2012 Tournaments

Well - 2011 is almost done and we are staring at 2012 hard in the face.  So I'm already starting to make my plans for my tournament schedule for the year.    It's cool that so many tournaments - both local and national exist - and I'm looking forward to getting into as many as I can this year.

So far here is whats on the list:

Battle for Stones River:   Great little local tournament ran by Grand Adventures in M'boro.  It's based around the Civil War battle of the same name:  1863 points, rivers and bridges on all boards.  Around a 50'sh person total tournament.  Good missions, well run little tournament - and local as well.

Adepticon 2012:   The big poppa of all tournaments.   Team and Nationals sold out in two days this year.  Once again I will journey with my brothers to Chi-town - meet up with great friends (Swanson - we pick you to buy the first round this year) - and play some tough games of 40K.   You have to go to this to experience it - the Mecca of 40K tournament geekiness.

The Kalm before the Waaagh:   In all honesty, the only tournament I go to where I truly don't care how I do - and just want to play and have fun.  It's held in a bar.   Whacky missions.    The TO is a true gentleman and someone I call friend - Mr. George Flowers.  Last year mother nature whacked this one with a massive tornado - but I hope it's back for 2012.

The America's Team Championship:   This is now my most fun tournament.   It's put on by Dicehead Games and Grand Adventures - 5 man teams ala ETC format.  I'm back with my same team for last year - all locked and loaded to play.  Held in Cleveland this year - it WILL be a blast and is a must do tournament as far as I'm concerned.

That's it for now.  I will try a few local events as they occur.   One smaller local shop - Wargames LLC has been running great little fun tourneys that I've been enjoying.    Just fun things.

Tyranid Unit Analysis - Genestealers

Introduction
I'm going to provide a series of articles on individual unit analysis for Tyranids. I am only going to cover the units I use as I have no in depth experience with others. Note that I use a pure reserve army - that is no unit starts on the table deployed prior to the first turn. I'll cover how and why I bring each type of unit onto the table in each of these articles.


Reserving your Entire Army
The beauty of a pure reserve army for Tyranids is threefold:

1) Foremost you can eliminate the restrictions of normal deployment. I have played many games versus Tyranids over the years with shooty armies... Typically only a few battered Tyranid units would get close enough to my battle line to inflict any serious damage and I had dedicated melee units waiting and ready to counter assault. Cover saves were much harder to come by prior to 5th edition so dedicated shooting versus Tyranids was very effective and they would often suffer massive losses while crossing open ground during the first two turns.

Outflanking, deep striking and mycetic spores are the three main methods to hold your Tyranid units in reserve. Genestealers have the option to infiltrate as well as outflank - I've found outflanking to often be much more effective. It's important to place some of the objective markers close to both short table edges so that if a brood of genestealers arrive on the wrong side while outflanking they can still control an objective marker - genestealers are a scoring unit so take advantage !

Yrmgal genestealers can arrive from reserve in a piece of terrain then move, fleet and launch an assault the same turn. As such Yrmgal genestealers can be an effective counter versus an opponent that castles their army smack dab in the middle of their deployment zone.

So basically you're running a three pronged attack with your genestealers - the regular genestealer broods attack along either flank while the Yrmgal genestealers push towards the center. As such it's hard for opponent to completely deny them a charge when they do arrive.

Waves
Prior to 5th edition one of the main tactics was to run your Tyranid army in waves. The first wave was composed of fast cheap units such as gargoyles and Ravenors - Their main purpose was to tarpit the opponent and quickly eliminate the threat of enemy shooting - note that mechanized armies could ignore the first wave for the most part but back then metal bawks were often burning death traps; that is, you didn't see a lot of effective mechanized armies in 4th edition... Many armies were comprised mostly of infantry.

The second wave was also composed of more fast hard units such as winged Hive Tyrants to come and destroy enemy units or cripple them to the extent that they were no longer a real threat.

The third and final wave was composed of units such as genestealers and Carnifexen to finish off the enemy. 4th edition Tyranid lists were dominated byba large amount of Carnifexen - up to six T6 4W units that could lay down a withering amount of midrange firepower. Carnifexen taken as heavy support had access to a 2+ armor save so they were fairly immune to missile launchers. That's all changed now and Tyranids in 5th edition have been designed to be fielded as a horde which is true to their fluff. It is what it is.

2) Holding your entire army in reserve cuts down on the amount of damage your opponent can inflict via shooting during the first part of the game - at least two turns if you happen to go second. It's quite helpful and a much better approach rather than using waves.

3) Third is the psychological advantage you can gain... Your opponent doesn't know where you'll arrive and this can force them to possibly make some big mistakes during their initial deployment. Psychology is very important for any game. You want your spirits to be up but you also don't want to be overconfident as well.


Genestealers
Genestealers have always been a top unit and in both 4th and 5th editions they are a troop choice. At first I thought genestealers should be your only troop choice for 5th edition but I've learned that gaunts are really good too if you've got enough synapse to spread around the battlefield. I field two units of 10 genestealers (both with a Broodlord) and one brood of 10 Yrmgal genestealers. My two troop choices have scything talons and toxin sacs. Scything talons lets you reroll ones to hit and toxin sacs let you reroll wounds versus enemy units that are T4 or less. Basically the philosophy here is to generate as many rending wounds|armor penetrations as possible. Genestealers can fleet, are I6|WS6 and don't have to take tests for instinctive behavior. They can also either infiltrate or outflank as I mentioned in the beginning of this article. Genestealers are a true workhorse and win games. They are also T4 which is pretty darn good for any non power armor army. They are your vanguard (i.e., first wave). Genestealers can roll right through most any enemy unit in melee except for landraiders and Monoliths.

So I've got 30 models that are total hard asses. Most Space Marine armies will be hard pressed to put that number of elite bodies on the table. On top of that I've also got close to the same number of gaunts. There is no Space Marine army that can field as many models and perform as well in my opinion.

Broodlords
The Broodlord functions like a Space Marine sergeant - it is a squad character that cannot be picked out in melee. The Broodlord is the equivalent of an HQ with three wounds, S5, T5, I7 and more base attacks than the basic genestealer plus they are cheap for what you get points wise. The Broodlord can eat a wound from a missile launcher or lascannon and keep on ticking... As such they can soak a couple wounds just like Draigo does. Broodlords also have a built in psychic power Aura of Despair that lowers enemy leadership by -1. Couple this with the Tyranid psychic power Shadows in the Warp and you can mess with Grey Knights - believe me when I say they don't like that either way you serve it up to them. Every time you block any Grey Knight psychic power is a great thing for Tyranids. For example if you hose up their psychic power Sanctuary a full squad of genestealers assaulting a squad of Paladins will really hurt them... At worse you are striking simultaneously in melee versus halberds and all those rending attacks bypass their 2+ terminator armor save. Strip off each Paladin's first wound and they are no better than a Grey Knight terminator in melee versus genestealers. If you must engage Paladins in melee it's all about taking them down one notch at a time.


Yrmgal Genestealers
Like I said I take one squad of ten. They are immune to the Grey Knight psychic power Warp Quake and can arrive from reserve right in the middle of the table. Yrmgal genestealers have the ability to morph +1 attack, +1S or +1T each turn. Basically the way it plays out is you first morph +1A followed by +1S then keep repeating ad nauseum. +1T is not that great compared to the other two morphs... It is what it is. Yrmgal genestealers also have a 4+ armor save so they have some decent protection from bolters other than being a basic T4. They are an elite choice. Tyranids have unfortunately lots and lots of great elite choices - the only two I take are the Yrmgals and Zoanthropes.


Conclusions
So I have told you a bit about how I play my army and what are the most inherent strengths of genestealers in general. Tyranids are now truly intended to be played as a horde army which is true to their background. Genestealers work very well in a full reserve army since they can outflank.

Nemesis Dreadknight Tactica

Here is my first tactical article on the technical application of the Nemesis Dreadknight (NDK).

First up is how I kit mine:

— Personal Teleporter (PT)
— Heavy Incinerator (HI)







I am not a fan of the sword as it's expensive plus you give up one attack. An NDK with two Doomfists has a base of four attacks and five on the charge. The NDK is WS5 so he is hitting most units on a 3+ which is good enough for me. They can pound the heck out of armor in melee since they are monstrous creatures (2d6 armor penetration coupled with S7 via Hammerhand) and should be able to take out a five man squad of Marines in no more than two rounds of melee. Versus a razorspam army an NDK can quickly roll up an entire flank - pops transports with your psyflemen and psycannons while your NDK eats whatever spills out.

