Fluff Discussion: The Blood Angels

Time to hit home on something I have been neglecting for some time. The chapter near and dear to my heart, the Blood Angels. They are the sons of Sanguinius, the 9th Legion, the fair and the flawed. But most important I think for this discussion is codex adherance.

First of all pull up your pdf copy of the Blood Angels codex. Now flip to the troops section. See how there are Assault Squads there? Yeah, so if they are following standard codex battle company setup, it shouldn't be that way right?

Standard Battle Company:

6 x Tactical Squads

2 x Assault Squads
2 x Devastator Squads

Blood Angels either do or don't follow that setup. I'd like to think it is actually the following:

My proposed Blood Angels Battle Company:

4 x Tactical Squads

4 x Assault Squads

2 x Devastator Squads

This also covers the idea that assault marines are the ones advanced to bike and land speeder specialists in the blood angels. If that is the only group making the grade, then you need a larger pool to draw from.

Another aspect of the fluff to cover is the Death Company. This is by no means a standard orginization. The thing that makes it really confusing is that they are formed ad-hoc action to action and rarely is there a standing formation of Death Company that travels with a Blood Angel contigent from system to system. So this means there is no standing company, but rather the company is an "Honour" roll of marines who have succummed to the Black Rage. Those with the Red Thirst to the extreme I would imagine are inducted into the Death Company but rather than being removed from their company, they continue to serve in it with whatever death company is attached untill they are too far gone and must be retired to the Tower of the Lost on Baal.

Another aspect is the scouts. These guys are veterans. And Close Combat vets as well. This further justifies my suggested alternative orginization as assault squads make a great basis for recruitment as well as the fact that scout bikers would have to be drawn from bikers who are in turn drawn from assault squads.

One last point is the Honour Guard. These can be Jump Pack equipped. Where would that come from? Assault Marines. Need I say more.

I would say though that the 5-7 companies probably look like standard battle companies and that 8 is all assault and that 9 is all devastator marines. 10 is obviously the scout company still.

Knight Project Update

Just a quick update on the Knight I am going to build. Can't wait to find this baby in BWB. Found a critical component which will also be used to scale the rest of the model to.

Blood Bowl: The Bolgosgrad Berserkers (Bone 'eads)

Okay, so since I last talked about the Berserkers (my Blood Bowl Ogre team) I have had two games in my regular season.

GAME 1: Bolgosgrad Berserkers versus The Mask of the Flying Skull (Dark Elves)

1st Half Highlights
1- Dark Elves Received, Snotling recieves a casualty
2- Snotling Journeyman gets a smashed hip, Ruk Hurtbringa smashes a DE lineman's hand (MNG), Snotling ejected from the game on an attempt to foul a witch elf.
3- Grog Hammerarm inflicts a casualty (Badly Hurt)
4- Snotling Journeyman recieves a smashed ankle from a Witch Elf, DE Runner Scores
KICK OFF- Berserkers Recieve, High Kick
5- Grog Hammerarm gets the ball
6,7,8- I fail to score

2nd Half Highlights
1- Berserkers Received, Pitch Invasion stuns Murda, Grog, a Snotling and a DE Lineman, Ruk Hurtbringa inflicts a casualty
2-Thudd gets the ball
3-Ruk Hurtbringa is Badly Hurt by a Dark Elf assassin's stab
5-Thudd Ironogre Scores
KICKOFF: Quick Snap
6- Ogre throws a snotling at the elfs, snotling recieves a badly hurt casualty on the landing and doesn't knock anyone over, DE Assassin Scores
KICKOFF: Pitch invasion, Murda, a snotling and a DE lineman stunned
7,8- NA

Game results: Bolgosgrad losses 1-2. Winnings: 60,000 GP. Gate: 5,000. Grog Hammerarm wins MVP. Hire on Ogre #5: Krash N'Smash

GAME 2: Bolgograd Berserkers versus Hausern Imperials (Human) (I was 4th in Team Val, he was 1st, though I have the worst league record). The first four turns I didn't fail a Bonehead or a Block action. After that though, it seemed I'd never get anything but push or bonehead. As well, only my 6th reroll of the game worked.

1st Half Highlights:
1-Imperials Recieve, Blitzer Casualties a Snotling
3- Human score from pass plays
KICKOFF- Perfect Defence
3- Murda kills a lineman, Apothecary down to badly hurt, next block Thudd Kills a lineman
6- Snotling loses the ball
7- Imperials Score
KICK OFF- Change of weather: Nice
7- Grog incomplete snotling throw, Human Lineman self inflicts a casualty on a go-for-it, Smashes his knee and recieves a Niggling Injury

2nd Half highlights
5- Human Score
KICK OFF- Throw Rock: Human Lineman stunned
6- Snotling gets the ball
7- Grog Hammerarm completes a snotling pass, Numba 7 lands and goes in for a touchdown
KICK OFF- High Kick

Game Results: Bolgosgrad Losses 1-3, Winnings: 4,000 GP. Gate: 10k. Krash N'Smash wins MVP.

My next game is against the Lizardmen "The Crested Blood Crushers". Wish me better luck. next time.

Evolution of a list: Episode three- 2000 pts eldar

Episode 1: 1500 pts

Episode 2: 1750, 1850

HQ
Autarch
Warp Jump Generator
Power Weapon
Fusion Gun

Farseer
Spirit Stones
Jetbike
Fortune
Mindwar

Elites
Wraithguard (5 + 1)
Warlock- 46
Spiritseer
Enhance
Wave Serpent
Twin Linked Bright Lances

Fire Dragons (6)
Exarch
Firepike
Crack Shot

Troops
Guardian Jetbikes (5 + 1)
1 x Shuriken Cannon
Warlock
Singing Spear
Embolden

Guardian Jetbikes (5 + 1)
1 x Shuriken Cannon
Warlock
Enhance

Fast Attack
Warp Spiders (10)
Exarch
Extra Deathspinner
Power Blades
Withdrawal

Warp Spiders (10)
Exarch
Spinneret Rifle
Power Blades
Withdrawal

Vyper Squadron (3)
Bright Lance
2 x Eldar Missle Launchers

Heavy Support
Falcon Grav Tank
Scatter Laser
Holo-fields
Vectored Engines

Pts: 1999 Scoring Units: 2 KPs: 11, 20 (Hard Boyz)

Changes from previous list (1850):
Elites:
Addition of the Fire Dragons
Fast Attack:
Vyper Squadron: Lose the shiruken cannons, change the scatter laser and star cannon to a second missile launcher and a bright lance.
Heavy Support:
Lose the Fire Prism
Add a Falcon

Hobby/Modeling Challenges/changes:
Magnetize and be able to switch out the Vyper Weapons easily
Be able to switch the Fire Prism to a Falcon. Be able to represent vehicle modifications.

EVOLUTION: Addition of highly specialised unit with a sole purpose/drive/ability.

