The Blade and Bolter

Tyranids vs. Grey Knights — 2k batrep

2012-02-11T09:13:00.000-06:00

I was on travel this week and had some spare time yesterday afternoon. I met up with a friend for a 2000 point game - my reserved Tyranids versus his Crowe-Purifier army.

Here are our army lists:

TYRANIDS

HQ
— Hive Tyrant: wings, twin linked devourers w. brainleech ammo, bone sword + lash whip, adrenal glands, Hive Commander; paroxysm & life leech
— Tyranid Prime: bone sword + lash whip, scything talons, adrenal glands, regeneration

Elites
— 9x Yrmgal genestealers
— 2x Zoanthrope - mycetic spore
— Doom of Malan'tai - mycetic spore

Troops
— 3x Warrior - 2x deathspitter & barbed strangler, bone swords + lash whips, toxin sacs - mycetic spore
— 10x Hormagaunt - adrenal glands & toxin sacs
— 15x termagant - devourers - mycetic spore
— 14x genestealer & Broodlord - scything talons & toxin sacs

Heavy Support
— Trygon Prime - adrenal glands

GREY KNIGHTS

HQ
— Crowe

Elites
— Psyfleman Vendread - 2x TL-Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo
— Psyfleman Vendread - 2x TL-Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo

— 5x Purifiers - 2x Psycannons, 2x Halberds, 1x MC-Hammer, Rhino w/Dozers + Searchlights
— 5x Purifiers - 2x Psycannons, 2x Halberds, 1x MC-Hammer, Rhino w/Dozers + Searchlights
— 5x Purifiers - 2x Psycannons, 2x Halberds, 1x MC-Hammer, Rhino w/Dozers + Searchlights
— 5x Purifiers - 2x Psycannons, 2x Halberds, 1x Warding Stave, Razorback w/Psybolt Ammo + Searchlights
— 5x Purifiers - 2x Psycannons, 2x Halberds, 1x Warding Stave, Razorback w/Psybolt Ammo + Searchlights
— 5x Strike Squad - 1x Psycannon, Rhino

Heavy Support
— Psyfleman Dread - 2x TL-Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo
— Psyfleman Dread - 2x TL-Autocannons, Psybolt Ammo

We decided to use the BeakyCon mission - three objectives (Killpoints, Capture & Control, Seize Ground). Whoever wins the most objectives wins the game and if there was a draw the tie breaker goes to victory points. Note that there were four objective markers for Seize Ground. Deployment was Dawn of War. There are six normal turns then a seventh on the roll of 4+ on 1d6.

My friend won the roll for placing the Seize Ground objective markers - we ended up with the objective markers spread out across the table forming a rectangle with each objective marker placed roughly at 12" in from the short table edge and 12" in from each long table edge... So they were all well spaced apart.

I won the roll for deployment and opted to go second. There was a good amount of terrain spread around the table with some big tall pieces in the middle—definitely a good setup for my Tyranids. My friend decided to bring everything on the first turn. I held everything in normal reserve except for my genestealer brood and Yrmgal genestealers. I infiltrated the genestealers behind a big piece of terrain just inside my opponent's deployment zone and would bring in my Yrmgal genestealers in the same piece of terrain. We both placed our C&C objective markers far apart—I placed mine close to one of the Seize Ground objective markers while my opponent placed his in the center along his long table edge. I figured he would deploy in a castle then try to push out late in the game to grab the two Seize Ground objective markers in his deployment zone.

Pre Game Analysis
I was glad I wasn't facing a Librarian but I knew that all those psyflemen dreadnaughts could be a big problem due to their reinforced Aegis. Typically I use my genestealers to take out dreadnaughts in melee since they can produce lots of rending attacks but I knew that three Venerable chassis was going to be a real challenge. On the other hand psyflemen suck in assault so i would try to use that to neutralize their shooting. I felt my main advantage was I could see where my friend brought in his units the first turn and react accordingly. My plan was as follows:

• Hold two Seize Ground objective markers and contest another
• Hold my C&C objective marker and contest his
• Try to win on killpoints by concentrating first on destroying his troops and transports

Grey Knights can pour out an amazing amount of shooting at 24", 36" and 48" range. Fortunately for me there was lots of cover.

- Top of Turn 1 - Grey Knights -
His entire army rolls onto the table in the middle of his deployment zone with the dreadnaughts spread out across his back line. Crowe stole the rhino from the Strike squad. All of the troops disembark and setup in a long gun line with the paybacks interspersed between them. The Strike squad runs to move towards the front line taking a spot in heavy cover. My genestealers are well hidden so no shooting at them.

- Bottom of Turn 1 - Tyranids -
Genestealer brood edges up a bit towards the GK castle while managing to keep safely tucked away. I think about pushing out for a possible charge on a squad of Purifiers but then decide to hold their position and wait for my reserves.

GK: 0 kp
Nidz: 0 kp

- Top of Turn 2 - Grey Knights -
My friend holds his line, shuffling around a bit and pops smoke on all his transports while the Strike squad moves and then runs forward again—they attempt to cast Warp Quake but the Justicar perils and dies from massive trauma to the head. My genestealer brood is still out of LOS.

- Bottom of Turn 2 - Tyranids -
I roll for my reserves and everything arrives except for the Alpha Warrior attached to its Hormagaunt posse. I place the devilgants off to one side of his castle with minimal scatter so that they can target one squad of Purifiers at 18" range. I place the Trygon aggressively closer on the same side of the Grey Knight castle with a piece of tall cover and again minimal scatter. The Doom lands in his pod right into the heart of the Grey Knight castle and drifts straight forward—it's in the perfect position to cast Leech Essence on a large block of Purifier squads ! The Zoies land in the middle of the table just outside of counter charge range and drift off at a slight angle to my right away from the rest of my army. The Warriors land behind another big piece of terrain with no scatter—they should be safe for a turn from shooting and with a bit of luck might be able to launch an assault the following turn. The Yrmgal genestealers appear in a heavily wooded area and then move out so they can assault some of the Purifiers. The genestealer brood comes out as well to support the Yrmgal... I should be able to launch a huge multi assault this turn. Finally the Tyrant lands on the same side behind the block of genestealers scattering into impassable terrain, which causes a mishap but luckily for me the Tyrant goes right back into reserve again.

The Doom casts Leech Essence and proceeds to destroy three Purifiers in one squad and two more in another squad - suddenly he is up to S9 ! The devilgants target another squad of Purifiers and shoot them all down (1st killpoint to the Tyranids !). The Zoies then both fail to cast their psychic powers due to a dreadnaught (reinforced Aegis) beside the target... Oh well. The Trygon targets the two remaining Purifiers from one of the squads whacked by the Doom and manages to snuff the Justicar with a warding stave... That was very nice !! The Warriors are tucked safely away so no shooting from them this turn. Finally the Doom casts his humongous pie plate of death, gets past the wall of reinforced Aegis and immobilizes one of the Venerables.

The Yrmgal genestealer brood then launch their multi assault finishing off the other remnant squad of Purifiers and remain locked with another squad - I lose three Yrmgals to Halberds in return. Neither Purifier squad was able to successfully cast Cleansing Flame due to their close proximity to the Trygon Prime. The other Justicar armed with a warding stave then fails a save due to No Retreat ! The genestealer brood multi-assaults the two psyflemen ripping both autocannons off one and immobilize the other - in return I lose two genestealers and the Broodlord passes an armor save. The Yrmgal genestealers then consolidate back into cover to end the turn.

GK: 0 kp
Nidz: 8 kp

- Top of Turn 3 - Grey Knights -
I can see that my friend is a bit distraught. He had not played versus this type of list before and didn't realize how fast and hard hitting my army can be early on in the game—lots of people tend to make that mistake. He still has three scoring units left and a sizable amount of shooting but most of my army is either locked in combat, in cover or out of LOS. The Strike squad cast Warp Quake and trades place with Crowe hopping back in their rhino. Crowe moves towards my genestealer brood but won't be able to assault this turn as the rhino moved first before he disembarked. The lone Purifier jumps back into his psyback. The last squad of five Purifiers move into position to assault the Trygon. The psybacks all pull back 6" - three of them take aim at the Yrmgal genestealers and the other two target the termagants. The mobile unengaged dreadnaughts also move back as well focusing fire on my Zoies and the Doom.

Shooting from the psybacks kill all but two remaining Yrmgal (went to ground) and take out five of the termagants. Combined fire from the psyflemen destroy the Zoies but the Doom escapes unscathed who was out of range to use his leech essence. My friend could have gone for the easy killpoints shooting at my spores but wanted to concentrate fire on my infantry to start whittling them down. The five man Purifier squad put one wound on the Trygon from a psycannon then they charge not using CF in attempt to ID the Trygon with their Nemesis force weapons (NFW)... They do manage one wound with a halberd but SitW blocks their attempt to activate NFW. The Trygon then eats four of them, the daemonhammer scores another wound and dies to No Retreat saves. The Trygon consolidates towards the Venerable dreadnaughts. The genestealer brood explodes the gun less dreadnaught and suffer no wounds in return.

- Bottom of Turn 3 - Tyranids -
Both the Tyrant and the Alpha Warrior with his gant brood arrive. The Alpha Warrior and his gants move into position to hold both a SG and C&C objective marker. The Tyrant lands safely this time in range to shoot at the transports. The Trygon moves forward into position to assault a Venerable. The Warriors break off heading towards the far SG objective marker on my friend's side of the table with the termagants trailing close behind them for moving cover. The Doom also moves into position to assault the other unengaged mobile Venerable.

Shooting sees the Tyrant pop the rhino and the Doom forgoes dropping his pie plate of psychic death. The Strike squad piles out of the burning wreck and fail their pinning check... Heh ! The Trygon then launches its assault and destroys one of the Venerables while the Doom (S8) assaults another and manages to rip off an autocannon taking no wounds in return. The genestealer brood then destroy the dreadnaught and consolidate partially into cover.

GK: 1 kp
Nidz: 8 kp

- Top of Turn 4 - Grey Knights -
The Grey Knights are down to Crowe, five psybacks, one Purifier, the pinned Strike squad and two Venerables—one of which is locked in melee. My friend wants to concede the game at first then decides to play another turn. Crowe moves into position to assault the genestealers while the psyback carrying the lone Purifier makes a beeline towards his C&C objective marker. The other psybacks take aim on the Trygon and bring it down to a couple of wounds then the unengaged immobilized Venerable finished off the mad beast. Crowe assaults the genestealers and manages to kill five with Cleansing Flame-he then parries, taking no wounds in return and I lose another three genestealers to No Retreat saves since they are in synaptic range of the Tyrant. The Doom whiffs against the Venerable.

- Bottom of Turn 4 - Tyranids -
Again the Warriors and termagants move towards the far SG objective marker while the Tyrant moves in to shoot and assault the Strike squad... The Tyrant kills two with shooting and botches casting paroxysm. The Tyrant then eats the rest of them in melee. The Doom rips the other autocannon off the other Venerable. Crowe finishes off the last of the genestealer brood with Cleansing Flame, the Broodlord breaks and is swept by Crowe. Finally the Hive Tyrant consolidates away from Crowe.

GK: 4 kp
Nidz: 8 kp

At this point it looks like the psybacks won't be able to contest any objectives and he only has one scoring unit left. Crowe is too far away to assault any of my units the next turn. All of my genestealers have been eradicated along with the Zoies and Trygon. All the while my Prime and his gants are still holding two objectives. There are still at least two turns to go and my friend says he will continue. Maybe he can somehow squeeze out a win.

- Top of Turn 5 - Grey Knights -
Crowe heads over towards the Tyrant but will be just short of the assault range. The psyback carrying the lone Purifier zooms over to camp out on top of his C&C objective marker. The other psybacks all take aim on the Tyrant and bring it down to its last two wounds. The unengaged immobilized Venerable then pops a spore. The Doom shakes the dreadnaught.

- Bottom of Turn 5 - Tyranids -
The Warriors and termagants finally reach the far SG objective marker, both with good rolls to run. The Tyrant flies up beside the unengaged immobilized Venerable in position to shoot it in its rear armor facing. Shooting from one spore puts a wound on Crowe ! The Tyrant fires his devourers into the rear side of the Venerable and rips off an autocannon—it then assaults, scores two pens and wrecks the dreadnaught. The Doom then whiffs again versus the last dreadnaught.

GK: 5 kp
Nidz: 9 kp

My friend then decides to concede the game and we head out for some beers and wings. I win taking two of the three objectives.

Post Game Analysis
Well my buddy helped me out when he disembarked all his troops during the early part of the game but I think that is partially a problem with taking lots of psybacks for this type of list - rhinos are much cheaper and you can fire the psycannons from inside... There is no temptation to step outside unless it's absolutely necessary which is why five man Plague Marines used to rock with double meltas in rhinos. The points saved could have gone towards a full squad of Purifiers which would have helped a lot in this game. I have never been a big fan of totally min maxed lists.

Crowe was a beast in this game. I tried to keep him isolated as much as possible and not waste a lot of resources dealing with his uberness versus horde. If he had been up on the front line early on he probably would have been a bigger factor.

A How To Guide Playing Reserved Tyranids

2012-02-06T10:01:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone !!

Instead of watching the Superbowl this evening I figured I'd write another tactical article about how to build and play a reserved Tyranid army list. There is no one right way to play the army but there are choices that can go a long way towards a good build. I have chosen to bring my army to the ATC this year for several reasons. One big reason is that the ATC is both a fun and competitive event that draws a lot of top players from around the country. Another reason is that I am very familiar with the mission format and used theirs as the basis for mine at BeakyCon - this features all three objectives from the rulebook (Killpoints, Capture and Control plus Seize Ground) and they are all equivalent - that is you either win or lose, there is no primary, secondary or tertiary. This type of format does not give an advantage to any type of army. I have only heard good things about ATC and look forward to playing there in Tennessee this summer.

I have learned how to do well in regards to each of the three objectives from the rulebook including killpoints. Killpoints used to be my Achilles' Heel but by dropping one mycetic spore it is now an objective I can win whereas before it seemed to be a foregone conclusion I could never win that one. I have developed some new tactics that are powerful versus mechanized lists. If you think about it most mechanized lists present a plethora of easy killpoints you can score if your army is adapted to take advantage. For example just recently I learned that you decide where to place your Ymrgal genestealers in reserve after both armies have been deployed. I have also started to infiltrate my genestealer brood at times instead of always outflanking them—I will now infiltrate depending upon terrain and how my opponent has deployed. Genestealers can serve the role as a vanguard and sow disruption providing a distraction for other your other units arriving from reserve. As such it's possible to assault with two units during the second turn using the genestealer brood and Yrmgal genestealers. They are both a big threat and cannot be ignored by the opponent. While genestealers excel in melee versus other infantry units they are also able to shred armor due to their high number of attacks coupled with rending. In my opinion this is exactly how genestealers were designed to perform.

My 1850 point List
Here is my most current army list:

-HQ-
Hive Tyrant *: wings, twin linked devourers w. brainleech ammo, bone sword+lash whip, adrenal glands, Hive Commander, Parosym & Life Leech

Tyranid Prime *: bone sword+lash whip, scything talons, adrenal glands, regeneration

-Elites-
10x Yrmgal genestealer
2x Zoanthrope * - mycetic spore

-Troops-
15x genestealer incl. Broodlord: scything talons & toxin sacs
3x Warrior *: 2x deathspitter & barbed strangler, bone swords & lash whips, toxin sacs - mycetic spore
15x termagant: devourers - mycetic spore
10x hormagaunt: adrenal glands, toxin sacs - mycetic spore

-Heavy Support-
Trygon Prime * - adrenal glands

* These units have Synaspe and Shadows in the Warp.

Like I said above there is no one right list how to play reserved Tyranids and I have solicited advice from those whom I consider to be top Tyranid players. This is my core list and what works the best for me. It is here as a reference for you.

Here are some Tyranid units that should be avoided when building your own reserved army list:

Tervigon
Tyrannofex
Carnifex

These are all monstrous creatures that are slow and costly plus they have a low initiative. As such they are a liability versus the Space Wolf psychic power Jaws of the World Wolf. You are paying a lot of points for your monstrous creatures and to win you they must perform well on a consistent basis. The last thing you want is for a Space Wolf player to nuke your big nasty at range with a cheap psychic power to which you have no real defense. Tyranid monstrous creatures should be on your front line actively engaged versus the enemy. I only run a Hive Tyrant and a Trygon Prime. My Tyrant is naturally immune to JAWS due to its wings and the Trygon Prime will only fail on a roll of 6 versus JAWS due to being a monstrous creature and I4. The three I have listed above work better in a horde list plus the Carnifex requires the use of a mycetic spore to integrate with a reserved list which gives up another easy killpoint. The Carnifex and Tryannofex are both overcosted as well. Finally note that none of the three listed units have Synapse or Shadows in the Warp - as such they could potentially be a liability at the worst possible moment and again they don't integrate well into a reserved list.

Now that I have provided a sample army list and noted a few units to avoid I'll breakdown the main strengths of the army.

Null Deployment
The first and most powerful strength of this style of play is the use of Null Deployment. By taking a Tyrant with the Hive Commander option all of your reserves will arrive with +1, as such the bulk of your army will arrive on turn 2 and you can saturate the battlefield with more units than your opponent can handle. You should opt to go second if possible since this will deny your opponent two turns of shooting at your army. Your genestealer broods act as a vanguard to neutralize enemy units thus buying another turn for your other units to get stuck in. jy2 has dubbed this strategy the Maximum Threat Overdrive (MTO) and has posted many batreps featuring his Necron armies over on Dakka Dakka that take advantage of this tactic.

Shooting
Many of my detractors have claimed that my army is devoid of any real threat when it comes to shooting. Let's take a closer look at my core army list again and see what I actually have in the way of shooting and how potent it really is.

• Termagants - 45 S4 shots at 18" range arriving in a spore. This unit will decimate a squad of Long Fangs irregardless of cover. A wise opponent playing a mech list will keep all their infantry embarked in their transports versus this unit which is a serious detriment to Razorfang lists. The unit is relatively cheap for what they provide and can also hold objectives if need be and in the right situation.

• Zoanthropes - This is your primary deterrent versus AV14. Sure it is tough to get a warp lance shot past the Grey Knight psychic defense but in my mind it's still your best shot. The mycetic spore means that you should be able to place your Zoies with a clear unobstructed shot that denies cover saves. I'd love to run a brood of three as opposed to two but the points are very tight. Versus Space Wolves I often use my Zoies to pop the enemy transport carrying the Rune Priest early in the game to negate their rune staff which can be huge since I have an army with a high concentration of psychic units. The Zoies can also soak Space Marine units with their S5 AP3 small blast shooting attack and is more reliable since you don't have to roll to hit.

• Hive Tyrant - six BS 4 S6 shots at 18" range on a flying platform. The Hive Tyrant equipped as such is very versatile. This shooting attack is excellent versus light armor such as razorbacks and I regard it as one of my more effective methods of dealing with mech at range.

• Trgygon Prime - 12 BS3 S5 shots at 18" range. While its not a tank killer it is fairly reliable at glancing light armor. It is one more gun in your arsenal and should not be ignored. You are paying for the upgrade to a Prime and this is one of the main benefits.

• Warriors - Warriors are really only good at shooting infantry. The barbed strangler provides a S4 large blast with 36" range which adds some versatility.

• Mycetic Spores - 6 shots at 6" range that are BS2 S6 AP-. Sure it's not reliable but the high strength can glance or penetrate light transports such as rhinos and chimeras. If you can stun a transport that is potentially one turn you can ignore its contents.

Note that the barbed strangler is pinning weapon while the devourer causes the enemy to suffer -1 Ld when taking a morale check from wounds suffered in the shooting phase.

Synapse and Shadows in the Warp (SitW)
You will have probably noticed I have a high percentage of units with Synapse and SitW. I selected these units primarily based upon other merits such as melee and shooting but on the other hand generally speaking it is not a disadvantage plus your army benefits from being fearless. I don't run a horde list so I don't have to worry much about suffering lots of wounds in melee due to No Retreat armor saves. This is your major psychic defense versus Grey Knights or any army with psykers and my army spreads it all around quite liberally - it can and does win games. I never have to worry about Weaken Resolve which is another useful benefit. Paroxysm (Tyrant) is a very powerful psychic power along with Aura of Despair and Hypnotic Gaze (Broodlord)... All three of these buff your assault phases which has always been a big strength for Tyranids.

