I'M BACK

Yes folks, got my laptop, and I'm back.

Currently, I'm having a lookity at Tomb Kings for Kirby. Arkhan is in the book, and doing an army of Tomb Kings that is Nagash's at the end of the day is all kinds of awesome. So, that's happening. Read more!

Hardware problems and grey knights.

Well, my PC finally died, hence the lack of activity. I get my replacement laptop on the 25th, hopefully. So, as a small update, with grey knights I'm either running terminators or this:

2 Inquisitors with incinerator, 2 skulls
5 warrior henchmen, 3 MM servitors, rhino
8 warrior henchmen, 3 melta guns, rhino
vindicare
Ven dread with 2 s8 autocannons
6 units of 5 grey knights with psycannon and psybolt razor
3 dreads with s8 autocannons
2k

Although I really like Mike Brandt's list, I just feel its a little exposed, and running a 500 to 700 point unit is bold. Read more!

F**king oversights.

Just realised I overlooked GKs ability to combat squad.

Yes, I think a Hybrid build is in order. It will certainly involve a Librarian. Read more!

More GK Tinkering....

Have at it:

HQ
Coteaz
100

Elites
8 Purifiers
2 Hammers
4 Halberds
2 Psycannons
Rhino
Dozer Blade
275

8 Purifiers
2 Hammers
4 Halberds
2 Psycannons
Rhino
Dozer Blade
275

8 Purifiers
2 Hammers
4 Halberds
2 Psycannons
Rhino
Dozer Blade
275

Troops
6 Death Cult Assassins
3 Acolytes
2 Melta Guns
Flamer
Rhino
167

9 Acolytes
2 Melta Guns
Flamer
Rhino
101

9 Acolytes
2 Melta Guns
Flamer
Rhino
101

9 Acolytes
2 Melta Guns
Flamer
Rhino
101

5 Acolytes
Razorback
Lasplas
100

5 Acolytes
Razorback
Lasplas
100

Heavy Support
Dreadnought
2 Autocannons
Psybolt Ammo
135

Dreadnought
2 Autocannons
Psybolt Ammo
135

Dreadnought
2 Autocannons
Psybolt Ammo
135

2000

Got everything covered, I think. Fights well in combat, and has good shooting (: Read more!

So I've been messing with the new GK book....

And I've been trying to make henchmen work. So, this is what I have at the moment:

Coteaz
Inquis w/Rads
2x8 DCA + 3 Meltacolytes + Lasplas
9 DCA + 3 Meltacolytes + Lasplas
3 acolytes + Lasplas
2x3 Acolytes + Twinlas
2 Redeemers w/MM
Crusader w/MM
1932



So, at first I saw the combat options for henchmen and went "Bah! S3, sucks." However, Coteaz has Mind Blades and Hammerhand (+1S and -1T), basically making his unit S6. The other Inquis has rad grenades, meaning they're basically S5 (still enough, those assassins are putting out around 15 wounds). The other unit, well, it has more attacks and I can aim it at troops. Now, this is very much a beta as I'm still playing with the build, but it has ranged support, 3 raiders and a hell of a combat punch. Only problem is the staying power of the troops. Obviously, I have some points to play with here, I could "maybe" add in some storm shields, but I'm not convinced I wouldn't just be better with more assassins.

The meltas are there because I can see them being handy. As a note, this list will pretty much play as: 3 Raiders and 4 Razors run into midfield. The 2 Lasplas sit back. They demech some stuff and then it dies horribly to the assassin units. Protecting those assassins will be absolutely critical, as they die really really easily. With the remaining points I have to shuffle, I'd like to get a few extra bodies (maybe up the razorback squads to 5 or 6 apiece) and get some powerfists about. Also, Psychotropes and a combi melta for the Xenos inquisitor. Dunno, we'll see how it goes.

But anyway, what're your thoughts on the list?

HQ
Coteaz
100

Ordo Xenos Inquisitor
Rad Grenades
40

Troops
8 Death Cult Assassins
3 Warrior Acolytes
3 Melta Guns
Lasplas
242

8 Death Cult Assassins
3 Warrior Acolytes
3 Melta Guns
Lasplas
242

9 Death Cult Assassins
3 Warrior Acolytes
3 Melta Guns
Lasplas
257

3 Warrior Acolytes
Razorback
Lasplas
92

3 Warrior Acolytes
Razorback
Twinlas
92

3 Warrior Acolytes
Razorback
Twinlas
92

Heavy Support
Land Raider Redeemer
Multi Melta
255

Land Raider Redeemer
Multi Melta
255

Land Raider Crusader
Multi Melta
265
Read more!

Well, the new GK book stuffed henchmen, have some templates.

So guys, the new GK book stuffed henchmen. And Mordrak. Looking like purifiers are the only competitive build in the book.

Damn.

However, this came up in conversation, the "armies i'm afraid of" in 5E. Basically, these are the 4 "generic" armies that worry me. Obviously, there's other things that phase me, but if your opponents army looks like one of these, you should be in for a rough game.

Now, I made all those lists, and I think that GK list will be "the GK build". For the future. I'd damn buy it if I didn't need to get another 6 rhinos. I love builds that're good in the midfield. Especially close combat. :D

Crowe
4x8 Purifiers w/2 Hammers, 4 Halberds, 2 Cannons, Rhino
2x5 Purifiers w/2 Cannons (one unit has 1 hammer), Rhino
3 Dreads w/2 TLAC + Psybolt
2000

Njal
2x5 Wolf Scouts w/Melta
6 WG w/Fists + Combi Melta
3x7 GH w/Melta, Wolf Standard + Rhino
6 GH w/Melta, Wolf Standard + Rhino
2x5 GH w/Flamer in Lasplas
2x5 Long Fangs w/4 Missiles
5 Long Fangs w/4 Missiles + Lasplas
2000

Straken w/Stuff
6x Meltavets
3 Vendettas
2 Demolishers w/HBs
2000

Mephiston
Honour Guard w/Rhino, 2 Melta, 2 Flamer
2 Sangpriests w/LC + Combi
6x5 ASM w/LC, Melta, Infernus + Rhino
3 Autolas
2000

Just felt like sharing that. Read more!

An Update - More GK Shnazzle

So, with the actual book in stores now, some truths have been put out.

A big one is the Dreadknight is S6, T6, 4W, 2+/5++. Doesn't work for nurgle daemon princes, doubt it'll work for you son. Back into the broken dreams box you go.

I prefer infantry anyway, always have. They're much cooler. Speaking of which, here's list MKII

HQ
Mordrak
200

10 Ghost Knights
2 Psycannons
Brotherhood Banner
3 Hammers
7 Halberds
Psybolt Ammo
405

Coteaz
100

Troops
9 Henchmen
2 Flamers
5 Meltas
Chimera
Dozer Blade
156

9 Henchmen
2 Flamers
5 Meltas
Chimera
Dozer Blade
156

9 Henchmen
2 Flamers
5 Meltas
Chimera
Dozer Blade
156

9 Henchmen
2 Flamers
5 Meltas
Chimera
Dozer Blade
156

9 Henchmen
2 Flamers
5 Meltas
Chimera
Dozer Blade
156

8 Henchmen
2 Flamers
5 Meltas
Chimera
Dozer Blade
152

Heavy Support
5 Purgators
2 Psycannons
Rhino
180

5 Purgators
2 Psycannons
Rhino
180

2000

What do we think? Insane scoring potential, some good long ranged fire (6 psycannons is 12 autocannons, with rending), as well as Meltacolytes coming towards you, which are just Meltavets MKII.

Oh yeah, and Mordrak. His unit is AWESOME. :D Read more!

Lost and the Damned - Made a monster with the new GK "book"

So, I was messing around with the pdf, and I made this list.

Read more!

Centurion!

A very brief post here covering my biggest mistake, my favourite game, my greatest achievement and stuff like that.

Ok, so, to sum it up (very briefly, i'm doing a full version on 3++ soon)

My greatest achievement was....
I played Kirby round 3 and edged out a victory. As we had to end T5, it was very much in my favour. Could have gone either way turn 6, and it was most likely his game turn 7.

Favourite Game:
Round 4 against Dennis.... Jeez. Now, I want to say right here and right now, this was my favourite game of the whole event, and any bitter/hate/anger here is directed at me for fucking up, and not him. He played a fantastic game, and I honestly didn't deserve to win.

