Book Review: Heroes of the Space Marines

So I finished Heroes of the Space Marines today. Thought I'd give a review on it.
All in all a decent read. Some stories were more entertaining than others.

I will say it should have been named the Heroes and Villans of the Space Marines, as there were just as many Chaos/Renegade stories as Imperial ones.

My favourite was the first. If you have read Iron Warriors and Dead Sky, Black Sun, then you at least need to go to your local book store and sit around for a half hour to read this story. The Skull Harvest follows Honsou as he prepares to take his vengence upon Ventris and the Ultra Marines. It also provides a little quirky insight into Huron Blackheart. All in all a good tale.

The rest go from good to meh.

Gauntlet Run isn't very inspiring or intriguing, but is rather entertaining. Imp Fist scout biker action. Made me want to buy some SM bikers for in game.

Renegades is lackluster and not very high on action. Avenging Sons Space Marines. They don't even look that exciting do they?

Honour Amongst Fiends is a good one, especially for the Horus Heresy fans in the crowd. It is a very interesting concept on Mr. Owen's part and I am not going to spoil it here. Imp Fists versus Black Legion.

Fires of War isn't bad, but Nick Kyme is a better editor than writer. There is nothing particularly bad about his writing, it just the story goes on a bit too long and isn't the most exciting. I hope the Salamanders book is better than their debut short story.

The Labyrinth is weird and didn't really fit into the compilation in my opinion. Not a bad story, but not a memorable one. SPOILER ALERT (THAT LINK HAS A SUMMARY OF THE STORY ON IN) Sons of Malice CSM. I guess Malice is some Daemon or Lesser Chaos God

Headhunted is probably the best Imperial story in the book. It is about a Death Watch kill team and their raid on an Ork Kroozer. Has an Exorcist and Death Spectre SM in it, which is cool.

And They Shall Know No Fear is of the standard 40k short story quality. Good but not Abnett. Black Templar action with a glimpse of Hellbrecht as an Initiate. And for once, it paints Sisters of Battle in a half decent light.

Nightfall is another outlier in the story. It was slightly confusing and a little awkward. As well, all the weird things aren't really explained. They just are. If you really want to read about the Night Lords, read Lord of Night. This was essentially an foil of that, in that some Nightlords are going down the Uberchaotic road while some old school guys are hard core long war disciplined marines.

One Hate is another standard 40k short story. Crimson Fist Chaplain action. Although it is a little lighter on action than most the stories, the plot makes up for it.

All in all I give the Compilation 3.5 out of 5 Aquillas.

Hard Boyz List Series: Blood Angels

So with the though of 'ard Boyz in the air, I thought I'd post a series containing lists of what I personally would field of each army. I'll start with Blood Angels today.

One thing of note is that 'ard Boyz Kill Points have changed. They will be using standard rule book KPs except for mission 2. (Here is the mission pack)



HQ: Dante- 200
HQ: Chaplain Lemartes- 125
HQ: Honour Guard (5)- 300- Company Champion; Tech Adept; Sanguinary Priest, Power Weapon; Standard Bearer, Blood Angels Banner, Power Fist; Melta Gun
Elites: Terminator Squad (5)- 450- 2 x Lightning Claws, 3 x TH & SS; Land Raider
Elites: Death Company (6)- 30- Jump Packs
Troops: Tactical Squad (10)- 310- Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon, Plasma Rifle, Missile Launcher; Rhino, Extra Armour
Troops: Tactical Squad (10)- 310- Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon, Melta Gun, Plasma Cannon; Rhino, Extra Armour
Troops: Assault Squad (5)- 175- Power Weapon, Melta Bomb; Plasma Pistol
Troops: Assault Squad (10)- 305- Power Fist, 2 x Plasma Pistol
Fast Attack: Assault Bike Squad- 150- 3 x Multi-Meltas
Heavy Support: Vindicator- 145- Extra Armour, Dozer Blades

Pts: 2500 Scoring Units: 4-7 KPs: 11, 25 for Mission 2

OR You swap out the Honour Guard for the following
Elites: Veteran Assault Squad (8)- 300- 2 x Power Weapon; Power Fist, Combat Shield; 1 x Melta Gun, 1 x Flamer

Which that makes the KPs for ‘ard Boyz mission 2 as follows: 27.

Tactics: So I think Blood Angels would have a rough time with mission 2. A lot of armies have alternatives to command squads, and while I provided one here in the form of the Veteran Assault Squad, ultimately it isn’t as good as the Honour Guard IMOHO as you loose the all critical Blood Angels which gives +1 Attack to the honour guard (including Dante) and lets squads within 6” re-roll failed morale and pinning tests.

Okay, so generally this follows the typical BA Ball of Death Strategy. Dante and HG and Lemartes with the DC are potent assault squads. These guys can hit hard and bring the hurt. Eliminate scoring units and high KP targets. The DC can go after those nasty Daemon Princes even with Furious Assault, Litanies of Hate, and Rending. That means that on the charge they should stand a chance of dealing several wounds, as each guy pumps out 4 attacks. Feel No Pain should generally keep them alive to reach those critical combats.