Tactics:
Much the same for the other lists BUT now you have an additional group of aspect warriors.
The Fire Dragons can easily neutralize any enemy armour or heavy infantry and make half decent assault troops, easily able to decimate a hardened group with the meltas and then with WS 4 I 5 4+ saves, they can hold their own in combat against whatever is left.
These guys are especially great for taking out Monstrous Creatures/IC and retinue. Their meltas will eat smaller squads and high T units up and Crack Shot just reinforces that. The firepike is also nice to get those extra 6" of S8 AP1 when needed.
Keep in mind, expend these guys if need be. Get them close and shooting. Cause as much damage as possible with those S8 weapons. Doesn't matter it you lose everyone if they take out multiple vehicles/units.

The Falcon is for transporting the Fire Dragons. Use its scatter laser to cover the squad from any incoming infantry and let them focus on what they do best (hunting big guys).

The switch in the Vypers is needed for points and for power. The bright lance will help neutralize any vehicle from afar that the fire dragons just can't hadle at the time. The Missile launchers are for versatility and engaging infantry.

All in all, the mobility is kept intact. Killing Power is increased greatly by that many S8 weapons. Enjoy.

Story time

So I don't know if I am BL calibre (although if CS Goto is, anyone can be), but anyways here is the first part of a story about an Inquisitor/Celestial Lions that I have written. I am thinking of running a Dark Heresy campaign tied into these guys.

Today you meet the 1st Character: Naval Armsman Brax Kilton

The shotgun barked down the passageway, pellets ricocheting of the metal bulkheads, punching through armour and ripping into soft flesh. The arms-man pumped the action and let off another round, the enclosed space amplifying the deafening roar of the gun. Again and again he did this until no one was left standing.
Reloading the weapon he strode down the hallway, stepping over the mutilated bodies and sloshing through the gore, making sure not to slip on the slick, bloodied floor. He approached the hatch they had rushed out of earlier in response to his first victims cry’s for help (or possibly the shotgun blast that had followed) and held the barrel of the weapon up to his face, short-sighting so that he could glance around the corner. Taking a deep breath he looked.
Ting.
The bullet had nearly hit him, impacting mere centimeters from his face on the door frame, but he had got the count. Five or six. Easily manageable. Especially with a frag grenade.
Grinning, he lobbed the small explosive device through the hatch, the detonation following shortly after, yet preceded by several curses from the men inside. Pulling his shotgun back up into his shoulder, he swung around through the door, firing once into the room as he crossed to the opposite side. It is best to play it safe, he thought. Knowing that every one would definitely have their heads down now, if they even still had heads, he finally entered the room, sweeping the weapon across from one side to the next, advancing with his body at an angle to the gun as to create the smallest profile possible.
As he chambered another round he inspected each of the bodies, driving the heel of his boots into their throats for good measure. One can never be too cautious.
Continuing on he came to the next hatch, which was hanging open on broken hinges. Demo. So they forced their way in. As he approached the door, fire-arm at the ready, a grenade came spiraling towards him and clattered across the floor. Without even thinking, he ran forward and dived through the open portal where the frag had come from, slamming his body against a cargo crate sitting in the next room as auto-fire began pouring down at him while the small explosive erupted behind him.
He rolled out from behind his cover and began to fire from his knee, trusting his carapace armour to protect him well enough in the firefight. Rising to his feet after taking down three of the hostiles he began to run at an angle across the room, firing as he went. Diving once more into cover, he reloaded his weapon and sprang up, squeezing the trigger as he rose, yet the weapon didn’t answer his command and instead he felt a solid slug slam into his shoulder, the heavy round piercing through the ballistic armour plating as the result of his misfortune.
Jammed.
He had no time to attempt to rectify his weapon’s problems, rather he picked up a stubber that one of his fallen foes had been carrying and brought it to bear. Although it lacked the armour penetration that his shotgun had possessed, firing bundles of glass and shrapnel rather than shots of solid lead pellets, it had a far greater ability to rend flesh, and none of his opponents were wearing helmets.
Jumping up and over the crate he began to fire once more, the deadly shrapnel and flechettes of his stubber turning his target’s faces into unrecognizable masses of bloody pulp. Charging across the room, he engaged target after target, the stubber blasting away, eating away at its belt of ammunition. When the chain finally ran dry he sprung into an all out sprint towards his final opponent, the hostile desperately trying to reload a small autopistol, fumbling with a new magazine. By the time it was slammed home though, the arms-man was upon the man, smashing the butt of his gun into his adversary’s face, crushing the combatant’s skull in one mighty blow.
Dropping the stubber in favor of his foe’s loaded autopistol, he moved back across the room with caution, un-jammed his shotgun, and then proceeded onwards. He advanced down the passageway opposite of the one he had entered the room. Every hatch he passed was handled with extreme care, covering the open area and the room beyond the entire time he passed before it. Finally he reached the end of the hall and his objective. The large steel door read “Comm. Room.”
He reached up to his comm-bead and spoke, “I have reached the target, preparing to neutralize.” Unclipping two grenades from his belt and unpinning them, he made ready to take the room. Throwing open the door, he tossed both grenades in while taking stock of the situation. As the two grenades clattered across the floor, he shut the door, allowing the heavy hatch to contain, and even amplify, the explosion that ensued. After some frantic shouting came two distinctive bangs, which were in turn followed by pathetic moaning. He entered the room, shotgun at the ready. The grenades had rendered all combatants helpless, so he proceeded to neutralize them, using his recently acquired autopistol. Two shots apiece, one in the heart, one in the head, and it was all over.
“The Comm. Room has been taken,” he said into his comm-bead. “I repeat the Comm. Room has been neutralized. Station clear.”
“Well Mr. Kilton. Outstanding job.”
The naval arms-man turned around, bleeding, worn, and low on ammo, yet still with he weapon raised, to see who the unknown speaker was.
“I could use a man like you,” the figure said.
Brax Kilton could muster no response, rendered speechless by the stylized =I= emblazoned upon the man’s chest.


SOOO thats that. Want more? Hopefully you do. There will be more in the future, but expect for my next post to be something actually DOWNLOADABLE. I am working on a cool Apoc./Campaign formation, so keep a sharp eye out.