Now.... let me explain. My big mistake here is I misread my scenario sheet. I looked at it, and looked at round 5, because it was the 2nd last one on the sheet (out of 6) and it was my 2nd last game. Hence, I played for objectives. This is why I won the secondary. Dennis however played a very solid game in the midfield, and raped me for quarters, played well, and won. However, because I thought it was objectives, I threw turn 5 away as I already had it (or so I thought), and man... Ugh. At the time, I didn't see much of a way to get it back. Lemme explain the board corners at the start of my turn 5:

 Top Left
Dennis Had:
Prime, about 20 Gaunts (~200)
I had:
Trukk, Ork Squad (152)

Top Right
Dennis Had:
Tervigon, about 10 gaunts (~230)
I Had:
1 Trukk and 2 buggies (~120)

Bottom Left
Dennis had:
Zilch (0)
I had:
11 Shootas, 2 Buggies,6 Kans, Battlewagon (~600)

Bottom Right
Dennis had:
HT + Guard, 3 Hive Guard (these might have been top right, not sure), Mawloc, 2 Tyrannos (~1000)
I had:
10 Shootas + Nob, 2 Trukks, Wagon w/Mek (~300)

Now, when I realised what was done, I asked if I could play out my movement, thinking I could throw enough into the bottom right to win. Stupid really, even if Dennis had let me do it (he didn't, and I don't condemn him at all, I'd have done the exact same thing). What I should have done is move the battlewagon in my bottom left to the top left. Then I would have tied the primary, it'd have gone to objectives, and I would have won.

The fucking fury I had at myself could not be described. Ask ComradeCowboy. I actually woke up in the middle of the night, sat bolt upright and went

"Fuck."


>_>


Anyway, as to the event, much more detailed shit coming up on 3++, but it was absolutely awesome, good opponents, some of the best games I've had in my life, Matt is possibly one of the soundest guys you'll ever meet, SneakyDan drinks like a fucking elephant, Cowboy got cunted by crons, Vince's Night Lords fill me with nostalgia (he's also the most chilled dude I've ever met... sorry about the blood bowl again >:), Kirby is a cunt (and really white, and a really really weird drunk), and generally just thanks to everyone who made the event awesome.


Oh yeah. FUCKING THIRD WITH FUCKING ORKS. An army I'd been playing for, I dunno, 8 hours before the event. FUCKING THIRD. 2nd if you count Josh's DQ. I don't though. He fucking deserved 2nd, played a really rough game and a small math error on his part shouldn't take ANYTHING away from that. And if anyone tries to belittle his achievement "aw no he cheated he totally didn't deserve it" then they CLEARLY didn't see him play. If I'm 2nd by formality, fuck off. I came 3rd.

With orks. Fuck you Kirby, stelek was right. ;] Read more!

More DH stuff! - The Intro

Well folks, here's the intro to the DH campaign i'm running later on today, at Centurion.

Carmen's footsteps echoed down the corridor. The pipes and wires a luminescent green amidst the amorphous black mass that was the rest of the hallway. A glimmering marked another pane of glass further down, to his left. After the last one, he didn't really want to look, but combat doctrine and human instinct made him. He had to know. He had a few inklings as to what must have been going on here. But even thinking of... those... those things, mankinds oldest enemy, it made his flesh crawl. He had never encountered them before, his life spent fighting Orks. He had only heard whispers, stories and myths. Thinking about it, those were definitely not myths.

He reached the pane of glass, and readied his hellgun. All clear. An empty room, no signs of movement. Not wanting to waste time, he swiftly made tracks down the hall, his steps ringing out on the mesh flooring. The auspex built into his helmet flared up, alerting him to electrical activity ahead. Hrm. The facility seemed to be shut down in its entirety. Although, he had tagged a few working panels and automatic doors, so it couldn't be completely down.

On closer inspection, he saw it was a door, half open, moving from three quarters shut, to half open, to almost shut, to half open again. Well, he didn't have a choice here, he had to get out. Lowering his weapon, he straightened out and eked through a small gap it was widening. Once on the other side of the door, he could see a light. Whispering thanks to the Emperor, he hastened his pace. As he neared it, he noticed lights flickering on cogitators, and small runes of activation silently flashing.

"Yes!" he thought, "The facility must be coming back online!". Clicking off his night vision, in his haste, he went past a pane of glass, and an open door. White noise erupted from a nearby vox unit, and something moved into the narrow corridor behind the Stormtrooper, completely unnoticed by him, blinded as he was by the fervour that had overcome him. The thought of freedom was all that was on his mind, as a shape in the dark shadowed him down the corridor.

As he turned the corner, what he saw stopped him in his tracks, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. It was just light, just a big light. But, he thought, blood running down from the newly opened gash in his throat, it was such a nice light. Perhaps this was the light of the Emperor, it certainly felt strong enough, like it was giving him some kind of sunburn.

And then, cold, alone, and dead on the hard plasteel floor, the Stormtrooper went to join the rest of his squad. Read more!

Old Stuff Day: Some Shooting in 8E.

So, an article I'd written in the aftermath of 8th edition, turned out to be an almost clairvoyant description of 8E. Gun+Magichammer! Wooooo!!!

See, it's just shooting and magic are what the game revolves around at the moment. Thing is in WHFB mobile shooting is generally not as good as pillbox obliterate from across the board shooting, which, unlike 40k, makes for a boring game. As while movement in WHFB may be higher, mobility is generally lower, meaning that "gunlines" do well. Which is boring.

Yeah, I kinda fell out with 8th edition...Sorry, have a read.

 

Shooting attracted a lot of attention to itself in 8th edition. With the ability to fire in two ranks you can effectively double the number of shots you can produce in fire lanes/areas with limited frontage (and in empire handgunner spam, that can be the whole table). In addition, gunlines no longer have to camp on hills to receive bonuses like this. So gunlines have been cropping up a lot more lately. My own skaven army is shooty. But this article is weighing up the important pros and cons of the shooting phase in 8th edition.

Ok, let's start with the bad. BS reliant shooting. In 8E terrain barely hinders the game anymore, so people are in it quite a lot. In addition, units in the way provide hard cover. Finally, there's a lot more terrain on the board. What does this mean to you guys? Modifiers. Lots of them. Example. Unit in their deployment zone and in a forest. That means that your unit of Dark Elf Crossbowmen, or Empire Handgunners is hitting them on 6s. In their first turn they will move out the forest and hopefully in to/behind a nice terrain feature. In addition, against an army with a lot of BS reliant shots, I tend to put my 3 slave units (so that's 30 models wide) in a nice line in front of my army. Stormvermin are large enough to see over slaves (no, really) which means my whole army tends to get hard cover with no negative impacts other than a slightly hindered movement phase.

What this means is BS reliant shooting tends to need to be brought in absolute bucketfuls to achieve a significant result. Or be poisoned (which makes hitting on 6s a good thing). Or you could be Tomb Kings (whose archers actually gained by comparison this edition). Of course this isn't always the case, but it does mean an entire army of BS related shots isn't so good. Lookin at Woodies, for example. Dark Elves work out fine just cause they have the form of BS related shooting that IS good. Bucketfuls of it and...

Fast moving high BS skirmishers and fast cavalry (but the only good fast cav I can think of are dark riders and pistoliers). These guys are still good. Flamers, Shades, Gutter Runners, that kind of thing. These guys are good because they can march and shoot. This means they can get in to a position easily that doesn't suffer modifiers other than "moved". But by that point you wont be suffering long range, so it doesn't really matter. The ability to march and shoot really helps skirmishers with half decent/good ranged weapons, because now they're really really hard to catch, if they don't want to be caught. But they can still easily remain within short range and pelt your guys to death. You'll find these units tend to hit on 5s most of the time, with a lot of shots. Shades, being the cocky dark elf pricks they are, hit on 4s.

                                                             

Now, the shooting that really got buffed. We all know what's coming here. Yup, tequila. I mean, templates. This includes cannons, as that line is technically a template. More specifically I mean non ballistic related templates. The ones you just place and they go a random range. For example, short of a misfire, it's very hard to miss a monster/chariot with a cannon. And no amount of modifiers could save it. It could be 66" away in a ruin wearing a cloak made of shadow magnet trinkets and rings of darkness, while also being a single character and a skirmisher. Don't care, you're getting slapped by a cannonball, flying towards you which will wittily say "Buona Giorno" like Bradd Pit in Inglorious Basterds before scalping you and moving on to the poor block of infantry behind it.

Tangents aside, these kind of weapons are really really good in 8th edition. That's why my army has 8 of them. I can't really go in to this, but I can point out something important relating to army balance within your missile troops. As the number of enemy units decreases, the power of these weapons decreases. It's fairly simple, and you could work it out by looking at pictures of how these things fire, but it needs to be said. Moving on, because of that, as I found out, an army that uses templates and blasts to the exclusion of all else doesn't function so well. Because if you have a small cadre of elites left they'll munch your units anyway (4 chaos warriors or something like that). So, what can we do? In this hour of need who do we turn to?