Deployment and Mobility
Reserved armies have an inherent strength when it comes to deployment and this is another huge advantage for this style of play... Basically you can ignore all the penalties imposed upon more conventional armies due to deployment. As I said above the vast majority of your army will arrive during the second turn and you can saturate the battlefield to gain advantage from the MTO strategy. Mycetic spores and Trygons deploy like drop pods so they are much less affected by the random chance of a mishap. Yrmgals can move and assault the turn they arrive from reserve. In my mind there are lots of advantages to this style of play. Gaunts, genestealers and Trygons can fleet... If need be all of these units can catch up to vehicles that can only move 12" or less with a good roll for run assuming the vehicle is no more than 18" away at the start of your turn. Obviously the winged Tyrant is fast as well. By combining this mobility with other aspects of your army you can quickly and effectively cover a lot of ground in a single turn. I have had games where my genestealer brood started 24" or more away from an enemy unit at turn four and was able to launch a game winning assault by the last turn... They are not perceived as a threat until its too late.

Survivability
I played Dark Eldar before I decided to approach Tyranids. One major weakness of dark eldar is an army can die in droves during a single turn if you are careless or just plain unlucky-they are the ultimate glass hammer. I did not know what to expect when I decided to first start playing Tyranids but I have found they are much more resilient and thus much more forgiving. You can lose a couple units due to mistakes or bad luck and still have a good chance to win. This aspect (maybe more than anything else) makes for playing Tyranids more enjoyable for me. I think I have a good ratio of T3-T4-T6 units and a good mix will help to offset any one unit drawing focused fire.

Conclusion
This article was an overview how and why I play my army. I have addressed challenges to its effectiveness as a competitive army.

Transmorgrification

2012-01-30T15:49:00.002-06:00

Introduction
So I've got some free time just before hitting the sack and I decided I'd spend some time writing my first serious tactical article for Necrons. The codex has been out for awhile now and we have all seen the more prevalent lists that are gaining popularity. One of the nice things about using Tremor tactics is it does not eat up lots of points so you can incorporate elements from other popular builds such as Wraithwing and the Scarab Farm. Tremor tactics go hand in hand with Stormlord tactics—by combining the two you are both limiting the distance your opponent can target your squads when shooting as well as slowing their approach... The goal is to create conditions such that the enemy cannot see you nor can the opponent assault you. All the while you are moving your units into position to devastate the enemy.

As a general caveat there are strategies the opponent can make use of to mitigate these effects but generally speaking mechanized armies that heavily rely upon treads will have some real problems getting around your defensive affects. I like to call these tactics Enemy Force Divider (FID). The term force multiplier is common now in fifth edition as there are lots of special characters that boost certain units in their army and unlock special modifications to the existing force organization chart (FOC). So basically you are using defensive powers to neutralize the main strengths of your opponent's army. Reserve armies that deploy via deep strike, infiltration and outflanking (e.g., Blood Angels DoA and Tyranid reserve armies) are less affected by Tremor tactics since they can deliver their units right upon your door step—I'll address how to deal with these types of armies in a later article.

Basic Tremor Tactics
So what are Tremor tactics? These tactics make use of the C'tan Shards and Crypteks fielded as Harbingers of Transmorgrification (HoT). The main manifestation of power to select for the C'tan is Writhing Worldscape—all difficult terrain is treated as also dangerous terrain and dangerous terrain tests are failed on the roll of both a 1 and 2 while the C'tan is on the battlefield. The other manifestitation of power I think is very useful for these tactics is the Grand Illusion that allows you to redeploy up to D3 units after both forces have deployed and all Scout Moves have been made–note that you can place these units back into or out of reserve... Generally you'll want to go first if possible so as to pull off the bait and switch tactic. HoT are armed with the Tremor Stave which cause an enemy unit hit with this weapon to treat terrain as difficult ground during their next movement phase and it has a range of 36". You can also field Orikan the Diviner who causes all terrain to be treated as difficult ground for the enemy during their first turn. I am still up in the air about Orikan though as he is a Cryptek that counts as an HQ and does not have access to a Royal Court. You'll want to make sure you have enough HoG such that they are effective. HoT also have access to the Seismic Crucible which reduces the charge range of an enemy unit by D3" if they attempt to assault the HoT including any unit he is attached.

So these are the tactics you use to impede the forward progress of the enemy. As I said above these tactics go hand in hand with Stormlord tactics including Harbingers of Destruction armed with the Solar Pulse... Your opponent can't see you and they can't reach out and touch you in melee... All the while you are moving into position to blast them to bloody bits !!

Flexibility
One of the inherent beauties of Tremor tactics is besides the cost of the C'tan the HoD are relatively cheap to field so you have lots of points left over—You can still incorporate Stormlord, Wraithwing and Scarab Farm elements into your army if you wish. Tremor tactics basically are an enhancement that help bolster your defense by buying you more time.

2k Sample Army List

So far I have used 1955 points. The list incorporates both Stormlord and Scarab Farming elements. It can really hit hard in melee with lots of heavy hitters. The shooty component is very mobile.

Imotekh the Stormlord (225)

Orikan the Diviner (165)

Royal Court (315)

*Harbinger of Destruction (Solar Pulse)

*Harbinger of Despair (Veil of Darkness)

*Harbinger of Transmogrification (Seismic Crucible)

*Harbinger of Transmogrification

*Lord (Resurrection Orb)

Elite

C'Tan Shard (260)

- Writhing Worldscape & Grand Illusion

Troops

20x Warriors (260)

10x Immortals (170)

Fast Attack

6x Canoptek Wraiths (260)

- 2x Particle Caster + 4x Whip Coil

10x Canoptek Scarabs (150)

Heavy Support

3x Canoptek Spyder (150)

Conclusion
This is the first article that presents the use of Tremor tactics and provides a sample army lists to better illustrate how to effectively incorporate these tactics.

My thoughts on the leaked sixth edition

2012-01-25T22:07:00.002-06:00

FYI - this is the 100th post on the blog. Big Al owes me a cookie now. Heh !!

Some of you might remember that GW leaked the fifth edition rules prior to their official release—the pdf was well written and in line with what I would expect from GW... No typos, no grammatical errors, etc. The new Grey Knight codex was leaked as well—same deal... Well written and in line with what I would expect. Heck even fourth edition was officially leaked as version 3.5. We know these were all legit based upon the evidence at hand and no one can deny these as fact. On the other hand the 'leaked' sixth edition PDF looks like garbage in comparison in my opinion... Lots of typos and lots of grammatical errors... It looks like it could have been written by an average teenager to me. The rules presented in the leaked sixth edition at best are extremely complex and very hard to follow. People have gone so far as to present video batreps on the internet based upon these leaked rules and they have made a bundle of errors. I think if they were truly honest they would admit they don't fully understand how these rules are intended to work. The enthusiasm is great but I feel it's misguided.

What I want for sixth is a very tight set of rules that are well written plus I think they should be easy to understand and apply. All this blah blah blah about how stale is 5th edition isn't going to change anything. No one was complaining about fifth edition prior to this leak as far back as I can remember. We all know 6th will be released some time this year—don't get yer knickers all bunched up and knotted. Oh and be very careful what you wish for... More complex invariably means more arguments and more time required to play. Fifth edition is the best yet and it fixed a lot of the problems with fourth edition. Hopefully sixth edition will be even better and address the problems we have found in fifth edition.

So why do people like the leaked ruleset? I think the answer is that they believe it will change the current meta, nerf some of the top tiered armies and make more of the lower tiered armies more powerful. The truth is every new edition has changed the meta and invariably shifted the balance of power. It is what it is.

Can the Eldar be viable?

2012-01-22T23:14:00.000-06:00

We have a big tournament coming up in a about a month - the Battle For Stone's River. It's a very objective based tournament - every table has a river and two bridges across it. The tournement is based on and in remembrance of the Civil War battle of the same name - with 1863 points - the year the battle occurred.

The local scene is a little more diverse than what you see at an Adepticon or other major tournaments. There are more than a few Orks, Chaos, Tau, etc armies than you see in other places. But I know that several of the better players in the area (some of whom write for this blog) will be playing Grey Knights, Marines, etc. So my dilemma is - how to counter and come up with something that can handle the heavy lists - but maintains high mobility. Which has led me to think about the Eldar - one of my favorite lists of the past - but a challenge in today's tournament arena.

I think that the Eldar can cause havok with all psykers - not so much what they can do - but what the rolling three dice to cast powers does to opponents. Eldar are still top shelf as a fast army that has some resiliance still due to their Serpents and Falcons - still hard to kill in 5th. An Autarch gives some tactical flexibility around playing a reserve game if you are going to be outshot - and give you the chance for that last turn objective grab. Dire Avengers make good and cheap troop choices, Fire Dragons are still death for enemy armor, and Banshee's can still be dangerous in HTH.

BUT....Eldar are pricy. If you are going with as many Eldar hulls - six to seven will be max. They are frail and don't survive long against much of anything in HTH unless you can do a first turn alpha strike. They have as many down sides as upsides in many cases.

So....the question still is there....what am I going to run???

Unsettled Times!

2012-01-21T01:13:00.000-06:00

So...it's January 21st, it's 64 degrees at 1 AM and there is a Tornado Warning about 10 miles south of my house, a Tornado Watch until 5 am, my daughter just turned 15 and wants to get a drivers permit, the Battle for Stone's River tournament is in a month and I still haven't settled on what to run yet, new FAQ's are out for almost every army, and rumors of 6th edition are rampant and our hobby is about to dramatically change. Troubling times for sure!

For Stone's River (an excellent little local tournament - now 70 people strong) I'm torn between Dark Angels (I've been running a Death Wing/Standard Marine combo that has been fairly effective lately), Grey Knights (and I expect a large turnout of GK armies), my tried and tested Space Wolves, or wondering if an Eldar list might just surprise folks. In the past, the missions have favored a lot of mobility - an Eldar do well there. Still not sure what to do here.

Sixth Edition sounds interesting and a major change. I have scanned the leaked codex - but not looked at it in detail. Some say it is just a joke, others feel it's genuine. If true, it sounds like the game has gone back towards it's roots somewhat - adding a more tactical feel to the game. I think if true - that would be a plus for the game. Fifth edition in particular removed a lot of the high level tactics of the game - and made it more of a who can roll the dice better game than who can outmanuever and outplay their opponent.

Regardless - Fifth edition has grown old and I welcome a change. In the old days of fourth edition - I counted myself as a good player - a top 10 to 25 in tournaments on a regular basis. Fifth edition gave me a swift kick in the ding-ding - placing WAY to much emphasis on how well you can roll dice for someone like me - who is VERY capable of rolling 8 1's out of 10 dice.

So - things will be up in the air for some time. The inter-webz will be full of chatter and rumors will abound. People will be talking about the hobby - interest will grow - and a bit of excitement will be back in the game. All good things! Stelek has started ranting about the Wrecking Crew on his crappy little blog again, I'm sure the BOLS guys will be next. All of which adds to the drama and intrigue that the US gamers have grown to love and enjoy. YEAH BABY!

And just to add to the unsettling things....GW has shown a nice little profit of late - a sure sign of the coming apocalypse when all the Nay-Sayers said they were doomed to failure.

Draigowing vs. Imperial Guard - 2k Batrep

2012-01-07T19:42:00.002-06:00

I'm still waiting on my Tyranids to be painted and still working on my Necrons so this weekend
again I decided to break out my Grey Knights for another pickup game. I used the exact same list as last weekend:

Lord Draigo
Librarian - master crafted warding stave, 2x servo skull, Might of Titans, Sanctuary,shrouding, Warp Rift

10x Paladin: fully complex w. 4x psycannon
10x GKT w. 2x psycannon

Psyfleman
Psyfleman

Sorry I don't have an exact list for the IG army. Off the top of my head it included the following units:

Colonel Straken w. command squad - chimera
Primaris Psyker (attached to melta vets)

10x melta vets - chimera
Platoon blob w. Commissar: 3x lascannon, plasmaguns, sergeants w. power swords
3x autocannon HWS
5x guardsmen w. 3x grenade launcher (ride in Vendetta)

Vendetta

Devildog

Leman Russ Demolisher squadron (lascannons)

Leman Russ

Colossus

10x Battle Psyker Squad

Mission
The mission was Capture and Control with Dawn of War for deployment. I won the roll and opted to go second. I rolled for the Grand Strategy and made both psyflemen scoring. My opponent deployed his blob on a covered hill sitting on his objective marker. All the rest of his army would come in from reserve on the first turn. I placed my objective marker back in a corner of my deployment zone with some decent cover deploying the Librarian attached to the Paladins off beside my objective in hard cover. Both psyflemen would walk on the first turn with Lord Draigo and the GKT opting to teleport.

Pre Game Analysis
I don't have a good track record versus IG in 5th edition to be honest—luckily the mission is not Seize Ground with five objective markers. I opted for a very simple strategy—Lord Draigo and the GKT will go for my opponent's objective marker while the rest of my army will defend my objective marker. I am counting on Lord Draigo to survive one round of shooting following deep strike then converge on the blob and slowly NOM NOM NOM them to death. Draigo is a beast and can suck up some pain then dish it right back. The rest of my army has solid cover and can shred AV12. The Librarian as usual is key to securing victory and must come through in the clutch casting his psychic powers.

Turn 1 - Imperial Guard
Everything not on the table comes on with a good contingent of the army moving into position to support their blob. Vendetta comes on the far table edge safely tucked away while Straken and his posse roll on in their chimera behind the blob. PSB walks on behind the blob as well. Colossus also comes in on the far side of the table. The Demolisher squadron and Devildog come in along the opposite side of Paladins and will be out of range this turn. Chimera full of melta vets pull up behind the Devildog for some hard cover. IG doesn't spot my Paladins and that's it.

Turn 1 - Draigowing
My psyflemen walk on hiding behind cover. Paladins move up closer to blob (remaining in cover obviously), target the Devildog and whiff.

Turn 2 - Imperial Guard
Demolishers, Devildog and PSB move up in range of my Paladins and cut loose with a deadly salvo. My Librarian botches his psychic test for Shrouding and then the bombs drop. One pie plate hits while the other scatters off. I fail my first four cover saves—SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT. I then lose another Paladin to a stray lascannon and the PSB successfully cast Weaken Resolve beating the reinforced Aegis on a psyfleman. Luckily the small blast from the Devildog scatters wide. I'm thinking this game is probably already over now but decide to stick it out and see how everything plays out. Paladins fail their morale check and fall back missing the board edge by a couple inches... That would have pretty much been the end of the game otherwise.

Turn 2 - Draigowing
Lord Draigo and his GKT teleport onto the battlefield scattering 10" straight towards the blob but don't mishap. Paladins auto rally and move back up into cover with both psyflemen side by side for protection. Lord Draigo and GKT target the blob but only manage to drop six due to some fiery hot cover saves. Paladins target the Devildog and rip off its turret. Psyflemen target a chimera full of melta vets riding in a chimera parked behind the Devildog but only manage to shake it.

Turn 3 - Imperial Guard
As much of the IG army that can target Lord Draigo and his GKT take aim and lay massive waste to the Grey Knights. When all the smoke clears all that is left standing is Draigo and two terminators (made a ridiculous amount of cover saves this turn). The PSB then successfully cast Weaken Resolve targeting Lord Draigo and his remaining terminators—they fall back 6" and there's nothing close by to prevent them from auto rallying the next turn... IG should have parked the Vendetta right beside them. I was actually hoping that all the GKT would die so that Lord Draigo would revert back to being Fearless so it worked out okay this turn after all.

Turn 3 - Draigowing
Lord Draigo auto rallies and moves up in position to finally charge the blob. Paladins and one psyfleman take aim on the Devildog—destroying the last of its weapons and immobilize it. The other psyfleman manages to stun the chimera full of melta vets. Lord Draigo then assaults the blob—NOM NOM NOM... He kills four guardsmen and takes no wounds in return. Blob then pass their morale check and pile in around Draigo.

Turn 4 - Imperial Guard
Straken and his command squad pull up in their chimera beside the battle between Lord Draigo and the blob. Vendetta moves into position to fire upon one of my psyflemen. Demolishers move up to drop more pie plates of death on the Paladins and psyflemen. Vendetta explodes one of the psyflemen but the Paladins and remaining psyfleman stand tall. Lord Draigo continues to NOM NOM NOM the blob and they pass their morale check.

Turn 4 - Draigowing
This will be a critical turn as we are playing random game length. I'm holding my objective marker with the remaining psyfleman and Lord Draigo is contesting the other. I need to stop the melta vets from moving into position to contest my objective and shoot down the Vendetta since its carrying another scoring unit. Lord Draigo is doing just fine and is whittling down the blob slowly but surely.

Librarian successfully casts Warp Rift popping both the Devildog and the chimera full of melta vets. Melta vets pop out the rearside of the burning wreck and pass their leadership tests. Paladins and psyflemen both whiff on the Vendetta. Draigo continues to NOM NOM NOM the blob reducing them to just a handful of guardsmen.

Turn 5 - Imperial Guard
Straken and his command squad decide to remain inside their chimera and play it safe while the Vendetta moves flat out towards my objective but is still well outside of 3" from my objective marker. The wrecks from the Devildog and chimera is shielding the Paladins from the Demolishers and PSB. The meta vets move forward to target the psyfleman but are just outside of half range. Again my Librarian botches his psychic test while attempting to cast the Shrouding and takes a wound from Perils of the Warp... Really bad day at the office for him. Melta vets whiff on the psyflemen then Lord Draigo finishes off the last of the blob and walks onto the enemy objective marker.

Turn 5 - Grey Knights
The Librarian splits off from the Paladins to assault the melta vets. The Paladins target the Vendetta inflicting three penetrating hits but it passes all three cover saves. The psyfleman then shoots down the Vendetta and one guardsman dies in the ensuing explosion. The Librarian then botches his psychic test for Hammerhand and dies from Perils of the Warp failing his first 2++ save... Wow !!

We roll for the sixth turn and up pops a 2... I'm holding my objective counter and contesting the enemy objective marker... So I end up with a close win. Note that the melta vets were less than an inch away from contesting my objective marker. I think that if the Librarian had charged the melta vets and not broke them the pile in move would have moved them inside room to contest... Pretty crazy.

Post Game Analysis
Well it was pretty dumb to have cast Hammerhand for the Librarian even with a 2++ save... Just really wasn't necessary but still worked out for the win. I think my opponent should have been more aggressive with Straken and his Vendetta. Straken ended up not contributing to the battle and might have been able to finish off Draigo in melee. The opening four failed cover saves plus botching Shrouding with my Librarian during the second turn took me right back to the second half of my previous game versus Space Marines last weekend. Luckily fate decided to be kind a bit after the initial run of bad luck and I was able to make a game out of it sticking to the plan. IG does not really have an answer to Lord Draigo in melee and once he got stuck in combat he did what he does best for the rest of the game.

Help with the bikes.....

2012-01-04T14:03:00.004-06:00

I really haven't been playing my Storm Lords bike army lately. They don't seem to have what it takes to win consistently around here with the rise of Dark Eldar, Grey Knights and Blood Angels in my area. My bike army used to do very well and was consistently in the top five of most tournies but now seems like the knife being brought to the gun fight. I know that any army can win on any given day but I just can't seem to come up with lists I like any more. As a case in point there is a 1500 point tourney this Sunday and I have been playing around with lists but haven't found one I think will do well. I am hoping our readers can give me some inspiration and ideas to redo my bike army.

I just want to talk about why I feel that way and take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of a White Scars army and why they I feel they have dropped in power.

The number one strength with a White Scars army is speed. We used to besides Eldar be the umatched kings of maneuverability. With fast troops we could redeploy on the fly and take objectives in late game turns and extend our threat bubble accordingly. However with the rise of Blood Angels, DE and GK we are just one of the fast armies. BA can be fast all their vehicles can move 12 and shoot or go supercharged and go 18". Plus they have a lot of jumpers and precision deep strike to get where they need to be. Dark Eldar are ridiculously fast. No comment is even needed on how fast they are. Even GKs can be fast. Stormravens, personal teleporting interceptors and dread knights plus the teleportation of strikes, termies and paladins.

This has all combined to negate or blunt our speed advantage. Plus a lot of armies now have ways to put units in difficult terrain. Tremor staves, murderous hurricane, sanctuary, thunderfire cannons are all murder on bikes. All those dangerous terrain checks can really but a hurt in your units plus it doesn't allow for turbo boosting to get the all important 3+ cover save.