2000 Pts Imperial Guard Heavy Infantry

Doctrines-
Carapace Armour
Grenadiers
Chem-inhaler
Sharp-shooters
Close Order Drill (applies to all infantry)

HQ
Command Platoon
-Command Squad (5)
--Heroic Senior Officer; Master Crafted Power Weapon, Bolt Pistol, Refractor Field, Frag Grenades
--Standard Bearer; Regimental Standard, Bolt Pistol and CCW
--Medic; Medi-pack, Bolt pistol and CCW
--Vox-operator; Master-Vox; Las Pistol and CCW
--Melta-gun, Chem-inhalers, Carapace Armour, Sharpshooters

-Anti-tank Support Squad (6); 3 x Lascannon, Sharp-shooters, Carapace Armour, Chem-inhalers

Troops
Storm Trooper Squad (10):
-Veteran Sergeant; Master Crafted Power Weapon, Plasma Pistol
-Melta-Gun x 2, Vox

Storm Trooper Squad (10)
-Veteran Sergeant; Master Crafted Power Weapon, Bolt Pistol
-Grenade Launcher, Flamer, Vox

Storm Trooper Squad (10)
-Veteran Sergeant; Master Crafted Power Weapon, Plasma Pistol
-Plasma-Gun x 2, Vox

Infantry Platoon
-Command Squad (5)
--Junior Officer; Master Crafted Power Weapon, Refractor Field, Bolt Pistol
--Medic; Medi-pack, Bolter
--Vox, Heavy Bolter, Chem-inhalers, Carapace Armour, Sharpshooters

-Infantry Squad (10)
--Veteran Sergeant; Bolter
--Auto-cannon, Grenade-Launcher, Vox, Carapace Armour, Chem Inhalers, Sharpshooters

-Infantry Squad (10)
--Veteran Sergeant; Bolter
---Auto-cannon, Grenade-Launcher, Vox, Carapace Armour, Chem Inhalers, Sharpshooters

-Infantry Squad (10)
--Veteran Sergeant; Bolter
--Lascannon, Plasma Gun, Vox, Carapace Armour, Chem Inhalers, Sharpshooters

-Infantry Squad (10)
--Veteran Sergeant; Bolter
--Missile Launcher, Grenade Launcher, Vox, Carapace Armour, Chem Inhalers, Sharpshooters

-Infantry Squad (10)
--Veteran Sergeant; Bolter
--Lascannon, Grenade Launcher, Vox, Carapace Armour, Chem Inhalers, Sharpshooters

-Remnants Squad (9)
--Veteran Sergeant; Bolt Pistol and CCW
--Flamer, Vox, Carapace Armour, Chem Inhalers

Heavy-Support
Basilisk; Indirect-fire, Smoke Launchers

Basilisk; Indirect-Fire, Smoke Launchers

Pts:2000 Scoring units: 10 KPs: 15, 11(3,2,1 system)

So what we have here is a 2000 pt Guard Heavy Infantry List. There are a total of 9 heavy weapons, 5 of which are las-cannons to deal with any armour. There are also a few melta-weapons dispersed throughout the list.

The army shouldn't suffer from assaults, as the voxes and chem-inhalers help units not fall back, keeping enemy assault units tied up for at least another turn. As well Carapace armour dramatically increases chances to survive (16%). Meanwhile, you have too many squads to be engaged, so you can walk up and capture objectives.

The concept is to let the infantry platoon sit back and shoot, along with the anti-tank squad and basilisk battery, while the Command Squad, Stormtroopers and Remnant squad advance. The Remnant squad is nice, because it gets you one more scoring unit in the same Kill Points as the Infantry Platoon under the 'Ard Boyz rules. As well, they can be throw aways. In this case, they are an additional assault force. Low performance, yes, but it is about tying units up while the rest does the work, not about winning the combat.

Make sure to set the basilisks up behind some cover. They are there to do your AoE damage. Keep at least 1 infantry squad near each to protect them. They can dive on the grenade and assault anyone getting to close to you and buy the basilisk at least one more turn of shooting.

The close order drill is also really nice. It is a free doctrine, so on the turn you assault, you form into it to get +1 I and +1 Ld. And if your enemy has no AoE weapons, you can set them up so that he has to assault a COD formation. It further increases your chances of surviving and has no cost. That is a winner.

Sell a Hobby or a Product?

The biggest bitz box is gone.

POLL RELATED POST

What I am referring to as the biggest bitz box was GW itself. Remember when you used to be able to go into the store online and get certain parts you wanted to make that conversion, or just those one or two metal models from a squad to give your HQ that extra special look. Well GW killed that.

Okay, so the new site has some nice things. You can now order a specific blister rather than getting a random assortment of models, and some metal boxed sets are broken up entirely. Case in point, the Space Marine Veteran models.

BUT overall the new GW business plan seems more to sell a product rather than a Hobby. Their site is no longer about presenting the fluff, hobby projects, painting and gaming aspects, but instead it is just an online store. Furthermore, that store is far less flexible than it used to be. The BITZ packs are useless. There are typically only 1 or 2 offered for each army, and at that, I don't want to buy 10 of one weapon. I just want to buy one.
I would like to be able to go in and purchase components OR at least view the components so I am not blind when planning a conversion. The way they have set it up now is focused on just buying and building a boxed set, not actually creating a truly unique force (there is only so much paint can do). I would sculpt more if I could, but I can't, and neither can most hobbyists (as a side note check out Scibor's Monstrous. This guy CAN sculpt.) They either don't have the time, ability, or resources, and more often than not, all three.
Something that once was stressed as a vital part of the hobby is missing: Personal Creativity. GW squelches it. Maybe not intentionally, but they have. They used to ship out an entirely separate book with conversions and the bitz to do it with each White Dwarf. Then it got demoted to a few pages in the back of each White Dwarf. Now I don't even see anything on conversions in white dwarf. I don't even see much painting coverage like there used to be. Just simple painting clinics so every one's ultramarine turns out looking the exact same. Nothing to inspire.
And this isn't just in the conversion aspect of the hobby as I have stressed, but in the fluff, painting, and gaming. The 5th ed. book has only 3 missions and pretty weak campaign coverage. The site hides articles and resources, and even then, there isn't nearly as much as there used to be.
And remember Black Gobbo? That for a while was great and innovative. New articles, cool ideas, great themes. Eventually though it started just showing 2-3 articles that were just online versions of what was in White Dwarf that week.

So where did the hobby go? Well it left GW when they decided to start selling a product rather than a hobby. Now it is places like here, Bell of Lost Souls, Sons of Twilight, From the Warp, Firebase and countless other places on the Internet (many conveniently located on the right side of the page here under the blog roll). Although I wouldn't mind GW taking some of it back.

Tell me what you think? Hit that poll on the right.

And to finish on a more positive note, here is another quick glance at the archeo-tech from the campaign I am designing:
Artificer Plasma Pistol- A pistol crafted by the best plasma engineers of the Mechanicus priests on Ryza.
The pistol counts as a master crafted plasma pistol that can never over-heat. In addition, in close combat, the bearer counts as having a power weapon.
R S AP Type
12 7 2 Pistol, Plasma

POLL RESULTS

What do you think would be best for the hobby? (Choose only 2)
Supplement Codex System
12 (41%)
Bitz returned to the online store
16 (55%)
More online hobby articles
8 (27%)
More emphasis on creative gaming
10 (34%)
More emphasis on creative army construction
3 (10%)
GW turns over all aspects of being creative to the online environment and focuses on selling the game
2 (6%)
It is fine how it is
3 (10%)

Planting the seed of a Campaign

Okay so I am going to be doing a Narrative campaign here with my local gaming club (The Wargamers at Georgia Tech) . In the past we have tried to organize map based and turn based campaigns, but participation has never taken off. To get the club more enthused I am going to be running a narrative campaign which I will retell here.