I have always outflanked my NDK - nothing on the table can hide from his HI template the turn he arrives by using his shunt move... 30" onto the table from either short edge plus another 12" to place the template plus another 8" for the template. That's a total distance of 50" ! Therefore the NDK can always cover more than the length of the table (roughly 70 percent) in one turn with the HI template. If you're playing against an army with lots of mech it's fairly easy to drop the HI template across the rear sides of two vehicles. I remember one game versus Imperial Guard when my NDK destroyed a squadron of two Leman Russ using this tactic. Sure the dice were very hot but it can happen. The NDK was shot off the table the following turn but he had left a big mark with two smoking craters. This tactic is also useful if you need to dig out a heavily entrenched enemy troop such as dark eldar Warriors.

Another tactic I have used with the NDK is to use his shunt move to cut off an assault from an enemy unit versus my Paladins or Grey Knight terminators. The NDK has a huge base so it's quite easy to position him in such a manner as to completely block off another friendly unit from the enemy charge arc. This tactic buys you some much needed extra time and helps to ensure your Paladins, Grey Knight terminators or a squad of Purifiers will be able to charge the following turn rather than be charged. I used this tactic once to prevent a large squad of Death Company mounted in a Blood Angels Stormraven from assaulting my Paladins. The next turn my Librarian successfully cast Quicksilver and the Paladins cut down the entire squad of enemy Death Company.

Returning to the topic of options (wargear) you can spend lots and lots of points on an NDK such as including a gatling heavy psilencer as a second weapon. Sure the big gun looks really cool but as I said in the beginning I just stick with the personal teleporter and heavy incinerator - he costs almost as much as a landraider equipped as such and to me there is no need to tack on any more unnecessary points. The personal teleporter while very expensive is a must have - a walking NDK will be shot off the table more often than not before he can launch one assault. If you are going to spend all those points it's worth it to take the teleporter as it makes the NDK much more of a big threat, which is exactly what you want.

Typically I will only ever use at most one NDK and that is only for games at 2500 points or more. The NDK is situational at best while psyflemen always tend to do well and are roughly half the cost each - so you can almost afford to take two psyflemen in place of one NDK. An NDK can make for some exciting moments in a game though so there is always that potential. Versus armies such as lance heavy dark eldar the NDK has a very short predicted life span on the table - the enemy will quickly blast him into a pulp from a position of safe range and there's not much you can do to prevent it either. Sometimes the NDK is nothing more than expensive fire magnet drawing enemy firepower away from the rest of your army so in my opinion the NDK is more of a fun unit to play as opposed to a really competitive melee beast. Sure there are times he will shine but there will probably be more times when he comes and goes just as quickly.

Taking my Mordrak list to 1850

All right I have been playing my Mordrak list exclusively at 1500 points as of late. For whatever reason all the tournaments lately have been 1500 points. The one coming up at the end of this month is 1850 however and I am looking to take my 1500 point list to 1850. My 1500 list is:

Mordrak + 3 Ghost Knights w/Halberds

Librarian w/Homer, Rift, Shrouding, Sanctuary & Might

5 Termies 4 w/Halberds 1 w/Hammer Psycannon

10 Man Strike Squad Halberd 2 x Psycannon Psybolt Ammo

Storm Raven w/TLLC & TLMM

Dreadnought w/ 2 x TLAC & Psybolt Ammo

Dread Knight w/Great Sword & Heavy Incinerator

My 1500 point list has been doing great going 9-1 at the last three tournies. (Would be undefeated by I had a cranial - rectal inversion in my last game.) Now I could just add some purifiers or some more dreads but I don't like spamming units and am trying to actually have some theme to my army. I envision this list as a planetary assault force led by Mordrak. Everything either needs to deep strike in or ride in a Raven. Thus only one dread. I could put purifiers in the Raven but that is usually the command group's ride. I very rarely deep strike Mordrak and his men. Thus I am left with a couple of options either more termies, strikes or interceptors. After thinking about it I am going to add a ten man squad of interceptors. My reasons are 1) they actually can move fast which other than the raven everything is very slow in my army once it lands. 2) I can make them scoring if I need to using the grand strategy and 3) If I do deep strike Mordrak first turn their 30" move allows them to support his group.
All right I will have a ten man squad with justicar w/hammer and 2 x psycannons. Here is where I could use some opinions. I have 60 points left over after this. I have come up with two trains of thought on how to use these. The first is give the interceptors psybolt ammo and add a heavy psycannon to the knight or give Mordrak another buddy. I like this because it makes my two big squads have strength 5 stormbolters which are good for applying wounds to meqs and mowing down horde orks (which we seem to have a lot of around here). I could go either way on the extra termie or the heavy psycannon I will have to get some practice in to see which I like better.

The second option is to drop the psybolt ammo on the strikes and add a personal teleporter to the Knight. I would probably tack the other five points on to the strikes to get their justicar a hammer. I like this idea because it gives me another fast unit to complement the interceptors. Plus I could also use this with the interceptors and a first turn Mordrak deep strike to really put some pressure on an enemies weak spot or flank. Three units basically deep striking in with out deviating could really put a crimp in an opponent's plans and put him on the defensive. If am able to give the knight and the interceptors scout I could basically move 42" on the first turn and lay a lot of shooting on my opponent plus they would then have a bunch of angry silver men to deal with on the next turn. Coupled with a turboing Raven filled with termies I could in theory overwhelm a flank before my opponent could mount an adequate response.

Well there are my two trains of thought. Just wondering what you guys think. Would appreciate and comments or constructive criticism.

Knock-Off Companies - Good or Bad?

Ok - a little discussion around something that I'm seeing a lot of lately.   There seems to have been an upsurge in people who are making knock off copies of GW products.   I'm sure many of us have seen the websites that offer "Forgeworld" products for a fraction of the prices of the real thing.    Prices almost too good to be true.  Most of these seem to be from China - who is well known for having little regard for copy right laws or others intellectual properties.

I have heard several views on this.  It's a great deal.  Good products and a great price.  GW price gouges us and is a terrible company to it's loyal customer base.  The list of reasons why it's a good thing goes on and on.   The guys doing this are probably just a few talented folks that want to make a buck, and live in a dirt poor part of the world.

But I am concerned about what the impact of this is on the people who make our games.  Let's say it's GW- my personal favorite.   Games Workshop is in business to make money.  Period.  I'm sure they love games and gamers - are probably gamers themselves - and aren't out to "exploit" their fanbase.  But they company has to make money.  No money - no reason to be in business - no hobby for us to play.   They invest a lot of money in their intellectual property.   Let's face it - almost no other company has the pagentry and story lines that the Games Workshop universe offers.   How many total Black Library books have they published to date.   Their investment in their products is far from insignificant.

So to me it seems unfair that they have no way of protecting this with the bootleggers.   I personally think it is wrong for the knockoffs.   At the end of the day though - they stay in business because we - the gaming community-support them.   We look at the short term that we get to save a couple bucks - and forget the long term that the company that is REALLY making the product - has to make money to keep making the product.

As gamers, we have to make our choices on where we get our stuff.  I try to support the local stores as much as possible.  Without them I don't have a place to play and a distributor of the stuff I want to buy.   That's my personal choice.   I encourage each of us to think about the impacts of where we spend our hobby dollars beyond just the best deal you can get.

Thoughts?

Adepticon 2012

So - Adepticon planning has begun for the Blade and Bolter Boys.  Something new for us this year - after three years of Ultramarines in the team tourney.  The Team Tourney is the main reason that we attend Adepticon - a ton of fun with good friends.  Nothing against the rest of the tournament - but the Team is something special.   We've been in the top 5 last two years - but still missed out on any of the awards.  So close - but still so far away.

Anyone else going and have you started planning already?

Draigowing Xs & Os • Shooting 101 • Psyflemen

NOTE
As a brief note I'd first like to mention I no longer am fielding Draigo for army - I'm using a generic Grand Master in his place. The swap allows me to take grenades, not wasting the points for the overcosted Techmarine, plus I arm mine with a psycannon as well. So I'm not sure what exactly to call the army - technically it's not a true Draigowing list for the obvious reason given above.