The second strength of the White Scar force is toughness five troops. This makes up for the limited quantity of guys. However DE don't care about T5. With poison all toughnesses are the saem and you will be making a ton of armor saves. In combat with BAs everybody is usually in the furious charge bubble making your toughness five not nearly as effective especially with then going at int 5.. GKs are shooting you with psycannons and autocannons which laugh at your toughness five, plus when you do get into combat they are also going ahead of you and all have power weapons and hammerhand at the very least.

With these two strengths neutralized or at the very least marginalized it seems like the inherent weaknesses of low numbers and dearth of long range firepower are even more magnified. The tournament scene in the Chicago area seems to be dominated by Wolves, BA, GK and a smattering of DE (Especially GK). Just wondering what your fixes for these armies you have implemented so I can steal er I mean gain inspiration from....

2012 Tournaments

2011-11-19T13:14:00.000-06:00

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

2011-11-16T21:34:00.000-06:00

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

2011-11-09T08:27:00.002-06:00

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

2011-10-06T22:30:00.004-05:00

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?

2011-09-29T21:12:00.000-05:00

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

2011-09-24T12:07:00.000-05:00

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

2011-08-26T22:14:00.001-05:00

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

2011-08-24T19:34:00.000-05:00

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

2011-08-21T21:48:00.000-05:00

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…

2011-08-06T20:50:00.003-05:00

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

2011-07-28T21:15:00.002-05:00

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

2011-07-28T00:38:00.000-05:00

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

2011-07-24T23:08:00.000-05:00

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

2011-07-13T22:25:00.001-05:00

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

2011-06-29T13:30:00.003-05:00

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!!

2011-06-29T08:44:00.002-05:00

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...

2011-06-13T21:20:00.000-05:00

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

2011-06-09T22:21:00.002-05:00

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

2011-05-31T16:35:00.004-05:00

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!!

ATC - The Aftermath

2011-05-24T11:44:00.001-05:00

Here's a break down of how we did - my compadre's can add details about their matchups.

Our team:

Al - Wolves
Matt - Black Templar
Greg - Dark Angels
Brian - Space Marines
Dung - Chaos

Round #1 was against Chicago Kamikaze's (some of Greg's Peeps from Chi-town). Matchups came out pretty good. I was Champion and played a Mech-Eldar list. Guy was a good player - we danced around but his speed killed me at the end - as did a bad round of armor saves from pathfinders on my Termies (5 died to shooting - and they all had Storm Shields). He contests everything with hulls on last turn - I fail miserably to take any of them down (3 melta's - Two Cyclones, and HTH with Logan and a termy against various and sundry hulls - nothing happens). Sigh...I lose 5 to 25. As a team we draw with them basically 70 pts to 80 pts.

Round #2 - against 4 really cool guys and the biggest A-hole I've ever met at a tourney from North Carolina. Matchups for us went perfect - with the most favorables going our way. I matched up against the other team captain running Blood Angel. We had an AWESOME game - tactically dancing around the objectives. I win KP's, he wins Seize Ground, and we draw on C&C. Rest of the team rocks - we win 120 to 30 if memory serves.

My buddy Dung'er got to play a real piece of work in this game - constantly question rules - and never right, asking people about the rules and when the answers weren't what he wanted to hear - yelling at us to stay out of his game, extremely belligerent - dropping F-bombs, telling us to F'off and stay out of his game, then asking more questions a minute later. The rest of the tourney the other guys on the team kept apologizing for this guy - saying they barely knew him and he was a friend of one of their guys that the rest had never met before. The other guys were really good dude's though. I had a blast with the guy I played and would play him again any time.

Round #3 - another team from NC. Matchups are a total flip flop from last round - nothing favorable. I wound up with a Mech Kan/Dread wall - that I thought I had down ok - but failed to stop him from getting into my lines. I pull a zero. Solid guy to play - I took my beating like a man - shook his hand and wished him luck. Rest of our guys follow suit - except for Swanson who takes 25 and one other getting 5 pts (can't remember who) - we fall on our swords for 30 - 120 point loss.

Round #4 - draw some fella's from Alabama (Jeff O'Neil and friends who knew a lot of our guys). Matchups go so-so. I draw a Chaos Dual Lash. We duke it out at range as he closes. It's a touch and go match - looking like a draw/loss for me going into turn 5. At bottom - I run termies to contest an object in SG, Run squad to contest his objective in C&C, Snipe a demone prince with Jaws, Logan smacks a Rhino for a KP. I'm up on all vp's - but probably can't hold them if it continues. He rolls a one and Game ends - poor guy is in shock that he went from at least 15 pts to zero. Good solid guy - fun game. Can't remember how the rest went but we scored around 90 overall I think to 60 for them.

It's been a long/hot tiring day - we go grab a few beers and chow - continue the BS'ing and making fun of Matt.

Round #5 Sunday Morning - we draw the WC-East team - Solid team of Parker, Cauley, Poole, Delgado, and Migliano. Match ups are rough for us. I draw Brian Delgado (who I hadn't met before) and Blood Angels. Again one of the most fun games for me in recent memory. I have early hand at beginning dropping Stormravens with ML's. We have a big HTH with Termies and DC that was epic. At end I have the SG's, He has KP's and C&C. 10 to 20 loss for me but I get a few points. Overall round was bad for us - think we pulled around 30 points to 120 for them. Was our back breaker. They go on to play for first place - we fall from the rankings.

Round #6 - We are playing against some guys from Alabama - the same guys that BikeNinja and I played in the doubles at Supremacy in Round #1 and their friends. Match ups go pretty well for us - with me facing a rough BA list (the guy who ran Demon's in Supremacy). We had a good game - he's a solid player and was cool to play. We dance and duke it out - semi-close game - but at the end I fail to damage anything (in the last three rounds I had 13 melta/Tank Hunter ML's shots on light armor - I did nothing more than stun for damage - I SUCK). My feeble attempt to achieve a draw on SG fails when I immobilize myself when moving a Rhino up to take an Opjective. I pull a zero. Rest of the guys do pretty well - I think we get around 90 points or so.

So all this brings us to 8th overall. But this was a GREAT format and a ton of fun. Hard fought games against a bunch of great players. It was hotter than hades without Air in the room - that's my only major complaint.

Oh yeah....Brian and I won the doubles tournament. My ride on his coat tails continues! I'll do another post on that one.

Was a blast to hang with my buddies, talk a lot of gaming geekiness and general BS, and not worry about a lot. Wish I hadn't let my team down battle wise as much as I did. Already looking forward to this next year. Was great to get to know Greg better and he fit in great with our crowd. Our team will be back next year hopefully and will improve.

ATC Tournament This Weekend

2011-05-17T09:29:00.001-05:00

This weekend the Blade and Bolter Boyz will be sending two teams to the America's Team Championship tournament in Chattanooga at the Seige convention.

Really looking forward to this event - going with a pretty solid team of myself, Corwindal, Sabote, Dung Trihn, and Greg Swanson (buddy from Chi Town).

Army lists and registrations fee's are done - a little finalization to a a couple squads - and we are good to go. Still noodling on how we want to run the Champions Mechanic for our team.

Here are the rules for the tourney:

5 Member Teams / 40 Team Maximum Capacity.
Every Member on the Team Must use a different Codex Army.
2000 Points per player.
Maximum 1 Special or 1 Named Character per Army List.

6 Games ( 4 - Saturday 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.)( 2 - Sunday 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.)

No Painting or Composition Scores. Although Painting Quality is not a factor in the overall score, Armies must be painted to a minimum 3 colors and bases must be painted or flocked. Any Army not meeting these requirements will suffer a significant penalty to their overall Team score.

ALL models MUST be WYSIWYG!

Sportsmanship will be taken into account. Sportsmanship is always a very important factor in all of our events. We are playing a game (supposedly for fun) and any unsportsmanlike behavior will not be tolerated. Sportsmanship will be a factor each game in the overall scoring (not a huge amount, but enough to matter) and any low scores each game will be reviewed by the judges and players to ensure that the system is not being abused or that you received a low score because you hurt someones feelings because you beat them! There will be a reasonable warning system and a "Slow Play" system in effect as well.

Trophies will be given for Best Painted, Best Sportsmanship, Best General, Best Team (each member will be rewarded a trophy) and Best Theme.

The Mission (So Far):

Each round will be 2.5 hours of game play plus an additional 30 mins for TeamCaptains to pair off their players against each other.

How Pairing will Work:

EACH Round, After teams have been paired against each other by the Tournament Judges, the 2 Team Captains will then pair their players against each other. This will be done as follows:

Team players pairing system :

Captains will have 30 minutes before each match to decide who will play with which opponent. They can consult with and use the help of the rest of the team as they wish. All army lists will be available at this time for both Teams review and consideration.

Players during match will be matched by Captains in the following way:

"Secret challenge" - At the start of the pairing captains chose secretly one player - a champion. Champions can be different from round to round. Both names of champions are written down at the start of the pairing on a separate piece of paper and revealed and the end of it. Champions play on the last available table.

After that:

1. Both captains roll a dice.
2. Captain A who rolled lowest puts forward player A.
3. Captain B puts a player to fight player A.
4. Captain A chooses a table for that game.
5. Captain B who rolled highest puts forward player B.
6. Captain A puts a player to fight player B.
7. Captain B chooses a table for that game.
8. Captain A .....

There will be 3 Primary Mission Goals in Every Mission:
Goal #1 - Two objectives for Capture and control
Goal #2 - Three objectives for Seize Ground (separate from C&C)
Goal #3 - Kill Points
Achieving more of these goals than your opponent wins the game.* (see exceptionunder tabling/wiping out your opponent, below)

There will be 6 games so each deployment (Spearhead, Dawn of War and Pitched Battle) will be used twice each throughout the tournament.

Seize The Initiative and Random Game Length will be used in every round.

SCORING:

Each Mission Goal will be Worth 10 Game Points if Achieved, 5 Game Points if Drawn, 0 Game Points if not achieved.
So, Possible Game Points EACH Round is 30 Maximum, 0 Minimum.

Should be a lot of fun!

Why Reaver Jetbikes Are Totally Rawk-uh-Saurus !!!

2011-05-03T17:10:00.001-05:00

Dark Eldar Reaver Jetbikes

by Black Blow Fly

Introduction

The article is about the use of Reavers as a fast attack choice for dark eldar. Reaver jetbikes can serve several different roles depending upon how you build your unit:

Tank Hunters

Anti Troop

Harassing Unit/Disruption

Reavers are not overly priced point wise - you can field a unit of six with some nice options for under 200 points. A squad of six has a small footprint so they are easy to hide behind cover then later they can pop out and wreak havoc. Some players like to field their Reavers in a unit of nine jetbikes so they can take a third melta lance. A unit of nine starts to get a bit pricy though and then it's not as easy to hide them.

Basic Stats

The Reaver is T4/5, I6, 5+ armor save, two base attacks and has combat drugs as well. The Reaver is armed with a splinter pistol, splinter rifle (mounted under the bike) and has bladevanes. On paper they might appear at first glance to be well equipped for close combat but in reality you want to keep them out of melee if possible. Dark eldar has access to other units that are much better at close combat - Reavers are primarily intended for shooting and harassing your opponent. I have swept genestealers with my Reavers on the charge but I waited until they had a couple of pain tokens (Feel No Pain and Furious Charge) to charge the genestealers plus I shot them up to soften the enemy unit first. If you find that you're having to assault with your Reavers a lot then you might be doing something wrong. It's very easy to avoid melee as Reavers are currently one of the fastest units in 40k.

Movement

Reavers can turbo boost up to 36" which is quite powerful as it's easy to move them into a good position to target enemy armor the next turn while hiding them behind cover. There are only a few units in 40k that are this fast and speed is one of the dark eldar's main assets. Reavers also have the Skilled Rider USR so it's okay to land them in difficult terrain if space is tight and you want to make sure that you can hide them for a turn. The Reaver jetbike counts as an eldar version so they can make a free assault move as well. If you've equipped your Reavers with melta lances it's fairly easy to move up 12", pop a couple of melta lance shots (18" range) at an enemy tank then finally use the free assault move to jump back behind LOS blocking cover. I typically will place mine such that only the Reavers with melta lances are out in the open to negate any cover save for my opponent then finally use the free assault move to jump them back out of sight again.

NOTE

Never place your Reavers in a position where a Space Marine player can move up with a transport and rapid fire. I learned this the hard way. :'(( Even with the 3++ cover save following a turbo boost the Reavers will drop like flies to bolters.

Arena Champion

I always take an Arena Champion and typically arm him with a venom blade. The champion boosts their leadership up to Ld9 which I think is very helpful once they start to take morale tests due suffering unsaved wounds from enemy shooting. The upgrade is cheap points wise and there is less chance they'll break. If the Reavers break it can be quite dangerous for the unit since they fallback 3d6". The venom blade only costs five points and it's a poisoned melee weapon that wounds on 2+. If you've whittled a monstrous creature down to it's last wound the venom blade can finish off the beast. You are typically striking first due to his being I6 and the Arena Champion has a decent number of attacks, hitting on 3+ as well versus monstrous creatures that are WS3. It just depends upon the circumstances - like I've said above typically I don't like to assault with my Reavers but there are a few situations where it might be worth the risk.

Options

You have two main options to choose from - either the melta lance or cluster caltrops. The melta lance is for tank hunting while the cluster caltrops are for strafing enemy infantry outside any transports. I prefer the melta lance since mech is so popular and this weapon is excellent at cracking enemy armor. As already stated above the melta lance has 18" range and is both a melta weapon plus a lance (obviously... Duh :p). Combined with the basic 12" move you can place your Reavers at half range starting up to 21" away from an enemy tank. If you're playing against a heavily mechanized opponent then it's going to hard for them to effectively hide all their armor - typically it's just not possible. Also remember that Reavers come standard with bladevanes so they can still execute the fly by which works quite well versus units such as gaunts and guardsmen.

Cluster caltrops are great versus units such as tactical Marines and Long Fangs. You can fly over the enemy unit and inflict a lot of wounds (1d6 S6 AP- attacks per caltrop that automatically hit). You have to be careful though so that you don't end your movement phase such that your opponent can either shoot or assault your Reavers the following turn. Reavers as stated can turbo boost up to 36" so if you are careful it's possible to fly over an enemy unit, drop the caltrops and end your movement in a safe spot. If you can land your Reavers behind LOS blocking terrain that's most often the best choice.

Starting in Reserve

I always hold my Reavers in reserve. It helps to keep them safe plus often your opponent will forget about them and move a unit into a compromised position so that you can pop a tank the same turn they arrive. You can move them up to 75 percent of the way across the short side of the table so there is no real loss in terms of positioning them effectively once they come in from reserve. If the deployment is Spearhead remember that Reavers can come in from anywhere along your long table edge... To me that can be another big advantage if you hold them in reserve.

If you use the webway portal this is another great way to bring your Reavers in from reserve. Currently I'm not using the portal I've seen other dark eldar players use them very well with their Reavers. It's definitely worth noting if you do use the portal.

Conclusion

Reavers were one of my first choices when I decided to build a dark eldar army. Reavers are a solid choice and can integrate well with most dark eldar army lists. Reavers are one of fastest units in 40k and have many special abilities that can make them stand out if properly applied. Reavers give you rare access to meltas with great range and are helpful versus enemy armor including landraiders. Reavers can also disrupt the enemy's battle plan and take some heat off your other units.

Are you thinking about running some Dark Reavers? How would you equip your unit?

The Kalm has been Blown Away!

2011-04-29T10:34:00.002-05:00

This weekend one of the best little tournaments around was scheduled to be held in Huntsville, Alabama.

Yesterday we got this message from the Kalm Organizer - Mr. George Flowers:

As some of you may be aware, much of the southeast area was hit by severe thunderstorms and tornados yesterday. This has left much of north Alabama without power and from what we know right now, we may not have power in Madison County for 4-5 days. There is a press conference scheduled this morning to update us on the power situation. Certainly the Kalm is secondary to all the damage done and lives lost but we wanted to give you guys an update about the situation. Unless we receive some extraordinary news about power being restored to the area, we will be unable to hold the Kalm this weekend.

That was followed by the formal cancellation this morning.

A good portion of the South and Alabama in particular was DEVESTATED on Wednesday. The good thing is that I believe all my buddies are ok - just without power for a week or so. That being said, a lot of peole have lost everything - some even their lives.

Please keep the good folks in Alabama in your thoughts and prayers.

Dark eldar versus mech Blood Angels * 1000 point batrep

2011-04-16T23:14:00.002-05:00

So this afternoon I finally got in a couple of games versus Blood Angels with my dark eldar. This battle report showcases the second battle. Here is my list:

HQ
Succubus: haywire grenades, blast pistol & agonizer

Troops
10x Warrior inc. Syrabite: blaster, dark lance, venom blade & splinter pistol - raider: flickerfield
10x Warrior inc. Syrabite: blaster, dark lance, venom blade & splinter pistol - raider: flickerfield
10x Warrior inc. Syrabite: blaster, dark lance, venom blade & splinter pistol - raider: flickerfield
5x Wych - raider: flickerfield (Succubus attached to this squad)

Fast Attack
6x Reaver jetbike incl. Arena Champion: 2x heat lance & venom blade

Here is the Blood Angels army to the best of my memory:

HQ
Librarian

Troops
5x Assault Marine: flamer - razorback: lascannon & twin linked plasmagun, dozer blades
5x Assault Marine: flamer - razorback: lascannon & twin linked plasmagun, dozer blades
5x Assault Marine: flamer - razorback: lascannon & twin linked assault cannon, dozer blades
5x Assault Marine: meltagun - rhino (Librarian attached to this squad)

Heavy Support
Whirlwind
Dreadnaught: pair of twin linked autocannons

Fast Attack
Landspeeder: multi-melta & heavy flamer

Pre Game Analysis
This game was a good test in general versus a heavily mechanized army and I was interested to see how my dark eldar would perform versus the fast Blood Angels. I am an ardent Blood Angels player myself but much prefer to run DoA armies. While razorspam Blood Angels can't out maneuver dark eldar in terms of speed you do have to respect their ability to move 12" with a razorback and still fire a turret mounted weapon. This Blood Angels list has more than enough long range firepower to pop my paper airplanes. On the other hand my dark matter weapons shouldn't have much problems popping those razorbacks and the rhino. Five man assault squads shouldn't be much of a threat in close combat, even versus the Warriors since I'll always be striking first assuming the Warriors don't have to charge into difficult terrain. My plan was simple:

1> Wait to see where the enemy deploys then drop my two objectives far away from them, forcing the Blood Angels to split up if they wanted to attempt to take or contest either.

2> Focus dark matter firepower on the razorbacks and rhinos first, forcing them to foot slog.

3> The Reavers are going to target either the dreadnaught or whirlwind first - whichever is the easiest to reach. The landspeeder is a secondary target for dark matter weapons since it has a heavy flamer - it's armor is no better than my raiders so it shouldn't be a problem either.

Deployment
Dawn of War

Primary Objective
At the top of our respective second turn each player drops two objective markers which then scatter 2d6" at the beginning of their third turn. If an objective marker scatters then it can mishap. Only scoring units can hold an objective - any unit can contest. The player controlling the most objective markers at the end of the game wins. There was also one bonus point each for destroying the enemy lowest and highest point units.

I had to go second and opted to hold all units in normal reserve. I rolled for combat drugs and got +1WS... Nice as the assault Marines would only be hitting the Succubus on a 5+ in close combat (my favorite result is reroll wounds). There was plenty of terrain on the table and I pretty much require at least 25 percent when I play my dark eldar. The Blood Angels player rolled for the Red Thirst but none of his units succumbed except for the dreadnaught.

1st & 2nd Turns - BA
The Blood Angels player started with his assault Marines in the rhino (Librarian attached) up at the edge of his deployment zone. The rest of his army then rolled onto the table at the start of his first turn using their overcharged engines to move up in support of the command rhino. He then popped smoke on all of his vehicles including the dreadnaught during his second turn and he dropped his two markers in the middle of the table close to his tanks. The whirlwind hung back along his board edge hiding behind a wall. The dreadnaught moved and ran both turns so it was not that far away from his parking lot.

2nd Turn - DE
I rolled for my reserves and in came two squads of Warriors plus the Reaver jetbikes. Everything moved flat-out/turbo boosted across the table using a tall barricade to block off enemy LOS. It was a tight fit but everything was well hidden. The only real threat the following turn would be the whirlwind - I'd just have to hope for a big scatter. I dropped my two markers off to the side of the table beside where my block of dark eldar had moved into place.

3rd Turn - BA
Not much shooting for my opponent as I cut off all of his LOS. The whirlwind took a potshot at my jetbikes but the big blast marker scattered wide. All of his smoke was gone now so in could proceed to light up his armor.