While digging up all sorts of missions I found something I made for the first attempt at running a campaign: An Archeotech Table. I made a list of tons-o-cool special wargear in 3 broad categories: Xenos, Imperial, Warp. They each then had 6 subcategories: CCW, Ranged Weapon, Personal Device (sm), Personal Device (lg), Squad Device, and Army device. These further broke down into 6 actual items that someone could gain.

This has led me to come up with the idea to make this table the center of the campaign. A world recently out of a warpstorm seems unpopulated (although it won't be, that force will be played by me). The attention of everyone falls upon it, and so battles rage across it's surface for the lost tech upon it (the souls for Necrons and Biomass for nids).

I will be assigning all sorts of crazy games and missions. I have dug up everything I could so far and I am in the process of getting more from a friend. I need to go through and compile all the missions and re-write them to fit any army or the armies in the club at least. Some of the missions range back to 3rd edition (Blood Angels Frontal Assault for example). A few I have made, some from BoLS campaign/minidex books, and a whole lot of them from Games Workshop. I will also be implementing Kill Teams into the campaign so I can create plot twists and such. BUT to feature kill teams, I have to modify their rules a little to address 5th ed changes (running and what not).

Here are a few little morsels of archeotech I will give today:
Power Bayonet- The user has attached exotic blades to his firearm, allowing him to use it to far greater capacity in melee.
A model equipped with a power bayonet always gets +1 A in close combat when equipped with a two handed weapon. Reduces a target’s amour save by 1 to a minimum of 6+.

Void-Gun- The void-gun works by ripping a small hole in real space into the warp, tearing apart its target as it is ripped between dimensions.
It is a two-handed weapon. The void-gun always wounds on a 2+ and a roll of a 6 inflicts instant death, regardless of toughness. It ignores cover saves. Against vehicles, roll to hit as normal, but then roll a d6. A result of a 3 and 4 glances and a 5 or 6 penetrates. A unit suffering a casualty must immediately pass a Ld check or fall back 2d6. It has the following profile:
R S AP Type
12 X 2 Assault 1

Artificer Jump Pack- A powerful and more compact version of the jump packs commonly found employed by Astartes and Soriatas.
The wearer counts as Jump Infantry. Landing in difficult/dangerous terrain does not affect the wearer. He may turbo-boost, following the rules for a bike, once per game.

Artificer Gauntlet- The bearer wears a gauntlet crafted by the most gifted techno-magi of Mars.
The gauntlet counts as a power-fist with a built in bolt pistol and counts as one single handed weapon. If the wearer is equipped with another single handed weapon, it confers a +1 attack as per the normal rules.
R S AP Type
12 4 5 Pistol

Terrain Deformer- The army found a device which allows the to change the very nature of the battle field.
The controlling player gets to place all the terrain and choose his side of the table. No more than 2/3rds of the terrain may be on one half of the board.

Assorted Misc.

Okay so just a random update of stuffs. Maybe I will have a better one of a more cohesive subject later today.

First of all, I have another Blood Bowl game on Friday against the Dark Elf team The Mask of the Flying Skull. Apparently the name is some inside joke based off the Dark Elf Logo. We will see who is laughing when my ogres beat his face in. Just need to look out for the Witch Elves. I will do my best to rack up some kills, with them as marked men, or rather women in this case. I stormed through the Blood Bowl book yesterday and I am reading Dead Ball now. They are pretty entertaining novels, and you don't need to know Blood Bowl to read it as Mr. Forbeck does a wonderful job of explaining everything you need to know and more. ALTHOUGH I do suggest you read the Blood Bowl guide that he has put in the back of them book first. That will definately help. Playing a game or two with proxy models doesn't hurt either (My first game had Blood Angels as ogres and I still use Guardsmen as Snotlings. I need to get some Ogre Kingdom Gnoblars to fit that billet).

Another thing is that the Wargamers at Georgia Tech got at least one reply from my post with their flyer, BUT more would be awesome. So if you are in Atlanta let them know. Or even if you only know people in Atlanta, let those people know that they should contact the Wargamers Club. You do not have to be affiliated with Georgia Tech to play with them (i.e. Being a student is not required). Although if you are a UGA fan, you may want to keep that on the downlow when you contact them. And don't mention the Chick-fil-a Bowl.

As well, based off the last Poll I am going to try and start focusing some articles on some of the more prominent list there. Don't fret though. Space Marines (except Blood Angels of course), though being the most common, won't have the most coverage as they are common enough and there are a million other Blogs out there written by everyone and their mother on Space Marine, and to talk about them constantly just wouldn't cut it.

Speaking of the poll, here are the results after 1 week of voting, with 30 voters total.
What army's read my blog (Choose all the apply)
Blood Angels
5 (16%)
Space Marines (Vanilla)
12 (40%)
Space Marines Non-Codex (SW, BT, DA)
8 (26%)
Imperial Guard
7 (23%)
Deamonhunters
3 (10%)
Witch Hunters
2 (6%)
Chaos Space Marines
7 (23%)
Chaos Deamons
3 (10%)
Orks
4 (13%)
Eldar
5 (16%)
Tau Empire
2 (6%)
Dark Eldar
2 (6%)
Necrons
3 (10%)
Tyranids
5 (16%)
Kroot Mercenary
0 (0%)
Armoured Company / FW Armoured Battle Group
2 (6%)
Catachans (Old Codex)
0 (0%)
BoLS special lists (Genestealer Cults, Adeptus Arbites, etc. etc.)
2 (6%)
Other Army (Please let me know)
0 (0%)
Warhammer Fantasy Battle
5 (16%)
40k Specialist Games
6 (20%)
Fantasy Specialist Games
3 (10%)
Lord of the Rings and/or LotR Specialist games
1 (3%)
Other table top wargame
0 (0%)
Forge World Lists
1 (3%)

I was kinda surprised to see two votes for the BoLS armies, so unless you are the writers of that fine 40k Blog, why not share some pictures of your fancy work. Heck, even if you don't play them, share some pictures of your fancy work. Send them into to my gmail for the site (listed over there on the right someplace --->). If it is army pics, send in either a 1500 pt, 2000 pt, or 2500 pt list with them. If it is just a 'umongus collection, just a list of units would be nice..

As well, I am going to talk shortly in the future about something that may seem archaic but I thought was one of the unappreciated jewels of 4th edition: Kill Teams. I think those rules should be brought back and hosted on the GW Site. Great for quick and dirty fun. And I may start leaking some campaign setup for my gaming group (the Wargamers at Georgia Tech if you hadn't guessed). So keep your eyes peeled.

Drink Deep of Victory and Remember the Fallen

Evolution of a list: Episode two- 1750 and 1850 pts Eldar

Check out the 1500 pt list first and then check out the "Evolution" of the list here.

1750 List
Changes: - is removed. + is added

HQ
Autarch
-Banshee Mask

Elites
Wraithguard Wave Serpent
+Vectored Engines

Troops
Guardian Jetbikes (first entry)
+ 1 more jetbike so the entry is (5+1) rather than (4+1)

Fast Attack
Warp Spiders (both units)
+ add Spiders untill both units consit of 9 and an Exarch for a total of 10.

