points.

They move all 4 Heldrakes and attempt to Vector Strike everything they can.
One of CapnMoe's Arks is taken down to 1 Hull point. At this point we think the score is 7 to 6 since we weren't paying attention and forgot we killed the Heldrake that they brought back on. The score is really 8 to 6. So it seemed like a real nail biter.

They get every torrent they can on that ark, and it comes down to one dice roll.

This Dice roll has to be a 6 to put them to what we thought would be a 7 to 7 tie...at the time.

He rolls it...and its a 2.

Victory!! 3-0!

Makers Game Thoughts: Best game I've played in a long time. Including the fact that we essentially took on 5 Heldrakes and still pulled out the victory.

Capnmoe Post Game Thoughts: Always remember when you kill one of your opponents strongest units. I would have been super sad if we lost because we forgot we killed it. Aside from that, this was a great game. A real test of what our list could do. Any time you can essentially take on 5 Heldrakes with a list that has no flyers and still win, it's been a good day.



1 word....ThunderCougarFalconBird




With the winnings I was able to pick up a Riptide for my Tau allies, and a unit of 10 Noise Marines. Capnmoe was able to come away with a Wraithknight and more Jetbikes

It was a hard fought tournament with a huge turn out, in the end I'm glad that we chose to go to this tournament instead of the other 2 that were happening nearby that day.

Thoughts? Comments?

Friday, July 26, 2013

Epidemius Coversion



For the majority of the summer I've been in an Warhammer Fantasy Tale of Gamers league at my FLGS. Basically it's a learning/escalation league for people that want to try Fantasy. We have a specific unit type (Lord, Hero, Core, Special, or Rare) that is designated for the week and we all buy a unit from that particular type. I figured I'd try Daemons of Chaos, that way if I didn't like Fantasy I could always use them for 40k. Turns out I quite like Fantasy so I've added another game to my repertoire. Anyways, I wanted to try out Epidemius since his tally still works similar to the way it used to in 40k, but didn't want to fork out the $50 bucks to buy him. And so, I came up with this conversion made entirely out of extra bits I had. It's contains bits from the new Plague Bearers, Random Chaos Space Marines kits, and even some Eldar. In the end I was very pleased with how this turned out. I'm looking forward to running up the Tally in my next game. Hope you all like it.



Tuesday, July 23, 2013

40K: Cheese/Spam Rant



Begin Rant:

Lately there seems to be an influx of people posting, commenting, blogging, whatever you want to call it, about how much they hate "Cheese" and "Spam" lists. All I have to say is...


Stop it.

Grow Up.


This isn't tee ball. Everyone doesn't get a participation ribbon at the end of the year.

People build lists because that's what the codex they play was designed to do.

They build it, because they can.

They are spending their money to purchase the army that THEY want to play.
They are NOT building their army to make you happy.

Some people do, and they are called "Fluff Lists" and they are perfectly acceptable.

But it seems lately, that as soon as someone posts a list, with more than TWO of the same unit, the comments section explodes with chants of "Spam List," "Cheese List" or whatever else people want to bitch about...and this is absolutely ridiculous.

Example: If you were going to war with another country, and you were the general would you seriously say something like "Lets send in the tanks...no wait, that's not fair, lets send in One tank, a Humvee....a Jeep maybe....uh...maybe that 64' Impala Dave has been trying to get rid of...I think my kid has a tricycle we can use...um....Anything else we got back there Bob?? Remember no More than 2 of anything!!!"

Hell No.

Why? Because that would be dumb. So is this...

I play Daemons. I run 2-3 units of Plaguebearers, 2-3 Daemon Princes and 2-3 Units of Hounds. 
Because they are good. That's their Job.

If I was Playing Necrons? I'm running 3 barges and Multiple AV13. Because I can.

Chaos? 2 Heldrakes. All Day.

You get the picture.

I also have fluff army lists and take them frequently to Rogue Trader Tournaments, which are a blast. 
You have a story line behind your army, why its built the way it is, etc...it's good times. 

However, for Cons and Generalship Tournaments? I'm bringing a Flying Circus or a Tau Missile List with Necrons.