3rd Turn - DE
I rolled for reserves and the rest of my army arrived. The Reavers moved out from behind cover to target the dreadnaught. The newly arrived Wychs' raider moved onto the table in position to target the landspeeder. The newly arrived Warriors' raider moved into position to target the rhino. Both of these raiders were placed such that they would have a 4++ cover save from return fire. My other two raiders moved into positions such that they could both fire the blaster and the raider pintle mounted dark lance - one targeting the razorback with the assault cannon and the other one targeting one of the laserbacks. The Reavers only managed to shake and destroy one of the autocannons on the dreadnaught - not great but not bad either. The Wychs' raider popped the landspeeder. The three mounted Warrior squadrons wrecked the rhino and stunned the razorback with the assault cannon. Note that my Wychs/Sucubbus would be in a position to assault the Librarian and his assault Marines the next turn. All in all a solid round of shooting as most of the Blood Angels transports, along with landspeeder, were either gone up in smoke or could not shoot.

4th Turn - BA
My opponent conceded the game at this point. He said I was well positioned to win the game and he had to leave so he could attend a birthday party for his brother.

Post Game Analysis
I felt like my initial plan had worked rather well - I had managed to cripple most of the Blood Angels long range shooting during the first half of the game without taking any losses in return. The second half of the game would have consisted of finishing off the last of my opponent's vehicles then shooting/assaulting his Marines. Like I said a full squad of Warriors are good match versus squads of five Marines - I can either rapid fire their splinter rifles and charge them with a second unit. The Sucubbus and her Wychs match up very well versus small squads of Marines - the Sucubbus being fairly impervious versus a Marine hitting on 4+ in close combat, her agonizer cuts right through a basic Marines due to her hitting on 3+ in assault, wounding on 4+ with the agonizer which ignores armor saves. My dice were pretty hot and my opponent's cover saves were terrible during the crucial third turn.

G

Kalm Before the Waagh - 2011

2011-04-12T09:07:00.000-05:00

The next tournament on the schedule is the mega fun Kalm before the Waagh! The best little tournament ever! George "Warboss" Flowers has been running this for several years. Gotta love a tournament in a bar.

It's a pretty low key affair - so I'm wrestling with what I want to bring. It's not designed to be a beat face tourney - but it's been a long time since I've done that anyway.

I'm between Dark Angels (which I took last year) and my ATC list which would be Wolves.

More to come!

2011-04-12T01:28:00.001-05:00

Book Review: The Fall of Damnos

Ok kids, here is the Bikeninja with another book review. This one revolves around the ever Smurfy UltraMarines led by Captain Cato Sicarius. Reach back in time to when we all marveled over the new Space Marine Codex and we get a blurb about this epic battle. The bad guys are played by the evil Necrons. SPOILER ALERT: READ AT OWN RISK (Both the book and this review) The Story

I enjoyed reading the short story in the Space Marine Codex more than I enjoyed reading this book. The book only tells about the first three quarters of story. So at the end of the book you are left completely hanging if you haven’t read the little two page blurb in the Space Marine Codex. You have two stories going on at once and neither befits the noble Ultramarines. The parts I really wanted to read about I did not get. This is a major let down and for me clouded the entire book. The Writing

For a book I did not like, the writing was good. I like Nick Kyme , this is not his best work though. The book had a good flow and was easy to follow. The fight scenes were graphic , as can be expected from a Black Library novel. The characters were a little on the weak side. You see the mighty Space Marines experience a lot of human emotions that one could debate should not be there. The other interesting thing is the portrayal of the Necrons. Far different than anything else that I have read. This could well be foreshadowing into the direction the Necrons will take upon their re-release.

Final Rating

I am giving this one a 3 out of 5 it has some good and it has some bad. I am not a fan of the portrayal of the 2nd Company. For military geniuses they sure do not act like it. Sicarius does nothing for me. Any Captain that requires a full 10 man Command Squad is a sissy. (Personal Statement There) The Necrons I find interesting. Their new slant and introduction to some new special characters should make their new Dex interesting. Lets pray Matt Ward has nothing to do with their fluff as the Necrons could see their fluff ruined like the Grey Knights. If you are a true Ultramarines fan then you have already read this one. If not and you have nothing else to read. I would recommend it only under those circumstances.

Heroes of Armageddon

2011-04-06T09:33:00.010-05:00

Well Al has been after me to start posting on his blog and what better way to start posting then with a charity!!! Heroes of Armageddon is a charity give away where several well known painters put their own time and money into building armies and ask for support. This year we are building and painting 4 3000 point armies from the Armageddon battle. The armies will be given away at Games Day this year and because this is a give away the more you support the more chances to win. All proceeds go to the Doctors Without Borders Charity. Follow the link for all the details. I will try to get Al to put up the scripting for the Paypal link. http://heroesofarmageddon.blogspot.com/

Adepticon 2011 - Team Tournament

2011-04-05T15:19:00.000-05:00

This year we again attended Adepticon. My Battle Brothers Sabote, Corwindal, and Gimli have been hitting this up for three years (four for Gimli and I). Last year we managed 6th place overall - up from middle of the pack the first two years. We wanted to try and improve on that this year.

On Thursday we setup up our base display board. Our resident master modeler Todd did a phenomenal job on it. Had a little bit of issue with the size of the board and the Table we had - but Gimli to the rescue and we had a new table that worked great. Spent the rest of Thursday evening putting together our banner pole, fluff display and the like.

Saturday was the big day - up at 5:30 to get down in time to grab chow and get the stuff setup. Hall opens at 7'sh.

Our basic breakdown of roles and responsibility. Sabote paints our army and wins all his games, Matt had responsibilty for display board and winning most of his games, Gimli helps where needed is kinda our mechanical engineer guy - figures out the things like making the table work etc - along with winning most of his games, I do the paperwork and fluff stuff - provide the BS - and try not to make us lose any games.

Sabote, Gimli, and Corwindal setup the board, army and display things - I go get us registered, then do my mother hen annoying thing to them making sure we got everything set. They did a fantastic job. We had a trifold display with pictures of dead smurfs, a newpaper layout that talked about the smurf tragedy, put up wanted posters for a few guys that we had decided were responsible (Kenny and Rob B from Wrecking Crew, Sparks for Toledo, and Shaun Kemp from da Boyz - kill their commander in a game and get a BNB poker chip), etc. Hung out by the table to do our PR work and get ready for judging. We had a lot of walk by admirations and pictures taken of the table.

Judging goes pretty well - we had a strong theme this year - all the flyers, banners, etc - Along with a movie I showed on my tablet. Painting was high (although I thought we should have scored higher in all honesty), we have good fluff, - Step 1 complete with high marks I think.

Spend some time wandering around and checking out the armies. You will never see as incredible of a display of modeling talent in our hobby as you will at this event. People go all out and have incredible talents.

Now the real games begin.

Game 1 - vs Rusty Scabbard team.

Great guys from Lexington KY. They were playing bugs - each list had two Tervigons - pooping bugs out at an amazing rate each turn. Our teams broke with Brian and I together and Matt/Gimli. First part of our game went smoothly - with Sabote orchestrating and me following along. Then I got to witness and be part of something special. About turn 3 - Sabote whispers to me - next turn - we multicharge them across the board with everything. Ok....this will be interesting. So we slam into them with all we have - hitting about 6 squads of guants and one or two big bugs. We both roll well....doing a crap ton of wounds across a cc line that spanned over 2 feet in total length I think. They hit back and we take little to no wounds. We win combat by 24 - they are in synapse - so each squad takes 24 more saves. Whammo! 1 guy is tabled and other guy is down to 2 squads with less than 5 gaunts each and one tervy left. Max points for us - Gimli and Matt pull close to that in their game. They were top knotch guys - took their beatings like men and gave us max points. The multi charge move was one of the coolest I've seen - pure beauty and Sabote had set them up for it from Turn one. That's why he be de Warmaster!

Game Two - we draw the guys from Atlanta - team ATL - Walter, Brian and a couple other guys. They have Blood Angles and Bugs. Matt and I team up against Walt and Naif. We chuckle that yet again Sabote has to play against Brian White in another tourney. Mission is table quarters and VP. We dance around for a few turns - I push against the BA guy - engage against one of his squads. Matt holds against the Bugs (Walt). We get a break where Matt ties up most of the bugs with his Termies. I go drop the BA landrainder that has a libby and honor guard. My Captain and command squad kill them off. Game gets really tactical now - they are trying to squeek a win - we are holding on - at the end Matt beats back the bugs - I table the BA guy - Matt has a command token to seal the win for us. Major victory for us - Gimli and Sabote do the same.

So 1/2 way through we are looking good!

Game three has us against a team from Wisconsin running marine variants. Gimli and I are teamed up - we face a list of shrike + 10 th/ss termies + a tactical squad and scouts and a list of 8 termies with crusader+ scouts + plus some librarian guy from Imperial Armor who gets a 2+invul and can do three powers per turn. One of them had a thunderfire cannon as well. We are hurting in this game. I sacrifice my lone attack bike to try and take out the crusader before it can advance - hit it - roll the 6 for pen - then roll....a one....crap! they come over and kill a bunch of my stuff. the other big foot squad advances towards us - things are looking grim. But - then Gimli comes up with a great plan that we work out together. I can turbo up my command squad up and take one of the big objectives on their side. My other squad can turbo up to hold one of ours. Gimli can contest the one on our side they hold. If the game ends on turn 5 - we pull a minor win. Everything is going good - but unfortunately Gimli overheats a plasma and dies, then drifts a frag over to his squad and loses another guy - rolls a ten for leadership and runs off board. Sigh - bad luck sometimes strikes. Then fortune shines - the guy rolls a one for game to continue - and it's over. We have tie straight down the board - but with pretty high points count for the extra objectives. Gimli's plan worked - well done my buddy roo! Funny though - we had a great game with these guys - went to bar and had a beer afterwards - but they only gave us average sportsmanship. Something about them "making a point" with the tournament organizers about sportsmanship scoring. That's all fine - just wish they wouldn't do it in a game where it hurts another team. Sigh.... Sabote and CD do about the same in their game. Overall still setting good going into last round.

Game Four - vs another team from Wis. running Battlewagon/Truck orks/lootas + Nob Biker and Truck orks. We go with Matt and I on one team and Gimli/Brian on the other. Mission gives kill points, but only from 1/2 of the army - chosen by opponents. They pick matt - we pick the nob bikers. Game is basically a manuever fest. We get down a kill point by Loota's sniping lone attack bike. We are tracking for a loss - so time for desperation move - I turbo command squad into the center of the board on turn 4 - they either deal with it - or next turn I WILL kill things. Them assault me with meganobz and a truck mob from the non kp giving half of the list + nob bikers and warboss from the KP half. I am able to get my Captain and two marines in BTB with his warboss. They need to cowboy up to get the kp back. I get smashed and roll well to survive between armor/invuls/and FNP saves. Captain does 2 wounds to warboss - powerfist takes the last. Whew! saved. That was pretty much the rest of the game - we pull another draw. Sabote and Gimli do well in there game - although it was tight.

You have seen the final scores. We were highest scoring team not to win anything again. From 6th last year to 4th this year. I guess in 2013 we will win it all!

High points for me:

#1) Hanging with my best buds and playing as a team. So much fun to play with you guys!

#2) the overall pagentry that the team tournament brings out - can't emphasize enough how amazing it is

#3) The amazing multi charge!

#4) Watching us pull some tough wins/draws out of what looked like losses.

Other things were the amount of heads that Sabote's Khan took - think he had like 2 Trygons, 3 Tervigons, an ork warboss and a couple of space marines to add to the trophy case. Looking over in game one and seeing Matt's ten terminators literally SURROUNDED by a sea of orks and Gimli just shaking his head. Somehow you guys pulled that out and got a major win.

Anyhows - that's my story for this year's team.

Left Behind

2011-04-01T09:19:00.003-05:00

This is the Big Weekend!!! The one that gamers all over the country are waiting for. Adepticon. There are guys and gals who have hit this tourney from first to current. There are gamers that have only ever been to one and talk about it like visiting the Holy Land. Nothing creates more interweb controversy then drama at Adepticon. Probably because nothing compares.

It is not a tournament, though there is plenty of that. It is not a convention though it has all the earmarks of one. No, Adepticon is more than this. Adepticon is an experience. You cannot come out of Adepticon and not be a better gamer, hobbiest, painter or yes, even person. Some of the most mind blowing creations can be seen to inspire you to new heights of creativity. Games that aboslutely bring out the tactical mindset needed to compete. Oppurtunities to demonstrate unparalelled sportsmanship in the face asshatery. All this and so much more.

I have been once. The only thing keeping from it this year is a beautiful baby girl who is 10 days old and needs her daddy. A wife who this day is right now preparing to defend her Doctorial Project. Family first. There is always next year.

Perhaps the most enjoyable thing though is the people. Wow are there some really great people to meet and play with. In the combat patrol last year, the final guy I beat we both went out and I bought him a beer and we talked through the awards ceremony. Lots of fun. Better than that is buddy's you go with. No one goes to Adepticon alone. It is rule somewhere I think. Hanging with your friends telling war stories, supporting your buddies through defeat. Hanging out late at night eating really good pizza.

Adepticon is an experience. It is fun. I am already counting the days till next year. Saving up. Preparing for a trip with buddies to achieve another memorable experience. In the years to come it will only get better. I have two sons who will one day join me on this trek if they so choose. I cannot wait.

To the Blade n Bolter Boyz at Adepticon: Play hard, Represent, drink one for those that could not make it. And most important of all...Have Fun!!!

A tale of two transports - the ubiquitous rhino vs. the dark eldar raider

2011-03-24T21:25:00.001-05:00

So I'm loving the Dark Eldar of late and want to compare the Dark Eldar Raider versus the old reliable Space Marine Rhino today.

Both have been around for a long time and obviously the Rhino is much more popular. Dark Eldar continues to be a fringe army even with the recent release of the new codex. I've used both, the Raider not nearly as long as the Rhino seeing I'm very new to playing Dark Eldar. The Rhino is a staple transport for most any Space Marine army. Back when we Blood Angels players had to use the PDF codex I used some Rhinos in my army because I felt that tactical Marines were better than assault Marines at that point in time. That's all changed drastically now with the release of the new Blood Angels codex. If you visit this blog often you'll know that the only transport I ever use is a Stormraven in my current Blood Angels Descent of Angels army. Now that I have recently started to play Dark Eldar I have come very much to greatly appreciate the Raider.

NOTE - I will be using tactical Marines and Warriors for the purpose of the analysis since both are troop choices and are basically equivalent units to each parent codex. Using these two squads helps to simply the overall comparison but does not overly detract from it's value.

Basic Rhino Specifications
The Rhino is a very cheap transport for what you get... 35 points base cost, AV11 on the front and sides, close topped and two Marines can fire out of the top hatch. It has a stormbolter for it's main weapon. The Rhino can transport up to ten Marines in power armor. It also has a smoke launcher that can be used once a game to provide a 4++ cover save and can repair itself if immobilized on a roll of 6 on 1d6 during the owning player's shooting phase. You can also equip the Rhino with extra armor but at 15 points the cost is a bit prohibitive as you start to then lose out on the bargain base value. Even at AV11 the Rhino is quite resilient and can often weather an enemy shooting phase if it's got some good cover. That's certainly a lot of value for the base points and I don't think you can go wrong there if you want a mechanized force for your Space Marine army. The two alternatives are the Razorback and Droppod. I am going to focus on the Rhino since I feel it's the best equivalent when compared to the Dark Eldar Raider.

Tactical Value of the Rhino
The Rhino provides a safe haven for the Marines inside and can move them onto an objective. You can also use your Rhinos to provide cover for other units in your army such as a Landraider. The Rhino can move up to 12" (unless it's a Blood Angels Lucifer patterned chassis), so it's quite simple to use. I will mention that I think dozer blades are well worth the cost at a mere 5 points... Immobilizing your transport does unfortunately happen sometimes when entering or leaving difficult terrain and can lose you a game, especially if it occurs late in the game when you need to grab or contest an objective... Murphy's Law is always in effect!

Tank Shocking
You can also tank shock with the Rhino. Tank shocking enemy units off of objectives late in the game is a vital tactic and often people forget you can do this since the Rhino is a tank. There is also the chance that the targeted enemy unit might break as well if they fail their leadership test. It's by no means a sure thing but it can work if you're in a bit of a pinch and is certainly better than the alternative - which is you end up losing the game by one objective or draw when you could have won.

Basic Raider Specifications
The Raider is an open topped all around AV10 fast skimmer and can transport up to ten Dark Eldar. It's equipped with a dark lance for it's main weapon which it can fire if it moves up to 12". The Raider can move flat-out up to 24" and it then has a 4++ cover save. It costs 60 points at base value. The only upgrade I typically see worth the cost is the flickerfield which costs 10 points and provides a 5++ invulnerable save. There is some value I believe in the shock prow since you can then tank shock and ram which only costs 5 points and is a nice option when combined with a full flat-out move of 24". Certainly I wouldn't equip every raider with a shock prow but I can certainly see it's merit worth it's use on one to two Raiders - you can then tank shock enemy units off of objectives and a S8 ram attack on a Chimera's side armor is not shabby either.
A raider is twice the cost of a basic rhino when equipped with a flickerfield but I have found it often to be more than twice as good in value.

Tactical Value of the Raider
The Raider is much faster than the Rhino and embarked squads can launch an assault from it if the skimmer has moved no more than 12". Most Dark Eldar units have fleet so with the 2" disembark you're looking at up to a 26" charge arc. That's a lot of distance covered quickly, thus being one of the Raider's main advantages over a conventional transport such as the Rhino. Space Marines have to pay in the order of 200-250+ points to charge out of a moving vehicle plus Dark Eldar have assault units which are equal to assault Marines/terminators, if not even better in many ways. So sure you aren't often going to charge Marines with your Warriors but the value of being able to charge from a moving transport is a serious advantage over the Rhino, thus it should be mentioned. Warriors do just fine though versus units such as Fire Warriors, Imperial Guardsmen and even Space Marine Scouts.

The dark lance is another big advantage of the Raider over a Rhino, even when compared versus a non BA Razorback. Dark lances reduce most armor to AV12 and is good at shaking/stunning enemy vehicles. You can embark Warriors with a blaster which provides yet another lance to it's arsenal. One of the main objectives when playing against a mechanized army such as Imperial Guard is to shake and stun the big guns as you work your way into their battle line. Too often people feel that they must destroy a significant portion of the enemy army during the first turn... It's not going to happen often versus a mechanized army such as IG so you have to develop a multi tiered approach to beating them - the Raider fills in quite nicely in this role.

Conclusion
So there you have it from soup to nuts. The Rhino is a slow transport when compared to the Raider but it's the more resilient of the two in the hands of most players and so cheap by comparison. In truth though the Raider can be just as survivable if not more so with it's small footprint, 4++ cover save anytime it moves flat-out and the use of the flickerfield. Warriors and tactical Marines play the same roles in both armies. I feel that the way the game is played now in fifth edition both the Raider and the Warriors are superior to their MEQ counterparts.

So do you think the Raider in general is a good buy compared to the Imperium's ubiquitous transport or would you rather have the two Rhinos given the choice?

Ms Lelith Hesperax, the sublime queen of close combat (dark eldar tactica)

2011-03-15T23:01:00.002-05:00

Okay I first want to say that I am by no means a dark eldar guru by any stretch of the imagination and I have very limited game play with them. That said I'd like to start posting one to two tactical articles each week as I gain more experience with my army. I decided to run with Lelith over a Haemonculus for my second HQ choice after reading the recent White Dwarf batrep that featured Phil Kelly's dark eldar versus Matt Hutson's Blood Angels which incidentally coincided with the second wave for Blood Angels. Phil is a very competitive gamer and knows his stuff - he always writes strong codices and his dark eldar is no exception in my opinion. I always read his tactical articles and batreps as there is always something there to learn.