Vyper Squadron
+Add another Vyper equipped with a Star Cannon
+Add Shuriken Cannons to all Vypers

Pts: 1748 Scoring Units: 2 KPs: 8, 16 (3,2,1 system)

1850 List
Changes: - is removed. + is added from the 1750 list above NOT THE 1500.

Elites
Wraithguard Wave Serpent
-Vectored Engines

Troops
Guardian Jetbike Warlock
-Singing Spear

Fast Attack
Vyper Squadron
- 1 Shuriken Cannon (for a total of 2 in the squadron now)

Heavy Support
+Fireprism
+++Shuriken Cannon

Points: 1850 Scoring Units: 2 KPs: 9, 18 (Using 3,2,1 system)

Hobby Changes for both lists: The Cannons/Catapults on the Vypers need to be magnetized to swap them out from list to list, as well as the Vyper's main weapons. Vectored engines need to be represented on the Wave Serpent (If that is even required to be modeled). The Autarch either need a magnetized head or a head with a Banshee Mask and Mandiblasters. Make sure that the Fireprism is convertible to a Falcon via magnets, because this is the only time it gets used. Still a good investment though for Apocalypse. As well, a warlock needs to be able to switch between spear and witchblade (although I would most often let a spear be used as a witchblade, just not the other way around).

Tactics for 1750 list
Preyty much the same tactics as the 1500 list, just now you have the extra firpower in the Vypers. That Star Cannon can take out heavy infantry with ease, as well as dent many a vehicles side armour. As well there are a few more warp spiders (which will help keep numbers up if you loose some in the jumps) and another jetbike, which provides that one last buffer in your scoring units. The vectored engines help protect the wraithguard. You lose a banshee mask, but that wasn't critical to the strategy anyways.

EVOLUTION: Growing force, larger units, morefirepower. 1st logical step is to make little things bigger.

Tactics for 1850 list
Okay, here is a little bit more change. You no longer have the vectored engines on the serpent, so it is back to what your 1500 capability was. You also lose a Shuriken on a Vyper and a Singing Spear in your Jetbikes. BUT you gain a heaping portion of firepower with the fireprism. Use it to deal with the hardened targets popping up at this point level, as well as eradicating swathes of troops, especially anything vulnerable to blasts. With 2 methods of fire on the prism, tanks and infantry are easily dealt with, and even heavy infantry from the focused shot. It is like a blast las cannon. And with 60" range, the entire board is at its mercy.
A Shuriken Cannon has been moved from a Vyper to the Fire Prism so that if you get weapon destroyed and loose that prism cannon, you at least have something destructive.

EVOLUTION: Addition of Heavy Support to add a little UMPH

SO there you go. Next time I will post a full list for the 2000 so you don't have to link back.

Blood Bowl: The Bolgosgrad Berserkers (Bone 'eads)

Well since a player dropped from the league I ended up playing Wood Elves (Leafshadow Lost Dogs) today rather than nurgle.

Highlight Coverage: (Key: + is Bolgosgrad action, -- is Lost Dog action. Score is My team then opponent)
Bolgosgrad Inducements: Bloodweiser Babes, Extra Team Training. TOTAL: 150,000 GP
NOTE: Journeymen and Normal snotlings both refered to as snotlings except where SPP are concerned.
1st Half: Berserkers Recieve first. Kickoff result: Perfect Defence
Turn 1:
+Hammerarm rolls both down and is KO'd as a result
-- Snotling KO'd
Turn 2:
+Hurtbringa inflicts a casualty, fracturing a Lost Dog Lineman's leg (out next game)
-- Snotling KO'd
--Leafshadow Lineman Scores: 0-1 Lost Dogs
Turn 3: Hammerarm and 1 Snotling return to the game. Berserkers Recieve. Kickoff result: Get the Ref
+Hammerarm inflicts casualty, gouges a Lost Dog Lineman's eye (out next game)
Turn 4:
+Hammerarm pushes Lost Dog Catcher into crowd, catcher goes into reserves box
Turn 5:
+Ironogre stuns a lineman
+Snotling fouls and KO's a lineman journeyman
+Snotling stuns a lineman
+Snotling casualty on a both down, badly hurt (out for rest of game)
Turn 6:
+Snotling fouls and re-stuns a lineman
+Hurtbringa stuns a lineman
+Ironogre gets a completion when he tosses a snotling down feild who successfully lands
Turn 7:
+Snotling breaks for endzone
--Lost Dogs knock over snotling with ball
Turn 8:
Nothing

2nd Half: 2 KO'd Snotlings return. Lost Dogs Recieve. Kickoff results- Change of Weather (Downpour)
Turn 1:
--Snotling KO'd
+Hammerarm KO's a lineman
Turn 2:
--Snotling Casualty (Badly Hurt)
--Leafshadow Wardancer Scores: 0-2 Lost Dogs
KICKOFF RESULTS- Riot. Clock Resets to turn one
Turn 1: Berserkers recieve. All KO'd Snotlings back in. Kickoff scatters out of bounds, placed in hands of Ironogre
+Ironogre goes for it twice for foward progression after blitzing a lineman out of the way
Turn 2:
+Ironogre stuns Wadancer with a blitz, goes for it to make a TD
+Ironogre Scores: 1-2 Lost Dogs
Turn 3: KO'd Leafshadow lineman journeyman back in. Kick off result- Blitz
+BLITZ ACTION: Snotling stuns lineman
--Wardancer KILLS a Snotling
+Ironogre inflicts a casualty, gouge's a Lost Dog Lineman's eye (out next game)
Turn 4:
--Lost Dog Linemen scores: 1-3 Lost Dogs
Kick off results- Get the Ref
+Hurtbringa stuns a lineman
Turn 5:
+Hammerarm inflicts a casualty on a Lost Dog Lineman, breaks his jaw (out next game)
+Hurtbringa KO's the Lost Dog Lineman Journeyman
--Wardancer knocks ball out of Snotling hands and fails to catch it
Turn 6:
+Ironogre picks up the ball
Turn 7:
+Hammerarm stuns Wardancer
+Ironogre hands off the ball to Snotling Journeyman
+Hurtbringa makes a completion when snotling with ball lands
Turn 8:
--Lost Dog catcher pushes Snotling Journeyman with ball, dodges forward
+Snotling Journeyman goes dodges and makes a touchdown

FINAL SCORE
2-3 Leafshadow Lost Dogs

Aftermath:
Dead: 1 Bolgosgrad Snotling
Out for next match: 4 Leafshadow Linemen

Profit: 40,000 GP

Bolgosgrad Berserkers:
Grog Hammerarm
-Ogre-Position: Quarterback
-SPP: 5
-----Completions: 1
-----Casualties: 2
-Value: 140,000