Introduction
I'll now move on to the subject matter which will be a short tactical piece about using psyflemen. I find that most Grey Knight players who use psyflemen field two to three. Currently I'm using two in my 2k list. Psyflemen are one of the few units in the codex that appear to be undercosted in terms of what you get for their points. Long range AT was a major problem for the old codex - there weren't any really good cheap choices for the points. A few players had success using landraiders but this was an expensive approach and shoehorned the armies into a one dimensional style... Sit back and shoot the entire game. Dreadnaughts were ineffective since they were easy to pop plus they didn't benefit from The Shrouding and did not have Fortitude. With the release of the new codex it didn't take long for the 40k community to figure just how good are the new psyflemen. To me a psyfleman dreadnaught is better than a squad of Long Fangs with five missiles... On average you will get just as many hits plus the psyfleman can move and shoot which is a major advantage over Long Fangs. Take Fortitude into consideration and you've simply got a better heavy support unit. Of course I haven't really said anything so far most people don't already know but this is the introduction. ; )

Deployment
Let's first consider deployment for Pitched Battle and Dawn of War. Let's also start off by assuming the Grey Knight army has two psyflemen just to keep it simple. I had a friend recently tell me the best deployment is to put one dreadnaught in each corner of your deployment zone (DZ) - the reason being this will help to ensure more side shots on enemy transports. At first I didn't take him serious and thought maybe he was trying to trick me into deploying in that manner. If you deploy both psyflemen on the centerline of your DZ they can shoot up to 80 percent of the distance to the far corners which leaves a small pocket of 12" radius in your opponent's two table corners. A smart IG player might deploy their Manticores in their corners but other than that I don't see any major advantages for the opponent. Deploying both dreads on the centerline also means they can both benefit from your Librarian casting The Shrouding. On the other hand if you deploy them in the far corners it will be hard to support them, they can be targeted by outflanking units and their fields of fire have very little overlap - just doesn't make much sense to me just for a chance to shoot at side armor. Also note that a smart opponent can deploy and move their transports in such a manner to drastically limit shots on their side armor to the bulk of their transports and it's actually fairly easy to do. Finally versus an army such as dark eldar they can easily pop one dread then flank around to hit you on an exposed side, cutting your long range AT in half on the first turn.

Now let's consider the case of an army with three psyflemen. The addition of an extra dreadnaught opens up another dimension in terms of using deployment to your best advantage. Against IG I would most likely setup one on the centerline and one 12" away on either side. Your fields of fire now all overlap and overall cover the entire table. It might be worth investing the extra points to upgrade one or two to Venerable class since they won't all be protected by The Shrouding.

The third deployment (Spearhead) is an interesting choice as deploying in a table quarter can drastically limit your field of fire - no wonder IG players hate this one so much. The important thing to remember is your opponent is in the same boat. I would generally place my dreads (whether it's two or three) back along the diagonal line using cover when available and if appropriate. You'll quickly be able to reach midfield with the bulk of your army which is where Draigowing style armies can really shine. It is pretty simple when you think about it for just a moment. : )

Targeting
At first glance this might seem rather obvious but versus certain armies such as razorspam or IG it's not quite that simple. Razorspam is going to sit still for the most part during the beginning of the game and hope for the opportunity to alphastrike. IG on the other hand will be moving the vets forward to blast your Paladins and GKT with massed melta and plasma. What you need to keep in mind is that you should use your mix of psycannons (Paladins and GKT) with your dreadnaughts to most effectively deal with high multiple threats - that is shoot the transports with your psycannons and use the autocannons to pick off longer ranged threats such as Vendettas and Manticores. You might be best served to combine the two weapons platforms to take out a big chunk of transports the first turn in an alphastrike if the opportunity presents itself. Versus razorspam I'd probably focus on destroying the razorbacks first then deal with Predators and Vindicators.

Conclusion
I've focused this article primarily upon the best use of psyflemen giving specific examples how to deploy and target select your firing solutions. Remember as I said above sometimes it's best to combine your weight of fire using both the psycannon and autocannon to alphastrike and decimate a particular component of your opponent's army.

New techniques for relaxation - how to improve your game

The circular symbol above is often used to represent Zen. It is sometimes likened to the cosmic serpent devouring it's own tail. This has a direct connection to the end of the world - the beginning and the end. I think it's pretty cool.





I believe that when you are relaxed AND focused you play your best. As a caveat never underestimate any opponent or any army - the dice gods can hurt you and to me it's just like Mother Nature.

So I want to talk about some simple techniques you can use to help improve your game. I have to say I cannot always play at this level all the time due to my nature. I sure wish I could though and when I do it's always a lot more fun - seriously.

1) Divorce yourself from winning at all costs. It's not worth it. Remember it's just a game. 40k is not like MtG or Warmachine due to the nature of the rules. If you read the rulebook and refer to the most important rule you'll see a philosophy imposed upon the game by the designers. The company does not frequently update their rules - we have to take what we get from them. I do believe they are striving to create more balance with each edition and each codex. They don't always get it right but I see an improvement. Don't let rules lawyers get under your skin - you can beat them by superior tactics and a better understanding of how you designed your army versus theirs.

I think that everyone who plays 40k likes to win - it's just natural. If you can not have to win every time then you can be more relaxed and focus better. This type of attitude does not mean you have to be a slacker or not want to win. It simply means that winning is not the most important thing when you play.

2) Maintain a positive attitude at all times. It can be really hard to do versus certain opponents for whatever reason but as I said in the first note by not wanting to win at all costs you will have more fun when you play. If a game is going really bad (e.g., bad dice, bad matchup, bad day or whatever) it's okay to just say "Okay you win." Go do something else with your time. This year I was playing in the fourth round of a major event and my dice were killing me. I knew I wouldn't make it to the top bracket the second day so I conceded the game after the fourth turn and then took a friend to dinner. Whether I won or lost that game it didn't really matter. In another major event I was playing on one of the top two tables in the last round and towards the end of the game I could see it would be impossible to play another turn which I would have needed to secure a win and come away with a top award. I excepted the restraint on time and settled for a draw instead of trying to force another turn. I'm still okay with that decision and accept the outcome.

3) The game is still part of a hobby. Put some energy into building a beautiful army and learn about the background of 40k. I can't keep count of how many times I've heard people say that the 40k background keeps them interested in the hobby. You might have one army you love to play the most but don't be afraid to pickup a new army. I started playing dark eldar this year (my first real non SM army) and it's been a lot of fun... I'm really glad I did. A friend suggested I play them as something different from the usual. You will learn more about the game the more armies you play. If you like to play challenging armies it's okay to play a stronger army. If you like to play the top armies it's okay to play a weaker army. Either way it can improve your overall game. Like I said 40k is more balanced now.

So that's it. If you don't always want to win every game then it's possible you can actually win more often. It's simple in theory but can be hard to do in actual practice. You have to make it a priority and remain focused at all times.

G

'Aard Boyz Battle Report

Ok - so I have never played in 'ard Boyz before.   Never.    For some reason, either schedule, number of gaming weekends I can talk the wife into, etc - I've never been able to go.   This year - one of the local gaming stores - Wargames LLC - had a spot open up and the owner (Baxter - all round great guy) asked me if I'd like it.   We'd just had a long trip over to Sabote land on a visit/family trip this summer - so I had a lot of good will built up with the wife, and decided to give it a go.

I was originally going to run a 6 Land Raider Blood Angel list - think that would...well....be a heck of a lot of Land Raiders for someone to deal with in one game.  But towards the last minute - decided to go with a modified Draigo Wing'sh Grey Knight army.

Army was something like this:

Draigo

Libby

2 X 5 man Paladins (apothecary and 2 Psycannons)

1 x 10 man Interceptor squad with 2 Psy's

1x10 man Purgation Squad with 4 Psy's

2 x Venerable Psy-flman Dreads

Dreadknight

A lot of firepower - resilient in HTH - overall a pretty balanced all comers list.

My rundown:

Game 1 - vs Jason's bugs.   Was a little concerned with the matchup - I wasn't sure I could keep the bugs off me.   Worked out well though - managed to divide and conquer them pretty well.   Low point was Dreadknight dying to Hormagaunt swarm.  High point was Pally squad nuke Hive Tryrant along with Draigo single handedly taking out full squad of winged warriors and then hunting down a remaining Zoanthrope for a KP.   Got the Massacre here plus a couple bonus points for 22.