Ms Hesperax weighs in at 175 points. To me that point cost is more than a great deal for what she brings to the table. Sure she has a few short comings (S3 being the biggest) but her pros heavily outweigh all the cons. I like to use Lelith with a small squad of Bloodbrides (including a Syren) mounted in a raider. Here is my current build:

Lelith Hesperax
6x Bloodbride: 2x Shardnet & Impaler; haywire grenades
Syren: blast pistol & agonizer; haywire grenades
Raider: flickerfield

Bloodbrides versus Wyches
I prefer Bloodbrides over Wyches because they have higher leadership, more attacks, plus I can take two sets of shardnets and impalers in a smaller size squad. Wyches are an assault unit and as such you shouldn't count on them to hold any objectives. They are always safest when engaged in close combat. One flamer template and with no FNP they'll all literally go up in smoke. :'(( Bloodbrides only cost a tad more than Wyches and what you get for those few additional points are well worth it. Seven Bloodbrides can dish out an equivalent number of attacks to nine Wyches plus you can take two Wyche special weapons... The shardnets/impalers are very crucial to this unit!

Engaging Enemy Models in Base Contact during Assaults
You should always engage enemy units in base contact during assaults such that the two Bloodbrides with shardnets are on either side of Lelith. Lelith also counts as having a shardnet and impaler so you can reduce so those enemy models in base contact with her by a considerably number of attacks... Up to three versus a single model which is very defensive such as independent characters, unique characters and even monstrous creatures should have to engage them... Look at it this way, often it's better to tie down a powerful enemy model rather than letting it run ram shackle through your Warriors.

Lelith has WS9 so any model fighting her with WS4 or less is hitting her back on 5+. The combination of her unusually high weapon skill, shardnets plus her 3++ invulnerable save means that she is practically impervious in close combat versus the vast majority of other enemy units! It's actually better to place her in base contact versus a Marine with a power fist since her shardnet will most often reduce the Marine's number of attacks to only one in return. If the Marine simply piles in behind others then the shardnets have no effect. Here are the odds for one power fist attack to insta gib Lelith:

0.333 (to hit) * 0.833 (to wound) * 0.333 (failed invulnerable save) = 9%

I'll take those odds any time. Also the Marine is striking last so there is a good chance you'll wipe out his unit before he can strike back.

Targeting Enemy Units
I use Lelith and her Bloodbrides primarily to destroy enemy units such as Long Fangs and tactical Marines as they can quickly reap through these units and generate pain tokens. Once they have FNP that's a 4++ invulnerable save followed up by another 4++ versus attacks that aren't S=>2xT or ignore armor saves... That's pretty darn good and why I said earlier Wyches are safest when engaged in close combat. I also have Vect attached with a squad of Incubi to tackle harder units such as assault Marines... But that's another story I'll tell you all about at a later date. ; )

The Syren, your Support Character
The Syren has an agonizer, combined with Lelith versus a squad of ten tactical Marines on the charge that equates to around five unsaved wounds. Add in the other failed saves due to the Bloodbrides and you are going to be winning the majority of these assaults quickly while raking up those pain tokens. If and when Lelith buys the farm you'll still have her second in command to run the crew - the attacks from the agonizer then become even more important. My Syren also has a blast pistol as an insurance policy... It's much better if you can first pop a transport in the shooting phase then charge the contents spilling out of the burning metal bawx rather rely upon your haywire grenades to only take out the transport... If you only manage to wreck/destroy the transport then most likely your Wyches are going to be looking down the wrong end of some lasguns or bolters.

Haywire Grenades
Always take the haywire grenades. On average for the squad I've listed above you'll generally generate one penetrating hit and three to four glancing hits on a vehicle that has moved six inches or less. It's an important part of your tactical acumen to stun or immobilize the transport first with your vast arsenal of lance weapons before you charge in chucking all those grenades. It's probably not worth the charge versus a vehicle that has moved over six inches and is undamaged since you'll only be hitting on a 6+... You are practically throwing away the squad under those circumstances and it's just not worth it unless you're really between a rock and a hard place.

Transportation
At first I wanted to run a webway portal army but then I decided to field Vect as my first HQ choice and with Lelith as my second HQ I couldn't fit it into my list. So I have come to rely upon the raider. The newly released raider has a much smaller footprint and is much easier to hide, combined with it's speed you can easily get into assault on the second turn in most situations barring a barren tabletop devoid of any terrain - who wants to play under those conditions with dark eldar anyways ?? Not me ! You can launch an assault from a raider that has moved 12" or less since it's open topped... Two more inches to disembark plus up to six more inches for fleet and you are looking at a charge arc of up to 26"... Not much can hide from that reach.

Raiders are tricky though and all it takes is one decent shot to bring them down - you can lose all your Bloodbrides and Syren when spilling out of a destroyed raider if they don't have FNP, so you have to be very very careful with your placements. Flickerfield is well worth the ten points for the 5++ invulnerable save. Make sure to move flat-out if you have to expose the raider then turn prior to the charge. Nightshields I'm not yet sold on... It only reduces enemy range by 6" which is practically nothing if your opponent is packing lots of long range heat. If you start tacking on a lot of options for your raiders it can quickkg add up in cost and that's less points to spread around the rest of your army.

If you can move the raider close enough such that your Wyches can assault the following turn without the 12" raider move then it's probably best to disembark them if you can do so in such a manner to keep them hidden prior to the next turn. Also be very careful if your opponent has guns which ignore intervening terrain such as barrage, Hive Guard or the soon to be released Grey Knight Purifiers.

Conclusion
So that concludes my first substantial tactical article on dark eldar. Like I said I'm a newb so feel free to constructively comment if you have something positive to add. Comments can be a great thing for sure. I've gone into greater detail to cover her support unit (Bloodbrides) plus touched on using the raider to reach your first assaults... And I didn't even mention combat drugs... Heh .

G

The Overlooked Ork - Part 2

2011-03-11T08:29:00.001-06:00

The Overlooked Fast – The Skortcha Trakk

Most of the Fast Attach choices of the ork army fall into midgrade category. None are particularly great, but none are particularly bad. But there is one unit in the Fast Attack category that stands above the rest when it comes to its ability to achieve its goals at a minimal expense. The Skortcha Trakk. I am convinced that the skortcha trakk is not more commonly used because the model for it is out of production and the unit has to be scratch built. This, for many, is a strong detriment for use. However, for those who wish to take advantage of a little plasticard and a discount toy bin can have a gorgeous and funcional skortcha trakk.

The first benefit of the Skortcha Trakk is its cost. For 40 points you have an armor 10 fast vehicle with the ability to reroll difficult terrain tests and which can lay down a heavy flamer template. Add red paint to the mixture for 5 points and that heavy flamer template just, defacto, got a little longer. The skortcha buggy is a darn near perfect ork attack vehicle for so many reasons. Their inexpensive price makes them somewhat disposable, their speed makes them extremely hard to hit in close combat, they also have enough movement to often be able to maneuver efficiently behind or into enemy lines to either cause problems or constest enemy objectives. And finally, being able to move 13” (red paint) and fire the skortcha (Str 5, AP 4, template) makes the orks poor bailistic skill somewhat irrevelent.

As a practice lesson opposing players will often ignore the skortch buggy for more threatening targets. And who could blame them? However, most of these players learn that if the skortcha buggy reaches their line they become a tremendous burr in their sides. Nids, orks, imperial guardsmen, eldar, etc die en masse to the skortcha trakk that has reached them. But even tanks are not completely safe. The skortcha trakks superior speed often will allow them to quickly maneuver and hit rear armor of the unwarry enemy. And while the odds of penetrating armor 10 and glancing armor 11 are not great, it is a threat that the opponenet realizes quickly has to be addressed.

The Overlooked Heavy – The Looted Wagon

There are three units in the heavy support section of the ork codex which often get overlooked. Flashgits, artillery and the Looted Wagon. Flashgits can do a significant amount of damage to Marine units (and their kin) but rarely does their cost equal their benefit. So while Flashgits may be an overlooked unit they probably should be overlooked. The next overlooked unit is ork artilery. However while these units are not commonly seen in ork armies it is generally accepted that they are a value unit and shold be taken seriously. For those who have not examined Ork Kannons and Lobba’s in detail I suggest you do so. They are some of the greatest value in the entire orkiverse. However, what I would like to address is a unit which, much like the rest of this article, needs to be tried a few times to see its true worth. Namely the Looted Wagon.

The looted wagon is a unit which is subtly misleading. In examining the looted wagon we will look at its two most common, and ancient, configurations.

1. Gobsmasha / Spleenrippa / Looted Basilisk / looted Leman Russ – This is the basic variant of the looted wagon whose primary attribute is the Boomgun (a shorter ranged battle cannon) and which will usually include an ard case so that the vehicle is no longer open topped. This brings the models cost up to 115 points. And with the additon of two big shoota sponsons the vehicle is still only 125 points. When one considers the base cost of a Leman Russ is 150 points (170 with Heavy Bolter Sponsons), the cost of a Gobsmasha configuration does not seem too far out of line. Finally, it should also be noted that while the looted wagons big shootas are being fired by orks at balistic skill 2 they are actually more effective “on a point per point basis” than the same sponsons armed by guardsmen on the Leman Russ.

This configuraion is often immediately disregarded by ork players at first glance beceause the looted wagon has an armor value of 11. And I do think there is some truth to this concern as no one wants a leman russ that can be neutralized by heavy bolter fire. However, careful placement of the unit in cover so that it is obscured at the beginning of the game can, as we all know, go a long way to making the Gobsmasha more survivable.

The biggest problem with the Gobsmasha configuration in my opinion is the “ooops don’t touch that” roll. At the beginning of each round the player controlling a looted wagon must roll a dice and on a roll of a 1 the wagon lurches forward its maximum distance. Should this happen the boomgun is no longer able to fire and the Gobsmasha is probably no longer in cover leaving it a fairly ripe target for the enemy. But even with that having been said the Gobsmasha is a vehcile which, at a very reasonable price, will surprise many opponents.

2. Da Transport – This is where the looted wagon really shines in my opinion. The looted wagon is rarely used for a couple reasons. Players usually do not think of it as a transport because it is not as fast as a truck and not as durable as a battle wagon. So some think it has the worst of both worlds. However, they are incorrect. Comparing the looted wagon to a truck or a battle wagon is an apples and oranges comparison. I am by no means advocating the casting away of trucks and battlewagons in lieu of the looted wagon but I do assert that looted wagon has a place and is a viable unit.

First the cost of the looted wagon is extremely cheap at 35 points and like the truck has transport capacity for 12 models. While the battle wagon has a significantly larger cargo capacity at 20 models, greater armor and superior offensive capacity it is also on average two and a half times the cost of a looted wagon after both vehicles have applied upgrades.

The most successful use of the looted wagon has come from using it as an alternative to the truck. In fact, when used for the purpose of tansporting a squad of boys in to mele combat it is a wonderful choice. My standard configuration for the looted wagon transport vehicle is red paint, 1 big shoota or skortcha, and reinforced ram which makes the vehicle 50 points or 60 points with the skortcha. While we ork players know that our truck get blown away on a regular basis by lazcannons and missle launchers trucks also regularly get “nailed” by simple bolter fire. This one point of extra armor at basically the same price of a truck allows your squad of slugga boys to have a greater degree of protection as it crosses the field. And while the slower speed of the Looted Wagon seems to be a disadvantage to the truck it is, in reality, not significant.

The truck (with red paint) moves 19” and the looted wagon (with red paint) moves 13”. Normally, on the first round of movement the boys in a truck are not going to be able to assautl anyway because the truck has moved “flat out.” It is on both vehicles second movement that assaulting out of the vehicle becomes a greater option. And in games where you are going second there is virtually no disadvantage at all as you are commonly assaulting some unit which has moved forward. With the Looted wagon being open topped and having 13” movement your assault range for orks is still huge when you consider disembarking and potential assault range. In such cases any advantage that the extra 6” movement granted by the truck in the first round has clearly been negated. And if, for some reason, the truck did not move “flat out” on its first turn then there is no advantage to the truck at all.

The looted wagon transport is not, and should not, replace the truck. However, it is a unit which should be tried several times by ork players and given a fair shot. In my opinion, it is a good option for a squad of boys and is nearly perfect as a transport option for a unit of Ardboys (who can survive an open topped exploding vehicle with ease). After trying the looted wagon as a transport for 12 ard boys I have come to be extremely fond of its use.

I hope this article has helped to open your eyes to some of the lesser used options in the ork codex. The orks are an army which thrive on being different. They thrive on not being “standard.“ The above units are those that, in my experience, play significantly better than many would expect by looking at them on paper. I hope that those who play the orks will give these units a try and those that do not will continue to underestimate them.

Warboss

The Overlooked Orks Part 1

2011-03-09T19:57:00.005-06:00

Since the time of the release of our current ork codex there have been numerous tactica written about our beloved Orks. But unfortunately most Ork Tactica articles are variations on a theme advocating the same units and models. However, I would like to take a slightly different spin on the use of the orks. The purpose of this article is to take a look at some units in the Ork Codex that are often overlooked and perhaps encourage the Ork players to try something a little out of the proverbial box. While none of these suggestions are intended to “replace” the units we have all come to know and love they should be given a second look for those who may have disregarded them in the past.

The Overlooked HQ – Old Zogwort

The orks have some of the best bang for the buck in the 40k universe regarding HQ unitswhen you look at what the unit contributes compared to its cost. Everyone who has faced orks regularly are aware of the more commonly used HQ choices. These include such standards as “Warboss with power klaw, eavy armor, cybork body and bosspole” and “Big Mek with kustom forcefield.” Also, there are special characters such as Gazaghkull and Grotsnik whose use, and value, is readily accepted. However, there is at least one character who is rarely seen on the table but who consistently proves to be an asset when used. The Grand Warphead of the Snakebites … Old Zogwort.

Old Zogwort is a character that every ork player should try in four games. Part of the reason why Old Zogwort has received generally negative reviews is because he gets tried once, does nothing or is easily neutralized, and the player concludes that Old Zogwort is a waste of points. This is usually because of the failure of Zog Worts Curse to successfully work. To understand Old Zogwort you must understand Zogworts curse. This power is the incarnation of arbitrary in the orkiverse. Even the Shokk Attack gun is a more reliable weapon. For Zogworts Curse to work you must have (1) an independent character within 18”, (2) line of sight (3) make a successful psychic test (4) not have the power neutralized by a psychic hood or the like, and (5) and roll higher than your opponent on the roll of a D6.

Zogworts Curse is one of those special things in the 40K universe that players read and drool over. They get dreams of turning Dante or Marneaus Calgar into an ‘angry s quig’ and to shortly follow up the following quip to their opponent, “But the good news is that you get to control the squig.” And when all that happens it is in fact a glorious moment. Unfortunately, to get all the pieces of the puzzle to fit together for the Zogworts Curse experience to happen is akin to lining up the moon and the stars. It just does not happen too often.

However, Old Zogwort does have huge perks.

The pre-eminate Snakebite Warphead is in fact a close combat monster. He is arguably the second best close combat fighter in the ork codex. Zogworts Curse and the Wyrdboy powers will be an eternal source of frustration if a player is counting on these abilities, however, Zogwort in close combat will have outstanding results. Zogworts staff, Nest of Vipers, is a 2+ poison weapon. And this can be combined with his normal wyrdboy abilities (as long as they don’t get neutralized by something) which transform his close combat attacks to power weapon attacks. Finally, Zogwort has d6+2 attacks in close combat. So with an average of 5.5 power weapon attacks that wound on 2+ the real benefit of Zogwort becomes clear quickly.

While I am not a huge advocate of nob squads, if one does take such a squad, Zogwort is almost a mandatory incusion. Nob squads invariably will include a Waaagh Banner (+1 Weapon Skill) and Pain Boy (Feel No Pain) and these items are able to confer their abilities onto independent characters attached to the squad. So Zogwort now will typically hit on 3+ and have a much better save. But he also becomes harder to kill as many players are placed into a conumdrum of trying to kill off the unit or the Snakebite Sorcerer.

Occasionally, one will be successful (and lucky) with Zogworts Curse or get the perfect Wyrdboy power at the rigth moment. But those times are rare. Zogwort will shine when he gets to act like the Snakebite he is … spinning his glowing staff like a whirling dervish of death into a squad of marines. With a little practice and a few games even old school warbosses will start to realize the benefit of this underused character.

The Overlooked Elite - Multiple Kommando Squads

Ork Elite choices are widely know and will appear in almost every ork army. It is rare indeed to see an army that does not include at least one elite choice as these units are, with the exception of the Tankbuster, all extremely viable. Lootas, Burnas, Nobs and Meganobs are as common place in an ork army as are Ork Boys. While the kommando is clearly an effective unit a slight variation on how it is played can make the boys in camo a crushing blow for an opponent.

When kommandos are used the common configuration is one squad with Snikrott attached. And this is without a doubt a very effective unit. However, there is another option for Kommandos that should always be considered. The kommando squad without Snikrott. A kommando mob has the ability to equip its Nob with a burna and, as one might guess, this flaming instrument of death in the hands of a Nob it is a valuable tool indeed. A nob may be equipped with a burna in much the same way as the Nob may be equipped with a Shoota. After you do a weapon swap for the boy you then choose which boy to upgrade. And in the case of the kommando’s you upgrade the kommando boy who is weilding the burna. (See also Ork 2010 FAQ pg 1 regarding whether a shootaboy nob may have a powerfist.)

I still typically equip my kommando nobs with powerklaws but do place two burnas in the squad. This is because the extra “punch” of the power klaw is often needed in so many circumstances and I have found that laying down two flamer templates (and a boy is just as good as a nob for this purpose) when coming out of Outflank (or Ambush) is more useful than using the power weapon with the Nob. But for those who enjoy the use of Kommandos it is certaintly nice to know this option exists and it is a cheap way to have an extremely combat worthy Kommando Nob.

The kommando squad is special in that you can have up to two boys who have burnas. While these burnas, on the surface, seem cost prohibitive at 15 points each, in reality, they function exceptionally well in the hands of kommandos. This is because of the likelyhood that kommandos (with or without snikrott) will be able to hit some sort of target on the turn the unit comes in. And as previously stated, washing a unit that are relying on cover saves with two flamer templates right before charging in is always a wonderful perk.

However, one of the great strengths of the Kommandos is not simply the use of Snikrott or the ability to use burnas but when multiple units of kommandos are used. One kommando squad is a threat that the enemy needs to address. However, the use of two full kommando squads becomes a thing to be feared that has the potintial to crush an enemy flank. This tactic can be as powerful as a full mob of cybork nobs or armored meganobs at roughly the same cost and it has a far greater tactical surprise to it as well. My prefered configuration for multiple kommando squads is to have one kommando squad with a power first weilding nob and the other kommando squad to be led by Snikrott.

Tactically when beginning outflank / ambush rolls I will always roll the normal kommando squad first. This is an attempt to know where they are coming in before you make the same roll for Snikrott. If the normal kommando squad does in fact come in, then hopefully Snikrott will comein via “ambush” as well. If this occurs you will want sneaky Snikrott he comes on to the board in the same general area as the normal kommando squad. Thus, coordinateing their attacks into an enemy line. In the event one of the units does not comein on the next turn I will try to reinforce that side of the table with whatever outflanking unit has not yet come in. With multiple kommando units the player must keep in mind to focus his forces if at all possible. It has been my experience that 30 kommandos are significantly more than twice the threat of one kommando mob of 15.

The Overlooked Troop - Grots

At a west coast Grand Tournament recently a friend of mine, another experienced ork player, lined up across the table with a gentleman using nearly all Nob Biker list which was tricked out in all its cheesy glory. The Nob Biker player then tried to make an argument that he his army was gouda-free because he had graciously included some “useless” units in his army as well. Namely he was refering to his mob of grots. My friend was slightly soured on the other player because of his 20 nob bikers and two biker warbosses but developed an instant dislike for this person by his attempt to bamboozle him into thinking that grots are “useless.” Grots are, without a doubt, one of the most useful units in the ork codex and have won as many, if not more, games for ork players than probably any other unit.

When the Ork Codex first came out there was a great question about what use would grots be in an ork army. With a minimum sized ork boy squad costing 60 points and a minium sized grot mob costing 40 points many a warboss wondered why anyone would ever take a squad of grots when for approximately 20 points more you could take a squad of Ork boys which would acutally be able to function offensively. However, time has proven that the Grot has a place in an ork army. And in fact, the grot mob has become a unit which I rarely leave home without.

The strength of the grot mob is not in its offensive ability but in its ability to be an inexpensive, hard to kill, hard to break unit and which can hold an objective. The minimum sized grot mob (10 grots and slaver) can do more for 40 points to alter the composition and offensive power of an army than any other unit in the codex. By using this mob as a dedicated objective holder it allows the remainder of your army to do what the orks want to do … go on the offensive.