Thudd Ironogre
-Ogre-Position: Center lineman
-SPP:13
-----Casualties: 2
-----Completions: 1
-----TD's: 1
-----MVP: 1
-Improvements: Break Tackle
-Value: 160,000

Murda Bonebreaker
-Ogre-Position: Left lineman
-SPP: 2
-----Casualties: 1
-Value: 140,000

Ruk Hurtbringa
-Ogre-Position: Right lineman
-SPP: 9
-----Completions: 2
-----Casualties: 1
-----MVP: 1
-Improvements: Block
-Value: 170,000

Numbers 5 - 9
-Snotling
-Position: Snotlings
-SPP: 0
-Value: 20,000 ea

Numbers 10-11
-Snotling
-Position: Snotling Journeyman
-SPP: 0
-Value: 20,000 ea

Head Coach: Boyar Ivan Vladyka
Team Assets:
-Apothecary
-3 x Rerolls
-Team Value: 1,010,000
-Treasury: 80,000
-Extras Value: 260,000

Preseason is over, with a sad sad record of 0-2 versus dwarves (The Drunken Dominators, who whooped me with a 3 point shut-out) and Wood Elves (Leafshadow Lost Dogs). At least I did better this time and I get an Ogre back, as well as gaining block on another. Now I just need to start winning.

Season Schedule
PRE: Drunken Dominators (Dwarves) (L), Leafshadow Lost Dogs (Wood Elves) (L)
REG: Dark Elves, Humans, Lizardmen, Drunken Dominators (Dwarf), Chaos, Leafshadow Lost Dogs (Wood Elves), Orcs

Blood Bowl: The Bolgosgrad Berserkers (Bone 'eads)

So my Blood Bowl league I am in is about to kick off this weekend for real. I still have one more pre-season game to play against a Nurgle team.

Here is my Ogre team:

Bolgosgrad Berserkers AKA the Bone 'eads

Grog Hammerarm
-Ogre
-Position: Quarterback
-SPP: 1
-----Completions: 1
-Value: 140,000

Thudd Ironogre
-Ogre
-Position: Center linemen
-SPP: 7
-----Casualties: 1
-----MVP: 1
-Improvements: Break Tackle
-Value: 160,000

Murda Bonebreaker
-Ogre
-Position: Left linemen
-SPP: 2
-----Casualties: 1
-Value: 140,000
-OUT FOR NEXT GAME

Ruk Hurtbringa
-Ogre
-Position: Right linemen
-SPP: 1
-----Completions: 1
-Value: 140,000

Numbers 5 - 10
-Snotling
-Position: Snotlings
-SPP: 0
-Value: 20,000 ea
-#5 and 7 out for one game

Numbers 11-14:
-Snotling
-Position: Snotling Journeymen
-SPP: 0
-Value: 20,000 ea

Head Coach: Boyar Ivan Vladyka
Team Assets
-Apothecary
-3 x Rerolls
-Team Value: 860,000
-Treasury: 40,000
-Extras Value: 260,000

Win-Loss
0-1-0

I lost my first preseason to a dwarf team played by our league commissioner. Hopefully I fair better going into regular season. Need to get some more improvements on my Ogres. I will let you know how it goes.

Season Schedule
Preseason: Dwarf(L), Nurgle
Season: Dark Elf, Lizardmen, Norse, BUY, Human, Dwarf, Wood Elf, Chaos, Orks

Evolution of a list: Episode one - 1500 pts Eldar

Okay, so I am going to start a little series that will be updated every so often, taking a list from a basic 1500 pt list and adding on a little each time up to 3000 pts, just to show how a theme can evolve.

First installment was between Blood Angels and a Eldar force I have always wanted to play. I decided on the Eldar though because of the uniqueness of my list.

HQ
Autarch-
Warp Jump Generator
Power Weapon
Fusion Gun
Banshee Mask

Farseer-
Spirit Stones
Jetbike
Fortune
Mindwar

Elites
Wraithguard (5 + 1)
Warlock
Spiritseer
Enhance
Wave Serpent
Twin Linked Bright Lances

Troops
Guardian Jetbikes (4 + 1)
1 x Shuriken Cannon
Warlock
Singing Spear
Embolden

Guardian Jetbikes (5 + 1)
1 x Shuriken Cannon
Warlock
Enhance

Fast Attack
Warp Spiders (7)
Exarch
Extra Deathspinner
Power Blades
Withdrawal

Warp Spiders (8)
Exarch
Spinneret Rifle
Power Blades
Withdrawal

Vyper Squadron (2)
Scatter Laser
Eldar Missle Launcher

Pts: 1499. Scoring Units: 2 KPs: 8, 16 (3, 2, 1 system)

Okay, so I have here a fast Eldar army with a preference for Warp Spiders. Many people don't like them, but as I said, I like Jump Troops. These guys are better than Swooping Hawks, have high S weapons (although no AP) that can kill vehicles from the rear on a AP roll of 6+. I know that isn't too great, but they are also Assault 2 so everyone that hits (BS 4 and 5) gets 2 rolls and the spinerent rifle on a 4+ since it is AP 1. The other thing about Warpspiders is that the Exarch has at least 3 Power Weapon attacks from the powerblades, and as jump infantry are most likely to get the charge, so that is 4 power weapon attack at WS 5 I 6 first round of combat. They also wear power armour, which is great. On average they will move 7 inches with their Jump Packs rather than 6, with a potential to move further. The only draw back is if you roll a double, which is 1/6 chances, which means in a game you are likely to lose 1 warp spider per game if you Jump every turn. BUT you should only make 3-4 jumps at most SO the chances of loosing a warp spider aren't too high. From both squads, you should only lose 1 most games. In this case, I added the Autarch to the warp spiders as well. He goes in the Squad without the Spinneret so that they also have an AP 1 weapon. The Banshee Mask helps with assaults and the power weapon for obvious reasons. Both units have Withdrawal giving them the hit-and-run special rule. So if they prove to be too much or you want to open them up for shooting and move on to the next target without having to wait for the end of the next assault phase. What is extra nice is that this can be done in your opponents phase as well if you want, so you can assault in your turn, keep them tied up through his so they can't shoot, and then escape yourself at the end of his turn. You can then even re-assault him if you want, gaining assault bonuses all over again PLUS a round of shooting with your S6 assault weapons.

The Jetbikes are the troops of the list. The idea is to ride around killing all game and on that last turn, turbo-boost into the objective. Farseer rides around with the smaller squad, using fortune to protect them when needed and Mindwar against opportune targets. The singing spear can also take out big beasties/characters with its 2+ to wound. The S9 also is nice for neutralizing vehicles.

The wraith guard are your heavy assault troops. Use the Wave Serpent to take them where they need to go and its bright lances to deal with any Armour 14 targets on the table. The wraith guard then get enhanced by their accompanying warlock making them WS 5 S 5 T 6 I 5 combat beasts with a 3+ armour save. They also should do some nasty shooting needing 3+ to hit and 4+ to wound with assault 1 AP 2 weapons. These guys can take on terminators fairly well (and kill the LR that they were riding in).