Well, it's the underdog. The downtrodden unsung hero of 8th edition. No, not you Korhil, get back in your cage. BS-reliant shooting. BS reliant shooting doesn't change in effectiveness in relation to the size of the units you're shooting. They can shoot a unit of 50, 20, and 2 guys with the same effectiveness, all along the watchtower. BS-reliant shooting stands up tall, among the horde of template weapons you brought, holds his head high, swings his sling around his head and breaks the faces of that unit of 4 swordmasters you just can't get a good template hit on, before receding back in to the folds of mediocrity, and the bards shall laud that shot that did save your general from certain death for all of history.

Hope you guys enjoyed the article.

Read more!

"Aim Directly For His Crooked Brow, And Look Him Straight In The Eye!"

So, taking the bull by it's horns here folks. At the moment I'm putting up a kind of mishmash of articles relating to whatever crosses my mind, which I'm fine with.

Is there anything you guys would like my opinions/advice/thoughts on though? I might actually do something email related (no promises it wont end up on 3++ though). Dunno, feeling lost for direction since I fell out with 8th ed. (Rockethammer was an apt name, as shooting each other is the name of the game, and magic).

<3 Read more!

Dark Heresy Stuff.

Guys that wanted to do DH/were interested (That is Dathbryce, eathos and Wonna). I need you to get into contact with me like, ASAP, so we can discuss what nights of the event we can do this. Otherwise it's off. >: Read more!

A Fantasy Post?! On MY Blog!?

So guys, simple question. I want a shooty WHFB army that's not Dark Elves and I already play Skaven.

I also want it to be evil, or at least not goody two shoes. It also has to be, y'know, good. WE archer lines aint gonna cut it.

Any ideas? Read more!

Archnomad's 40k Gospel

So guys, I've decided to write something absolutely monolithic. My own 40k bible. Very much a WIP at the moment, but i'd like some community involvement here. At the moment, I'm starting with list writing. If you feel you have anything to add, please make it known. I'm just putting it up while I write it. I mean, getting C&C is better than having it sitting in drafts right?



Now then. Winning in 40k. In my opinion, this starts well before you roll your mission. Well before you find an opponent. You know what I'm getting at, this starts with an Army List. A successful army list is able to handly everything an opponent can throw at you, and anything you encounter. An unsuccessful army list can't deal with certain threats, or is spread too thin. So, lets talk about making army lists.

This obviously starts with your army of choice. Now then, for the purposes of this, I'm going to refer to Space Wolves as my default (as they're my default, and in my opinion have one of the most rounded codices in the game). I should note, that some armies simply have to build lists differently, but there's a certain amount of things a successful army needs to be able to do.

We've covered it already. Take all comers by the horns and punch them in the chops. So how do we do that? Well, what does all comers entail? Well, can your army list reliably (assuming 2kpts):

Deal with 200 models?
Deal with masses of 2+ saves?
Deal with masses of invulnerables (storm shields, fateweaver)?
Deal with being alpha struck?
Deal with lots of high toughness or very tough models?
Deal with gunlines?
Deal with combat armies?
Deal with being pressured by stuff in your DZ turn one?
Deal with armies staying 36" (or trying to) away from you at all times?
Deal with the top army builds at the time (as you're likely to encounter these)?
Deal with 20+ vehicles?
Push forward to take objectives against an aggressive opponent?
Push forward to take objectives against a gunline?
Remain potent while moving?
Operate reliably, with lots of redundancy, so deviation from the averages doesn't completely screw you, and you always have a back up plan?
Not have bad matchups (this isn't essential, but know the risk of running paper, when you run into scissors you cannot complain)?

Looks like a lot doesn't it? It's not really, most armies tick half of that off by just picking the codex. A lot of codices would have to build around not having this stuff. I should also note, not every unit in your army needs to be able to adhere to this, but as a whole this should be something your army is capable of doing. (:

-------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, so next up, efficiency. This is big in army list design. Take for instance, the commonly doled out example of the predator's autocannon. Almost everybody you meet will tell you to not upgrade it to a Lascannon. Lascannons are better, sure. But they are not efficient. Ok, so what is efficient?

Well, efficiency is usually defined to a role. Very rarely will you find a unit that is efficient at everything. Lets rattle through a few examples. What I'll do is put say, 5 unit types and give a grade. The grade represents how good it is at a certain task. It'll be easier if you see it. So, sticking with some well known units here:

*disclaimer - these scales are very rough, they're there to get a point across! Don't call me out on it, as ultimately it doesn't matter*

Vendetta
Anti Light Infantry (guard, orks etc) - D
Anti Heavy Infantry (Marines, termies) - C
Anti Monstrous Creature - A
Anti Light Tank - A
Anti Heavy Tank - B

Dakka Predator
Anti Light Infantry (guard, orks etc) - B (would be A if it ignored cover)
Anti Heavy Infantry (Marines, termies) - D
Anti Monstrous Creature - D
Anti Light Tank - C
Anti Heavy Tank - F

Tactical Marines Rapid Firing
Anti Light Infantry (guard, orks etc) - C
Anti Heavy Infantry (Marines, termies) - D
Anti Monstrous Creature - D
Anti Light Tank - D
Anti Heavy Tank - F

Dreadnought with Twin Autocannons
Anti Light Infantry (guard, orks etc) - C
Anti Heavy Infantry (Marines, termies) - D (it's not much good against either)
Anti Monstrous Creature - C
Anti Light Tank - B
Anti Heavy Tank - C

Ok, so looking at that, you need to note they're pretty specialised examples. However, all but one of these units are considered "efficient". And indeed, all these weapons have their place. A Vendetta reigns over the skies. Hard as hell to get cover from, it absolutely destroys tanks. Very efficient for what you're paying. Versus infantry it's about as efficient as a teaspoon for cutting steak, however. In the same vein, a dakka pred is pretty good against light infantry. Now, the important thing to take away from this is how good they are for what you're paying. The best unit in that mix is the Vendetta. It's the most expensive, sure, but it's fantastic at what it does. I wish my SW got Vendettas. Seriously, they have everything you could want in a long range platform. Well, almost. If they were AV14 they'd be... In fact I don't even want to think about that.

Anyway, where I was going. A vendetta is horrifically efficient, and thus a very good unit. A dakka pred is not "that" killy. But it's cheap as all hell.

Another important note, it's the only thing there that ignores armour. I don't care what people say about riflemen dreads, I don't think they're all that. I think they and dakka preds are one of the reasons nilla SM can't compete. They have tonnes of AP4, and struggle to deal out wounds to things like Tyranid MCs. I do not give a shit how many people say "just pour wounds onto them", if the nid player knows what he's doing, you'll be firing at a 2+ save (2+ tyranno or 3+/FnP). And this leads us nicely into my next point.

The best units are often those that're efficient in multiple fields. Lets take the Vendetta again. It's great anti tank, but it's also a nice source of some AP2, AND it's S9, which helps instant kill a lot of stuff. Take a Rifledread. It fires a lot of S7, so it's good against light tanks. It doesn't fire that many shots, certainly not enough for torrent, so light anti tank is about all it does. One of the reasons I'm not a huge fan, it's a matchup dependant unit (in my opinion) and, I've already mentioned, because of that and the dakka pred I feel nilla can't compete. :D

Ok, while I'm here, have some units efficient in multiple fields. Autolas predators, Long Fangs, Lasplas Razorbacks, Crisis Battlesuits, Veterans in Chimeras, BA ASM with LCs, Sangpriests and meltas, Sisters/IST units in Immolators, Vendettas, Tactical Marines, TH/SS terminators, MM/HF Speeders, Manticores, Medusas, Demolisher Tanks...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

That looking familiar? Yeah, all those units are very common in tournaments. I wonder why that is. Now, if I may here is my Space Wolf army, as it appears on the table:

*reason I'm showing you is it can tick off the boxes on the list*

4 Good sized (7+WG) Grey Hunter units with a melta, wolf standard, combi melta and power fist in rhinos. So these units are good against light infantry (they'll scythe through guard type units), heavier infantry (if they pop the wolf standard they can really pile on the wounds with bolt pistols and stuff, you're talking like 12 wounds (so 2 die) before the fist), bigger monsters a la mephiston, tervigons etc as they have a power fist, allowing them to whittle them down, and they can also shoot them with AP1 weapons. They're good against tanks, as they have melta guns, and with the rhino, can catch them. A very good all purpose unit. Now, don't get me wrong, their preferred targets are things weaker than them that they have a good chance of killing (as is the way of 40k), but they will beat up most troops, and kill most tanks too. These are the guys I push forward with, and take objectives.