In games where objectives are used the ork player with the grot mob should try to place an objective in cover as close to his table edge as possible and in cover. Then during set up he will always place the grot mob into reserves. The remainder of his force strikes forward doing what orks do best. The grots, on the other hand, stay in reserves for as long as possible. When the grot mob eventually does come out move and run directly towards the objective in cover. When the grots get there they will then want to go to ground (and pray to Gork, or was it Mork, for their survival) probably for the rest of the game. By doing this you have a unit which has 11 wounds, a reroll to its leadership and a 3+ cover save that is successfully fuly holding an objective. No where else in the ork codex can we hold an objective so effectively for such a small cost.

The sheer volume of fire power it will take to “dig out” the grots, the fact that this unit now has to be addressed, and the fact that you do not have to hold back any of your boys to control this objective more than makes up for the cost of the grot mob.

Warboss

Alternative Models and After-Market Add-on's

2011-03-09T11:08:00.000-06:00

For years I avoided alternative models like the plague. I wanted to play in GW Grand Tournaments - didn't have the time to paint a lot - and wanted taht time to go towards miniatures I could use in tourneys. Over the years though - GW has ended their tourney hosting and the independents circuit has filled that void. Their restrictions on models are much more lenient and they are open to alternative choices.

So I just managed to get a few of the Scibor and Hi-Tech mini's off ebay. Really impressed with them - a few to show below:

Overall - pretty impressed with them - they are on the level of Forgeworld quality - and similar resin design.

What are your thoughts on using alternative models for 40K? Any problems with it?

Battle For Stones River 2011

2011-03-07T10:29:00.003-06:00

Last weekend I had the fun of playing in the third - or maybe fourth - annual Battle for Stones River Tournament held in Murfreesboro, TN. The tourney is based around the Civil War battle of the same name - uses 1863 Points (the year of the tourney), each table has a river with bridges and forges. There is no such thing as a bad day of 40K - but from a won/loss standpoint - this was a rough tournament. Played my Space Wolves.

Here's the run down:

Game One - Agaist Gary Morris (think that's right), really nice guy from M'Boro - running Imperial Guard. We played slap and Tickle all game - both denying the other objectives. At the end, I failed to score a final kill point for that objective. A true sissy fight for us with the final score being like 3-0 for Gary. Think we gave up a total of 4 kill points together. Like kissing your sister.

Game Two - against some Dickhead running a blue Tau army. What an @sshole - always dicking me over on the rules, arguing every point, telling me that Kroot had strength 6 instant death power weapons that disallowed invulnerable saves and gave the kroot initiative 9 - that killed even characters with Eternal Warrior - thus causing Logan to die to Kroot. I was amazed to see all the blantant dickery and cheating that I found out once I got home and really checked the codex. Crisis suits do NOT have invulnerable saves and move like Jetbikes. Tau Tanks are not fast vehicles with the Tau equivalent of Machine Spirit. Drones to not have feel no pain. Fire Warriors do NOT have c'tan death weapons. All Tau do not have Preferred Enemy-Space Wolves. Unbelievable the level of cheating that this rat bastard pulled in our game! So really I didn't lose to Tau after all - it was all a communist inspired plot against me.

14-0 against me. (just funning Shannon (my fellow BnB'er) - nice game - you smoked me good - I have new respect for the Tau - especially Buffalo style). I've always had this running banter with him that Tau Suck and taste like chicken - guess payback IS hell.

So after two games - I have zero battle points. To make this a totally perfect day - I figure my next game will be against Dung and he'll table me - then I'll Play Johnny (Marine) and lose to him too (brand new player having his first tourney).

Fortunately - things began to improve. Drew Nate (our new friend of the BNB). We had a hard fought - go either way battle against his Chaos list. Manage to avoid the death engine that is Kharn and actually scored a few points. Win for me - close game. Think I got 16 pts.

Game Four - down to sh*ts and giggles time. Drew a guy named Steve Dzybey who has a outstanding Nurgle army that GMM did for him. Was kinda funny that my Wolves (painted by Next Level who learned from GMM) were playing against and army painted by Brandon. Was a sweet looking table for sure. We had a good close game - I got the advantage on kill points and highest point cost - lost the quarters - 12-8 win for me.

So congrats to Teeny-Weenie for overall (Kevin Drury), Lord Monki (Tau-rrific Shannon who I played in round 2) on sports, and STD (Keith "The Hoff" Hoffman) for best painted. The BNB really dominated this year (no thanks to me - but my job is ride the coat tails of others).

Kevin

Shannon

Keith

Here's a link to "The Hammercast" an outstanding podcast that covered the event. The "OFFICIAL" podcast of the Blade and Bolter Boyz.

http://www.thehammercast.com/

Hat's off to Bossman and Chris at Grand Adventures in Murfreesboro for running another great event. Here are the INCREDIBLE trophies that they gave out:

Delta Star

2011-02-26T20:48:00.000-06:00

The delta is a Greek symbol for the triangle - three sides formed together - in ancient Greece this was also a symbol for defense. The center is protected on three sides all interlocking. The star is four spears tied together at their ends, this was an ancient symbol for offense. No army can prosper over a protracted war unless it has both good defense and offense. Defense is integral to survival while offense is integral to winning. If you are protecting what you already have taken then defense is enough but if you want to expand your borders them you must also have a good offense. Both the ancient Greeks and Romans were masters of war using basic shields and spears to win time and time again. The shield is defense while the spear is offense and the two were always paired together. Eventually the Roman Empire fell to heavy cavalry. The Germanic tribes were the first to use barding on their warmounts and they wore heavy armor as well. Calvary strikes with the blunt side of their swords using the speed of their mounts to break bone and advance through the perimeter. The fall of the Romam Empire brought about the dark ages which lasted for several centuries - western Europe fell into a state of disorder.

40k is much the same to me. Every army should have both a good offense and a good defense; there must be a balance as well. Mobility is a key to success and is a fundamental cornerstone to both. The Romans eventually lost as does everyone. Their great empire fell because they were too slow to adapt to the change. Time and time again the shield and spear was more than enough then there came the day that it no longer was what it had once been. If you are successful and become set in your ways the world will change around you. Therefore it is vital to keep an eye on change and plan accordingly... Even the best laid plans will eventually fail.

G

Team Championships France- Game 2

2011-02-21T15:49:00.011-06:00

Game 2

The first game was under our belt as a team and at the end of the day was not too bad. As a team we came out with a draw. What we discovered was that the majority of teams actually had a draw the first game. The reason for this was the four man team concept. Five people to a team would have seen a lot less draws, but the TOs felt it was easier to bring four people together than five.

Our next opponents were from the local area and had the following armies: Blood Angels, Marines, Tyranids, and Eldar.

Mission- basic seize ground with five objectives and the secondary objective was on odd take on one I had seen in many tournaments. Where as before you had to get as many of your units in your opponents deployment zone. This mission called for you to have more of your units in your deployment than your opponent. So you would have to simultaneously go on the attack to seize objectives but hold back enough units to achieve the secondary objectives. Interesting turn for an old mission objective.

Pre-game strategy session- looking at the four tables I noticed right away which table I did not want to play on if at all possible. The reason was because one of the tables had four of the five objectives already placed on pieces of terrain that my bikes just could not reach (objectives were placed by TOs on all tables prior to game). I quickly pointed out to my captain that I really had to stay away from that table. As for my opponents I listed Marines/Eldar/Tyranids/Blood Angels as my preferred opponents.

The captains roll off and we lose both the initial and the “trade list” rolls. In addition I end up playing on the table I wanted at all cost to stay away from and my opponent was to be the Eldar.

Eldar Army list

Eldrad
2 Fire prisms
Falcon (fire dragons)
Falcon (dire avengers)
warp spiders
Dire Avengers (wave serpent)
3 units of 3 each jet bikes
war walkers
Dire avengers(wave serpent)
Wraithguard

Deployment-

Eldar

The deployment zone was slightly different than standard. You measured 10 inches back from the center of the table and that was your deployment zone, so basically reverse of pitch battle with an added few inches.. The Eldar player won the roll and selected to go first and pick his side. The majority of his army was deployed near the back of his deployment zone and he had a fire prism on each flank. In reserve was placed the three jetbike squads and the war walkers outflanking. Wraithguard were deployed in a building, center of his deployment zone with Eldrad.

Marines

Ok yes I was feeling slightly screwed at this point. Not only was I playing a mission on a table that completely was in favor of my opponent. But he also had enough speed to achieve all his objectives while with a smaller force I would be forced to make some hard choices. Looking at the table I could really only achieve one objective on my far left flank because unlike the rest it was at least in dangerous terrain( great right...). I could probably not even deny the other objectives from my opponent because most of them were up on the 3^rd floor of buildings. Yea my terminators could contest but he had the mobility to pick where he wanted to strike. So I decided on the big gamble. I needed to attempt to table him. I deployed my entire army up to the front edge of my deployment zone and combat squaded everything I could. Everything was spaced so that I would not take to many hits from fire prisms but once I got though the first turn of fire I should be ok.

Turn 1 – I seized the initiative!! Ha this helps a lot but will not win the battle if I play this timid. If you go for a table win you need to commit everything to the attack. So my whole army turbo boosted turn one. The terminators walked/ ran (shooting) and the stern guard rhino went 12 inches and pulled into some ruins.

Eldar- Vehicles moved to get LOS and warp spiders jumped to take shots at my command squad. Fire Prisms/ Warp Spiders / Wraithguard/ Missile Launchers and Dire avengers opened up on my bikes and command squad. Guide and Doom was being used against my command squad. My bikes and command squad were taking losses and so were my terminators but everything passed leadership.

Turn 2 – Like the movie The Light Horsemen where the Australian Cavalry finally gets under the guns of the Turkish artillery. I felt relief, it was my turn. My bike squads pushed forward. Attack bike sections went after the fire prisms and bike squads went after the fire prisms and wave serpents. Terminators continued to run forward. Pretty much every transport or Eldar tank was disabled/immobilized/destroyed this turn (melta is great for eldar vehicles and everyone of my squads has them). My bike troops were able to chase down dire avengers after the assault and the command squad ran over the warp spiders. Only thing left out of combat was Eldrad with his Wraithguard who climbed up to the third floor of the building they were in and fire dragons that I was not able to assault after I destroyed their Falcon.

Turn 3 – None of the reserves came in for the Eldar. He moved the grav tanks that could move but not fire and tried firing on my terminators with the fire dragons (all that was in range). Eldrad / Wraithguard fired on one of my bike squads and cut down 4 bikes but that was it for the turn.

On my turn I finished off the rest of the Eldar army( Terminators came in and hit the wraithguard hard) that was still on the board and than positioned myself for the reserve rolls of the jetbikes and war walkers.

Turn 4 - Two units of jetbikes make it on the table. Probably wishing they were somewhere else or at least a close web way portal nearby. They try to move out of range of my bikes.

My bikes chase them down.. The rest of my army I deploy on both flanks waiting on the war walkers and the final squad of jetbikes. I felt a little like Eldar skeet shooting at this moment. I could almost hear someone yell “pull” and out flys the eldar as my bolters open fire.

Turn 5- Without going into the gruesome details. The Eldar finally lose the game on this turn with nothing left on the table.

I get full points for the game. However as a team we had another draw. Albert beat the blood angel player with his chaos and David lost to another tyranid player with his necrons. Our blood angels lost to a marine stern guard army.

As a side note. My opponent was the first player I had played since I have been in Europe that spoke no English. However, being a long time Eldar player we had no real problems and again there were enough people around to help explain any points of interests.

Overall it would have been nice to pull a full victory for the team on this round but losing the second roll allowed the other team to match their tyranid player to our necrons. This gave them a good chance for a win and a overall tie. Prior to the second roll we had concluded that we should be able to get two wins / 1 tie and a loss but overall the win for the team.

However we are still upper third as the tournament goes so surprisingly still hanging tough.

Terrain in 5th Edition 40K

2011-02-18T10:16:00.000-06:00

So, I read a little article over at a site called Yes The Truth Hurts - a place that is always good for a little controversy and entertainment. The author there was talking about terrain in 40K. How having terrain big enough to block line of site to things like Land Raiders and Valkyries was a bad thing for the game. Thought I'd post my own thoughts on the subject.

Personally - one of the things that I think has really hurt the game with 5th edition is the lack of Line of Sight blocking terrain. Gone is the ability to stage your army, position it utilizing terrain, then launch an assault from it. Truly using TACTICS to play - vs lining up and rolling dice. You still had fire lanes, fire control bases, high ground, etc - but you had to place them strategically. All that was in good old 4th edtion. Now - with the terrain you see in most clubs (and our club has some AWESOME terrain - but still mostly 4th edition style)you can pretty much shoot almost everything from anywhere.

But at the crux - a good general should be able to adapt his army to whatever terrain conditions he's faced with in a game. Stating that Having or Not Having blocking terrain is the ONLY right way to play 40K is really just making excuses for why you can't win in a certain situation. I fall into this myself from time to time. I Have my preferences - but in all honesty to myself - I need to adapt to what the game board has in place. That's the RIGHT way to play the game.

My opponents can remind me of this when I start whining in a game. Although I will stick to my time honored excuse of my dice sucking - because in that category I AM a statistical anomoly. :)

Team Championships France

2011-02-16T04:51:00.003-06:00

Not long ago I played in the Team Championships near Lyon, France. Sixteen teams participated with at least 2 teams coming from Switzerland. It was nice to have team mates that spoke and read French because they had to explain the missions of each game to me and they were slightly complex at times. It was a five game format over two days.

The Basic rules:

Only one special character per army.
2000 point army build
No triplicate of units. Example: cannot have three units of TH/SS terminators
Four members per team and each member must take a different army selection.
ETC style format- For those who do not understand what this is than I will explain. Each team member will play individual games. Before the game starts the Team Captains roll a dice. The loser than places an army list on one of the four tables. The winner of the roll matches one of their team lists to the one placed on the table and than places a second list on a different table. This continues until all tables have match ups. Before the game starts the Team Captains roll again and the winner is allowed to swap one army list.
You received extra points for having a painted army, good composition and turning in your army list on time. All army lists had to be turned in to the TO basically one month in advance.
Win is worth 3 pts, Draw 2 pts, Loss 1 pt and you can gain extra points by achieving secondary objectives.
Individual games points are totaled and the team with the highest point total at the end is declared the winner/draw/tie which determines your next match up.
Five Games over two days.
Winner of the tournament is the team with the most points from: Battle Points, Painting and composition( you also received a few points for getting your army lists in on time and paying the tournament on time)

“Team Genève” brought the following armies.

Brian – Space Marine Bike army (me)

David- Necrons

Greg- Blood angels

Albert- Chaos Marines.

Game 1 – our opponents were Orks, Blood Angels, Tyranids, and Marines. We lost both the dice rolls by our team captain and I found myself playing against the opposing team captain who was the Ork player.

Mission- Capture and Control- except the objectives had to be placed 12 inches from the center of the table and they moved random direction 2d6 each player turn. Secondary objective was killing the enemy commander.

Deployment – Pitch Battle.

The Ork player army list is pretty close to the following.

Unit Nob bikers
Unit of Nobs in truck
Burna boys in a truck
Nobs in a truck
Gretchen
Mech boy
2 couple more units of boyz in trucks.

My army list

Khan
Chaplain
Command Squad on bikes
2 Full Squads of bikes with meltas and multi melta
9 Terminators TH/SS
Stern guard in a Rhino
2 units of attack Bikes.

Deployment- Ork player won the roll to go first and deployed his entire army with the exception of his Gretchen. I deployed my entire army in the center of my deployment zone. My terminators were in the center set up in cover.

Turn 1. The ork objective moved toward his table edge 8 inches (note: don’t let an ork player use a squig as an objective marker. Dang thing kept moving towards his lines!!!) and my objective moved towards the ork's edge (this was annoying). The majority of the orks moved forward with the Nob bikers extending to the flank.

I extended my flank with the command squad and moved the termies forward. Attack bikes spread out to look for shots on the trucks next turn.

Turn 2. Ork objective moved another 9 inches toward their side of the board and my objective was wandering around in the middle. The ork player moved his nob bikers back toward the center and both burna boys and nobs toward the center. He is looking to try and get the overlapping charge on my termies. But he is worried about my command squad which is hanging around the flanks.

I move my attack bikes in and was able to bring down one of the boyz trucks. My terminators stay in cover but continue moving forward. I am looking at getting charged by at least 3 possibly 4 units of orks. Not happy about this situation but with my terminators in cover they will be giving out a lot of pain before they go down. In addition I had moved my attack bikes in close to my termies hoping they will get charged. I did this for a couple reasons. 1. Three attack bikes gives me 6 more attacks against the orks. 2 The high toughness of the bikes will draw away some of the attacks and wounds against the termies.

Turn 3. Of course ork objective moves back toward their lines and is almost at the end of the table. At this point I am thinking the secondary objective of killing the ork general is what I need to achieve. My objective stays in the center. The ork player is ready and commits to the charge. Hitting my termies and attack bikes with four units. The marines cause 12 wounds with the nob bikers and burnas taking up most of the wounds. In return the orks kill all the termies and my attack bikes. But it came down to the last ork power claw killing my last terminator. If this did not happen I probably could have passed the moral check.

On my turn my bikes converged on the orks. Stern guard dismounted and command squad moved in. The orks suffered a bunch of twin link bolters shots and the meltas from the stern guard hit the nob bikes. The command squad than hit the nob bikes and were joined in by the rest of the bike squads. The orks took a beating but were not finished.

Turn 4. Gretchen come in and basically walk up to the objective. The close combat continues in the center with more orks getting committed to the carnage. My marines hold the line and give better than they are receiving. Khan pulls the command squad out of combat with the hit and run rule and circles back towards the nob bikes which are stuck in combat with marine regular bikes. The orks had lost combat but during the assault phase had called the waaagh.

Objectives on my turn continue their movements with mine in the center and the orks staying with the 20 Gretchen ( this is just absurd lol)

The Command Squad sounds the charge again and hits the ork nobs bikers with Khan cutting off the Warboss’s head with his special attack. This time the orks cannot take the punishment and flee with 3 units getting chased down.

Turn 5. Yes yes ork objective stays with the Gretchen and my objective continues to move toward the orks.

Ork player commits some boyz to slow down my bikers. After shooting they assault my bike squads. Not much happens but during my turn I have to commit my command squad to free my bike squads to capture my objective. I was hoping to get some attack bikes in range of the ork objective to contest but they were a little to short on distance.

Turn 6. The game ends with both of us holding objectives but I get the points for the win because I had killed the enemy commander. So while I complained that you should not have your ork player use a squig as an objective. I think the real thought maybe is don’t let an ultramarine player use a drunken smurf as their objective!!!

Overall “Team Genève” had a draw against our opponents. Albert with his chaos won against marines. But the Necrons(David) lost to Tyranids and Blood Angels lost to Blood Angels. My opponent knew a little English and I am picking up a few words like fusion is melta and energy stick is a power weapon. But with the team format it is nice because my team mates are around to help with any explanations. But overall what I have been finding is that if the player is experienced than you really need very little explanation from either party. You just kind of get what the other guys is doing even though you may not understand completely the language.

We started learning a little about the tactics of the list placements. At the beginning of the game (strategy phase before captains roll for lists) each of us looked at the other teams armies and gave our captain an idea on what would be a good match up for them as an individual. Our first thought was to try matching lists that our army would have a challenge against but not a rock / scissor game. The first round we tried matching up power list against power list and it resulted in a tie for the team. Our learning coming out of this round is too look for the mismatch next round and worse case put a power list gamer against a power list gamer for maybe a tie. But in order to do this you need to have confidence you can pull wins in the other games.

The next interesting challenge though is once you get your first placement of lists there is the second die roll made by the army captains. This is almost as good as stealing the initiative because than you can change one list placement and this give you that “advantage” hopefully for a win. I actually like the second die roll because it adds an interesting tactical challenge to your thinking because you also have to plan what would change if you had the opportunity.

Well that’s it for now. I will write about my other games shortly….

Designing a Jump Troop Only DoA Army

2011-02-15T15:58:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone !!

BBF here again with some more Blood Angels tactica. There is a lot of discussion about what is a Descent of Angels (DoA) army and what is not. Two things I can say right off the bat:

* I have seen some very boring unimaginative lists trying hard to incorporate a Stormraven - strange enough they work well with DoA armies, which brings us to the second point...

* Yes Virginia, DoA armies can use Stormravens !!

Building a Descent of Angels Army

I most often use one Stormraven in my DoA armies so I thought it would be useful to post an article here that does not rely upon the new skimmer. That said the official model has been released and well received in general so no more excuses.