Telling someone not to bring "Cheese Lists" is like telling someone, "Hey, I know you're coming to the tournament this weekend, and paying your own money for the entry fee, and playing Chaos Space Marines, and there is a good chunk of money for the Winner, but would you mind not bringing those 2 Heldrakes that you spent almost $200 on please so that I can win?"

No.

Stop It.

Why do people think they get to dictate how other people play the game? 

If I want to run my Blood Angels and have 5 Land Raiders, I will, because that's how the codex was designed by the developers. Same with Necron Air force. 

In my opinion people scream Cheese/Spam because they are scared. Scared of something that they are too lazy to figure out how to beat.

How about instead of spending all your time crying about the guy with 2 Riptides, you spend that time trying to adjust your army to figure out how to counter it?

It all comes down to 2 things. Most people are lazy, and most people like to complain.

Yes I know it has always been this way, and yes I know it will never change, but if one person reads this post and it helps them realize what they are doing to change, then it was worth it.

Rant Over.

On the plus side, really looking forward to the 2k Team Tournament this weekend. Should be a lot of good teams there. I thought about posting our list, but I think a few teams attending read the blog so don't want to give them any tips or tricks! Capnmoe and I are joining forces to become team...

ThunderCougarFalconBird

Its going to be Epic.

Battle Reports to be up next week!

X-Wing: New FAQ and Tournament Rules!!!


The new FAQ and tournament rules can be found here. Looks like the Cluster Missiles/Luke or Gunner combo just got a huge boost. I know I'll be trying it out. Here's a few words from the devs:

"Hello, X-Wing fans! This newest update to the FAQ answers your pressing questions concerning the Millennium Falcon, Slave I, the A-wing, and the TIE interceptor. You'll find clarifications for popular cards like Daredevil and Gunner, the details of interactions with bomb tokens, and more rulings on Ship and Upgrade cards. A Competitive Play section, which includes an in-depth explanation of action resolution, is also present for players who have requested more detailed rules.

In addition, the Tournament Rules document has been updated for increased clarity. The language concerning match scoring has been simplified, and the rules now officially allow players to deploy their squads before the clock starts in a tournament round. The results of a draw during an elimination round are also included to erase any doubt about who is taking home the prize."

Monday, July 22, 2013

X-Wing: Modified YT-1300


Im a big fan of of the X-Wing miniatures game and Star Wars in general. So, as not to be like everyone else I decided I would modify my YT-1300. Back in the day, I used to play Star Wars Galaxies, and in that game you could paint you ships with multiple different paint kits. I always liked the available patterns so I thought I would combine the two I liked the most. I hope you all like it. 














Tuesday, July 16, 2013

40k: Black Templar & Raven Guard Rumors


With Apocalypse out now, the rumor mill for Space Marines is starting to kick into full gear.

Supplements are here to stay, and like them or not, GW is going to start cranking them out on a monthly basis and they are going to be everywhere.

It has been stated many times that Space Marines will be getting 2 initial supplements, with White Scars all but guaranteed to be the first one...according to the rumors. So the question becomes what  will be the second one? New rumors coming out are saying that it will actually be Black Templar!

via an anonymous source
Now apocalypse is released there are 2 major upcoming armies
-Orks (around October)
-Black Templar (around December)
This is to represent the third war for armageddon

However this is the opposite of everything GW has been saying over the past few months. "All armies that currently have a codex will be given a new codex, NOT a supplement."

 Maybe this rumor is the release date, or preorder date. Maybe this rumor is for a new Codex and not a supplement. If it is a new codex, then it is also in stark contrast to the current release schedule that has been "leaked." Personally I take this rumor with massive grains of salt, because it goes against everything that has been talked about for the past few months. Just seems too much like wishful thinking.

The next rumor about Raven Guard though...

via an anonymous (and solid)
As currently planned, the Ravenguard supplement will be after the 6th edition space marine book (which will be soon) and will coincide with forgeworld's HH Book 3, Massacre pt 2.

The Space Marine chapter supplements will offer a fair amount of divergence (much more than Iyanden), while still staying true to the space marine core book.

In the coming months though we are going to be smothered (pleasantly) in space marine goodies, with every other or every third month releasing a space marine supplement, after the main book comes out.