Game 2 - vs Chip's Ultramarines.   Was an interesting matchup against a well balanced Marine army.   Chip had a lot of firepower and a good HTH hammer with assault termies - led by a Libby.   First half of the game I felt like I was pulling things my way - but in late game - I needed to push forward for middle objective which was a kill zone for Chips remaining firepower + his well positioned assault marines.    I had to go forward, but in hindsight should have pushed further away to avoid the assault marines(maybe).   Chip hammered me in late game for a Major win.   Low Point - poor tactics with Interceptors - basically threw them away.   High Point - Incinerator from Dreadknight dropping two speeders with one shot.  Chip out played me and got a well deserved win - managed 3 points.

Game three vs Colin and his Guard.   I was worried some here - lots of big tanks and firepower with vendettas and Creed for a commander.  It was dawn of war and the center of the board had a nice big ruin in the middle - I got first and put both Pally's there with the Libby.   Turned out to be the key - they held the board and decided the game from there.  The rest of the game turned out to be Knights shooting down guard and making a crap ton of saves.   Pulled a major here.   High point was initial deployment a big deciding factor.  Low point was the luckiest guardsman in the world - who got to live after my demonhammer wielding Justicar wiffed in HTH.

So - was in shock when I gave Baxter my scores and he says I'm in second.  Wow!   Then my friend Dung'er comes up and gives his score - and he's massacred his guy.   We are tied on total points!   VP wise he had the edge and got second and I got third.  Chip won it all and it was well deserved.

So - at Wargames - I had great opponents, fun games, and really had a ball.   An enjoyable day that I really needed after a high level of work stress the past few weeks.  Now to see if I can swing making the second round.....

Men playing a boys game…

Today I want to discuss an issue we all see in our game. It is one of these things that really sets me off and if you call yourself an adult it does it to you to. Just recently we had a local tournament in Cleveland TN called the Maul at the Mall. It was hosted by Dicehead Games based out of the same city. If you play tourney’s in Tennessee then you have heard about Dicehead and you know they are top notch. Forums throughout the internet hailed this as a good event with no drama. Then from out of the blue some dork posts on Blood of Kittens that there was some hometown cooking so a local could win the tourney. Now whatever it is you think about Blood of Kittens (I am not going there) this guy takes a good mauling at the hands of the people who attended the tournament and never responds again.

So last night I am at Ricks Comic City Too in Madison. Checking the store out, seeing who hangs there, doing some info gathering on Tourney they are hosting and I meet some super nice people up there. Talked to the owner of the store, very nice guy and some of the local 40k gamers there. During our conversation the guy I am talking to makes a comment about there being “no cliques in our store, we will play anyone.” This hit me from out of the blue because I know the game group I play with was being referenced. We have had issues with the mysterious clique and who the cool kids are at our local hang out and it seems word is being spread. I quickly spoke up and told the guy that we do not have cliques either and we will play anyone as well.

Now above we have two completely different incidents where problems exist or are alleged to exist. What is being done about it? Here is the part where I pull out my soap box and begin the sermon on how to be a man. I know my game group, we do have people that come to the store and play that some of our members refuse to play. Why? Is this a clique? Are there players at our local hangout that I won’t play…yep. Is it because I think I am better than they are or that they do not deserve to play me. Absolutely not.

You see here is my thing… I am an adult. I have a career, three great kids, a wonderful wife who has a career, a house , dogs, cats, debt, hobbies all of the big stuff we work hard for after we realize that college is over. I am not a judgmental person; I am person who likes the fact that people are different. Different is cool with me….to a point. Whether you know this or not when you are in a game room or at a tourney or some place where people frequent to play the game we love you are auditioning, for lack of a better word, to everyone else there. So if you act like a social retard that has no sense or hygiene or manners then chances are you are going to demonstrate to people that you may not be the most fun to play with. When you do play a game with someone for the first time do you think that maybe they are gonna talk to their friends about the game and how you acted….yes. So if you are a dork or a cheater do you not think word is gonna get around and your options suddenly become limited. Now I do not care about your past. I do not care about your issues. I do not care about your excuses. You are an adult…you are expected to act like it…even when you play a game like 40k. If you cannot do that then you will not be having a lot of fun and neither will the people that you are hanging with.

Now this is the part that pisses me off. If you are one of these guys that feels like your left out or not getting played with enough (I know that sounds bad) or people do not like you or you don’t fit in with a bunch of guys who play with little guys painted in a variety of colors…what are you gonna do about it? What typically happens is they talk to everyone else but the person they have an issue with. Or even better, they hide behind their computer screen and rage against the evil they have been dealt to a bunch of strangers on the internet. They throw little comments out to stir crap up and then never post again because that would be standing by your accusation or comment (like what I mentioned above).

Here is what needs to happen…MAN THE HELL UP. If you want to know why people don’t want to play you, man up and ask. If you think you are being treated unfairly ,man up and do something about it. How about stand face to face with the person you have an issue with and talk it out. You may not work the issue out but you know… you will have earned some respect and that is far more important than an opponent for a 40k game. If you think you need to post an issue on the internet have your crap together and defend your statement. If you think someone is cheating or playing wrong or breaking the rules or being a douche bag…man up right there and say something. Don’t wait and whine to a judge after the game is over. Call it like it is. Is this confrontational… Hell yes. Is this uncomfortable for some…sure.

Just because we love and play a kids game does not mean we forget about being adults. Talking to me goes a long way. Being man enough to bring an issue to the table goes along way. If you can’t act right and play right why am I gonna waste my time playing you. It will not be fun for either of us. Before people start talking about a clique then maybe they should start looking at themselves and then looking to fix the problem….like an adult. With our group we have the most diverse group of gamers I have ever seen. And we are very comfortable playing each other. We are not exclusive, we are here to play.

Using Mordrak and the Ghost Knights

First I would like to thank Al for adding me to his talented roster of writers. I first ran into Al and his crew at the Big Waagh a few years ago. I lost overall to another author Brian Crew (even though I beat him and all the other BNB guys I played). We kept in touch over the years and I just fit into their group. And when they couldn't find anyone else they let me play with them in the ATC.

Enough about that stuff, I would like to talk about my recent experiences with Grey Knights. Like everyone else when the codex dropped I couldn't wait to see it. All plastic models with some gorgeous ones to boot, I really wanted a GK army to replace my old metal one. However what to play. I really don't like playing net lists. I also don't like having an army that is the same as everyone else's. I am not saying I am not competitive and don't want to win by any means, I just like to be a little different. So I looked and saw a ton of purifier spam lits, nope don't want to go that way. I thought about Draigo and termies (especially since I am a big Deathwing fan) but they all of sudden exploded in our area. Well what could I do that would be a little different? I picked out Mordrak and his Ghost Knights.

The list I have been running at 1500 points is:

HQ: Grand Master Mordrak and 3 Ghost Knights w/halberds
HQ: Librarian w/sword, teleport homer 2 servo skulls, might, warp rift, sanctuary and shrouding
TR: Terminator Squad (5) 1 x Hammer, 4 x Halberd, Psycannon
TR: Strike Squad (10) 1 x Hammer, 7 x Swords, 2 x Psycannon
FA: Storm Raven w/TLLC and TLMM
HS: Dread Knight w/Heavy Incinerator & Great Sword
HS: Dreadnought w/2 X TLAC & Psybolt Ammo

At 1850 I have been running:

HQ: Grand Master Mordrak and 3 Ghost Knights w/halberds
HQ: Librarian w/sword, teleport homer 1 servo skull, might, warp rift, sanctuary and shrouding
TR: Terminator Squad (10) 2 x Hammer, 8 x Halberd, 2 x Psycannon
TR: Strike Squad 1 x Hammer, 7 x Swords, 2 x Psycannon Psybolt Ammo
FA: Storm Raven w/TLLC and TLMM
HS: Dread Knight w/Heavy Incinerator, Great Sword & Personal Teleporter
HS: Dreadnought w/2 X TLAC & Psybolt Ammo

So far I have been pleases with the results. I won a small 24 man event at 1500 points beating Venom Spam DE, Mechdar and Razor and Predator Spam Blood Angels. (I have posted battle reports on both AWC and BnB) At 1850 I think I have only lost 1 out of 4 games since I have got enough built to play.