2 5 man grey hunter squads with flamers in lasplas razorbacks. The Stelek Surprise, no? These units will take potshots with flamers at units that get into that position. They are great in some games, as y'know, if you demech a unit of say veterans you can get these guys into a position so that if the vets come close, they're gonna get burnt. Remember, the IG player (worth his salt) will spread out, so you'll need to tank shock him back into shape. The lasplas allows this FOC to deal with MCs, Tanks, heavy infantry. Hell, in a pinch it's 3 shots, not bad by any standard. Yup. They're also scorers, these guys get the home field objectives.

2 units of 5 wolf scouts with a melta, and a WG w/Combi + Power Fist. Now, the WG is mandatory, but a lot of people question the fist. Well, it's good for assaulting tanks. Honestly, against some armies (particularly bad players) this is sheer awesome. The Scouts however fuck up backlines. The fist actually means they can beat up some squads like long fangs, which is fucking funny when it happens, just saying. But yeah, these guys are my wild cards. Cheap and cheerful, if you were to go to my checklist, they're also a major part in how I deal with gunlines and people who play defensively. They also allow me access to my opponents backfield if my Hunters are tied up in the midfield.

3 units of 5 long fangs with 4 missiles. Do I really need to explain? Really? Suffice to say these guys are ample anti tank, they're very good suppression fire, for shit like Vendettas, can shoot six targets, allow me to set up fire lanes, contest homefield objectives, have not bad anti infantry fire and surprise people (like Al'rahem) when they suddenly pull out pistols and dive in! Just generally a good unit, very efficient anti tank (115pts for 4 missiles that can split fire and also shoot infantry with blasts). The lasplas they bring is covered earlier. It acts as a backup for the Hunters if theirs gets blown up too.

Ok, the main point of contention in my list is Njal. I suppose he's another Wild Card. Let me explain. Njal, if he doesn't test quite well enough, will get swapped out. Probably for more GHs, another lasplas and a Rune Priest. However, Njal has been testing amazingly. Seriously, he's been ripping people's shit up. He tends to stay in his tank till turn 3-4. After that he's out and about, messing up people's days. Also, his personal force field/anti flyer(orDS) powers are nice to always have. Worth 145pts extra? Maybe. However, he also has Saga of Majesty (which is awesome for failed pins, ask my friends, I fail a lot), a chooser and a 3+ DENY on psychic powers. Honestly, pretty good. When his powers start getting serious, he's harsh. Personal best is either.... slowing down an army of horde orks, or wrecking 2 chimeras, blowing up a vendetta and immobilising a chimmy, all in one turn (Vengeful Hurricane + Living Lightning yo!). He also has a total toolbox of powers (well, the useful ones, having Murderous Hurricane, JotWW, Living Lightning and Tempest Wrath is nice). But yeah, testing well, but he's not quite fixed yet.

Now, where I'm going with this.

Deal with 200 models? Yes, the Grey Hunters can kill shit like this in infantry, and longfangs have blast templates, there's also murderous hurricane  So can Wolf Scouts.
Deal with masses of 2+ saves? Grey Hunters, Lasplas Razors, Njal, Wolf Scouts, Long Fangs.
Deal with masses of invulnerables (storm shields, fateweaver)? Grey Hunters, Lasplas Razors, Njal, Wolf Scouts, Long Fangs.
Deal with being alpha struck?Grey Hunters, Lasplas Razors, Njal, Wolf Scouts, Long Fangs.
Deal with lots of high toughness or very tough models?Grey Hunters, Lasplas Razors, Njal, Wolf Scouts, Long Fangs.
Deal with gunlines?Grey Hunters and Scouts pressure, while the rest shoot shit up.
Deal with combat armies?Grey Hunters, can fight them, while the rest shoot their support.
Deal with being pressured by stuff in your DZ turn one My army doesn't have much trouble with being pressured. It operates well at close range and can intercept stuff at close range. Most of the stuff that comes in close I can beat up. 
Deal with armies staying 36" (or trying to) away from you at all times? Grey Hunters, Lasplas Razors, Njal, Wolf Scouts, Long Fangs..... All my units don't mind. Hunters are fast in rhinos, scouts can come on AT the enemy units, and the rest shoots.
Deal with the top army builds at the time (as you're likely to encounter these)?This is a top army build (Hybrid wolves) at the moment, but yes I would say it has the tools to deal with them.
Deal with 20+ vehicles?Grey Hunters, Lasplas Razors, Njal, Wolf Scouts, Long Fangs. All have anti tank.
Push forward to take objectives against an aggressive opponent?Grey Hunters, Lasplas Razors, Njal, Wolf Scouts.
Push forward to take objectives against a gunline?Grey Hunters, Lasplas Razors, Njal, Wolf Scouts.
Remain potent while moving?Grey Hunters, Lasplas Razors, Njal, Wolf Scouts.
Operate reliably, with lots of redundancy, so deviation from the averages doesn't completely screw you, and you always have a back up plan?Grey Huntersx6, Lasplas Razorsx3, Wolf Scoutsx2, Long Fangsx3.
Not have bad matchups (this isn't essential, but know the risk of running paper, when you run into scissors you cannot complain)?Nope. List is really well rounded imo.

So yeah, the wolf list has a lot of units that can deal with everything. So do things like mech IG. This is why I think it's a really good army. It's something a friend of mine is calling army homogeny, and that's a fantastic term for it. Everything in my army can deal with most (or every) threat it encounters, especially if I gang up. It makes target priority difficult, and means that I can make comebacks from most situations, as it's not like you can remove all my anti tank/infantry/heavy infantry/bases/lps/mana without killing me.

;]  I miss my mana spring totem. Is cata really any good? I have an 80 shaman in like, 232-256 gear sitting about that I haven't thought about in a while...

Ok, so these principles. Now i realise this isn't possible for every army. Even most armies. But you can try, and make good attempts. A power klaw serves this function in Ork Boy units. Melta guns in veterans, especially if you bring straken and a Chimera. So yeah, having generalists is (in my opinion) the best way to go. Right, but if you can't have generalists, you need to bring specialists. Do not, ever, bring one specialist. You need multiple specialists. This is called redundancy, and this is huge.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Redundancy. Well, I've covered why this is good previously. Basically, it means a single clinical strike can't remove your entire army's capability to combat certain types of unit. Tyranids are a fantastic example of lacking redundancy. In a 2000point game, they will normally bring 3 units of hive guard, and 2 tyrannofexes. Say I'm playing gunline mech IG. Turn one, I use my vendettas to nuke the Tyrannofexes off the board, and the rest of the army reduces your hive guard to cinders. Now what do you do? You have no reliable way to combat my mech. GG dude. Ok so that's a really extreme example, but it's why I believe nids aren't so hot at the moment, severe lack of anti tank units. Another example would be bad forum eldar lists. That bring a squad of dragons and 2 bright lances. When they're removed, you have no way to deal with tanks. Another GG, dude.

So combatting this. Well it was touched on earlier. Bring multiple units that fulfill the same role. That's why the tyranid player has 5 anti tank units. To reduce the amount he's hampered by harsh losses.

-To Be Continued. Again. Read more!

But I thought Stelek was a bastard?

Since I got into truly "competitive" 40k I've been sending some questions to "the best (by record)" in the hobby. So, I thought Stelek was meant to be a bastard. Yet here's his breakdown of the email I sent him:

In particular, the second one got a fantastic response, well thought out answer, and some good feedback from the community.

http://yesthetruthhurts.com/2011/02/skaven-in-8e/
http://yesthetruthhurts.com/2011/02/questions-about-40k/
http://yesthetruthhurts.com/2011/02/sw-40k-stuff-etc/


All the posts are below, but some of the comments are really good. Now, Stelek gets a bad wrap from a lot of people, but based on this I'm quite happy to say.

Good guy, that Andrew,

Thanks.

Read more!

So Kirby rescheduled my post and I'm putting it up here for feedback just now...



This man. I will gladly offer a pound of flesh if
someone can conjure me a machine to get to one of his gigs.

 Disclaimer: This is a rant. While it does cover some (very) important points, and some very good lessons as to playing 40k, it reads like a train of thought, or a conversation I would have with myself. Probably because I finished writing at 1:30am, and have been listening to a lot of 60s-70s rock. Just a word of warning.

So you're probably wondering what this article is about and you're not the only one. Well, it's about being good at 40k, and why I'm a better Warmachine player than I am a 40k player. Despite the fact I've had maybe 50 games of Warmachine in my life, and well more than that of 40k. So, I have some explaining to do I imagine. Well, let me lay out 3 very simple rules of "being good at 40k". If you follow these 3 guidelines I promise you your gameplay will improve. Hell, it sort of ties in with Kirby's eyeballing distance article. This is my personal 40k gospel in one easy checklist. Ok, so these 3 rules:
Read more!

Some Dark Heresy...