While the Terminators aren’t as good as normal SM terminators, they should not be written off. Because BA do not get the 3+ inv. save SS then it is still worth it to take lightning claws. These guys should get in some wounds before you start taking wounds. When you take wounds, allocate to them first so that your TH can still attack. The Land Raider is a dedicated transport here to save some KP’s (0 in standards and 1 in mission 2, saving you 1 either way).

The Tactical Squads are to be versatile, but mostly fire support. You can combat squad them up as well if you want to engage multiple targets. BA rhinos with extra armour are the best rhinos there are for making that push to contest/control that final objective. 13-18” move.

One Assault Squad is just for standard use. The melta-bomb is incase they find a vehicle that needs popping. Put the Plasma Pistol on a Marine other than the Sergeant so that if you fail a get hot, you still have the power weapon.

The second Assault Squad is a little larger and for good reason. Against armies with high T models, such as monstrous creatures, you want more of a buffer on your power fist. If your opponent doesn’t have such things, combat squad the squad with a plasma pistol in each squad. Once again, don’t give one to the Sergeant.

The Assault Bike Squad should be able to kill a vehicle or two before dying. T5 with 6 wounds in the squad is nice, and they have to get allocated round robin before you lose a bike. Take out transports first, as your assault troops can’t hit the scoring units inside as long as they are mounted up.

The Vindicator is a nice piece of artillery. Nurgle units beware. I don’t think I have to go into it’s uses really. Though I did spend my last 5 points on a dozer blade so it could get through difficult terrain easier to makes its shots, since it does have limited range.

The Land Raider is for the Terminators, but it is also a part of your anti-mech/MC forces. Use it as such.

While I like to deploy on table, this army has plenty of Deep Striking Options. 2 Assault Squads, Lemartes and DC, Dante and HG, Terminator Squad. Against Chaos Daemons with Flamer heavy lists, I’d choose to Deep Strike the assault squads. Anything not in transports is highly vulnerable to the Flamers when they land. I lost my whole HG, DC and one Assault squad to 3 units of Deep Striking Flamers this last weekend 1st turn when none of his deep strikes scattered and he landed 2 inches away from each squad (I still won the battle though but it was quite ugly). So hold them in reserves so that you don’t have to worry as much.

There you go. My Blood Angels ‘ard Boyz list. Look out for more. Your Army may be next.

Scibor Miniatures: Models for 40k

So looking around today, I found some cool minis for 40k at Scibor's Monstrous.

Check these out.

Thousand Sons Terminator Lord
Inquisition Retinue 1
Inquisition Retinue 2
Inquisition Retinue 3
Inquisition Retinue 4
Inquisition Retinue 5
Inquisition Retinue 6
Inquisition Retinue 7
Great Unclean One

Check out his gallery here. Alot of those are commissions. He has some great work.

100th Post: 6 Months of Awesome

Poll related post.

So this is my 100th Post. YIPEE! Six great months of fun blogging.

I want to first thank all the people who read my site regularly, especially my Chapter Serfs (followers). Without you there would be no point to this venture.

Next I'd like to thank Ron at From the Warp for providing the From the Warp Network for bloggers like me. As well I would like to give a shout out to the boys at BoLS for making the Alliance. Traffic is good (over 2000 in less than a month since I added google analytics).

I also want to thank all the other blogs who have me on their blogroll. If I am on yours and you are not on mine, let me know and you will be added.

Last but not least, I'd like to thank the Wargamers @ Georgia Tech for giving me ideas and an outlet which to enjoy my hobby. That links to Facebook, so it you don't have one, sorry. Just contact me if you are interested. Or check this out.

I'd like to remind everyone that you can contact me in several ways
Twitter: GothmogBalrog
Aim: GothmogBlog
Skype: gothmog.lord.of.balrogs
Gmail chat/email: sepulchreofheroes@gmail.com

So to not just have a worthless post here is a short story for download that I have written. It is about the remaining Celestial Lions and an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor.

The Price to Pay

I had posted a small segment of a linked story some time ago. I suggest reading Price first though.

I appreciate any feedback. Comments especially. There is a poll over there -> though for the Anons.

Once again, thanks to all you make this possible!

A Request: Character names from Blood Angel Books/Fluff

I am trying to put together some fluff for my Blood Angels Army.

What I need is the name and position of pretty much any Blood Angel in the fluff, especially the books by James Swallow. I unfortunately don't have the books avaliable to me at the time. So if you could break out the books (or anything blood angel related you have) and post Names, Titles, and Ranks/Positions in the comments, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I don't need codex characters or anything from the old supplement codex.

PLEASE Be specific with things like Company, Squad, and whether they are alive or not.

Simple Painting Guide: Choosing Colours

This one is for the From The Warp Collabrative Post on Painting. I figure there will be alot of actual painting tips, but they are all for not if you can't choose a colour scheme. So I will do my best giving a simple guide.

Basically, you need at least 3 colours on your model. Typically an army has a main colour, an accent colour, and a detail colour. Some carefull planning will get you some great results.

Main Colours- Go with bright/dark distictive solids. The more traditional the better typically. ROYGBIV + Black and White is a good guideline, whith shades therein allowing flexibility. Some armies call for more dramatic colours, such as the Emperor's Children with their Pink armour. In such a case, try and make the accent a more traditional colour. That's why the EC have Black Trim.