I have built this army to mainly as a reserve army. If I win the roll I usually make the opponent go first. This way I can decide if I want to use Mordrak's special rule or not. For those of you unfamiliar with him he has a rule that if you choose to deep strike him he and any unit joined to him comes in first turn and does not deviate. The libby is usually attached to him and the ghost knights. The libby has warp rift which is basically jaws in template form with auto pens on vehicles. If he gives me a nice target which I can reach with out getting crushed by the rest of the army I will deep strike them in to put pressure on his army. With Mordraks ability to generate more ghost knights with the wounds he takes and the ghost knight stealth rule and the libbys shrouding power often I am in cover with a 2+/2+ save with my opponent rolling dificult and dangerous terrain to assault me. Also another rule of Mordrak is that as long as their are ghost knights he does not count as an independent character so he cannot be snipes in combat.

Often times this is a tough nut for my opponent to crack and results in a few of the knights and the characters still being around. Then in the start of my second turn I can bring in my reserves in using Mordrak's grand strategy and the libby's teleport homer. I can deep strike everything attaching the dread to the back of the Raven if need be.

If I have to go second usually I will reserve everything and put Mordrak and the boys in the Raven. That way I can usually with one roll get the Mordrak's Group the Raven and the dread. Would love to hear your thoughts/comments on the lists.

Thanks

Greg

New Contributor

I am very pleased to announce that my buddy Greg Swanson from Chicago will be joining the blog as a contributing author.  We ran indo Greg back at the Big Waaagh in Memphis a few years ago.  He wound up playing several of our Blade and Bolter Boyz at that tourney - and was a tough player and good general.  Hung out with him after the tourney and he just fit in with our group.   We had stayed in touch over the years and when our team wound up 1 short for the ATC - invited him to join our team.  Greg was a great addition and wound up being our MVP player.  Really got to know him well there and enjoyed his company - as well as bringing him into the BnB as a member.

I know that Greg plays a hard core Marine army as well as Grey Knights and look forward to seeing his articles on battle reports and tactics.

Welcome aboard Greg!

Thought on the Knights of the Grey

So - most of the tournaments are done for at least a little while - so I've finally gotten a chance to dig into the Grey Knights codex.  My first thoughts are similar to what I felt when I read the Wolf codex for the first time - lots of personality and viable options for army lists.  I can see several interesting options with pure Knights and a couple of good things with a blend of Knights and Inquisitors.  Then you have a pure Inquisition list.with Cortez that looks way cool.

I have a couple games in now with the following list that has done pretty well thus far.   Both games have been against Chaos Marines though - so a limited sampling of opponents.

2000 Pts - Grey Knights Roster - Draigo list

HQ: Lord Kaldor Draigo (1#, 275 pts)
1 Lord Kaldor Draigo, 275 pts ((C:GK, pg. 38); Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Storm Shield; Terminator Armour; Storm Bolter; The Titansword; Eternal Warrior; Fearless; Grand Strategy; Independent Character; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); Psyker (Mastery Level 2); The Aegis; Hammerhand; Psychic Communion; Sanctified Flame)

HQ: Librarian (1#, 165 pts)
1 Librarian, 165 pts ((C:GK, pg. 24); Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Psychic Hood; Terminator Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; Storm Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Independent Character; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); Psyker (Mastery Level 2); The Aegis; Hammerhand; Might of Titan; Sanctuary; Warp Rift)

Troops: Paladin Squad (6#, 425 pts)
1 Paladin Squad, 425 pts ((C:GK, pg. 30); Unit Type: Infantry; And They Shall Know No Fear; Brotherhood of Psykers; Combat Squads; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); The Aegis; Hammerhand; Holocaust)
1 Apothecary (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Narthecium; Terminator Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; And They Shall Know No Fear; Brotherhood of Psykers; Combat Squads; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); The Aegis)
1 Paladin (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Terminator Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; Storm Bolter)
1 Paladin (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Terminator Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Paladin (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Terminator Armour; Psycannon; Nemesis Daemonhammer)
1 Paladin (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Terminator Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Paladin (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Terminator Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; Storm Bolter)

Troops: Paladin Squad (5#, 375 pts)
1 Paladin Squad, 375 pts ((C:GK, pg. 30); Unit Type: Infantry; And They Shall Know No Fear; Brotherhood of Psykers; Combat Squads; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); The Aegis; Hammerhand; Holocaust)
1 Apothecary (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Narthecium; Terminator Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; And They Shall Know No Fear; Brotherhood of Psykers; Combat Squads; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); The Aegis)
1 Paladin (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Terminator Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; Psycannon)
1 Paladin (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Terminator Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; Incinerator)
1 Paladin (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Terminator Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; Storm Bolter)
1 Paladin (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Terminator Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; Storm Bolter)

Elite: Vindicare Assassin (1#, 145 pts)
1 Vindicare Assassin, 145 pts ((C:GK, pg. 52); Unit Type: Infantry; Blind Grenades; Frag Grenades; Synskin; Exitus Pistol; Exitus Rifle; Deadshot; Fearless; Fleet; Infiltrate; Lightning Reflexes; Move Through Cover; Stealth)

Elite: Venerable Dreadnought (1#, 196 pts)
1 Venerable Dreadnought, 196 pts ((C:GK, pg. 35); Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker); Smoke Launchers; Psybolt Ammunition; Searchlight; Twin-Linked Autocannon; Twin-Linked Autocannon; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); Psychic Pilot; Reinforced Aegis; The Aegis; Venerable; Fortitude)

Elite: Venerable Dreadnought (1#, 196 pts)
1 Venerable Dreadnought, 196 pts ((C:GK, pg. 35); Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker); Smoke Launchers; Psybolt Ammunition; Searchlight; Twin-Linked Autocannon; Twin-Linked Autocannon; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); Psychic Pilot; Reinforced Aegis; The Aegis; Venerable; Fortitude)

Heavy Support: Purgation Squad (6#, 223 pts)
1 Purgation Squad, 223 pts ((C:GK, pg. 29); Unit Type: Infantry; Psybolt Ammunition; And They Shall Know No Fear; Brotherhood of Psykers; Combat Squads; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); The Aegis; Astral Aim; Hammerhand)
1 Justicar (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; Storm Bolter)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Psycannon)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Psycannon)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Psycannon)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Psycannon)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)

An amazing amount of firepower from a small and compact army.   The Psycannons do the job against armor.

Another option I'm itching to try is this one below.   I think it has a great option to bring the pain to horde armies.

2000 Pts - Grey Knights Roster - 2K Purifier list

HQ: Grey Knight Grand Master (1#, 230 pts)
1 Grey Knight Grand Master, 230 pts ((C:GK, pg. 22); Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Iron Halo; Terminator Armour; Blind Grenades; Empyrean Brain Mines; Psybolt Ammunition; Psychotroke Grenades; Rad Grenades; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd; And They Shall Know No Fear; Grand Strategy; Independent Character; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); Psyker (Mastery Level 1); The Aegis; Hammerhand; Psychic Communion)

HQ: Librarian (1#, 165 pts)
1 Librarian, 165 pts ((C:GK, pg. 24); Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Psychic Hood; Terminator Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; Storm Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Independent Character; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); Psyker (Mastery Level 2); The Aegis; Hammerhand; Sanctuary; The Summoning; Vortex of Doom)

Troops: Grey Knight Strike Squad (6#, 206 pts)
1 Grey Knight Strike Squad, 206 pts ((C:GK, pg. 28); Unit Type: Infantry; Psybolt Ammunition; And They Shall Know No Fear; Brotherhood of Psykers; Combat Squads; Deep Strike; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); The Aegis; Hammerhand; Warp Quake)
1 Justicar (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; Storm Bolter)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Psycannon)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Daemonhammer)
1 Razorback ((C:GK, pg. 33); Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Fire Points: 0; Smoke Launchers; Psybolt Ammunition; Searchlight; Warp Stabilization Field; Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter; Psychic Pilot; The Aegis; Fortitude)

Troops: Grey Knight Strike Squad (6#, 206 pts)
1 Grey Knight Strike Squad, 206 pts ((C:GK, pg. 28); Unit Type: Infantry; Psybolt Ammunition; And They Shall Know No Fear; Brotherhood of Psykers; Combat Squads; Deep Strike; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); The Aegis; Hammerhand; Warp Quake)
1 Justicar (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Nemesis Force Sword; Storm Bolter)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Psycannon)
1 Grey Knight (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Daemonhammer)
1 Razorback ((C:GK, pg. 33); Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Fire Points: 0; Smoke Launchers; Psybolt Ammunition; Searchlight; Warp Stabilization Field; Twin-Linked Heavy Bolter; Psychic Pilot; The Aegis; Fortitude)