So folks, a friend of mine and myself are debating running a small Dark Heresy session at Centurion. Now, I'd need to know I had people interested before running it, so, if you're at all interested comment here or email me at archnomad12@googlemail.com

Now, for a bit of background, Dark Heresy is a pen and paper RPG which takes place in the 40k universe. You play as an acolyte of an Inquisitor (the GM, in this case me), and go off grinding XP and doing quests. You start at level 1 and can progress to level 6-

Wait. Sorry. ;] My games tend to take on a more "RPG" aspect with very few dice being rolled. I try to make it as much about the characters as possible, and only bring up combat when it's necessary. I don't think that the games that other people run, combat dice fests, are very fun. As frankly, DH combat... just play 40k? No? This is an oppertunity to get something much more. It's like the difference between a good video game (Bioshock) and a bad one (Kane and Lynch 2). Story, narrative, character development.


However, this session will only be a few hours long, so I'll try and make it as interesting a plot as I can. If you're interested, email me or comment. There's 5 spaces. (:

You don't need to bring character sheets, pens etc. If I can get enough people, we'll discuss the wheres and the whens.

<3 Read more!

NOVA Thoughts

This is early (I know), I'm debating what army to run to Nova. I'd like to see what kind of feedback I get on this, and I'll put a poll up tomorrow. However, the options we have are:

Blood Angels - Mech Chassis Spam
Blood Angels - TH/SS Raider List
Grey Knights - Something with scouting dreadknights and probably PAGKs. Maybe, depends on the book.
Necrons - Depends on when the book comes out. I hope to god it comes out for NOVA.
Orks - I've always wanted a mek army, like the one i'm running to Cent
Space Wolves - Hybrid SW (similar to the ones that've been up on here).
Tau - Dakkadakkadakkadakka.

I'll put up a poll however, listing all armies I can think of, just to see what kind of response I get. :D

But for now, thoughts? It's from the stand point of best chance of doing well. Crons is obviously up in the air at the moment, but I'm leaning on SW. Read more!

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste..."

So folks, events have transpired in such a fashion that i'm no longer running BA to Centurion. Nor am I running SW.

Now, as some (most?) of you know, I'm an author for 3++ is the new black, while sitting chitchatting in their chatbox widget (most amazing thing ever) we got into a jokey conversation about there not being any orks at cent and someone needing to represent them. I'd mentioned I'd love to run an army like MVB's (27 tanks at 2k), then it got half jokey.

Now I'm seriously running an army I've never played with, seen played, or will have even literally seen until the night before the event. Hopefully I can get that changed before then (going to a LGS here and doing some serious counts as, as well as some vassal). Yeah guys, I'm running in blind, dead in the water.

This is going to be fun. Read more!

In other news, Blood Bowl?

Found a set really cheap over here in Aus (getting one is a nightmare in the UK). So, I'm prolly going for that.

So, I love dwarfs in BB. Cause they're bastards. A team with block and tackle is so much fun to play with. They make really hard cages too, and are fantastic in long term. Because it's hard to lose players. And you know, when dwarfs start skilling up, as I mentioned, it's hard as fuck to play against them because they just deny your ability to do shit. And getting the ball off them is rough.

And they're cool. Mon dwarfs.

Anyway, the roster:

8 Blockers
2 Runners
1 Blitzer
4 Rerolls
1Mil

Thoughts? Read more!

Taking a hint from Eathos, the (Australian) Archnomad Fund.

So, as eathos said in the comments of the last post, he advised me to ask the folks of australia if they'd be able to scrounge parts for me. Anybody in Australia fancy donating bits? Or even selling me some? I'm ok with paying reasonably for them. The bits I need are:

6 Plasma Guns
5 Missile Launchers

I'm going to be buying a box of grey hunters anyway, so the list is down 2 plasma guns (from 8) :P


get in touch at archnomad12@googlemail.com, or leave a comment here. I'm in Melbourne at the moment.

Thanks folks :) Read more!

Australian Prices. The hell?

Ok guys, so I'm in aus. Now, for my wolf army, I need 8 plasma guns, a melta gun, 5 missile launchers and 3 random infantry models. Later on in the year I need some more infantry for nova as well. The problem here is, I thought I could just buy this Shit when I got to aus. Thing is, you pay about double what this stuff costs in the UK. I could of course ship over, but I need this stuff painted for the 4th of march. Aus online stores aren't much better. Coming up to like 50 dollars for 10 grey hunters.

Now guys. I may have to bite the bullet here, however I would ask if any of you Aussie folks can help. Whether its recommending somewhere I can buy cheap (im in Melbourne FYI) or donating some bits. If I was buying this product wise I'd probably go with 2 boxes of devastators and 2 boxes of grey hunters, leaving me short 1 missile and 4 plasma guns.

So can anyone lend a hand?

Thanks guys. Read more!

To Australia

Flight leaves in an hour. Bye Scotland. Read more!

So guess what I just painted?

Eight rhino chassis. Yes. Eight. Fucking Eight. I'm surprised I can still see. I want the other 2 speeders done tonight, and then tomorrow I can work on some infantry. Read more!

Lone Wolf on thunderWolf with Wolf claw, Wolf pelt, Wolf talisman and is a space Wolf.

Wolf.

Just some Space Wolf lists. 2k For the NOVA open (listbuilding begins already). I like them both, as they both have good midfield control, an aggressive element but still a nice amount of firepower.

So, the lists are very very similar. Have a look:

LIST A:

HQ
Rune Priest
Living Lightning
Jaws of the World Wolf
Chooser
110

Elites
5 Wolf Scouts
Melta Gun
85

5 Wolf Scouts
Melta Gun
85

6 Wolf Guard
Combi Meltas
Power Fists
258

Troops
5 Grey Hunters
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Linked Plasma Gun
150

5 Grey Hunters
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Linked Plasma Gun
150

8 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Wolf Standard
Rhino
170

8 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Wolf Standard
Rhino
170

8 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Wolf Standard
Rhino
170

7 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Wolf Standard
Rhino
155

Heavy Support
5 Long Fangs
4 Missile Launchers
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Linked Plasma Gun
190

5 Long Fangs
4 Missile Launchers
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Linked Plasma Gun
190

5 Long Fangs
4 Missile Launchers
115


LIST B:

HQ
Rune Priest
Living Lightning
Jaws of the World Wolf
Chooser
110

Elites
5 Wolf Scouts
Melta Gun
85

5 Wolf Scouts
Melta Gun
85

6 Wolf Guard
Combi Meltas
Power Fists
258

Troops
5 Grey Hunters
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Linked Plasma Gun
150

5 Grey Hunters
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Linked Plasma Gun
150

7 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Wolf Standard
Rhino
155

7 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Rhino
145

7 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Rhino
145

7 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Rhino
145

Heavy Support
5 Long Fangs
4 Missile Launchers
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Linked Plasma Gun
190

5 Long Fangs
4 Missile Launchers
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Linked Plasma Gun
190

5 Long Fangs
4 Missile Launchers
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Linked Plasma Gun
190


So basically, B has one more razor, but loses 3 GH and 3 wolf (WOLF!) standards to get it. What do you guys reckon? (:


Read more!

Grey Knight Rumours

Some GK Rumours

Read more!

Creed Playing Chess.

Turn 3 He Outflanks a Bishop.

Read more!

At the last possible moment, he ducks, dips, dives, dodges....

And takes Space Wolves.

Yup, sorry BA, while I like the book I am just more comfortable with my pups at this moment in time. I will continue to playtest my BA, but after Cent. Wolves for now. So, the list I'm taking...


HQ
Rune Priest
Living Lightning
Tempest's Wrath
Chooser of the Slain
110

Elites
6 Wolf Guard
6 Combi Meltas
2 Melta Bombs
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Plasma Gun
223

5 Wolf Scouts
Melta Gun
85

5 Wolf Scouts
Melta Gun
85

Troops
5 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Rhino
115

5 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Rhino
115

5 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Rhino
115

5 Grey Hunters
Melta Gun
Rhino
115

Fast Attack
Land Speeder
Multi Melta
Heavy Flamer
70

Land Speeder
Multi Melta
Heavy Flamer
70

Thunderwolf Cavalry
Wolf Claw
Melta Bomb
75

Heavy Support
5 Long Fangs
4 Missile Launchers
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Plasma Gun
190

5 Long Fangs
4 Missile Launchers
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Plasma Gun
190

5 Long Fangs
4 Missile Launchers
Razorback
Lascannon and Twin Plasma Gun
190

1750
So, thoughts? :D

P.s. Thanks for the birthday wishes <3 Read more!

01/02/1993

It's my birthday. So in 50 minutes I'll be 18.

All I can do that I didn't do before is vote. On the flip side, I'm up £400, a trip to australia all expenses paid, and driving lessons. Oh, and parts for a new PC (including a processor running at 4.9ghz with the shiny new 560 graphics cards).