Accent colours: You either want this to contrast in colour or in shade. Basically, you either want something like the Black and Pink of the Emperor's children (Colour) or something more subtle like a regal blue alongside enchanted blue (shade). Earthy tones tend to work better contrasted by shade rather than by colour, while radical tones tend to work better by colour.
Examples by Colour:
Red and Blue
Green and White
Pink and Black
Blue and Orange
Yellow and Red

Examples by Shade
Khaki and Brown
Blue and Navy
Yellow and Orange
Green and Forest Green

Avoid accenting with a light on light or dark on dark typically. On a miniature scale, it doesn't work as well.
Yellow on white/gold
Black on Navy
Pink on Yellow
Purple on Black

Detail colours: These are what you paint unit markings, eyes, weapon barrels, and other random details with. Try to tie together some of, but not all of, your detail colours. For instance, my blood angels have blue eyes in addition to blue carapace, which is their accent colour. Meanwhile their boltguns are metallic to set apart with a 3rd colour.

Some other things to consider:
1- Fluff/Required Colours: Saim Hann is Red, Ultramarines Blue. I paint you! Basically, your scheme is chosen for you (for the most part) if you are playing the actual fluff force. BUT that does not mean you can't add your own flourishes. For instance, my Blood Angels, while red, feature a blue carapace rather than the normal black. I link this together with blue eyes and power weapons rather than green. Any skull motifs I have I paint yellow and wings end up space wolves grey. When you look at it, it is a Blood Angel, but it is still a unique and vibrant scheme. Other armies are typically bound to a colour, but not as rigidly as a Space Marine Chapter. Orks are a fine example of this. If you are playing a certain warband (Goffs, Bad Moonz etc. etc.), they all have a specified colour, but you can choose contrasting colours and the amount in which to show their "official" colour.

Notice the Blue Carapace. It is not heavily present on the model, but is bright enough to jump out and contrast with the red, giving the model an even more visible tabletop presence. Black is another common BA colour, albiet not overwhelming shown but for in the Death Company. Thus I chose it for the chest conversion to futher bring out the piece, while binding it back to the model and army with the red blood droplet.

2- Unit markings: If you are trying to stick with an over arching scheme (Red for Khorne, or Black for Ulthwe), there are still ways to introduce colours to your force. Namely army and squad markings. I recommend both. If you look at the Blood Angel on the top right of the page you can see his squad marking on the right knee is different from the one above. Despite that, they both have an army marking on both their shoulders (a Black BA logo and a Yellow Blood Drop, Chapter and Company). Doing both can give you coherency in a squad and an army, but differentiate different squads. Markings don't always have to be a symbol either. A specific set of stripes, a sepereate accent colour on a helmet. Stuff like that. As far as unifying an army, I will turn to Eldar for an example. Often you want to paint a Aspect Warrior squad the colour of their temple, but you can link them to the army by including the colour of their craftworld. Black and White Banshees for instance on Ulthwe or Red and Green Scorpions on Saim Hann.

Tactica: Two Detachments, Part Two

Check out Part One.

Last time I covered two detachments out of one codex.
There is how ever no rule against using a detachment out of two separate codices. A detachment is for all intensive purposes a separate army. It is kinda like playing a team game by yourself.

Once again you have the same limitations and disadvantages as I pointed out in Part One, but you have a whole new range of advantages.

1- Tactical flexibility. You are not longer constrained to just your strengths, but you can match the strengths of another to suit your weakness.
2- Complementary Characters. Some Characters can benefit other armies quite well. Eldrad casting doom on a unit of Plague Marines for instance, so that a SM assault squad can tear them up. I will show this again in the example list.

A disadvantage:
Smaller armies tend to have their weakness exploited easier versus a larger force. So if someone is good at fighting guard, and guard make up 1/2 of your force, they can bring their full force against that smaller group and dominate.

A suggestion:
Keep it fluffy. People will be more likely to face a combination of IG and SM than something like Necrons and Tau.

Recommended Fluffy Combinations:
1- Any mix of Imperial forces: They fight side to side all the time
2- Tau and IG: This would be like Tau and Gue'vesa auxiliaries
3- Eldar and SM, IG or DH: Eldar often have the same interests as the Imperium, especially regarding Chaos
4- Dark Eldar and Chaos: They can fight each other AFTER those Mon'kiegh worshippers of the False Emperor are dead.
5- Chaos and IG: Renegade gaurd fighting under their fallen Astartes Masters
6- Orks and Chaos: They did it in Dawn of War, why can't you do it in the game. And Khorne is essentially the Human form of an Ork
7- Kroot Merc and any seemingly "good" aligned force: They work for hire, but they are smart enough to know who NOT to work for
8- Dark Eldar and Orks- DE paid off the orks (with Dakka) to make a distraction while they slip behind and slave raid.