These releases will be paired with alongside a Xenos they were famous for fighting.
i.e. Tyranids book month A, Ultramarine Supplement month B. Ork codex month C, Crimson Fist supplement month D, etc. (this is not an accurate release schedule, just to illustrate my point)

This will let GW belt out the non SM codexes, without harming their SM backbone.

This adversaries idea will also apply to non SM supplements being released alongside/after Imperial launches as well.

This concept, which is one that is well known inside GW (Xeno followed by SM Supplement), lends a little bit of legitimacy to your rumor about Orks followed by BTs. But with BT not being a Supplement and instead getting their own book, it somewhat breaks the mold.


Another solid source coming in confirming that the 2nd supplement is Ravenguard.

The second part of the rumor makes complete sense to me. Since Blood Angles, Dark Angels, and Space wolves all have their own Codex, that leaves 5 Founding Chapters currently without rule books. White Scars, Ravenguard, Ultramarines, Salamanders, and Iron Fists. So if White Scars and Raven Guard are the first supplements, that leaves Ultramarines (which are all but guaranteed a supplement at some point, which is obvious) Salamanders, and Iron Fists. Due to the back story and rules, Salamanders, in my opinion will definitely be getting their own supplement at some point, most likely 2014. But what about the Iron Fists and Crimson Fists?

Lets remember that the Crimson fists are a second founding of the Iron Fists, and that fluff wise, virtually both armies are all but completely wiped out. Could we be looking at our first supplement with 2 armies in it? I don't see a lot of people play Crimson Fists or Iron Fists, maybe because people hate painting yellow. Or it could be that if you wanted to play a Terminator type C:SM army, the current Dark Angels rule book is more than adequate.

New Rumors in Just this morning:

via an anonymous source 
In so far as Black Templar: They are getting a full book not a supplement. The direction of the book is on "crusades," and differentiating the Black Templar when they persecute Xenos as opposed to when they put the Witch to the sword.

They are seeing a lot of changes from their previous incarnation, and are no longer a shooting army (despite the intention of the previous book, they were received as a shooting army).

The army will have a "knights in space" kind of feel with wargear being a very big importance for the characters, and vows similar to old bretonians. The struggle there is with book keeping, but it is a pretty cool concept.

Crusade squads with their hybrid neophyte and space marine combinations are gone. Which will probably anger a lot of people without pleasing any (since in the past you could just take 0 neophytes so in essence this is just removing choices), but take it for what it's worth.

The whole "move after taking casualties" thing is gone and has been replaced with something more similar to battle trance (but less swift, and more assault oriented).


Templar point costs are down even from those of dark angels, and are designed to be balanced by their point cost, but also deliver the feeling that this is a "crusade army" that has never really felt the yoke of the codex astartes, and thus has huge companies of marines.

Yet another statement that the Templar are getting a full codex.
If true I would be sad to see the neophytes be removed, but it does make complete sense to me with wound allocation 6th edition being different.

Is it just me, or does this sound like a "Horde" Space Marine army?

If the new "Battle Trance" allows them to assault after running, that could be interesting...

Friday, July 12, 2013

40k: Blood Angels Fun!


In a Blood Angels mood today after talking with Capnmoe for a bit about participating in a 2 Headed Giant tournament coming up. (2 Man teams, 2000 points total, 1000 per person)

I pull up some of my old lists and realize that for the current meta game they would get utterly demolished. All those assault marines coming in against the new Tau??? No thank you.

So I set myself a goal. If I were to start all over, and build a list from scratch to play Blood Angels in the current gaming scene, and be competitive, what list would I make...well here's the result.

Librarian - Terminator Armor, Force Weapon, Storm Bolter

5 Assault Marines - Melta Gun, Power Weapon, Sanguinary Priest
Land Raider Redeemer - Multimelta

5 Assault Marines - Melta Gun, Power Weapon, Sanguinary Priest
Land Raider Crusader - Multimelta

5 Assault Marines - Melta Gun, Power Weapon, Sanguinary Priest
Land Raider Crusader - Multimelta

5 Assault Marines - Flamer, Power Weapon
Land Raider

5 Assault Marines - Flamer, Power Weapon
Land Raider

Pretty cut and dry. To the point.
This is a list I would love to play competitively, but I don't feel like currently buying 3 more Land Raiders...