Elite: Purifier Squad (10#, 259 pts)
1 Purifier Squad, 259 pts ((C:GK, pg. 31); Unit Type: Infantry; Brotherhood of Psykers; Combat Squads; Fearless; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); The Aegis; Cleansing Flame; Hammerhand)
1 Knight of the Flame (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Incinerator)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Incinerator)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Daemonhammer)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)

Elite: Purifier Squad (10#, 259 pts)
1 Purifier Squad, 259 pts ((C:GK, pg. 31); Unit Type: Infantry; Brotherhood of Psykers; Combat Squads; Fearless; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); The Aegis; Cleansing Flame; Hammerhand)
1 Knight of the Flame (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Incinerator)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Incinerator)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Daemonhammer)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)
1 Purifier (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Psyk-out Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Bolter; Nemesis Force Halberd)

Fast Attack: Stormraven Gunship (1#, 205 pts)
1 Stormraven Gunship, 205 pts ((C:GK, pg. 37); Unit Type: Vehicle (Skimmer, Fast); Transport Capacity: 12 models; Transport Capacity: 1 Dreadnought; Access Points: 4; Ceramite Plating; 4x Mindstrike Missiles; Twin-Linked Assault Cannon; Twin-Linked Multi-melta; Assault Vehicle; Deep Strike; Power of the Machine Spirit; Psychic Pilot; Shadow Skies; The Aegis; Fortitude)

Fast Attack: Stormraven Gunship (1#, 205 pts)
1 Stormraven Gunship, 205 pts ((C:GK, pg. 37); Unit Type: Vehicle (Skimmer, Fast); Transport Capacity: 12 models; Transport Capacity: 1 Dreadnought; Access Points: 4; Ceramite Plating; 4x Mindstrike Missiles; Twin-Linked Assault Cannon; Twin-Linked Multi-melta; Assault Vehicle; Deep Strike; Power of the Machine Spirit; Psychic Pilot; Shadow Skies; The Aegis; Fortitude)

Heavy Support: Nemesis Dreadknight (1#, 265 pts)
1 Nemesis Dreadknight, 265 pts ((C:GK, pg. 34); Unit Type: Monstrous Creature; Dreadknight Armour; Personal Teleporter; Nemesis Doomfist; Gatling Psilencer; Nemesis Greatsword; And They Shall Know No Fear; Preferred Enemy (Daemons); Psyker (Mastery Level 1); The Aegis; Dark Excommunication; Hammerhand)

At any rate - a lot of options exist for this codex and I look forward to exploring it further.

Draigowing Tactica

Introduction
This article is an overview to a series I'll write about how to play Draigowing as primarily a walking gun line army. Draigowing is very powerful in melee but in my opinion their main strength is derived from heavy saturation in terms of their midranged firepower. My style of play I have developed revolves around shooting in the beginning through mid game then a strong finish with melee during the end game to win.

My style of play and army design has some inherent weaknesses versus highly mobile shooty armies such as mechanized dark eldar. Dark eldar can spam S8 AP2 shooting which is a bane to terminators. I am working on concepts to resolve this dilemma and will delve into this subject in a later article in the series.


Basic Army List
Here is my 2000 point army list:

HQ
Lord Khaldor Draigo
Librarian - Nemesis warding stave, Might of Titans, Quicksilver. Sanctuary, The Shrouding & Warp Rift

These two characters form the backbone of the army. They are both essential. Draigo is a beast (T5-4W-3++-Eternal Warrior) and can easily suck up a lot of punishment while the Librarian on the other hand is quite fragile in comparison. Often you will need to maintain a high level of focus throughout some games to keep the Librarian alive - your main psyker should always be well protected. The Librarian enhances your army with the psychic powers Hammerhand, Might of Titan, Sanctuary and the Shrouding. Most often I join the two together as they are quite a formidable duo. I also usually attach them to a squad of five Paladins. The Librarian's Warp Rift and Draigo's S5 psychic template come in handy versus hordes if they manage to close the gap to your battle line.


Troops
10x Paladin - psybolt ammo
• 3x Psycannon & Nemesis daemonhammer
• Psycannon & Nemesis force sword
• 3x Pair of Nemesis falchions
• Nemesis warding stave
• Nemesis daemonhammer
• Nemesis force halberd

Here is I typically split them into combat squads:

- Squad I -
• 3x Psycannon & daemonhammer
• Psycannon & Nemesis force sword
• Nemesis force halberd

- Squad II -
• 3x pair of Nemesis falchions
• Nemesis daemonhammer
• Nemesis warding stave

Draigo and the Librarian attach to the second squad and form my most elite melee unit - they primarily act as your HQ bodyguard. The Librarian casts Hammerhand and Might of Titans or Quicksilver if necessary - Quicksilver is utilized versus high initiative enemy assault units such as dark eldar Wyches, Incubi, Tyranid genestealers or any enemy I5+ assault units. Often you'll be on the receiving end of an enemy charge so Quicksilver is not always a given. Remember to cast Quicksilver during your movement phase. You cast the other psychic powers at the beginning of the assault phase. Draigo and the Paladins both can activate their force weapons versus complex multi wound enemy units such a nob bikers or Thunderwolf cavalry. If you're fighting a unit of single wound models there's no need to activate any of the force weapons and remember the two independent characters must activate their force weapons independently from the unit to which they are attached - this is vital to remember. Grey Knights in general are a forgiving army but you don't want to make any needless mistakes with such a small army!

The first squad is primarily a firebase while as already stated the second squad acts as a retinue for your two HQ. I chose falchions because of the modeling opportunities plus it's helpful to have the extra WS5 attacks in melee. You can cast Quicksilver on the second squad with the Librarian if need be so halberds for them is not nearly as essential. The first squad is your most potent firebase with 16 shots from their four psycannons... They are simply devastating in the shooting phase. I chose three daemonhammers for the first squad so they can wreck IG parking lots in assault.


10x Grey Knight Terminator including Justicsr Thawn - psybolt ammo
• 2x Psycannon & Nemesis force halberd
• 6x Nemesis force halberd (incl. Thawn)
• 2x Nemesis daemonhammer

I keep them 10 strong as in a large group they can absorb more damage and dish out more pain in return as well. They are a strong firebase and also can put up a solid fight against just about any enemy unit. The large number of halberds means the bulk of the unit will strike first. Thawn is a level 2 psyker so he can both cast Hammerhand and activate his squad's force weapons. In many ways Justicar Thawn is basically serving as the addition of a third HQ in your army. I see him as a much better choice over the similary costed Apothecary for Paladins.


Heavy Support
Landraider Crusadsr - psybolt ammo

The Crusader is another vital unit and serves as the hub of the army - this ubiquitous tank has an assault ramp so you can move it up to 12" and launch an assault. Its armaments equate to a twin linked psycannon and six to 12 twin linked heavy bolter shots. I use mine to transport Draigo, the Librarian and the second Paladin combat squad. I highly recommend psybolt ammo as an option and it only costs 5 points as compared to 20 for the Paladins and terminators. The landraider Crusader also effectively extends the range of Sanctuary and the Shrouding when the Librarian is embarked inside since you then measure from the hull to determine the overall effective range for these two defensive psychic powers.

The Crusader roughly extends your charge arc by a factor of 1.667 times - I have been able to use the extended distance to reach Blood Angels jump infantry... It's always there for you if you keep the transport protected plus it will catch unwary opponents off guard. The Crusader offers the least amount of shooting when compared with the other units but it can cut off enemy LOS to the rest of your army - it is one of your main defenses. I tend not to move mine a lot so I can shoot more but I will use it aggressively when needed.


Initial Conclusions
I have shown you my most current 2000 point army list and provided some the basic strategies and tactics. The next article will delve heavily into the shooting phase which as I've said in my opinion is the primary strength of Draigowing. Draigowing is the strongest list when compared to the other two terminator-centric armies... That being Deathwing and Loganwing. Neither Deathwing or Loganwing can produce anywhere near the same level heavy volume of midranged firepower. You can have more models in your army with Deathwing but they are not as versatile plus their HQ choices don't stack up. Loganwing is a fun army and has solid choices for HQ with Logan and Arjac but overall I don't think this army can be played to the same level of competition as Draigowing.