Not Fluffy Combos
1- Tyranids and anyone: They eat everyone
2- Necrons and anyone: They harvest everyone
3- Dark Eldar and any Imperial Force: Mon'kiegh are slaves, not allies
4- Orks and Imperials/Eldar/Tau: Humies are good for fightin' 'gainst, not wid, same fur dem space elfs and runts
5- Chaos and SM: wouldn't they just all be one or the other? And no enemy could make them unite. They'd rather die.
6- WH and anyone not Imperial: They hate too much
7- DH and chaos: That's just obvious
8- Tau and Chaos: There is no greater good in Chaos

So now that you get the idea, here is a list (or pair of rather)

Kharn's Renegade Battleforce 4000 pt list, 2 detachments
HQ- Kharn the Betrayer- 165
Elites- Chaos Terminators (5)- 495: 5 x Champion, Khorne Icon, 5 x Combi-Meltas; Land Raider, Extra Armour, Twin-Linked Bolters
Troops- Khorn Berzerkers (11)- 271: Skull Champion, Power Fist
Troops- Khorn Berzerkers (12)- 292: Skull Champion, Power Fist
Troops- Khorn Berzerkers (8)- 233: Skull Champion, Power Weapon, Rhino
Troops- Khorn Berzerkers (8)- 233: Skull Champion, Power Weapon, Rhino
Heavy Support- Vindicator- 145: Daemonic Possession
Heavy Support- Vindicator- 145: Daemonic Possession
Land Raider- 240: Extra Armour, Twin-Linked Bolter

Pts: 1979 Scoring Units: 4 KPs: 8, 13 (‘ard Boyz)

HQ- Company Command Squad- 245: Creed, Auto-Cannon, 3 x Sniper Rifle, Master of Ordnance, Master of the Fleet, Carapace Armour
Elites- Sly Marbo- 65
Troops- Platoon Command Squad- 135: Commissar, Power Weapon; Power Weapon, Heavy Flamer, 3 x Melta-Gun
Troops- Infantry Squad- 110: Commissar, Power Weapon; Melta-Gun, Mortar
Troops- Infantry Squad- 110: Commissar, Power Weapon; Melta-Gun, Mortar
Troops- Heavy Weapons Squad- 105: 3 x Lascannons
Troops- Heavy Weapons Squad- 90: 3 x Missile Launchers
Troops- Penal Legion Squad- 80
Fast Attack- Valkyrie- 155: Multiple Rocket Pods, Lascannon, Heavy Bolter Sponsons
Fast Attack- Vendetta- 140: Heavy Bolter Sponsons
Fast Attack- Banewolf Squadron (2)- Multi-melta, extra armour, smoke launchers (each)
Heavy Support- Leman Russ Battle Tank- 205: Extra Armour, Plasma Cannon Sponsons
Heavy Support- Basilisk Battery (2)- 250

Pts: 2020 Scoring Units: 6 KPs: 17, 17 (‘ard Boyz)

Totals
Pts: 3999 Scoring Units: 10 KPs: 25, 30 (‘ard Boyz)

Tactics
Okay, so if it isn't obvious you do the following.
-Add Kharn to the 11 man Berzerker Squad
-Load the 11 and 12 man squads into the Valkyrie and Vendetta. Out Flank with them. You can even grav chute in.
-Use Creed to bring in something sweet with an outflank, like a vindicator or the Terminators in their Land Raider.
-Guard are firesupport. Plenty of meltas pop vehicles and transports so berzerkers can hit the enemy (especially the guys in the transports).

So there you go. Happy Gaming.

Evolution of a List: Space Marine 2000 Pts (Salamanders)

Here are the 1000 pt, 1500 pt, and 1750/1850 points posts

Okay, its been a while but here is the next part in the current evolution. A 2000 pt Spacemarine list, specifically, the Salamanders.

HQForgefather Vulkan He’stan: 190
TroopsTactical Squad (10): 235- Sergeant, bp & chainsword; Melta Gun; Lascannon; Rhino, Extra Armour
TroopsTactical Squad (10): 225- Sergeant, bp & chainsword; Melta Gun; Multi-Melta; Rhino, Extra Armour
TroopsTactical Squad (10): 225- Sergeant, bp & chainsword; Melta Gun; Multi-Melta; Rhino, Extra Armour
TroopsScout Squad (5): 75- 5 x Sniper Rifles
ElitesStern Guard Veteran Squad (5): 185- 2 x Melta Gun; Rhino, Extra Armour
Heavy SupportWhirlwind: 85
Fast AttackVanguard Assault Squad (10): 370- Jump Packs; Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield
Fast AttackLand Speeder Squadron (3): 210- 3 x Heavy Flamers, 3 x Multi-Meltas
ElitesTerminator Assault Squad (5): 200- Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields

Pts: 2000 Scoring Units: 4-7 KPs: 10, 17 ('ard Boyz)

Hobby Notes:
The Sternguard Razorback is downgraded back to a rhino. Simple swap of turret for hatch, so be able to do that.

Evolution:
Inclusion of scouts/infiltrators(the scouts), pinning weapon and heavy shock troops(the Terminators)

Tactics
Well much of it is the same as the old posts (linked at the top of this posts) but now you have 2 new units to play with.

For the scouts, they all have sniper rifles. If you can infiltrate them into an objective, then go for it. They will be most usefull there. They are decent fire support and wound on a 4+ automatically. Pinning should also slow your enemy down. For a mere 75 points, they are a good scoring unit, just keep them there. If they can't get to an objective, as least get them where they have cover but the greatest feild of fire.