Thoughts?

Thursday, July 11, 2013

40k: "Nerd Crush Units" (NCU)


A new theme that seems to be making the rounds on some popular forums is the theory of the "Nerd Crush Unit." The idea behind it is that everyone has that one unit, or model that you love to field. No Matter how bad or good it might be, you always find a way to put it in your lists because dammit, it's just so damn awesome...in your mind.

Maybe its due to your bad ass paint job on it, or maybe its because it was the first thing you purchased, or maybe it's because it has won you so many games...we all have that one unit.

Mine currently is the Slaanesh Daemon Prince in the new Daemon Codex, with Fateweaver coming in a close 2nd.

Yes he's expensive, but he's worth it.

I give mine 3 Mastery Levels, a Greater Reward for the Lash of Despair, Daemonic Flight, Warp-Forged Armor, and Maybe and Exalted depending on the rest of my list.

What makes him so amazing, in my opinion, is the fact that I can basically change him from game to game.
With the options available to daemons before the game, I can adjust him on the fly to what ever I need.

-Need Anti-Air? Check. Biomancy.
Iron + Lash = Amazing.

-Opponent have a lot of shooting? Check.
Telepathy. Invisibility + Puppet Master = Game Changing.

-Need Anti-Mech? Check. Biomancy.
Iron Arm + Endurance = Invincible.

-Playing against Hordes? Check.
Excess Powers can decimate hordes quickly.

-Happen to have an Exalted Reward in a kill point game and no need for the Portaglyph?
Eternal Blade + Iron Arm!

He is the ultimate Jack of all Trades in my opinion, and for that reason he will always been in my Daemon lists...unless its Rogue Trader.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader Tournament Results


Makers and I attended a Rogue Trader Tournament this weekend at Fantasy Books and Games. As always we had a great time and got to play against some great armies. Makers brought his Daemons and I brought out my Necron/Grey Knights. Even though the Rogue Trader tournaments are designed to allow for more casual and fun armies to be used, it seemed this weekend that no one got that memo. Everyone brought their "A" game armies.

Game Summary for Capnmoe and his Necron/Grey Knights:
Game 1: Eldar/Dark Eldar, Hammer and Anvil/Big Guns Never Tire
This was a really cool list. I got to learn a lot about how awesome Dark Eldar beast packs are when paired with Eldar Farseers. There's just no stopping that unit. It has something like 40 wounds to go through. Tough stuff. Im gonna look into making one for my Dark Eldar. Still in the end the space elves crumbled. 

Win




Game 2: Tau/Eldar, Vanguard/The Scouring
This game was against an opponent that I've played against quite often, so I knew his tactics going in. He was trying out the Faolchu's Wing and Mantle of the Laughing God combo on his Eldar HQ in this game, and I have to say, it's pretty cool. Luckily I managed to get my Necron Overlord into an assault with the Farseer and cut him down. There would be no late game contesting shenanigans from him. The combined shooting of the Tau and Eldar just wasn't enough, and I managed to pull out another victory.

Win



Game 3: Space Wolves, Dawn of War/Purge the Alien
I really wish I would have gotten some pics of this game.  My opponent had some really great models and oddly, it was the only fully painted army I faced. He was running a Forgeworld character named Bran Redmaw that had some really cool rules. Still Bran wasn't enough to stop the Necron/GKs.

Win

Game Summary for Makers and his Daemons:

Makers Typing:

Game 1: Tau/Eldar, Hammer and Anvil/Big Guns Never Tire

Top of Turn 1 After Scout
Top of Turn 2
Hammer and Anvil + going second is never good for mass hounds, especially when you're up against Tau.
I've played against this guy a few times, and normally it was an easy game. With his knowledge of the rules, and 2 new codex (He has ran Tau and Eldar for a long time) this game was a bit different.

He had a rather fluffy list with some interesting unit choices (Same person Capnmoe played in game 2 listed above)

Overall, the mass amounts of shooting, outflanking of his Kroot, Scorpions coming in and tying up my Plaguebearers, Zero LoS terrain in the middle of the board, and rolling more 1's and 2's than I've ever rolled before, he pretty much had me in control all game.