Building Better Battlefields: Essentials and Theme

Many of us spend hours and hours assembling, converting, and painting our models to the best of our ability so that our army will look nice on the tabletop. But one area that helps enhance a good looking army is a good looking battlefield. Not only a good looking battlefield, but a battlefield that has a diverse selection of terrain that offers both benefits and disadvantages that help shape the course of a battle. But many times I see this big part of the game neglected, with terrain just thrown on the table with no real sense of purpose other than to break up the flatness of the tabletop. So I'm going to touch on the essentials of making a nice looking and functional battlefield in this article.

The 25% Rule
From the 40k Rulebook: "As a general rule in Warhammer 40,000, the more terrain, the better the gaming experience. If you use too little terrain, games will be short and not very satisfactory, with too much advantage going to the player who gets to shoot first. For a balanced game, where close combat troops have a chance to get into contact with the enemy without being completely blown away in a couple of turns, we expect that about a quarter of the total playing surface should have terrain on it. The assumption here is that if terrain pieces are roughly 12" by 12", then six or seven pieces are needed to fulfill the 25% recommendation on a standard 6' x 4' table."

I always set up my battlefields this way. On a standard 6'x4' table, I first mark off an area 24" x 36" with dice, which is 25% of the table, and then fill that marked off area with hills, woods templates, ruins, or whatever types of terrain I need for the theme I have in mind. Once it is filled, I then remove the dice and then arrange the terrain I have chosen in as much of a balanced manner as possible. I always do this before the type of mission and deployment zones are determined, unless there is a specific scenario that I am running.

General Terrain Types
Another thing to consider when setting up your battlefield is the types of terrain to set up. Generally there are 3 categories of terrain:

• Terrain which interferes with LOS and provides cover (woods, ruins, etc)

• Terrain which provides cover but does not block LOS (barricades, low walls,
craters, etc)

• Terrain which blocks LOS completely (hills, intact buildings, etc)

You need a good mixture of the above, taking into account that too much or too little of one type of terrain is going to unbalance the game, either limiting shooting severly by placing too much LOS blocking terrain, or making the battlefield a shooting gallery by having too little of cover and LOS blocking/interferring types of terrain. When I am setting up my 25%, I tend to choose equal amounts of hills, woods, buildings, ruins, etc, and placing them evenly across the table so that one side doesn't have more or less of each terrain type.

Defining the Terrain
Another important factor in placing terrain is defining the terrain as clear, difficult, dangerous, or impassable. Not only that, but make sure you discuss the terrain with your opponent(s). I can't stress that enough. There have been too many games that I have participated in where terrain wasn't suitably defined before the game, and people just assume it counts as difficult or offers cover based on how it looks. Also I have played in games where the terrain was clearly defined as difficult or whatever before the game starts, but then later on in the game a player has forgotten that a piece of terrain was difficult, clear, etc. I now make a map of the battlefield, numbering each piece of terrain, and in the side notes explain what terrain effects each piece of terrain offers. I then show this to everyone involved in the game so that they know what is what. (Now, if they don't want to read the map, you can't make them, but when they later attempt to claim a cover save on a piece of terrain that was marked as not offering a cover save, the only thing you can do is tell them they don't get a cover save and show them the map they refused to look at earlier!)

When defining terrain you should take into account the following:

• Which terrain pieces are area terrain, difficult terrain, or dangerous
terrain (or a combination)?

• Which terrain pieces are impassable terrain?

• Which terrain pieces are ruins?

• What cover saves do different terrain pieces confer?

• Which buildings are impassable?

• What are the Armor Values, fire points, access points and capacity for any
buildings?

That is a lot of stuff for one opponent to remember, not to mention several players in a multi-player game. That is why I find making a map and noting what each terrain feature counts as and offers to be the easiest approach.

Theme
A lot of times I see players just grabbing terrain off the shelf and throwing it on the table with no real direction. A couple of City buildings mixed in with some woods and hills, and perhaps a bunker or other random piece of terrain thrown in. When I set up my battlefields, I envision in my head the different armies clashing over a special location of importance, whether it be to destroy a chaos shrine/altar, retrieve an important object that has been recently uncovered, defend an outpost, save a city under siege, etc. Whether or not that idea has any bearing on the actual game or not doesn't really matter, but rather the purpose it serves is to be the basis for the narrative of the game.

Why are these armies here? What are they after? Where is it taking place? Etc, etc.

So I set the battlefield up according to the narrative in my head. Then the mission is rolled for and deployment zones determined. In this way, you make the battlefield as personal to you as the models you are playing the game are personal to you, and you will want to make a battlefield that has meaning instead of just some random bits of terrain thrown on the table with no thought put into it.

So, for example, when I have run my Demon army, I envision a Chaos ritual taking place where demons are summoned to an arcane temple, and the enemy has come to stop the incursion. Or within a Chaos temple lies a demonic artifact and the enemy has come to either retrieve it or destroy it, and wards are in place that summon demons to protect it. Only those strong enough to defeat the demonic host can then retrieve or destroy the item. I envision this temple being in a remote location, such as a jungle or secluded area of woods, and so I build my battlefield around that idea, and only include terrain that fits the idea. It doesn't matter if the mission ends up being objective based or KP based, as I can tie the objectives narratively into the theme of the battlefield.

So I hope these ideas have helped. Setting up great looking battlefields can really enhance your games of Warhammer, both Fantasy and 40K, and make for an enjoyable game.

The Death Company are complete!!

Well the Heroes of Armageddon project is coming to a conclusion. I recently finished up the Death company that I was assigned. Here are some pics but remember that black is a pain to photo:




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The Blood Angel army is looking awesome. Make it a point to head to the HoA site and donate to help support doctors without borders!!

http://heroesofarmageddon.blogspot.com/

Why we play the armies we do...

Introduction
Last week there was a thought provoking post by my new buddy HERO over on BoLS. There was a lot of comments there and it spilled over to other blogs and forums. To me the main gists of the article were as follows:

* People play popular lists circulating on the Internet because they are proven and it requires little if any time to playtest.

* Net lists are for competitive play.

* If you play a net list then most likely your army doesn't have much flavor.

* Many players don't play their armies as intended.

I think the majority of the responses were either posted to chime in agreeing with HERO or to justify playing a net list. Definitely this article touched on a few nerves. I don't play net lists. If a new codex is released and I find that it might be fun for me to play I'll study the codex thoroughly and read what people whom I respect are saying on the Internet. I like to play armies outside the proverbial box. I enjoy being unique. Often I see players struggling with their armies to produce a winning list... They can't figure it out for themselves so they fall back using an Internet list. I always design my armies such that they can handle the net lists and if you're a competitive player I think this is a good technique too. A big part of the fun is figuring out what makes any given codex work. If you opt to play a net list you're probably going to miss out on this aspect of the hobby... Sure it can be challenging but if you stick with it you'll eventually crack that codex. The designers don't specifically tell you what is powerful and what is there for flavor - figure it out for yourself.

Weaknesses of Net Lists and Why They Don't Help You Evolve as a Competitive Gamer
Net lists are typically min|maxed and feature heavily spammed units|options. The problem with this approach from a competitive gaming experience is that these lists will have some holes that can be exploited. Sure leafblower IG and TWC/Grey Hunter/Long Fang spam were very tough - people had lots of problems beating these two lists on a consistent basis. They were tough for me to beat as well... some armies seemed to have any real chance at success against them such as Tyranids versus Space Wolves. My approach to beating these lists were to play as many games possible against them versus good opponents. I was playing BA DoA at the time and eventually I figured out how to beat both of these net lists on a consistent basis. I've written many articles on my own 40k blog (greenblowfly.blogspot.com) that go into great detail how to beat them.