As an opening remark I'd like to mention that DoA armies tend to be small elite armies. You don't have a lot of points to spread around your units so it's important to be economical how you design each unit. You have a fast assault army that has has some great close range shooting to pop enemy armor. The more use you can squeeze out of each jump infantry unit the better the army will perform as a whole.

First let's start with your choices for an HQ. I believe the three best choices are the Sanguinor, Commander Dante and the Librarian. I also believe that both the Sanguinor and Dante were intentionally designed for DoA armies. I've talked about them both here a lot which you can find elsewhere, so for the most part I'll leave it at that. I would like to mention that Dante makes Sanguinary Guard count as a troop choice and as such they are a great addition to the army serving the role as a retinue for their Chapter Master. Of course the unit is best served when a Sanguinary Priest is attached.

The Librarian is by far the most popular choice. He is cheap for what you get plus he has some very useful powerful psychic powers. I am partial to the Sanguine Sword and Unleash Rage since they both boost the assault phase, which is what this army is really all about. Your army should have plenty of meltas so the Blood Lance is a waste. There should be plenty of cover to protect your jump troops on the drop - 4+++ is much better than 5+++ so again I feel that the Shield is a waste as well. Most often you'll want to deepstrike your army - Shield is mostly used by players who don't like to deepstrike their armies and feel they need the added protection.

The main drawbacks to the Librarian is the lack of an invulnerable save and he is I4. I4 can be mitigated to a degree by keeping a Priest nearby for Furious Charge but there's no way to get around the lack of an invulnerable save and there are high initiative units that can pick him out in close combat. He is still a very good choice, you just have to be careful where you place him in assaults. The Librarian also has a Ld10 psychic hood which can come in very handy versus a lot of armies. S10 from the Sanguine Sword is extremely powerful as you can smash hard stuff like warbosses, dreadnaughts and landraiders. I find the upgrade to Epistolary to be well worth the points as Sword and Rage go hand in hand... Together they are neigh unstoppable.

There is another HQ choice that is also very popular - Honor Guard. Honor Guard have the most options of any unit - they can be either very choppy or very shooty. Four plasmaguns is a very popular build. Some also like to run them with four meltaguns. I spread the melta around my army and kit my characters with infernus pistols so it's easy for me to run a squad of standard assault Marines with three meltas. Statistically you'll never need more than three meltas so anymore than that is a waste per squad. The problem with the plasmagun is that its a rapidfire weapon, so basically a unit of Honor Guard designed as such is not going to see much useful action in close combat - basically you've designed a unit that is only good in one role thus going against my central tenet I mentioned in the beginning of this article; that is, every jump infantry unit should be able to fulfill dual roles. I would rather spend these points to field a squad of Sanguinary Guard - they can take infernus pistols plus the master crafted power sword is built into their basic cost so you don't have to use more points to make them choppy.

Troops

Next up are the troop choices and there are really only two to choose from for a DoA army - assault squads and Sanguinary Guard. I like to field Dante with two full assault squads plus one unit of Sanguinary Guard as the core of my list. That gives me three scoring units which is enough for this type of army. I equip my assault squads with a meltagun and flamer. The flamer really helps a lot versus hordes. As I said above you can get more melta into your assault squads by attaching characters (e.g., Chaplains, Sanguinary Priests) armed with infernus pistols. If you are deepstrking your army then it's easy to position the melta pistols in half range since you only scatter 1d6". I like to kit the sergeants with a thunderhammer and stormshield but a power fist and infernus pistol is also very good as well. I've written a lot about using the Sanguinor to buff an assault squad as well as several articles about Sanguinary Guard so I recommend you use the search function if you'd like to read more about these tactics and strategies of mine.

Elites

This is the foundation of your army. Every good DoA army should have at least one Sanguinary Priest. I arm mine with a power sword so he can throw down four WS5/S5 attacks on the charge thus greatly buffing the close combat prowess of your assault squads. Feel No Pain is a game winner - you've got a small army that must fight in assaults - Feel No Pain can easily make one assault squad seem like two over the course of a game.

Another excellent choice for a DoA army is the Chaplain. He makes any squad he joins fearless plus they reroll hits when charging. Fearless is very helpful versus IG PBS! It makes them cry too. Just like the Priest the Chaplain has four WS5 attacks on the charge that ignore armor saves. I like to attach one Priest and one Chaplain to one assault squad - combined together they are a monster unit and can defeat most any other units in close combat.

Fast Attack

To me there is only one choice - the ubiquitous Vanguard veterans with their much dreaded Heroic Intervention. Again I've written many article here about this unit - if you're interested then use the search function to learn more about them and how I use them. What I will say here is that they are a shock troop - they are going to die over the course of the game and this is one special unit I see as only needing to provide one role - close combat.

So these are the units I'd field in a pure jump infantry army - no Death Company. Rage makes the DC too hard to control in a pure jump army - they are great at what they do (kill) but they are expensive when you kit them with jump packs. You can now design your DoA army such that it has all the benefits of Death Company (Furious Charge, Feel No Pain, Preferred Enemy, Fearless) by including Librarians, Sanguinary Priests and Chaplains. If you follow my guidelines you'll end up with a very simple straightforward list. Have fun with it.

My Decision

2011-02-14T09:08:00.003-06:00

I am really torn on what list I want to take to Battle for Stones River/Adepticon. While the new update to the Black Templars make them a good army until somebody pointed out to me that it was basically what I was running before but with more fire power and a crappy HQ. My Shrike list is completely different and I think will be tougher and more tactically versitile. Here are both of my ideas. Let me know what you guys think?

Thanks

Black Templart 1863

: Emperor's Champion (1#, 140 pts)

1 Emperor's Champion, 140 pts (Bolt Pistol; Crusader Seals; Frag Grenades; Accept Any Challenge,
No Matter The Odds)

1 Armor of Faith

1 The Black Sword

Elite: Sword Brethren Terminator Assault Squad (8#, 594 pts)

7 Sword Brethren Terminator Assault Squad, 594 pts (Lightning Claws (pair) x4; Thunder Hammer &
Storm Shield x3; Furious Charge; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds)

1 Land Raider Crusader (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 15 models; Access Points:
3; Extra Armor; Frag Assault Launchers; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Assault Cannon; Multi-Melta; 2x
Hurricane Bolters; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds; Assault Vehicle; Power of the Machine
Spirit)

1 Blessed Hull

Elite: Sword Brethren Terminator Squad (5#, 265 pts)

5 Sword Brethren Terminator Squad, 265 pts (Power Fist x5; Storm Bolter x5; Cyclone Missile
Launcher x2; Tank Hunters; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds)

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (2#, 140 pts)

2 Land Speeder Squadron, 140 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Skimmer, Fast); Heavy Bolter x2; Typhoon
Missile Launcher x2; Deep Strike)

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (1#, 70 pts)

1 Land Speeder Squadron, 70 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Skimmer, Fast); Heavy Bolter x1; Typhoon
Missile Launcher x1; Deep Strike)

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (1#, 70 pts)

1 Land Speeder Squadron, 70 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Skimmer, Fast); Heavy Bolter x1; Typhoon
Missile Launcher x1; Deep Strike)

Troops: Crusader Squad (7#, 199 pts)
6 Crusader Squad, 199 pts (Bolt Pistol x5; Close Combat Weapon x5; Meltagun; Accept Any
Challenge, No Matter The Odds)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Smoke
Launchers; Twin Linked Lascannon; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds)

Troops: Crusader Squad (7#, 199 pts)
6 Crusader Squad, 199 pts (Bolt Pistol x5; Close Combat Weapon x5; Meltagun; Accept Any
Challenge, No Matter The Odds)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Smoke
Launchers; Twin Linked Lascannon; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds)

Troops: Crusader Squad (6#, 179 pts)
5 Crusader Squad, 179 pts (Bolt Pistol x4; Close Combat Weapon x4; Flamer; Accept Any Challenge,
No Matter The Odds)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Smoke
Launchers; Twin Linked Lascannon; Accept Any Challenge, No Matter The Odds)

Space Marines 1845

HQ: Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike (1#, 195 pts)

1 Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike, 195 pts (Unit Type: Jump Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak
Grenades; Iron Halo; Jump Pack; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol; The Raven's Talons; And They Shall Know
No Fear; Chapter Tactics; Combat Tactics; Independent Character; Infiltrate; See, But Remain Unseen)

HQ: Chaplain Cassius (1#, 125 pts)

1 Chaplain Cassius, 125 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour;
Rosarius; Bolt Pistol; Crozius Arcanum; Infernus; Combat Tactics; Fearless; Feel No Pain; Honour of the
Chapter; Independent Character; Liturgies of Battle)

: Command Squad (6#, 300 pts)
1 Command Squad, 300 pts
1 Apothecary (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Narthecium; Power Armour; Bolt
Pistol x1; Chainsword x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)
1 Veteran (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Shield;
Lightning Claw x1; Meltagun x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)
1 Veteran (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Melta Bombs; Storm
Shield; Lightning Claw x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)
1 Veteran (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Shield;
Lightning Claw x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)
1 Veteran (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Shield;
Lightning Claw x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)
1 Rhino (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 10 models; Access Points: 3; Fire Points: 1;
Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Storm Bolter; Repair)

Elite: Terminator Assault Squad (10#, 400 pts)
9 Terminator Assault Squad, 400 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x9; And
They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)
1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Thunder Hammer & Storm Shield x1; And They Shall Know No
Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)

Fast Attack: Attack Bike Squad (2#, 100 pts)

2 Attack Bike Squad, 100 pts (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour;
Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol x2; Multi-Melta x2; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)

Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 275 pts)

9 Tactical Squad, 275 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt
Pistol x9; Bolter x7; Meltagun; Lascannon; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat
Tactics)

1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol; Power
Weapon x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)

1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3;
Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Lascannon)

Troops: Tactical Squad (11#, 275 pts)

9 Tactical Squad, 275 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt
Pistol x9; Bolter x7; Meltagun; Lascannon; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat
Tactics)

1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol; Power
Weapon x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)

1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3;

Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Lascannon)

Troops: Tactical Squad (6#, 175 pts)
4 Tactical Squad, 175 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt
Pistol x4; Bolter x4; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)
1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol; Combi-
Meltagun x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3;
Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Lascannon)

New Contributing Authors!

2011-02-13T22:14:00.002-06:00

Hi all,

Just wanted to introduce a few new contributing authors to the site!

First up - we have Lord Mortis. Mortis is one of the most talented converters of terrain that I have the pleasure of knowing. Most if not all of our club terrain is the result of his hard work. We have ice worlds, jungle worlds, desert worlds, ruinded cities, hills, tree's, rivers - you name it. Thanks to Mortis - our gaming club gets to visit strange and exciting land scapes - and blow them up!   He is also a master converter and modeler, our resident Apocalypse organizer, and a tough as nails opponent to face across the table.   Looking forward to his add's to the blog!

Secondly - It's way cool to announce that Fishboy will also be contributing here from time to time. Fishboy is a top shelf modeler and painter. One of the few people I call friend that have actually won a Golden Demon or three.   His famous Salmon Salamander's Army have been winning best painted award after best painted award in the North East of late.   Not to mention he is also a very good player - with at least one Grand Tournament Overall win under his belt!   I am looking forward to Fishboy's articles around his beautiful army, his in progress works, gaming/tournament reviews, and anything else he feels the call to add.

Thirdedly - we have Warboss - one of my good buddy's and our resident Blade and Bolter Jedi Bartender! Warboss has done a phenomenal job of running multiple large tournaments over the years - and quite honestly runs one of the most FUN tournaments ever! He also has an incredible Ork army - is a master converter, painter, and modeler.   On top of that - he's a great player and one of the funnest opponents you'll ever get the chance to play against!   I hope to get 'Da Boss to give us some insight into what it takes to run a great and a large tournament, the story of his awesome army, and his overall gaming experiences.

Fourthedly - we have the legendary Black Blow Fly - veteran 40K player - and gamer extra-ordinary! I've know the Fly for several years - and happy to call him a friend.   BBF has an awesome collection of some truly phenomenal armies. He is a guru and master of the Blood Angels - as his tactical and army construction articles on this site have already shown.   A member of the 40K Wrecking Crew and a great friend of the Blade and Bolter - looking forward to the enlightenment that BBF will continue to bring to the blog!

Folks - we should be in for some great treats in the upcoming future on the site!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.....

2011-02-08T17:47:00.001-06:00

At the end of this month - one of the local stores is having their annual Battle for Stones River tournament - in memory of the Civil War battle of the same name. It's a great little tournament - 50 players - fun scenarios, etc. 1863 points (the year of the battle).

I'm torn between two armies (sounds like that song from the 70's) and feeling like a fool!

In one hand, I have a beautiful Ultramarine Bike army that I love to run. It's a capable army - but a lot of finesse to run. You can beat ANY army - but also lose to any army. They are painted well - and will be my main army at Adepticon.

On the other hand, I have an equally beautiful Space Wolf army. It's probably a bit more forgiving to play. Has a nice combo of in your face hard hitting stuff - as well as supporting units.

I like them both and can't decide between them.....

Thoughts? Here are the lists:

1863 Pts - Space Wolves Roster - 1863 BFSR Mix 2

HQ: Logan Grimnar, The Great Wolf (1#, 275 pts)

HQ: Wolf Guard Battle Leader in Power Armour (1#, 175 pts)
1 Wolf Guard Battle Leader in Power Armour, 175 pts (Unit Type: Cavalry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Wolftooth Necklace; Thunderwolf Mount; Storm Shield x1; Wolf Claw x1; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack; Independent Character; Rending in CC only)

HQ: Rune Priest in Terminator Armour (1#, 120 pts)
1 Rune Priest in Terminator Armour, 120 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Runic Weapon; Storm Bolter; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack; Independent Character; Psyker; Jaws of the World Wolf; Murderous Hurricane)

Elite: Lone Wolf in Terminator Armour (1#, 85 pts)
1 Lone Wolf in Terminator Armour, 85 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Storm Shield; Thunder Hammer; A Glorious Death; Acute Senses; Beastslayer; Counter-attack; Eternal Warrior; Fearless; Feel No Pain; Pack of One)

Troops: Wolf Guard Pack (10#, 530 pts)

1 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Storm Shield; Wolf Claw; Cyclone Missile Launcher; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)

1 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Storm Shield; Wolf Claw; Cyclone Missile Launcher; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)

1 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Power Weapon; Storm Shield; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)

1 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Power Weapon; Storm Shield; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)

1 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Storm Shield; Wolf Claw; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)

1 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Storm Shield; Wolf Claw; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)

1 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Power Weapon; Storm Bolter; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)

1 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Power Weapon; Storm Bolter; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)

1 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Power Weapon; Storm Bolter; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)

1 Wolf Guard in Terminator Armour (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armour; Storm Shield; Thunder Hammer; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)

Troops: Grey Hunters Pack (6#, 155 pts)

5 Grey Hunters Pack, 155 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x5; Bolter x4; Close Combat Weapon x5; Meltagun; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Lascannon)

Troops: Grey Hunters Pack (6#, 155 pts)

5 Grey Hunters Pack, 155 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x5; Bolter x4; Close Combat Weapon x5; Meltagun; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Assault Cannon)

Troops: Grey Hunters Pack (6#, 120 pts)

5 Grey Hunters Pack, 120 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x5; Bolter x4; Close Combat Weapon x5; Meltagun; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Heavy Bolter)

Fast Attack: Thunderwolf Cavalry (3#, 245 pts)

1 Thunderwolf Cavalry (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Thunderwolf Mount; Melta Bombs; Close Combat Weapon; Storm Shield)

1 Thunderwolf Cavalry (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Thunderwolf Mount; Close Combat Weapon; Storm Shield)

1 Thunderwolf Cavalry (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Thunderwolf Mount; Close Combat Weapon; Storm Shield)

1863 Pts - Space Marines Roster - 1863 Khan Bike - BFSR list v1

HQ: Kor'sarro Khan (1#, 205 pts)

HQ: Space Marine Chaplain (1#, 135 pts)
...in Power Armour (Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Rosarius; Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol; Crozius Arcanum; Twin Linked Bolter)

: Command Squad (5#, 360 pts)

1 Apothecary (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Narthecium; Power Armour; Unit on SM Bikes; Bolt Pistol x1; Chainsword x1; Twin Linked Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)

1 Veteran (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Shield; Unit on SM Bikes; Bolt Pistol; Lightning Claw x1; Twin Linked Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)

1 Veteran (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Shield; Unit on SM Bikes; Bolt Pistol; Lightning Claw x1; Twin Linked Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)

1 Veteran (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Shield; Unit on SM Bikes; Lightning Claw x1; Meltagun x1; Twin Linked Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)

1 Veteran (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Storm Shield; Unit on SM Bikes; Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1; Twin Linked Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)

Troops: Space Marine Bike Squad (9#, 310 pts)

7 Space Marine Bike Squad, 310 pts (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol x5; Meltagun x2; Twin Linked Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)

1 Attack Bike (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol; Multi-Melta; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)

1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Power Fist; Twin Linked Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)

Troops: Space Marine Bike Squad (9#, 310 pts)

7 Space Marine Bike Squad, 310 pts (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol x5; Meltagun x2; Twin Linked Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)

1 Attack Bike (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol; Multi-Melta; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)

1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Power Fist; Twin Linked Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)

Troops: Space Marine Bike Squad (5#, 200 pts)

3 Space Marine Bike Squad, 200 pts (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol x1; Meltagun x2; Twin Linked Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)

1 Attack Bike (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol; Multi-Melta; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)

1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Power Weapon; Twin Linked Bolter; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)

Fast Attack: Attack Bike Squad (3#, 120 pts)

3 Attack Bike Squad, 120 pts (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol x3; Heavy Bolter x3; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)

Fast Attack: Attack Bike Squad (2#, 100 pts)

2 Attack Bike Squad, 100 pts (Unit Type: Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Space Marine Bike; Bolt Pistol x2; Multi-Melta x2; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Tactics)

Fast Attack: Land Speeder Squadron (2#, 120 pts)

2 Land Speeder Squadron, 120 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Skimmer, Fast); Heavy Bolter x2; Heavy Bolter x2; Deep Strike)

Bringing It Down... The Ubiquitous Stormraven

2011-02-08T09:03:00.004-06:00

I am an avid follower of the B&C BA forum. I ran across this just yesterday...

+++ Bolter and Chainsword Blood Angels Discussion of the Stormraven +++

Basically there are some who still say the Stormraven sucks shnards... well the good news is they are in the minority.

: )

The only real nemesis of the Stormraven is the railgun, which is not a big deal - who plays Tau competitively these days? Barring a lucky shot it requires a high volume of shots to bring it down. Lets look at the mathammer. The Stormraven has moved flat-out as it should and is equipped with extra armor.

S8 (Devastator firing a rocket)

4/6 (to hit) X 3/6 (to glance) X 1/2 (4+++ cover save) = 16.667% chance to glance

If the glancing shot gets through you will still need to roll a 6 on the AP table to bring it down. That is an odds of 2.778% - good luck with that! All the other results are pretty meaningless if you have a squad full of assault terminators and a Death Company dreadnaught ready to charge the next turn.

4/6 (to hit) X 2/6 (to glance) X 1/2 (4+++ cover save) = 11.111% chance to penetrate

You still only have 50% odds of bringing it down on the AP table (unless you've got a melta)... so the overall odds drop to 5.556%. Good luck with that.

What the people who are slagging the Stormraven fail to tell you is that a DoA army has lots and lots of angry assault Marines swarming the enemy lines... it's not like every gun will be pointed at the Stormraven. Oh and what about the ubiquitous lascannon ?? The good news is that the same people saying the Stormraven sucks are the same people who told you to take rocket launchers to save some points !!! Oh the irony...

Yep if the shoe fits...

The Purging of Kadillus

2011-02-06T01:15:00.001-06:00

Hello everyone. The Bikeninja here again with another book review. This one though is guaranteed to surprise. You see for those that do not know, my main 40K army is the mighty Space Wolves. Been playing them since 2nd Edition. I am very attached to my Wolves. So you’ll understand when I begin to heap praise on book depicting the silly Dark Angels that is not normal for me. Typically I would bash this book based solely on the fact that Dark Angels are in it. And even greater reason to smack it down is that this is Al’ blog. But integrity calls and I just cannot help but admit that I liked this book. So on with review and the loss of my good sense.