We only managed to get 2 full turns in due to time unfortunately (I still say 2000 points is too many but that's not my call) Had it gone one more turn I'm pretty sure I would have won.

On my last turn, I dropped a Portaglyph next to the objective he held, and failed to spawn anything, even with Fateweaver's reroll. If I had spawned anything, I could have contested that objective, and I would have won.

Result: Loss

Game 2: Space Marines, Vanguard/The Scouring

Bottom of Turn 1
Interesting list of 2 Vindicators, an Iron Clad Dreadnought, Landraider Redeemer, Lascannon Dreadnought, 2 Rhinos full of marines, and a unit of 10 scouts, with Pedro and a Librarian.

This was a fun game. I've never played against my opponent before, I believe his name was Luken, but definitely look forward to playing against him again.

At first I was a little worried about all the Mech he had on the table, so I decided just to ignore the Land raider all together, and avoid it. I used the big building in the middle for LoS blocking and moved around the right flank to get in quick, using the 2nd unit of hounds as a distraction.

My big thing here were my powers. All my MC's had Invisibility, and Puppet Master, Herald of Tzeentch had forewarning, so 4++ hounds and 3++ hounds with the grimore, etc...just a lot of good stuff.

In the end, we called it on turn 4 because of time again...and it was a draw. Didn't see that one coming. If I would have made 1 more 4+ save I would have won...

Things of Note:
- Puppet Master'd his Vindicator and the blast scattered back onto itself...blew it up.
- Warp Storm changed his Librarian into a Tzeentch Herald, which then promptly shot the back of the other Vindicator and blew it up...
- Iron Clad Dreadnought locked up a unit of hounds in close combat on an objective, and everyone was telling me to fall back instead because I couldn't hurt it...but I knew that walkers can't contest...so I got that objective.
- He managed to lock up a unit of 5 hounds with 10 scouts for the whole game with some amazing rolls.

Result: Tie

Game 3: Chaos Space Marines, Dawn of War/Purge the Alien
2 Land Raiders. 1 filled with Kharn and a bunch of Berzkers, the other filled with Thousand Sons and a Sorcer. 2 Hell Turkeys....and 2 units of 10 Marines with Mark of Nurgle. That's it. Simple and too the point.

Game started off pretty interesting. I scouted up my hounds into cover in the middle and on the left side of the board, thinking they would easily survive the initial round of shooting from his minimal shooting, and then tie up the 2 units of marines with them. Game starts, he goes first. He moves up both Landraiders and assaults out of them into my hounds. We then had about a 30 minute argument store wide about whether or not you can assault on the top of turn 1. Including 2 judges being involved. End Result? We Rolled for it, he won, he assaulted in.

Update: Yes, you CAN as long as the unit you are assaulting in with did not make a scout, or infiltrate move. While this move was not possible in 5th edition (You could not assault at all in the top of turn 1) It does not say anywhere that you can't in the 6E Rule book, it was just assumed.

Back to Live Action!!! Thousand sons move in and tie up the hounds, Kharn and the berzerkers do the same and decimate the majority of their unit. he fire a few shots but nothing major for shooting. I Load up on the unit of hounds with the thousand sons, with forewarning from the Herald of Tzeentch + Grimore for the 2++ save on the unit, Fateweaver starts putting Firey Form on the Daemon Prince with the Eternal Blade to turn him into a Close Combat Animal, while firing off some shots at the other Nurgle Marines taking out quite a few. Princes used stuff like Dominate and Hallucination on the marines as well to basically take them out of the equation, greatly limiting his options on his turn.

Next turn he bring in one Helldrake, and fires off some shots at my Plague bearers which doesn't do much against them with FnP, and Kharn wipes out his unit of hounds. But he loses quite a few Sons against the other unit. Khorne Herald takes out Sorcerer in Close combat.

My next turn, the Herald with the horrors manages to fire off a whole ton of shots at Kharn and the berzkers, who fails the 2+ deny the witch, and decimates the unit down to 1 berzerker and Kharn after he fails the toughness test.