The Test of Time and Not Withstanding
I've found that net lists don't stand the test of time well. For example I've found it's relatively easy to beat Space Wolves with my dark eldar and Draigowing is very effective versus Imperial Guard. So you might spend a lot of time and money building an army only to have it slip a tier or two on the power rating after a couple of years. Maybe that is okay for you but wouldn't it be better to design an army that can stay at the top throughout one edition of the game (e.g., 5th edition)? Net lists are designed as quickly as possible to dominate the current meta and take advantage of the most broken combinations. Changes to the rules and newly released codices eventually spell their doom though. I've found that Phil Kelly's codices fall into this bracket - just look at eldar - the release of 5th edition immediately dropped them from the top tier. Same thing with orks... Every day they slip down a notch. I'm not saying that eldar or orks aren't competitive but I think you'll agree they are not at the same level where they once started... They have both been played out to a large extent. Only with the new release of dark eldar did I finally see Phil take a step in the new direction. I'll go so far as to say that the newer codices (starting with Blood Angels) are all extremely balanced - it's not possible to break these codices so as a result we see a return of older armies such as lash spam and it's kind of funny in a dark way.

What You Play and Why You Play It
So here we come to the conclusion. Irregardless of everything I said above my philosophy is you should play what you enjoy the most. Richard Petty never drove a Volkswagen Beetle in a race because his fellow race car drivers were envious of all his wins. Play what you enjoy and don't let others convince you to play anything less. I've tried to give you some enlightening tips how to go about designing a competitive army and warned you of the pitfalls that come from playing a net list. 40k cannot be boiled to a deck of cards like MtG - it just doesn't work that way. You'll have to find a group of gamers that have a similar set of philosophies as your own... If you do then you can flourish and reap the rewards that come from that - a tight circle of good friends!

That's it.

The Battle of the Fang

Wow....Wow....Wow!!!!! Hello folks, the Ninja here again with a book review and man is it a killer. I can say the only book that I have wanted more than this one was Prospero Burns. When Abnett failed me and the book did not live up to its pedigree Battle of the Fang was only a cover and a release date. But it had Bjorn on the cover so I knew I had to have it. No self respecting Space Wolf would not want this book. Not only was it good, it now ranks as my favorite of all time 40K books. That is right, it is now number 1.

The Story

Since the Second Edition Codex, Space Wolf fans have known of the this Battle. I am not giving out spoilers by saying the book covers the Thousands Sons retributive strike on the Space Wolves and Fenris. Nor am I giving away anything when I say that Bjorn the Fellhanded takes part in the defense. But as with all of the Space Marine Battles books there is more to the story. And man is this a good story. Just enough plot twist and bits of information to make it impossible to put the book down. The Wolves are at their finest. And this is a no holds barred romp for the future of the Chapter. For fluff fans out there this is a must read. It opens some doors and answers some questions while creating a lot more.

The Writing

Chris Wraight is my new best friend. He combines the fierceness of the Space Wolves from King with the prose of Abnett. The combination is exactly what Prospero Burns should have been but Abnett missed for the telling of a convoluted tale. Nothing Convoluted here. This is where the rubber meets the road and Wraight does it well. He tells the tale while dropping info, fleshing out things that have never been touched while expanding on the mindset of the Wolves that Abnett gave us. And it is done well. The combat is awesome. You can feel the anger and picture the carnage. The end is epic. You will see and feel the blows. You will feel the courage and at the end you will know that mortals can stand up to a primarch.

The Rating

5 out of 5. This book has it all. I am really impressed with what Wraight has done. The story is great and does the Wolves proud. I had planned on playing my Crimson Fist for awhile as the Grey Knights are still under construction. Now I want to see my Wolves on the table, beating someones face in.

Game Clubs

Game Clubs…how cool are they? I read an interesting article on BoLS ( the author is Strictly Average) that got me thinking about game clubs and what it takes for them to be successful. You could carry on that statement by defining what is successful. Since getting back into the hobby I have had a chance to get acquainted with many gaming clubs and some of the philosophies behind them. Now the Blade ‘n’ Bolter Boyz will feature heavily here just cause it is the one I am a member of. The purpose here is to spark conversation and look at your own groups for the purposes of bettering your game club. The BnB may even see some things that can be improved on.

What is a gaming club?
Game clubs to me are guys and gals who all have a similar interest in a particular game. Could be chess, Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer 40k etc, etc. It does not have to be just one game, it could be a multitude of games or just a particular genre. Whatever it is, this group of people comes together on fairly regular basis to play the game they love. For the BnB it is a multitude of various games but 40k is the predominate one. It stands above all others. Thursday nights at the Game Keep might as well be BnB 40k night.

Are you a fun club, serious club or both?
Fun clubs are just that…fun. They get together for a good time of hanging out throwing dice playing with their new and cool unit whether it works, is cost effective or spammed out. These are the guys that build the “fluff armies” and could care less about tournaments. They may have T-Shirts for going to conventions but all in all they are there to play and have fun. They will create whacky scenarios or recreate famous battles they read in the codex. Good fun for certain.

The serious clubs are the tournament heavy players. These guys build the min-maxed internet insanity. Hell they are probably the ones posting the internet insanity. They have read all of the theoryhammer and mathhammer and can probably quote it to you whether you ask or not. They have the games shirts, the banners, the club dice (sound like anyone). They may have their own website or blog; some may even run their own tournament. Some may even go so far as to have a governing body or leadership of some type.

And then there is the muddy middle ground that a lot of clubs seem to fit into. They play for fun and for tournaments. They have all cool stuff like the shirts and the dice. They have players that are perfectly happy recreating the battle for Macragge as they are testing their latest tournament list. I think many clubs probably fall into the “both” category.

So what makes your club successful?
Here is where the rubber meets the road. How do you get a club to last and be productive in the gaming community? What is success and how your club defines it will contribute to everyone’s enjoyment. For some clubs, success is defined by winnings. How often their members win tournaments, how many members place in the top ten of a tournament. For some it could be growth. How often they bring in new members. How successful their very own tournament is. It could even be how popular their website or blog is. All of these things can contribute to the success or failure of a game club.

For me, the defining thing within a club that will make it last forever is nothing more than friendship. Without this your club will last only so long as your definition for success will allow for it too. Many do not realize this but the Blade n Bolter Boyz have been around for almost 20 years. The original core group of friends that started the BnB are still together. We now have about 20 or so members. We have everything in our game club. Guys who love to build terrain, hardcore tournament players, fluff and fun players, master painters (even a golden demon winner) guys who can talk rules like Supreme Court justices. We have contacts in the game that span the globe and yet we can all get together and throw some dice at any given time. But what makes us work is friendship. We can blast the crap out of each other and argue till we are blue in the face but come Thursday it is time to play. Some of the best times at the Keep have not been playing 40k (though killing Angarath was close)but standing in the parking lot till 2 in the morning talking about everything imagineable, the whole time bemoaning that we have to be up early that morning.

What kills the game club?
Game clubs come and they go. We are just now getting several strong clubs in the Tennessee that are really into the game and into growing it. We have a couple of shops in the state that are huge for promoting 40k growing the scene here. The future looks bright. All it takes though is a one or a combination of things and the club is toast.

Things like a bad LGS. If the store sucks and no one plays there where are you gonna play? How are you gonna get your fix for your addiction of choice. A place to buy and a place to play are critical. In Cookeville, the locals had had enough with their cheesy game store so one guy built a building in his back yard for the purpose of providing a place to play to all the local gamers.

Direction and compromise. If you have tourney players and fluff players and neither is willing compromise on what gaming is going on then the fist fight should ensue immediately. A good club should be able to do both…together. We have many that can throw down some stuff for whatever suits us at the time. We have a few that cannot turn off the tourney portion of their psyche and we forgive them for it. It is all about playing the game. One is not better than other. There are days I want to play my tourney list and there are days I just want to play.

Personalities. Let’s face it we are all nerds to one degree or another. We have strong personalities and sometimes our nerdness can be too much to handle. All it takes is for one douchebag to be allowed to run rampant and your club is done. Clubs have to police themselves. The guys were talking recently about a team from North Carolina who consisted of 4 really nice guys and 1 complete jackass. If you are being a jackass and you represent my game club then yeah there will be a talk. I feel bad for those 4 guys because that is a part of how they will be remembered by everyone who played them.

So there is my take on gaming clubs. I am sure there is stuff that I did not touch on and I am sure that there are plenty of clubs that do not fit what I have discussed. Look at this and then look at your club. What do you like, what do you dislike, what would you change? All valid questions that need answers. Just remember to keep things in perspective. This is a game and we all enjoy playing it. Game clubs are great and are a lot of fun but if taken too seriously they can kill all the fun in the game. Nobody wants that.

Blade ‘n’ Bolter Forever!!