The Terminators will hurt. 2+ Armour saves and 3+ invulnerable save are brutal. Especially when each has 2 S8 power weapon attacks that can stun and give crew shaken to any vehicle in addition to normal damage (see pg 42 main rulebook for thunderhammer full rules). And since you have Vulkan, all those attacks are master crafted.
A great way to use these guys is as a fire magnet as well. People are going to fear them, so they shoot them. BUT these guys can absorb alot of fire and still come out strong. They still do die though, so don't be reckless. Use them in this role only when you know there is no other choice. If your in turn 5 and it is either them getting shot at or that tactical squad that you need to sieze an objective, make the Terminators the bait.
And remember, they can teleport, so deep striking is an option. If there is an objective out of reach, or a unit that just must die, you can drop these guys in next to them. They are tough enough that they should survive a turn of being pounded with shooting relatively intact. Then they just march forwars and contest the objective/eliminate the opposition (and quite often, both).

Well, there is the 2000 point list. Leave any comments you may have.

Blogging Tips

Today I will have 2 posts, but I wanted this one to be a departure from the normal with some tips for other bloggers out there.

1- Join the Networks.
From the Warp and BoLS alliance can, and will, bring alot of traffic into your site. In 20 days, I have had half of my traffic come from those two parent sites. Though I think FTW is a richer and more group based community, BoLS is more visited (no offence Ron) so I highly recommend joining both.

2- Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a great way to monitor your site. You can see your daily traffic and see which days people visit more, or what posts people check the most. You can see how they visit your site, how long they spend there, even what country they are from and the language they read it in. I highly recommend adding it, as it can help you decide which content people like most and attract the most attention. Don't worry about Bounce Rate too much. Since it is a blog, people show up to read just the front page and don't really need to explore if they are a returning reader. Worry more about viewer loyalty. Plus it is cool to know that you have 1 reader from the Isle of Man (or whatever little random country).

3- Pictures
I noticed that just adding a picture to a post increases the number of visits I have. I believe this is because of the synopsis of a post that appears on blogrolled sites. When you have a cool thumbnail picture appear on another site, people click it. As well, once on your site, they are more likely to read a post with some pictures than just text.

4- Blogrolls
Early on I emailed many fellow bloggers and was added to their blogroll. In return I added them. This is beneficial to you and the community. This is what makes the networks strong and definately helps traffic. This ties in with the pictures.

5- Descriptive posts
People do random google searches for things like "Salamanders Space Marines". If you mention that several times in a post about them, then you will have higher search engine traffic. If you say it once, then it lowers your chances. And as Ron suggested in the comments, make the title of the post descriptive as well. Be specific on what it is about.

6- Unique content
Try to write about stuff that hasn't been done (or overdone) and write about what you like to write about and what you are good at writing. Or a gimic like Kantor Base and his Friday pictures. And Stay on topic don't stray too far from what the core is (in this case Warhammer)

7- Layout
Make it easy to follow and show everything avaliable. Descriptive tags also help.

8- Links
Link to anything you refer to. Don't send people searching for that post you made 2 weeks ago or that article hidden on the GW site. This also goes for refrencing. If you aren't going to describe that rule then tell people the page in the rule book it is on.

Well, there are my blogging tips. Hope they help.

Tactica: Allies (Part One)

UPDATED JUNE 19 1:20 PM

This is a multi-part article on taking Allies.

Imperial Armies have an ability that no other army has: Allies. There are two codices from which they can take their allied units: Daemonhunters and Witchhunters. I am going to do a quick review on the common ground between the 2 codices today and what they can bring to the game.

One of the most common things you will see taken as allies is an Inquisitor to access an Assassin. Typically they are taken from the Daemonhunter list, as many regard the Daemonhunter Inquisitors better with preferable wargear. Psycannons and incinerators in particular both ignore invulnerable saves so TH&SS, Deamons, etc. etc. can't save. Targeters are also a really nice piece of wargear, and a must take in my opinion at a mere one point. It allows you to measure before shooting, so you can find out if you are in range. Put the Inquisitor in the rear of the squad so you can check for the whole squad essentially. So just stretch out that measureing tape and measure all around. Both types of Inquisitors have their distinct advantages though and will be covered in later posts.
As far as assassins go, I prefer the Vindicare, but I will briefly cover them all.
ALL: Fearless, Infiltrate, Independent (can't join anything) and all saves are Invulnerable (4+)
Vindicare:
Sniper. He hits on a 2+ wounds on a 4+ AND he gets to choose the model he shot. So you can pick out characters, sergeants, special and heavy weapons. With an AP of 2 on his rifle, he can pretty much kill anyone. No targeting restrictions, so he can shoot Ind Characters within 6" of another squad, usually a no-no. A S5 SP2 pistol.He reduces target cover saves by -1 and gets 2d6x5 LOS in Night Fight. He can only be shot at under Night Fight rules, and if it is Night Fight, you half the distance. Finally he has 3 special sniper rounds, one ignores inv. saves, one inflicts 2 wounds on which ever model is hit OR is an S3+3D6 Armour Penetration against vehicles, and the final one wounds on a 2+ (hit 2+ wound 2+ AP 2). This is pobably the most usefull across the board, as he can eliminate key elements in any army all the same and is not better versus some than others. Put him in range of as many objectives as possible and pick off guys that will annoy you when you try and take those objectives. Or in a KP mission, kill characters. One shot, one kill, one KP (or 3 for 'ard Boyz).