In the end, I end up assaulting the unit with the Plaguebearers, wiping them out for Slay the Warlord.
The CC Prince assaulted in with the hounds and wrecked both the Sons and the Nurgle Marines.
His other Helldrake never came in, which result in a Kill Point.
When we stopped he only had 1 unit of 4 Marines on the table, 1 Landraiders, and 1 Helldrake.
I was only missing the 1 unit of hounds.

Hounds are amazingly resilient and I still say that telepathy is the 2nd best choice for Psyker powers behind Divination.


Win

As I stated last week, my list was more fluffy and fun than competetive, and I really didn't think I had any chance of winning, but I did have a good time with some good players.

Essentially If I would had made 2 specific rolls, I would have won all 3 games. Even with Fateweaver's Re-roll, things can still go badly, but that's why we play the games.

Funny enough, One of the big points I got for painting/conversion was due to the fact that I use a Finecast Lord of Change for my Fateweaver (I hate the Fateweaver model from 1982...) and the resin had warped, so I was forced to pin/greenstuff both legs and wings to make it stand up straight, hence changing the pose of the model...

Anyways, I have been pushing hard lately on my Daemons, and only have a few things left to paint to have them finished so I think I'm going to take a break from them for a bit.

Next league starts in 2 weeks and is about allies.
With the new Space Marine codex coming up, I'm debating running some Blood Angles/Tau for a change of scenery. Almost all of my Angles are painted, however none of my tau is...

Tournament Results
Overall: Capnmoe
Best Painted: Makers
Best General: Jeff Nauman and his Grey Knights
Sportsmanship: Evan and his Space Wolves

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

40k: New Space Marine Rhino Rumors




First of let me say that I love the Space Marine Rhino. I have 6 of them. So the nerf to them with the addition of hull points in 6th edition was a major blow to Mech lists. The new Eldar codex did give me hope though that GW might be bringing back some Mech love however, so I was excited to read the following quote.

via The Emperor Himself on Warseer
Rhino variants to include a command Rhino, a medic Rhino and an armoured recovery Rhino. Each of these can be purchased as upgrades for the basic Rhino and provide enhancements to their Space Marine squad. Dreadnoughts to provide bonuses to nearby units owing to their 'Inspiring Presence'. These developments are inline with the design philosophy behind the new Codex to promote synergies between units to increase the tactical depth of Space Marines.

This information has been "verified" on a few different sites as well.

One of the rumors also floating around is that the "armored recovery Rhino" will increase the armor on all sides by +1, but reduce the total capacity, but I'll believe that when I see it.

Other Rumor is that the Medic Rhino provided Feel No Pain to all Marines within 6" of it, which would be huge if true.

The Dreadnought bonus also sounds interesting as I love dreadnoughts, but feel that the majority of them are currently too weak unless run in numbers. Also, if you would like to get a better idea of what 'Inspiring Presence' is, look up the inrto to the 1st "Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War" game. Watch it in HD.

If that doesn't get you motivated, then you're dead inside.

40K: Rogue Trader Event


I'm pretty excited for the upcoming Rogue Trader event this weekend at the LGS. For those not familiar with this type of event, it is a normal tournament, however you can also earn points for painting quality, sportsmanship, as well as other factors. Designed to be more of a friendly style of event, it allows players to bring more casual lists while still being able to compete.

So instead of bringing my normal Flying Circus list, I thought I would mix it up and bring something fun.

2000 total points.
Here's what I'm bringing.

Fateweaver
Herald of Tzeentch - ML3, Locus of Conjuration
Herald of Khorne - Juggernaut, Lesser Reward
Herald of Nurgle - Locus of Fecundity
10 Pink Horrors
14 Plaguebearers
13 Flesh hounds
13 Flesh hounds
Tzeentch Daemon Prince - Wings, Armor, ML3, Exalted Reward
Tzeentch Daemon Prince - Wings, Armor, ML3, Exalted Reward
Aegis Defense Line - Quad Cannon

A few pretty good combos built in there. I probably won't win, as I'm sure someone will bring Necrons or Tau in force, or something else just as ridiculous. However this list should be fun if anything, and has some of my best painted models...which come to think of it, I should probably take a few pics to post on here.

Have to work on that over the Holiday weekend if i have time.

Battle Reps to follow next week!