The Vypers are your support. They have a nearly full 1/2 of the heavy weapons in the list. Use them to engage targets that need to be blown to smithereens. Usually I wouldn't do different types of weapons, but in this small of a list the diversity is needed. Against infantry, the scatter and Frak missile is great. Against vehicles, you have to hit the rear with the scatter, but the Krak is one of your best options in the army.

Items to prep with Magnets: Vyper weapons. You are going to be adding cannons and different main weapons down the road. Also put magnets on/in the Autarch's head OR make a Banshee Mask with Mandiblasters. Up to you.

So there you have it. 1500 pts of eldar. A good starting point for a new army. Not for a new player though. A lot of metal parts and a list requiring advanced maneuvering tactics. I think mostly vets read this blog right now anyways.

Little favour

So if you are in Altanta, look these guys up.

List tweaking WD 348

Okay, WD 348 features a large Apocalypse battle of orcs versus a combined force of Ultramarines and the Blood Angels. 5000 pt battle, so the SM players split is 2500 a piece.

I am going to focus on the Blood Angels here.

WD list:

Mephiston
Chaplain (with Legion Relic asset)

Terminators (5)

Death Company (6) w/ Jumppacks

Furioso Dreadnought with Drop Pod

Scout squad (5 I think)
2 x Tactical Squad (10)

2 x Assault Squad (10)

Devastator Squad (10)
Whirlwind

Baal Predator

For reference here are the Ultramarines forces

Chaplain Cassius

2 x Tactical Squad (10) w/ Drop pod

Combat Squad (5) w/ Razorback

Land Speeder

3 Whirlwinds

Land Raider

Terminus Ultra Land Raider Redeemer

Sgt Chronus

4 Vindicators

The objective in white dwarf is to damage this huge gun much like this:

Except bigger. MUCH MUCH BIGGER!

Okay given that the Space Marine player keeps what they have laid out, lets work on the Blood Angel player.

First they need to focus on the fact that the gun is the target. Next that there are going to be Squillions of orks on the board. To me it looks like the Ultramarines have plenty of ordnance. Lets provide some support.

Okay, to critique this list:

1- Mephiston is good BUT I would always give him an honour guard to back him up, and possibly throw them in a Land Raider.

2- Should have chosen assault terminators rather than regular ones. The storm bolters are a drop in the bucket during the shooting phase of this battle. AND Power fists are slow. Those Terminators are going to get assaulted, and most likely by guys with Choppas. The Lightning claws would be much more effective.

3- Should have 1 more Death Company.

4- Less tactical, more assault. You are not taking and holding objectives in this mission, you are killing orks and a gun. The bolters aren't going to put a dent in a 30 ork mob like a well pulled off assault. In one phase, you stand a good chance of eliminating a whole squad with assault if you over run them. Can't do that standing and shooting. Plus, the orks are going to be trying to assault, so you should have the best CC available.
5- There is plenty of ordinance in the Ultra list. Either double his or focus on something else.

6- One dread alone is going to die. Redundancy is a better plan.

With that here is my list:

Dante

-Blood Angel Standard

Mephiston

Honour Guard (5)

-Jump packs

-2 x Plasma Pistol

-2 x Power Weapon

-Melta-Gun

-Sanguinary Priest w/ power weapon

-Company Champion w/ plasma pistol

-Tech Adept w/ plasma pistol

-Standard Bearer w/ Blood Angel Standard and Power Weapon

Terminator Assault Squad (5)

-3 x Lightning Claws

-2 x Thunder Hammer and Storm Shields

Veteran Assault Squad (5)

-3 x Power Weapon

-2 x Flamer

-5 x Combat Shields

Death Company (5)

-Jump Packs

Assault Squad x 2 (10 ea)

-3 x Plasma Pistol

-1 x Power Sword

-Melta-bomb

-Combat Shield

Tactical Squad (10)

-Power Weapon

-Plasma Pistol

-Flamer

-Plasma Cannon

Attack Bike Squadron (3)

-3 x Multi-meltas

Baal Predator

-Sponson Heavy Flamers

-Pintile Storm Bolter

Scoring Units: 3-6. Kill points: 11 or 23 (using 3,2,1 system) Points: 2475

Free 25 Pts. Spend as you wish.

Tactics of this list:

Dante and Honour Guard- Attach Mephiston here or to the Veteran Assault Squad. Either way, he keeps up. The point is to concentrate your assault squads around the BA banner and just cut through the hordes of orks, the Ultra marine land raiders driving up behind. Once you arrive at the gun, there are melta weapons distributed through out in the form of guns and bombs.

Terminator Assault squad- Better against the orks. The 2 thunderhammers are to deal with the big gun or vehicles. Mount up in a Ultramarine land raider.

Veteran Assault Squad- Kills Orks. 'Nuff said.

Death Company- I know what you are thinking. There is no Chaplain. I'll tell you this. Not needed this time. Keep close to the BA banner for +1 attack. The only thing the Chaplain would do is give re-rolls on failed to hits on the charge in this case. Get them bogged down in the largest horde and kill and kill again until they all die. They should always be moving forward here, so a Chaplain does little in that respect.

Assault Squads- Go forth and kill. Try and reach the gun with the sarge. The 1/2 without him can stay behind and kill.

Tac Squad- Plasma Cannon to kill most swathes of orks with its blast and will destroy ork vehicles just fine.

Assault Bikes- Move as fast as possible and shoot that cannon with those multi-meltas. Then maraud around killing Ork vehicles and such.

Baal Predator- I have a poem for this one

Ultramarines are Blue

Blood Angels Red

Flamers kill orks

Dead Dead Dead

So there you go. Critique my ways if you wish (except my poetry skills). BUT the goal is to get the gun, not the orks, so take the list with that in mind.

Tactica: Jump Infantry

So as a Blood Angel player, I am very fond of Jump Infantry. Get to assault ASAP. That is what I do.

Most players may have only one, if even that, squads of Jump Infantry. This does not include Tau Battlesuits, as they work differently.

Now there are several primary uses for Jump Troops: Attack, Distract, Annoy, and React.

The first of these is what I use in my Blood Angels. This is where Jump Troops form your tip of the spear and drive straight into the enemy. Best used en masse. You take the fight to him as fast as possible, utilizing cover and arriving in assault by turn 2 (3 at the latest). You take assault weapons or plasma pistols if you can, and power weapons are a must when available. You are ripping your opponents throat out and denying him a chance to capture objectives, or just plain slaughtering for the fun of it. If you can take out our opponent's troop choices that is a definite perk. Make sure though you have 1 or 2 slow squads following up, giving support fire, engaging tanks, and grabbing objectives in the wake of the destruction. Jet Bikes/Bike also fit in nicely to this form of army, sprinting forward in line with the Jump Troops.