Culexus:
To charge, shoot at or attack the Culexus with a Psychic power your enemy needs to pass a LD test. Its weapon is 12" S5 AP1 Assault 2 and gets +1 Assault for ever psyker within range. That means allied psykers, such as Inquisitors and Librarians, count as well. Even without psykers nearby, this can glance AV12 and Penetrate AV11. The one thing you must be wary of with allies around is that ALL models within 12" have their LD reduced to 7 unless it is already lower than that. BUT where this is usefull is if the Culexus is attacking a Psyker. Within 6" it can use psych out grenades which force the Psyker to pass a LD test, and lose a wound by each point it fails by, which gives you just under 1/2 chance of doing a wound, but a 2/3 chance of doing 2+ wounds if you succeed in dealing a wound. Psykers within 6" have to pass morale tests or fall back (at LD7). The Assassin can always allocate any type of attack to a psyker. In close combat with a psyker, before doing any attacks, roll 2D6 and add LD (10 for the Assassin, 7 for the psyker) and if the psyker loses, he takes one wound automatically, no type of saves allowed. This wound counts towards combat resolution. This is good against Eldar, Chaos Daemons, and Tyranid Armies who all have a bunch of psykers typically. SM, WH, CSM and Dark Eldar to a lesser extent. Don't bother with Tau or Necrons. Just hunt down psykers. Usually they are a KP as they are typically an HQ choice. They are really potent against the new IG psyker battle squad, so if your opponent has them or like them, go ahead and take this guy. He should easily dispatch them. And a Primaris Psyker is another KP himself, so he is another valid target.

Callidus:
First is the C'Tan Phase Sword, which allows no saves in Close Combat. Not even Inv. The only thing it doesn't work against is Necron C'Tan (It just absorbs it). 3 Attacks at WS5 I5 S4 makes that deadly, especially if you get the charge. The Neural shedder is a S8 Flamer that attacks versus LD values rather than T values. It is AP 1 and Assault one. What makes it really nice is it automatically gets D3 glancing hits on vehicles. But note it is a AP1 weapon, so you can still destroy a vehicle. She is always in reserves but when she arrives, she may be placed anywhere, and fights normally when she arrives (unlike deepstriking). She can disengage d6" away on a 2+. The last ability lets you move an enemy unit 6" at the end of deployment. Be carefull versus horde armies, as deploying in their midsts will just get you killed and moving one unit 6" is a drop in the bucket. Although Low LD armies can hurt, so IG are vulnerable. If you think you are good enough, Orks can be hurt too, although you probably will die rather fast. Though the Neural Shredder will really do a number. IG once again are really vulnerable here. Lots of vehicles and low LD guys (especially conscripts) are targets here. Tyranids can be usefull. Move a Monstrous creature out of cover so you can blast it and then shred into his low LD scoring units like gaunts.

Eversor:
Combat beefy dude. Bolt/Needle Combi-weapon Pistol. Needle wounds on a 4+. Power Weapon and Melta Bombs. Has wargear that wounds in combat on a 4+. So no armour saves and wounds on a 4+ at A4 WS5 I5 S4. As well, glances vehicles on a 6. What makes this all really nice is that on the charge, it gets +d6 attacks rather than just +1 and can assault 12". So you should ALWAYS get the charge, otherwise you are not doing it right. The eversor never counts as moving for shooting, though this is moot since Pistols are now assault 1 weapons. When an eversor dies, you center a blast over it and all models under it take an S5 hit. Same as the Vindicare. Usefull against anyone. Just destroys in combat, even in death. I'd say target a scoring unit and just eliminate them. One scoring unit gone for 95 points is a high ROI. Once your opponent sees the damage it unleashes, it probably won't be long for this world with your enemies shooting turn. In a KP mission, HQ's are your prefered target, where he can allocate his attacks against characters and just rack up the points.

Next up is Death Cult Assassins. 1 unit of 1-3, though they operate independently. Power Weapon and CCW at WS5 S4 I5 A2(3). 5+ inv saves. Fearless. Infiltrate. 40 pts a piece. Not the best, but not bad. You still need take an Inquisitor in the force, but these can rampage around for a bit before being killed. Good against low I armies where they can at least do damage before dying. Target scoring units and do as much damage as possible.

Last of all is Inquisitorial Stormtroopers. While their guns are not as powerfull now as IG stormtroopers, these guys still have targeters and are slightly cheaper. And their sergeants have access to the Armouries of the DH and WH codices, so can take some select and nice wargear (Even Power Armour). 2 Special Weapons allowed in the squad as well. Rhino or Chimera Transport, which can have psycannon bolts if bought from the DH list. And they are a scoring unit with 4+ saves. Alltogether not a bad choice and can give some cheap yet decent guys to an army. An inquisitor attached to them can really beef the squad and they can deal with some of the best scoring units in the game, such as plague marines, so long as tehy are kitted right (plasma or melta). And if you want to make an IG stormtrooper company, then these guys are really the only way to do it rule wise.

Well there is post one. Next time, Daemonhunter specific units.

Hobby Work: Blood Angels and Deceiver Commission

Sorry for the bad lighting. Did this on the fly with a friends camera (inferior to mine at that) and without a good setup as I usually do.