The Story
Finally we have Dark Angels book that shows them fighting for the Emperor and laying waste to some silly Orks. No Fallen or “I have a secret” stuff to get in the way. This is a well thought out book that flows from one chapter to another and really gives you a since of whole campaign rather than just a few battles. I will not spoil anything with these tidbits but the story is the Dark Angels Third Company versus Ghazghkull and Nazdregg on the planet of Piscina. Master Belial is the Captain of the 3rd but he is just one of a few characters that get a lot of attention. The stuff with Scout Sgt. Naaman and Chaplain Boreas is just awesome. Particularly with Boreas. Through his eyes and thoughts you get to see how the Dark Angels view themselves. You get to see how they view corruption and the lessons learned from the Fallen. You also see the ways of and thoughts of an Interrogator Chaplain of Dark Angels. Space Marine Inquisitors that is all I’m saying. Very cool stuff.

The Fluff
Gav Thorpe takes you for a ride into the mindset of the Dark Angels. In some respects this is good. As I stated above the stuff with Interrogator Chaplain Boreas is awesome. However, the Dark Angels have always been portrayed as very aloof and distant. The fluff gives us a lot of this type of behavior from the Dark Angels. This is most assuredly not the case with this book. You can almost confuse their actions with the non-Astartes in the book as those of the Ultramarines. I think this where the Dark Angels in this book fall into the typical Space Marine cliché. Thorpe does them a little disservice by taking them out of character in my opinion. This is the only fluff point I found in the book where Thorpe deviates from the fluff and goes out of character. (And yes, I know Dark Angels fluff; it pays to know ones enemy.)

Final Rating
I am giving this book an 8 out 10. (I know, I liked this one better than Prospero Burns, my soul hurts to admit it). While I believe the Dark Angels to be portrayed somewhat out of character, this book is good. The fights are done well and are very realistic. You can almost see the tabletop and the armies arrayed against each other. The overall campaign was hard fought and you are given a good look, in my opinion, another good luck into the mind of the Space Marines. Good stuff that I think any fan of the Adeptus Astartes will enjoy.

The Power of Feel No Pain

2011-02-03T22:52:00.001-06:00

Back when the 3rd Blood Angels codex was released Gav Thorpe introduced two new rules at the time that have been heavily copied by other developers, none more so than 5ed - they are furious charge and feel no pain (FNP). It often amazes me how heavily copied these are - I think every 5ed codex has them both now. It used to be that with FNP you could shrug off plasma (AP2)... just think how good that could be now. The PDF version of the Blood Angels Chief Librarian McFiston was a paltry T5 but with FNP back in 4ed edition he was virtually immune to AP2. Stick him in cover and he could shrug off both lascannons and plasmaguns - that's no joke either. Back then he could use FNP versus Perils of the Warp - the Lord of Death was T5 versus the S6 Perils attack - wounded on 67% and could then circumvent that with FNP on a 4+++. The odds of him taking an actual wound from Perils of the Warp was less than half the time (0.67*0.5)... an eldar Farseer was insta gibbed if he/she failed their 3+++ ward save.

So now we have armies such as Nidz that throw around FNP like it's candy. Sure it's great for those pesky gaunts but I've found it's much more effective for a small elite army such as Blood Angels. FNP keeps BA Marines and their terminators in the game far longer than say an equivalent SM army - that is one of the basic reasons why Blood Angels are so resilient now. You kill them en masse then they come right back at you. It might not seem fair but it's there... A lot like Necrons and their much hated res orb. I have won my share of games with the Blood Angelx because my Marines just refuse to die. Like I said - It is what it is.

G

The Power of The Jump !!!

2011-02-01T21:06:00.002-06:00

Black Blow Fly here with a new article on Blood Angels jump infantry. A big shout to brother Al for kindly letting me contribute.

I have been playing Blood Angels for many a year now and the Sons of Sanguinius are by far my favorite army. I started to play them seriously during the very beginning of fourth edition when transports suddenly became burning metal coffins on threads. I thought that by combining drop pod units (tactical Marines and dreadnaughts) with jump infantry the army could be revitalized yet again... Turned out I was right. I only ever lost three games with that army out of hundreds played. I can still remember the three games I lost - one to skimmer heavy dark eldar, one to eldar (aaaaarghhhhh !!!) and one to Speed Freak orks. I played against both the dark eldar army and eldar army again and spanked them both in the rematches. I never had the opportunity to replay the KoS and that match the mission was really against me. All three of three of these armies had something going that took my surprise - they could all match my speed and even out distance my army. Except for the PDF codex (black days) Blood Angels have always been one of the fastest armies in the game. I learned that speed can indeed kill, combine that with the inherent uber choppiness of Blood Angels (Death Company, Honor Guard, now Vanguard veterans and the basic assault Marines) all make for one killer combination. All this has been brought back to the table with the release of the new 5ed codex! It's exciting times for sure. The new rules of Descent of Angels (DoA) and the ubiquitous Stormraven amongst other things has yet again revitalized this army and I can play with my original style which I dub the High Flying Blood Angels.

To me the new Blood Angels are definitely the best assault army. I know a lot of my furry friends will disagree - sure Thunderwolves are the utter sickness - but through much play testing I have learned how to beat Fenrisian Marines on a consistent basis. Every army has it's weaknesses that can be exploited. You must learn how to identify the chinks in their armor and exploit them. Thunderwolves are very fast, you can't get around that too much but they do have a few soft spots such as any S10 attack... That's why my Epistolary rocks the Sanguine Sword and my dreads have Blood Fists. I can't generate enough serious volume of shooting to plink them to death so I have to kill them the good ole fashioned way - my favorite, close combat. Hit them very hard at a higher initiative with a lot of attacks and they will fold. It's much like a chess game with BA jump infantry versus Thunderwolves - you must make sure you charge them. The Stormraven is a big help here as it can outrange Thunderwolves (barely but even just a smidgeon is enough).

The other great nemesis is still the much hated parking lot IG - for me this is not as nearly a tough matchup - hold your entire army in reserve then start deep striking on turn 2 - with the reroll for failed reserves (DoA) 75 percent of your army or even more should arrive on turn 2 then you start blasting the parking lot with all your many many meltas. Burning guardsmen fall out and then you aet them alive. It's very much a Blood Angels-esque approach to rolling guard. Often I read batreps where the Blood Angels player is not comfortable deepstriking his army so they deploy the bulk of their army on the table content to jump across open ground relying upon intervening terrain and the psychic cover save from their Librarians to reach the enemy line - I always find myself shaking my head when I read this type of batrep - DoA is the best thing jump units have going plus you only scatter 1d6"! It's almost too good to be true and has brought a new mechanic to the game. So I say try deepstrking, don't be a sissy, you might just like it. I think it's a whole better than flying across the table exposing yourself to lots of enemy shooting and really how good is a 5+++ save from your Librarians? A five plus plus plus (cover save) means that on the odds two out of every three Marines will die to high strength low AP pie plates. The Shield of Sanguinius is okay but nothing more - any unit that utilizes the 5+++ cover save is going to lose two thirds of their jump infantry if they have nothing better to hide behind - and while that might be somewhat a gross oversimplification it still holds true to a strong degree. If you opt to deepstrike you naturally stand a much better chance to smash mechanized armies.

There we have it for my first article here - I salute you all.

H

Thoughts on Tournament Formats

2011-01-31T13:10:00.003-06:00

Ok - so over the past year or so there has been a lot of discussion on how to change tournament formats. A few thoughts on this topic.

Historically, 40K tournaments had been a points based affair. You would get points for how well you performed in a game (battle), how enjoyable of a player you were (sportsmanship), and how well your army looked and was painted (painting). Your total points were added up and that determined the overall rankings at the end. Those with the best painting score could win a best painted, the best sportsmen could win an award. The person with the most battle points could win Best General.

But at least a portion of the overall gaming community was unhappy. With the above format, a person could lose a game, but still win the best overall. It didnt' separate the BEST player. You could get as many points for painting your stuff well as you did for crushing an opponent in a game. You could get "chipmunked" on your sportsmanship because someone didn't like the fact that you beat them. So - from that arose a format that was dubbed the "Nova-Format" (from the Nova Open - the first tournament to use it). While painting and sportsmanship were still involved -the overall was now decided by who could win their way to the title. Only those winning all their games would play in the finals. The winner would be undefeated.

So - my thoughts on the two formats.

Historical format:

Pro's - To win you had to be compentent in all areas of the hobby. You had to be nice to people and be a good sports. You also had to win or do well in your games. Losing your first game didn't put you out of the running for the overall. As long as you could get points along the way - you could be competitive. Battle points weren't everything - Painting, Sportsmanship, Best General - all were equal categories.

Con's - It was possible to game the system somewhat to get good sportsmanship scores (although I still see the problem with being nice to people even if it's just for a game), chipmunk scores (the dreaded bad sports score - which I think was usually deserved even if the recipient didn't realize it - and don't think it happened all that often), and painting was subjective (you could hire a pro to paint your army and thus increase your chances for the overall).

"NOVA" Format

Pro's - It's all about the win - forget that soft and fuzzy stuff. There are still prizes given out for it - but it's all about who wins the overall. The true winner is the person who can win 6 games without a loss. There can be only ONE!

Con's - Lose your first game - you are done. There is no seating for pairings - just random matchup. Two top players get paired at the beginning - someone wins/someone loses. One advances towards overall - the other is playing for fun or consolation prizes.

Overall - the jury is still out on which is best. There are elements to both that are good and bad. So far, the Nova has yet to have any of the big name players with big tourney wins really get involved or comment. This year I believe the Adepticon Nationals tourney will use the format - so that will be interesting to see the feedback there when it's used at a major event.

Personally - I think the historical format still the best. The fact of the one and done without any kind of seating skews the vote for me. Thoughts from those blessed few that read the blog?

Dark Angels Don't Suck NO MORE!

2011-01-14T15:14:00.002-06:00

TODAY IS A GOOD DAY!!!!

New FAQ from GW - brings Dark Angels in line with the rest of the Marines. Death Wing look good again. Some new life breathed into an aging codex. Same for Black Templar.

Introduction Time

2011-01-14T07:37:00.009-06:00

I guess the best way to make my first post on this blog would be to introduce myself even though I am guessing most people reading this blog may already know me.

My name is Brian Crew or “Sabote” as many people may or may not know me on the internet. You will not recognize me as one of the standard internet personalities that come and go in the 40k world of forums because I really get tired of the debates.

As Al mentioned earlier that I have won my fair share of tournaments both at the GT level and the smaller rogue trader size tournaments. Well the truth is I have actually won 51ish tournaments both small and large not counting Best General (although for the longest time that is the only award I cared about ) Is this a lot? I am sure there have been more won by others, but at the end of the day since 1997 this has been my records. Yeah Al, so I held that bit back from you guys. But I am sure my old gaming buddies at Endgame CA, Comic Quest IL, Slaughter House TX just to mention a few could testify its true. At the end of the day I left Nashville TN with about 8 tournament victories. I don’t mention this because I believe it makes me any more right or wrong than the next person but so you get an idea of what made me come up with this blog topic.

Recently I moved to Genève, Switzerland for my wife’s work. The laws of Switzerland only allows one person as an Expat to work unless a 2nd company will sponsor you. This is next to impossible so I knew I would have a fair amount of free time on my hands. As I sat and started thinking about what I could do to occupy my time I came up with the idea of starting a blog. Al, having tried to start his blog years ago but with only limited success in actually writing articles on a timely basis ( yes I am teasing Al) said to me “ why not write on my blog.” Now a slight aside here. Al and I met for the first time at the Chicago GT 2001. He was actually my very first opponent at the first GT I ever attended. He took my GT virginity J In the game we played we actually tied only because my warlock in a last minute gamble charged his Dark Angle dreadnought and with a witch blade chopped it down to give me a tie. The reason I remember him so well though is that during the lunch break he invited me to have lunch with his friends since I was attending the tournament alone. So imagine my surprise when almost 10 years later I move from Oakland CA and walk into one of the local gaming clubs only to see him standing in the room playing a game of 40k. After a few minutes saying backing and forth “I think I know you and yes I kind of remember you also” we were able to piece together where we had met. Than later, on he actually pulled out some pictures of our game during that fateful or not so fateful GT to prove that we were not going bonkers!!

So back to what I hope to accomplish with this blog. It is really quite simple. Write about playing 40k in Europe. I am lucky in that I have both the finances and the ability to travel anywhere I want to in Europe and play 40k. Many people go to the UK and play in one of the larger events or maybe travel and play in the ETC (European Championships). But what about the rest of the countries in Europe? What is it like to play in a tournament where you have actually have no idea what is being spoken or even able to read the mission? What are local gaming clubs like in Europe or even stores? So I plan to be that American traveling around playing 40k. At this point I have already played in one tournament in Switzerland which I will write about later and I am signed up for two tournaments in France( one is a French team tournament ETC rules that I was invited to play with as part of a Swiss team). Additionally I am signed up to play in the UK GT and I have narrowed down a couple tournaments in Spain and Germany. So it will be fun!! I will also talk about local gaming habits and even about my gaming club here in Genève which I recently joined.

So while many people to include Al may want me to talk about tactics and army builds I plan to concentrate on what gaming is like in Europe as an American (with no foreign language skills). I am sure tactics and army builds will come up at times but I have no desire to feed the flames of internet debates of Meta lists. I will leave others on the internet to debate the pro and cons of certain army lists/rules or what is the better tournament format. So with that being said, look forward to writing my next part soon.

40K ATC - Dicehead Siege May 20-22nd

2011-01-13T13:43:00.001-06:00

Hello,

This summer the Siege (annual convention hosted by Dicehead Games in Cleveland, TN) will be hosting a Club Challenge tournament. It's an ETC style event designed to pit the best players from different clubs across the US against each other.

Here are the details at present:

The American Team Championship is where the best of the best will come together to decide who is the #1 Club/Team in North America!
There are many details to be posted and worked out and we will be continually updating this page with all the info as decisions are made.
Here's what we have to date - More Details to Follow Soon!

5 Member Teams.
Every Member on the Team Must use a different Codex Army.

2000 Points per player.
Maximum 1 Special Character per Army List.

6 Games (4 Saturday, 2 Sunday)

No Painting or Composition Scores.
ALL models MUST be WYSIWYG!
Sportsmanship will be taken into account - more details to follow

Trophies will be given for Best Painted, Best Sportsmanship, Best General, Best Team (each member will be rewarded a trophy) and Best Theme.

Mission(s) are currently being play-tested but will basically be a combination of the Rulebook Missions.

Link to site: http://www.diceheadsiege.com/2673.html

Their are already several well known clubs that are planning to attend. Will be a great gathering of some of the best known 40K players in the US. A great event to get a group of your best buddies together and compete for a two day 6 game slug fest.

C'mon down!

Al Gleason - Team Captain - Blade and Bolter Boyz

Which Razorback Spam is the best?

2011-01-12T16:15:00.003-06:00

In a conversation with Sabote earlier this week - we got into a discussion around the different ways that Razorback Spam could be built and decided to do the analysis. The idea was a core troop unit - minimum size - with a Melta Gun (if you can take it) and a Powerfist. Razorback would be Las/Plas or Twin Link Las.

First - Dark Angels

Yes you can do Razorback spam with the lowly Dark Angels. But is it even effective...let's see.

Here's what ArmyBuilder gives you:

Troops: Tactical Squad (6#, 205 pts)
4 Tactical Squad @ 205 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x4; Bolter x3; Meltagun; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Razorback)
1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x1; Power Fist; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Twin Linked Lascannon)

So - a pricey 205 points gives you the above unit.

Black Templar:

Again - an old dated Codex - but it still can do what we are looking at...

Troops: Crusader Squad (6#, 195 pts)
1 Crusader Squad @ 195 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Bolt Pistol & CCW; Meltagun; Bolt Pistol & Power Fist; Razorback)
3 Initiate with Bolt Pistol and CCW (Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon)
1 Initiate with Meltagun (Meltagun)
1 Initiate with Bolt Pistol & Power Fist (Bolt Pistol; Power Fist)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Twin Linked Lascannon)

A little better than the DA price wise - but no Sarge so one attack less. Pretty much an even unit.

Codex: Space Marines

Now onto Vanilla Marines. To get the Melta - you have to add a Combi-Melta to the Sarge along with the PF - lots of points on one model. Still - vanilla marines are cheap right - so should be a price advantage? See below:

Troops: Tactical Squad (6#, 200 pts)
4 Tactical Squad @ 200 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x4; Bolter x4; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics; Razorback)
1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Combi-Meltagun x1; Power Fist x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Combat Tactics)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Lascannon and TL Plasmagun)

HMMM - 200 points here for a pretty plain jane unit. Is this really better?

Blood Angels

Ok - now here we go! With the assault squad able to drop Jump packs and save on the price of their rides - this has got to be the ultimate right? Let's see:

Troops: Assault Squad (6#, 190 pts)
3 Assault Squad @ 190 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol x3; Chainsword x3; Meltagun; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Descent of Angels; The Red Thirst; Razorback)
1 Assault Marine with Meltagun (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Remove Jump Packs; Chainsword; Meltagun; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Descent of Angels; The Red Thirst)
1 Sergeant (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Remove Jump Packs; Bolt Pistol; Power Fist x1; And They Shall Know No Fear; Combat Squads; Descent of Angels; The Red Thirst)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank, Fast); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Fire Points: 0; Smoke Launchers; Lascannon and TL Plasmagun)

And yes....a pretty solid point cost - but somewhat in line with the other units. Only 5 points less than Templars.....

Space Wolves

Ahh...are they really the king of the Razorback spam as many are toting now days. Is it a dramatic difference from the above? Let's see....

Troops: Grey Hunters Pack (6#, 180 pts)
4 Grey Hunters Pack @ 180 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x4; Bolter x3; Close Combat Weapon x4; Meltagun; Power Fist; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack; Razorback)
1 Grey Hunter w/ Power Fist (Unit Type: Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x1; Bolter x1; Power Fist; Acute Senses; And They Shall Know No Fear; Counter-attack)
1 Razorback (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 6 models; Access Points: 3; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Lascannon and TL Plasmagun)

Well - a definite price improvement. Only 180 points for close to the same thing. Looks good.

Final Thoughts:

What struck me with this is that the difference between the most point cost (Dark Angels at 205) and the least (Wolves at 180) is not a huge difference. The higher cost also gives you a few other things - Leadership 9 (DA, BA, C:SM, vs Leadership 8 on the Wolves and Templar's. C:SM have Combat Tactics. Wolves have Counter-Attack. Bolters (DA, C:SM) vs Bolt Pistols and CCW (BA, Temp) vs all three (Wolves). BA get the Turbo Charged engines on their rides - a big advantage there.

Overall I would say that the Wolves truly are the most cost effective - with Blood Angels being #2. However the remaining lists are pretty much equal.

I also think that the build is viable for all of the codexes - even the old ones. Maybe not as good as the new dex's - but there are lists there that can be competitive.

Adepticon 2011 - The countdown begins

2011-01-10T14:54:00.004-06:00

Well, since the New Year is behind me....it becomes time to start looking forward to my big event of the year - Adepticon. This will be my 4th year attending - 3rd year with my BNB brothers in arms - Ultramarine Revenge of the Smurfs team. Once again I plan on the tri-fecta of 40K gaming - Championship, Team, and Gladiator (unless I make the finals). So - some thoughts on where my heads at for the tournaments.

Championship - after reading the Mission primers - I'm looking forward to playing them. In general you have three equal objectives - whoever can achieve the most wins - with VP's for tie breakers. That's 40K! Love it!

I'm torn on which army I want to bring. Will be playing my Bikes in the team tourney - so for easy of transport (and to minimize the confusion on my simple brain). They can be competitive - but are a little unforgiving. I also have some sweet looking Space Wolves that I'm enjoying playing as well. I think the Wolves have pretty solid chances with the new missions that it looks like Championship is going towards. Still undecided here....

Team - this one is easy. BNB Revenge of the Smurfs Part Tres! The Ultramarines return for a third year - hopefully we get it right this year. Sabote has painted up the troops - they look awesome! Got the board in progress, the trinkets, the shirts, the banner.....hopefully third times the charm. Just gotta win some games!

Gladiator - ah...the awesome-sauce of running into super heavies and stuff you will never face otherwise - in a tourney! I personally enjoy Gladiator - it's purely a shits and giggles tournament for me - just fun. That being said - I want to be as competitive as I can in it. I've played Chaos Nurgle and Eldar in the past - and done well with both. I don't think my Wolves scale well to the Gladiator format unfortunately. I'm actually leaning towards my Ultramarine Biker army for this one. Will wait for the Primer missions before I decide.

So...there we go! Hope to see you all in Chicago in April!