Fantastic! (: Read more!

Three Lists for Lamenters. 1750 Cent still.

Ok then folks, I'll address the comments from the previous post here, and I'll also put forward the 3 lists I'm considering.

Based on the feedback I've received, nobody seems to be defending Baals. Now, I have an idea for a weird mech duality list for 2500 that uses them, but that's it. Frankly, I think they're good, but in an environment where cover is so prevalent they're not "that" good at dealing with infantry. And as for dealing with mech, mneh.


So, the advice I received. Well, Kirby said Power Weapons, another Priest and then 2 Speeders. And he mentioned Typhoons. They could be very useful.

frz40 also says power weapons and such... warns against speeders as they're hit and miss, and aye. DoA could be nice... I could fit 10 ASM and a Sangpriest, but little else. Or I could fit 5 with no rhino.

Xaereth, pretty much. Single raiders aren't so good as they're so easy to block. Although mine wouldn't have an assault threat, I don't know if it will get blocked so much.

So then, the "chassis" of the list is this:

HQ
Mephiston
Sangpriest + Combi Melta
4x5 ASM w/Melta, Infernus
5 ASM w/Melta
5 Rhinos w/Dozers + Searchlights
3 Autolas Preds w/Dozers.
1450

So, 300 points. Now, the 3 lists I've come up with are:

Mephiston
2 Sangpriests w/Combi Melta + Lightning Claw
4x5 ASM w/Melta, Infernus, Power Weapons
2x5 ASM w/Melta and Power Weapons
6 Rhinos w/Dozers
3 Autolas Preds w/Dozers.
1750

Another marine squad, 6 power weapons, 2 lightning claws, another sangpriest.

Mephiston
2 Sangpriests w/Combi Melta
3x5 ASM w/Melta, Infernus, ONE power weapon (so 1/3 squads)
2x5 ASM w/Melta
10 ASM w/Power Weapon, 2 Melta Guns + Infernus Pistol
5 Rhinos w/Dozers
3 Autolas Preds
1750

Another sangpriest, and 10 Jump ASM w/Power Weapon, and a power weapon.

Mephiston
2 Sangpriests w/Combi Melta
3x5 ASM w/Melta, Infernus + Power Weapon
2x5 ASM w/Melta, Lightning Claw
5 Rhinos, 4 Dozer Blades
3 MM/HF Speeders
3 Autolas Predators (no dozers)
1750


I'm liking the 3rd and first more. What do we think?
Read more!

More Lamenters chit chat. 1750 for Cent.

Ok then folks, so I've hit a little bit of a brick wall with my Lamenters army. At the moment, I really really do like the army, don't get me wrong. However I feel it's missing a little bit of something. What that is I'm not quite sure at the moment but I'm going to find out. So, this is just going to be looking at my army list and seeing what's performing, and what's not.


Ok, so I suppose a good place to start would be my army list. Briefly:
Mephiston
Sanguinary Priest w/Combi Melta
4x5 ASM w/Melta + Infernus
5 ASM w/Melta
5 Rhinos w/Dozers + Searchlights
2 Baal Predators w/Dozer + HB Sponsons
3 Autolas Preds w/Dozers
1750

So, I'll go through it. Mephiston. He's won me games, and he's let me down. I killed my friend's Mephiston with him, and the next game he killed my Mephiston with his (Furious Charge is a bitch). He's fantastic however at running through troops and killing nasties. He's a good model, but a lot more fragile than he looks.

The Assault Marines have done fantastically. Easily my MVPs. Double melta without the need to disembark is fantastic. Double melta is just fantastic. They're also cheap, and moving 18" is golden. They can kill things in assault (they've taken Terminators and sanguard), and they can kill things with shooting (melta melta!). Awesome. However, I do wish I could put Power Weapons on them.

The sanguinary priest is nice. He's blown up a raider with that combi melta, and his Furious Charge bubble is absolutely fantastic. I don't rely on it, at all, but it's really nice to have the option to Furious Charge.

The Autolas predators have been reliable. Not good, not bad (sometimes bad, rolling 5/6 misses with lascannons) but reliable. They can annoy tanks and wreck stuff pretty regularly. And just having anything that can work at range is nice. So's the AP2 and the ID for T4 models.

Which leads me to what I feel is the lame part of the list. The bit that's not performing. The Baals. Sure, they can force a lot of saves on units, but for 300pts? No, they're absolutely not doing it for me. Now, what they do in my army is add valuable chassis saturation, and add anti infantry and some light anti tank. So, I've been thinking of some options to replace them. Now, don't get me wrong, Baals aren't bad, but I just feel if they were cheaper, they'd be better. They put out similar dakka to a predator with heavy bolters and cost about 50pts more. They get scouts, sure, but that's not used often as it makes it really easy to get side shots on your preds. So yeah, replacement options...

A Redeemer and power weapons. Brings pretty much the same thing, except it also brings a big bulky tank to play. With some terrifying anti infantry firepower and the ability to pop tanks it's not a bad unit by any means... However I'm not too convinced at running just one. One land raider can be dealt with, without too much difficulty. It can also be blocked quite happily, which is also irritating.

DoA units. Now, I could fit in 10 assault marines and probably a second sangpriest here, to come down and zap tanks. While it doesn't add quite the shock and awe anti infantry of the redeemer, it does add 12" moving intervening model ignoring meltas. They're actually pretty scary to deal with if you have mech chassis flying all around you too. A unit that is constantly mobile is probably worth a lot.

A real hammer. Terminators are (imo) the only really good hammer of the BA book. They're a massive brick and hard as hell to deal with. Problem is, I'd have to pretty much completely retool my list around them.

What do we think folks? With Baals I've only had maybe 10 games top but they've yet to do anything spectacular or impress me. For anti infantry I'd honestly rather template weapons, but I don't like flamestorms (side 11 on something that close is terrible imo) and when meltas are so common running a land raider without any alternate saturation is very risky.

Halp? >:

(:

Read more!

An Hero

This is just an hero I know called MCD.

Felt I should share this. Made me cry laughing. Doubt you'll get it if you're not Scottish. Read more!

Some Lamenters stuff....

So just some stuff about my Lamenters. Nothing that important, just a choice of models to use as Mephiston. Also, a bit of chatter on my latest BA list. Also some dice related stuff.

Ok folks, so, Mephiston. He's in my list. I have two models that I'm considering using for him. Now, I need to show you two pictures first:

The Emperor's Champion

Stupid, but a nice model. Legion of the Damned Sgt.

Ok, so. I bought each of these models, and with some simple swapping, have two interesting, and pretty nice miniatures. All I honestly did was remove the banner from the LotD sgt (not very lamentery) and give him the EC's sword. The EC received the LotD sgt's axe. Both look pretty nice. I'd put up pics but I don't have a camera atm.

So, which do you reckon for my Mephiston model? Like I say both look nice, but have a pretty different thing going. Also, what colour do we reckon? As they're Lamenter Librarians, how much yellow and how much blue?


Also, I have a snazzy new list for my Lamenters.

Mephiston
Sanguinary Priest w/Combi Melta + Melta Bombs
4x 5 Assault Marines w/Melta Gun + Infernus Pistol
5 Assault Marines w/Melta Gun (Sangpriest here)
5 Rhinos w/Searchlight + Dozer Blades
2xBaal Predators w/Assault Cannons, Heavy Bolter Sponsons + Dozer Blades
3xPredators w/Lascannon Sponsons + Dozer Blades
1750

I like this list. I absolutely love the dozer blades, they've done wonders for me.


Finally, anyone know where I can get some black and white checkered dice? As in, like the shoulder pad of a lamenter, or a chess board. :3 Would be much appreciated.

If not I'm just gonna go yellow. Although maybe Lamenters dice is a REALLY bad idea. ^^ Maybe lucky skaven Warpstone... Read more!

Some final tweaks.

Ok folks, here's (hopefully, assuming Mephiston tests well) the final list.

HQ
Mephiston
250

5 Honour Guard
2 Melta Guns
Rhino
185

Troops
5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Melta Bombs
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
135

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
130

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
130

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
130

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
130

Fast Attack
2 Attack Bikes
Multi Meltas
100

2 Attack Bikes
Multi Meltas
100

2 Attack Bikes
Multi Meltas
100

Heavy Support
Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120


1750

Thoughts? Read more!

Breaking through the breakthrough!

Ok, so Xaereth made a very astute and blunt point about the list I'm gonna take to Centurion (thread below this one). Basically, I have 2x3 Bikers w/2 meltas each. He just pointed out "Why not take 4 attack bikers." I genuinely don't have an answer. So i'm opening it up to the floor.