Messing around with GW snow flock. I don't really like it and prefer the Gale Force 9 that I used on my Mephiston. I think I am going to order up a tub for the rest of my models. The head I put on at the same time. Just Cut the eagle of an IG head and painted on an 8 pointed star. (NOTE There is a little white spot on head that looks like a skull. This is not actually there but is rather something in the photo. Dust or something.)


Here is my converted Axe Mortalis. My old one broke off and I lost it, so I made this one, which I thin is better anyways. It uses the an SM command sprue banner pole/crozius top. The Winged skull one. I just cut off one wing for what I needed. The rest is an SM Veteran power axe. I cut the blade off so I could remove the top, seperating the power cable from the main body as well. I then placed the skull on, and attached the blade and the cable. Tada. Bigger wing than Dante's typically.


I also pinned Dante to the stem of a flying base which I then put on a normal 25mm base by carving out a hole and molding some green stuff around to make sure it held Dante's weight.


Just a Blood Angel Tactical Marine. The sheild is a Brettonian Pauldron with a free styled blood drop. It really looks good in person (or higher quality photos). I also did some battle damage as you can see, as if his hand had been blown off. Even some bone sticking out. Once again, would be better with better photos.


Okay, The Deceiver, or rather the Gayceiver as my friend wanted. Basically they decided the Deceiver was gay (in and out of game) and needed to come out of the closet (or tomb in his case). This is what they asked for. So I delivered. Of course my first commission is the oddest I will ever have.
From a hobby aspect I am kind proud. The middle of the sash was missing so I had to sculpt it out of Green Stuff. The skin I think turned out rather nice, and if I had to do my own Deceiver, I think I would do it the same way, though not the rest of it. I'd lose the lips and rainbow sash, but that is what they asked for.
To get the clouds, I just used a cotton ball and pulled it apart some.
Now go ahead and laugh at it, but I was not too proud to resist the challenge they set before me. They wanted a Gay looking model and I believe I delivered.
AND DON'T LET IT REFLECT ON ME! I painted what the client wanted, not what I would want a deceiver to be.

Apocalypse Tactic: Eldrad

Okay, in playing the second round of the Lucky 13's battle this past week, I was inspired to write up an article on the use of Eldrad Ulthuan in Apocalypse/Megabattle Games.
First of all Eldrad has Divination which is a pseudo version of Strategic Redeployment. Before first turn, you can reposition D3+1 Units within your deployment zone. This can turn out to be very usefull if your side deployed first, giving you a chance to get LOS you need, or get into cover from something.

Next up are his psychic powers
Doom- Target a non-vehicle unit within 24". Re-Roll to wound against that unit. So any power weapon squads become particularly deadly. Twin linked weapons are double guaranteed. This can be used to take out those annoying unit like Nob Bikerz and TH&SS terminators.

My Favourite in Apocalypse: Eldritch Storm: Don't bother shooting this at infantry. Not really worth it. What you want to do is shoot it at vehicles. Even better is super heavies.
Here is what you do: Use Divination to get withing 18 inches of a superheavy. You then Eldritch Storm it in your shooting phase to spin it around so you see its rear armour. Great way to kill them first turn. Works best if you have first turn (and if you have allied Tau with Rail Guns). And Eldrad can do this from withing a vehicle, so a Falcon can increase his chances of survival and give him mobility to reach a new vehicle each turn.

Fortune: Use this as needed to keep squads alive. Great if a squad looses a transport or is going to be vulnerable for some reason.

Guide: Use this to kill vehicles with your lance weaponry or as needed otherwise.

Mind War: Take out enemy characters, especially ones that grant abilities like Rites of Battle or extra attacks to squads they are around.

He can use 3 of the above per turn so long as he is not in assault, and may use one twice if he wishes too (spin 2 vehicles with eldritch storm).

Put Eldrad into a Seer Council with some Warlocks and they become even more potent, or if you dig up the old 13th Black Crusade Book and use and Ulthwe Council with the Avatar in it, they are super deadly.

His wargear is also great
Runes of Warding makes all enemy psychic powers harder. Runes of Witnessing make all of his easier.
So Runes of Warding along with guys with psychic hoods as allies becomes rather potent, meaning fewer get through and then they can be blocked still by a hood.
He wounds on a 2+ with a power weapon. Has a 3+ inv save and a 3+ save from perils. A witch blade and shiruken pistol to boot just add some flexibility.

Basically, you want him to stay out of combat to spin vehicles and buff squads, all the time protected by warlocks. Though they can easily engage in combat with all those whitch blades.

Good Allies to be Taken with: Tau, SM, IG, and Chaos. I know the last isn't fluffy, but it is practical.

So there you go. This guy can be a huge benefit. I recommend taking him if you have a small contingent of Eldar.

New Datasheets: Apocalypse in Gotham City

UPDATED 10PM
POLL RELATED POST

NOTE THESE RULES ARE PURELY FOR FUN! NOTICE THE HUMOUR TAG ON THE POST.
So a friend was looking at my Imperial Guard High Command Squad Datasheet and saw the orderly named Batman. Two hours later we came up with these two datasheets:

The Dark Knight and The Joker.