Distract is another use. Now this may seem like a bad idea to most people, but I have used it many a time to great success with terminators and death company. The idea is you place a very menacing high point squad out where they can draw off the most enemy units. Let them get shot at. Let them be noticed. Expect to lose them to a man. Jump Troops can perform this role nicely, as they get close fast, and typically players react to the most immediate threat. For this, you want something that looks mean in the squad. A power fist or melta weapons are good examples, especially if it looks like you are going to your opponents tanks. And if worst comes to worst, they ignore the squad and concentrate on the rest of your forces following up. In that case they have made a mistake and will regret it once your Jump Infantry falls onto their heavy support (which should be done in this case to neutralize their firebase).

Next is Annoy. This is where you send your Jump Infantry up to do pesky things. Pick off Tyranid Warriors. Reveal hidden models. Engage with stealth units. Harass heavy support. Basically annoy is a catch all for everything not in the other categories. This is used the most by people, as typically someone has no more than one or two squads. Niche use mission to mission is the key here. Contesting objectives last turn also falls in here, and is great use of Jump Infantry, as they can be a ways away and show up close enough to deny your enemy victory.

Lastly in React. This is where you let your main force do most of the work and Jump Infantry sit back and jump in where needed. About to loose an objective? No, because your assault squad has come in and scattered your opponent. Your troops tied up in an assault. No longer as your Warp Spiders rush up and lend their numbers. Devastator squad got you pinned from the top of a building? Not once those Vespids are up there blasting them apart. Basically, you hold your fastest troops back to bulk up your line where it is weakest. In addition, any deepstriking troops can be dealt with by a reaction force that has been hanging back.

Another note is never Deep Strike Jump Infantry. They can assault by turn two and reserves come in turn 2 at the earliest and can't assault. So it is too slow. AND it leaves what is most likely a hard hitting force sitting for a turn clumped together as a nice target for shooting or assault.

Another thing is that often Jump Infantry squads are outnumbered. Be wary of this, make sure you get the assault to bring the number of attacks up. Do as much damage as possible. Jump Infantry don't have to survive, they just have to destroy.

The Emperor

So, as I said previously, I wanted to discuss for fun about the Emperor.

SPOILER ALERT

So in Mechanicum, it shows him around the year 1200 as a Knight in someone's army (I would say exactly, but I lent the book to someone already).

For fun lets make conjecture on where else in History/Mythology the Emperor could tie in.

The first things that jumped into my mind were Hercules/Heracles and Achilles. Both are said to be descended from the Gods (The Old Ones???). Possibly he has a role in Jason and his Argonauts, or Odyseus and his Odyssey.

Could he have served along side Juilius Ceasar? Some general in the Roman army? Maybe he was with Alexander at Guagamela.

I think another awesome tale would be for him to be King Arthur or at least one of the Knights of the Round table, such as Lancelot, or rather Galahad who found the Holy Grail.

Was he the Yellow Emperor? Or did he have more humble roots and later serve Qin Shi Huang Di?

Jump forward. Could he have fought with George Washington or Napoleon? What about along side Lee or Grant? Was he in the Trenches in France in WWI, or at the Battle of the Bulge in WWII?

So any cool tales you think he would fit into. Where is History would the Emperor have let his mark?

Knight Project

So reading Mechanicum has inspired me to undertake a project. Though still in the planning phases, I am going to scratchbuild a Knight.

So I need some things first.

1) As much fluff as I can get on these things. Orders, Weapons loadouts, Famous Riders/Battles, etc. etc

2) Models

3) A Plan

Where you can help:

FLUFF

I have an idea of what I am going to use to build this beast. Defiler parts are key. There will be some Space Marine Dreanought parts and some Sentinel/Pentinent Engine parts in there as well. Maybe so Leman Russ or Wraithlord parts.

The plan is to just get a defiler kit to start off and the sprues from the SM Dread I know I will need, plus someother stuff.

I want to avoid plasticard like the Plauge. Never looks good to me and is hard to work with. Frankenstiening Plastic is better in my opinion.

The end is nigh... EVIDENCE

SPOILER ALERT!!!

So I just finished the book Mechanicum today, and I have to give a round of applause to Mr. McNeill.

So towards the end there was some huge revelations pertaining to the Emperor and to the "Dragon of Mars".

This definitely, to me, shows that the Emperor is really the Omnisiah. Even though the Dragon is what really gave the Mechanicum its knowledge, it is because the Emperor put him there.

So is this the Void Dragon? It seems awkward for a C'tan to just be living on earth eating one woman at a time, but not impossible. It took the Emperor to imprison it, so obviously a creature of unimaginable power. I also remember a mentioning of stars being consumed towards the end.

As well, the end talks about the book containing the Grand Lie of Mars as missing and 10,000 years passing but the damage being done. This ties in nicely with my last post that a cataclysmic event will occur. I wonder though who got the book and what will happen? Who ends up with it? How will it be used? Will the Dragon escape? I think that that is one of the most likely events to trigger a temporary Imperial collapse.

Another discussion I'd like to spin using this is the history of the Emperor. I mean, he was alive in the year 1200 according to this. COOLEST THING IN THE BOOK. I thought the Emperor would have been born millenia from now, not centuries before. This though will be a topic for next time. Use some of my actual historical knowledge to guess as to where he may play a role in the course of actual history. Just a fun "what if" session.

The end is nigh... or is it?

So with the New Year, I thought of the future. That is to say, M42...

So with 5th ed. came the revelation that this is the end times for the Imperium. Here is the DL on everything that is going wrong:
The astronomican is weakening, there is more war than ever, the 13th black crusade was successful in many aspects, Tau are expanding, psykers are becoming far more common, the Necrons have appeared near mars and are reawakening all over the place, the Nightbringer is awake, the Webway is weakening, several Forgeworlds have fallen, Space Marines are stretched thin, Tyranids have had 3 hivefleets (who knows when a 4th will hit), etc. etc. The list goes on.

Something though in particular hit me. GW a little bit ago released rules for Angron. This is the first Playable Primarch. I bet we will see more of the Daemon Prince ones soon enough. I am guessing that with all this darkness, GW will have something cataclysmic occur in the fluff and then do something to bring the Imperium back from the brink. What could do that? The return of the Primarchs.

The Horus Heresy novels are really setting this up for them. With these, they are able to show what these godly men are like, and then make us want to use them in our games. So who could come back? Well...

Lion El' Jonson (Wake up)
Jaghatai Khan (Exit the Webway)
Leman Russ (Return for his Spear)
Roboute Guilliman (In Stasis. Most Likely IMOHO.)
Vulkan (MIA)
Corax (MIA)
Sanguinius Reborn???
Emperor becomes the Star Child???

So that is 6 likely (although I like number 7). So, maybe there is a hope for the Imperium after all. GW just can't keep making things worse, something will have to happen with the fluff. I am betting it will when the Horus Heresy saga is complete OR 6th ed will just be short of Old Night for man and 7th will bring it back. Something of the sort.

Oh and for Cataclysmic events...
Deamon Prince Primarchs returning
Void Dragon awakening
4th Hive Fleet
Abaddon Reaches Terra
Thraka reaches Terra

Where do you think the future will go?