Here's what he said, for clarity:

"Bikes are good enough... but for 10 points less you could have 2 Multi-melta Attack bikes w/ 4 wounds total instead of 3. There's almost zero reason to take the units of 3 bikes with short-range melta vs. 2 attack bikes with much (much much) better melta range. Here's the URL for a tactica I wrote a long time ago about attack bikes:

http://rumorsofheresy.blogspot.com/2010/02/why-i-love-attack-bikes.html

The only benefit is the better leadership, which is negligible.

Just my two cents- the list as a whole looks good, just needs tweaking. I think you'll find MM attack bikes much better than regular bikes :) "

I paraphrased it to keep it relevant. However, I genuinely can't think of any reason other than "weaker to S8+". By a wound. Alright, fuck it.

What say you?
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Possibly a breakthrough.

Assault, templates, melta, speed. It has them all? Yes. All of them. It also has suppression fire. And jazz.

Yeah. We actually have a list. It's one I'm finally happy with. I feel like I've smashed through some kind of brick wall I've been stuck at. I managed to work a list that has enough melta (13), enough templates (5), enough assault (Mephiston + 30 marines with the FnP bubble), enough suppression (3 rifledreads) and enough tanks (10). I absolutely love this list, the only bit I'd think about changing is mephi, for a normal libby + another assault squad, but I think he adds something nice to the list.



So I suppose you want to see the list. Sure, here we go.

HQ
Mephiston
250

5 Honour Guard
2 Melta Guns
Rhino
185

Troops
5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
130

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
130

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
130

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamer
130

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
140

Fast Attack
3 Bikers
2 Melta Guns
110

3 Bikers
2 Melta Guns
110

Land Speeder
Multi Melta
Heavy Flamer
70

Heavy Support
Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Notice the breakthrough I had? Bikers. xD. I was sitting thinking "if only there was some not troop melta unit I could take that could have melta guns, and wasn't 180 fucking points". Then I realised I did. And had done, all along. So, a bit on what's in the list and why.

I should start with Mephiston, but he'll be a bit easier to manage if I review some other elements first. So lets start with the core of the list. The 4 units of 5 Assault Marines in Flamerbacks. Ok, well they are there to score, provide cheap chassis and destroy infantry. That's all. Really, that's it. No fancy tricks here just "infantry killers". They have melta guns because something I wanted in this list was for every unit to be a threat to every kind of unit (which I managed!). They will fry what my meltas pop open, and may disembark late game for some melta goodness.

The honour guard are there for a meltabunker. Simple as that, they pop open tanks for me to burn. They also give me a FnP/FC bubble (which is nice, and means mephi can take on vect if I get to charge!) and an extra chassis. As well as more marines (which I can assault with if it comes to it, the unit gets 18 S5 I5 attacks on the charge) to throw in the enemy's face. The Infernus bunker is there to act as a mini honour guard unit. Just rollin round frying tanks. And being troops. And all the other points in this paragraph.

The rifleman dreads are there to suppress and (in centurion) act as table quarter getters. Everything in my army rushes off toward the enemy, these guys sit back and can happily net me some quarters if people aren't paying attention. And they can tie up troop squads and stuff. And they're 5pts cheaper than their nilla/SW counterparts. Woo!

Ok the breakthrough unit. Bikers. They're quick melta that's easy to hide behind rhino chassis and terrain, that move 12" and fire. Frankly, they're fantastic for this list. They keep pace and just.... Man. Can't believe I didn't think of them. >_>

And the land speeder is a land speeder. What do you want? xD

So what do you guys think? I seriously this might be the list I'm taking.

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Another perspective.

So I was having a chat with a friend of mine, and he brought up that BA have some pretty good hammer units, which could be worth a look at. Now, I agree with that, we do. However most of them need a raider or stormraven. Or some form of easily shut down transport. However, there's one who doesn't. Let's have a look at him, eh?

This is the list:

HQ
Mephiston
250

Troops
5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
140

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
140

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
140

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
140

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
140

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
140

Fast Attack
Baal Predator
Flamestorm Cannon
115

Heavy Support
Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

So then, basic idea is the rhino squads and dreadnought de-mech the enemy. Then Mephiston and the Baal move in to eat whatever comes out. However, I have 185pts left to burn. This can buy me either an Honour Guard unit in a rhino with 2 melta guns, or a second Flamestorm and a Land Speeder (MM/HF). Both are pretty good options, which one I choose depends mostly. The Honour Guard give me a FnP bubble, which is nice, considering this list doesn't have one, as well as 2 more meltas. The 2 extra tanks give me another flamestorm cannon, and a suicide multi melta, that can deep strike. Both are valid options, definitely.

Not sure which one I'd go with. What do you guys think?

Thanks!

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Ok, another rework. Back to Razorbacks (mostly).

Ok then folks, 2 new lists here. Tell me what you think.

Ok, the first list is just Blitzkrieg. 6 HFBacks, 16 melta guns, the all up-in-your-face-with-a-can-of-melta-wahey. Let's have a looksie:

HQ
Librarian
Shield of Sanguinius
Another Power, Sword or Rage most likely
100

Honour Guard
2 Melta Guns
Rhino
185

Elites
Sanguinary Priest
50

5 Sternguard
2 Melta Guns
Rhino
185

Troops
5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
145

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
145

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
145

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
145

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
145

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
145

Heavy Support
Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120


Right, like I say up in your facey and such. This next one however drops 5 bodies, but gains a fair bit of dinging power on the way in.

HQ
Librarian
Shield of Sanguinius
Another Power, Sword or Rage most likely
100

Honour Guard
2 Melta Guns
Rhino
185

Elites
Sanguinary Priest
50

Troops
5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
145

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
145

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
145

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
145

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Assault Cannons
180

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Assault Cannons
180

Fast Attack
Baal Predator
115

Heavy Support
Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

So I lost a sternguard unit and 2 heavy flamers, but gained 3 assault cannons. This should give me some nice pinging power on the way in, just for denting transports.


So what're your thoughts on these? I'm still not entirely sold on not running any rhinos. There's just some situations you don't want to get out. But I'll roll with it for now. I'm very aware though, that in the 2nd list I'm removing 5 bodies from my assault force. May not sound like much but it's 15 S5 I5 attacks. As well as another melta squad in your face.


What do we think?

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Alright, after some major reworking...

Ok, after some major reworking, we have a list! It's alive!

Quite fun looking too, I say.


The TLDR List:
Libby w/Shield + Blood Lance
5 HG w/2 Meltas + Rhino
Sangpriest w/LC
5 Sternguard w/2 Meltas + Rhino
3x5 ASM w/Melta + Infernus + Rhino
2x5 ASM w/Melta + Infernus + LC + TLHFBack
5 ASM w/Melta + Infernus + TLHFBack
3 Riflemen Dreads


The Proper List:
HQ
Librarian
The Blood Lance
Shield of Sanguinius
100

Honour Guard
2 Melta Guns
Rhino
170

Elites
Sanguinary Priest
Lightning Claw
65

5 Sternguard Veterans
2 Melta Guns
Rhino
170

Troops
5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
140

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
140

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
140

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
145

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Lightning Claw
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
160

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Lightning Claw
Razorback
Twin Linked Heavy Flamers
160

Heavy Support
Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120


Ok then. So what we have here is 8 squads of 5 men with 2 ICs armed with 16 melta guns between them coming to knock on your doorstep. Amongst this mess we also have 8 tanks, 5 of them with firepoints, 3 Twin Linked Heavy flamers, 3 power weapons and a force weapon. As well as 2 FNP/FC bubbles. All this is backed up by a trio of rifledreads, for suppressing the "hit unit" of whatever army I'm against. Whether that be Hive Guard, Vendettas, enemy rifledreads or whatever. In addition, the 2 FC/FNP bubbles and Power Weapons mean I can actually assault stuff with some degree of success. Now it's not that great an assaulting army, no, however it will beat up most "not so hard" assault forces. And hell, most things if I get to charge with 2 units. There's not much in 40k that likes taking 4 meltagun shots then being charged. But the idea behind the sangpriest is "I pay 50pts so that my mech list's contents can beat up your mech list's contents". Seems fair to me. What this means for this army is that it's very up close and in your face. The reason for this is pretty much solely based on the Centurion missions. Allow me to explain.

In Centurion, there are 5 objectives in each match (how important they are differs though), at 4 different corners and one in the centre of the board. This is why I brought 6 troops along, so I have a damn good shot at getting them. In addition, Table Quarters is another condition. Frankly, an army that plays the aggressor like this one doesn't really allow the opponent much room to maneouvre. Mostly cause you hem them in. This means it's easier to keep them contained and reduces the likelihood of them getting anything other than a cheeky little unit past you.