So check them out. We think that while quite rediculous, they are rather balanced against each other, and the Why So Serious Rule should keep them from being interfered with. Batman should be too busy trying to catch the Joker to be abusive to the game and the Joker should be too busy trying to avoid Batman to be abusive, and if he becomes abusive, chances are Batman dies and he looses his abusive abilities.

Enjoy. And Tell me what you think of them right over there ->

Poll Results
Woah, those are crazy awesome and fun and I can't wait to use them! 1 (10%)
Those look fun, I will try them. 1 (10%)
I can take them or leave them. 2 (20%)
I won't use them. 2 (20%)
What were you thinking. That doesn't belong in the game and is totally against 40k! 4 (40%)

Alot more negative than I thought it would get. I guess some people just can't take a Joke. To anyone reading this now, they aren't serious. Just for fun.

Chaos Deamons 2000 pt List

Epidemius- 110
Flamers(6)- 240: Bolt of Tzeentch
Flamers(6)- 240: Bolt of Tzeentch
Flamers(6)- 240: Bolt of Tzeentch
Plague Bearers(9)- 165: Icon, Instrument of Chaos
Plague Bearers(9)- 160: Icon
Plague Bearers(9)- 160: Icon
Deamon Prince- 255- MoN, Cloud of Flies, Iron Hide, Unholy Might, Deamonic Flight, Breath of Chaos
Deamon Prince- 255- MoN, Cloud of Flies, Iron Hide, Unholy Might, Deamonic Flight, Breath of Chaos
Soul Grinder- 175- Phlegm, Tounge

Pts: 2000 Scoring Units: 3 KPs: 9, 16 ('ard Boyz)

Tactics

This army is geared towards Epidemius' Tally. The Key is to get the DP's into combat fast and start racking up a tally. They shoud get the lower ends fast, which then allows the Plague Bearers to start actually being rather effective in combat themselves so they can add to the tally.

The Soul Grinder is a must in my own humble opinion. It can deal with Vehicles with Tounge and Space Marines with Phlegm.

The Flamers Breath of Chaos is really nice, and one bolt makes them able to take out vehicles as well.

Place Epidemius with a unit of Plague Bearers to give them some umph.

Classic: Kerrunch

So someone in my club picked up this classic game at the Bizarre Bazaar last Saturday for $20.

Kerrunch is the predeccessor to Blood Bowl. All in all from what we saw, it is much less strategic, much faster, and less complicated. I would call it a board game instead of a wargame.

One interesting thing is you drop your "Block" dice essentially into the lid onto a grid to see if you hit or missed your opponent. If it lands on a hit, then the number versus the targets race determines the result. Elves always get stunned at least, while orcs are the most resilient, although all of the die on a result of a 6.

Movement is random. A d6 is rolled each turn, though elves add 2 to their roll. Though if you roll poorly, a Dwarf can still outrun him. This is part of what draws away from the strategy. Very random movement.

There is no kickoff, rather both teams start in the endzone and charge the middle to pick up the ball.

In 4 turns, there were over 6 deaths, and many numerous injuries.

The game that we played saw the Dwarves and Humans of the Bright Crusaders beat the Elves and Orcs of the Darkside cowboys, 3-1, with the Cowboys only feilding 3 people in the last turn.

You would think those elves and orcs would have an advantage that far up and with possession. Then they hit the line and die.

1000 pt Team Tourney list: Help me choose

Poll Related Post

So I have a 1000 pt team tournament coming up. That is each player has 1000 pts for a total of 2000.

Force Org is as follows:
1 HQ
1-3 Troops
0-1 Elites
0-1 Fast Attack
0-1 Heavy Support
You are allowed one floating choice per player, but they can't be the same type. That is I can choose to take 2 Elites, but then my teammate would only be allowed the 1 and would have to take floating elsewhere.

Tournament uses Adepticon rules.

I am playing my Blood Angels, but need to get certain things painted and fast. So that means I need to know exactly what I am painting before hand. Which means I need my list. Now.

My team mate is playing Tau, so will be providing some ranged support. I will have his lists up later for you to see.

List One
Lemartes:125
Death Company(8): 190-Jump Packs
Assault Squad(5): 190- Power Weapon, Plasma Pistol x 2, Melta Bomb
Assault Squad(5): 185- Power Weapon, Plasma Pistol x 2
Assault Squad(5): 170- Power Fist
Vindicator: 145- Extra Armour, Pintile Storm Bolter

Pts: 1000 Scoring Units: 3 KPs: 5, 10 ('ard Boyz)

List Two
Dante: 200
Honour Guard(5): 215- 2 x Power Weapon, Standard Bearer, Blood Angels Banner, Melta Gun
Death Company(3): 15- Jump Packs
Assualt Squad(5): 165- Power Fist
Assualt Squad(5): 155- Power Weapon, Melta Bomb
Vindicatior: 145- Extra Armour, Pintile Storm Bolter

Pts: 1000 Scoring Units: 2 KPs: 6, 9 ('ard Boyz)

So go ahead and vote. Short poll so vote know. AND Comment on what you think or any suggestions/modifications.

POLL RESULTS:
Which List would you use?
List One- Lemartes/DC 5 (83%)
List Two- Dante/HG 1 (16%)