In addition, nothing in the list sticks out as a really obvious KP. I mean, if they pick the Sangpriest he will do the whole razorhopping thing. Which will be a laugh. Finally VPs... well everyone is subject to that aren't they? What can you do about it. xD

So, the playstyle of this list is pretty much vroom vroom 18", move 6" with melta units and start popping some tanks, as well as heavy flamering some infantry. Maybe even doing some light tank shocking. Once this list does get up close I do expect tanks to just evaporate. It is an awful lot of Melta.

So, there we go. I quite like this one.

Thoughts?
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So guess who forgot BA Rhinos are 50pts?

I blame this on me being really not well today. Ugh.

For the love of christ. Will need to work on this more then.... Read more!

Aggressive Mech BA - 1750

Well here's another BA army, based on a little bit from the last thread. It's quite different from my other lists I guess. It'll play a lot more aggro.

HQ
Librarian
The Blood Lance
Shield of Sanguinius
100

Honour Guard
2 Melta Guns
Rhino
170

Elites
Sanguinary Priest
Lightning Claw
65

Troops
5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
125

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
125

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
125

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
125

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
125

5 Assault Marines
Melta Gun
Infernus Pistol
Rhino
125

Fast Attack
Baal Predator
Twin Linked Assault Cannons
115

Baal Predator
Twin Linked Assault Cannons
115

Land Speeder
Multi Melta
Heavy Flamer
70

Heavy Support
Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

Dreadnought
2 Twin Linked Autocannons
120

1745

So this plays the "run into your opponents face" game. But with a fair bit of fire support from a distance. However, up close it does have 15 melta weapons. So :D

An (interesting) alternative I'm considering is running two units of ASM with jump packs as disruption units. The idea being they can come down and ruin a tank's day, for the reasonable cost of 125pts. See, ideally I would use JP Techmarines for this, but sadly they can't buy a proper melta gun. And if you use the melta gun on the drop, you can just ignore them.

See, I would love a MSU army that plays the style of "Run across the board and punch your fat face until you stop fucking moving" but sadly outside of troops there's not much in the BA army that conforms to that. So I end up having to play with a good chunk of fire support instead.

What do we think?
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Blood Angels... A cognitive log.

Just my thoughts on Blood Angels. Got a lot of ideas running through my head at the moment, I'd like to get them all written down.
I should warn you, this is in no kind of pattern. Just thoughts as they come into my head.

Right so I've been playing a few games with my Blood Angels. All wins so far, but I feel like they could be better. So I've been looking over past winning lists and trying to find something that they have in common. And one of the main things I've found is they have the bear minimum of suppression fire that you can get away with, and usually a rock solid assault element.

So, with BA, how can we execute this? Well the best suppression fire is probably the 360pts in Heavy Support for 3 rifledreads, especially as I'm going mech. Alternatively however, for that same point cost I could put asscannons on razorbacks, but it reduces the number of chassis I'd have on the field greatly. The minimum amount of chassis I think I should is probably 10 or 11.

Right, ok so what do we have. Let's look at the blood angels book and see what strengths we can find.

The best one I can think of is the 125 pt assault squad. This is 5 Assault Marines with a melta gun and infernus pistol. You're getting 5 marines, 2 melta weapons and a rhino for 125pts. Right, ok that's nice. This gives us ample short ranged anti tank. I can have 18 melta guns in fast transports for 750pts. That's the same amount of melta most Eldar armies rely on as their sole anti tank. And I get it for troops. Awesome. Now, if I put my guys in rhinos I can stay inside, which is also nice. In addition I get Rifledreads and mobile melta in every FoC slot except Heavy Support (I'm not counting Land Raiders). So Anti Tank isn't really a problem.

Anti infantry. Now this one is interesting. I'm normally a big advocate of twin heavy flamers on razors, but lately I've been thinking, I think I'd rather my razors were a threat to everything. Lemme explain.

A TLHeavyFlamer Razor (from now on HFBack) is good against infantry. Vs something with a 4+ save or less, it's great against infantry. However, it's pretty crappy vs tanks. An Assback (assault cannon razorback) however can threaten tanks and infantry. However, it's more expensive so you're paying for it. This isn't really what I want, compared to say IG who get anti infantry and transport dinging power on their standard transport. So in this case, I may actually just help myself to some free rhinos. What this does is give me 30 marines in your face, with 12 melta guns. For 750pts. In fast transports that, when ramming at full speed, inflicts a S8 hit. Ok, great.

So lets have another look at some other options we have. The rifledread. Personally I think this is a must have, as there's just some units in the game you HAVE to ping. I say some units, you have to ping opposing rifledreads and vendettas. If you don't it's pretty much guaranteed to bite you in the ass. So 3 rifledreads, they're very reliable firepower, and easy to get cover on and get LoS with (which they don't get cover from). And they're cheaper than the vanilla ones. Ok, cool. So I know what I like in troops and heavy support.

Next up, let's see Fast Attack. Here we have Land Speeders and Baal's. Both good units, make no mistake. Both also fit into this list, which has a pretty blitzkriegy feel to it already. As to which one I'll take, I dunno, it's hard to say. I mean, speeders are cheaper, bring melta, and are really quick. And being able to move over stuff when you're up in close is amazingly good. However a Baal has AV13. That's pretty big. It means it can get the S10 ram nicely, as well as tank shock anything without a melta without worrying too much. In addition, it's probably better at range. It's also a fair bit less suicidey. With a flamestorm however, it becomes possibly more suicidey, but very killy. Ultimately though, I don't know if either mash into the army too well. I'll have a looksee.

Ok so in a list like this anti infantry pretty much comes naturally. Especially if I were to take a pair of Sangpriests in the army. Means my entire bubble that's up in your face has Furious Charge. Which I can see being pretty scary. Considering with rhinos I don't actually need to get out my tanks to hurt you. Ok, I like where this is going.

Elites. Well I think a sangpriest is pretty much necessary. Just one, if I bring honour guard. Because he adds an awful lot to the assault punch of the army. The other unit I'm interested in is Sternguard. 170pts for 5 with 2 meltas in a rhino. That's not half bad, if I need to bring more bodies to the fight. And having 2 meltas means it's a rhino that doesn't need to drive as close. Cool.

Ok for HQ I think a libby and Honour Guard are pretty much mandatory. The libby cause I need a HQ choice and the BA HQs tend to suck. The Honour Guard cause for the same price as a Sternguard squad I get a free sangpriest. I lose the bolters, true, but I gain a free sang priest!

Ok so putting this to paper I get something that looks like:

Librarian w/Shield of Sanguinius and The Blood Lance
5 Honour Guard w/2 Melta Guns + Rhino
Sanguinary Priest
6x5 Assault Marines w/Melta Gun, Infernus Pistol + Rhino
3 Rifleman Dreadnoughts
1430

That leaves me 320 points to play with. That's irritating, not much I wanna take for that amount of points. I have a fair whack of infantry coming toward you, but I'd like some power weapons in there. I also wouldn't mind something like a Baal or a Land Speeder. Hell, even another squad of Sternguard would be nice. Ok, so let's take this as a template then.

If I add in a Baal, and a Sternguard unit, I'm left with 35pts. With which I can get a pair of Lightning Claws. Now, I have dilemma. Do I put one on the priest? If I do, I get a LC that's WS5, which is nice. If I don't, I will feel no urge to get him in combat and can happily keep him in a rhino by himself. The downside to that is once your opponent destroys that rhino, he's by himself. However, that's an option. That would mean I'd have 12 tanks as well as 42 infantry models coming to pound your face in up close. Ok, what other options do I have... well...

I can add in a pair of Baals, a Land Speeder and a single lightning claw. This hurts my infantry-assault count a bit, but gives me a fair whack more anti infantry-transport at range. Of course, my infantry could drops by 5 and my melta count drops by 1, but it's definitely a viable option. It actually looks quite nice.

Next up, and this is pretty "out there" with our 320pts, we can buy one furioso and get a Baal or a pair of speeders. Not quite as mad as running two Furiosos, but it does (again) add more assaulty oomph to the list.

So yeah, that's my thoughts at the moment. My question being what would you add to this list:

Librarian w/Shield of Sanguinius and The Blood Lance
5 Honour Guard w/2 Melta Guns + Rhino
Sanguinary Priest
6x5 Assault Marines w/Melta Gun, Infernus Pistol + Rhino
3 Rifleman Dreadnoughts
1430

to bring it up to 1750 in fighting shape? Bear in mind the theme that I'm going for is an army where pretty much every unit has Anti Tank, but can shred infantry in combat. ^^

Hope you guys enjoyed this rant. And oh boy, is it a rant.

P.s. And all of this, regardless of the army I pick, is going to be bright yellow. Lamenters baby. ^^
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Happy New Year.

Well folks, it's whatever in the morning, and I'm stone sober, ish. I had to walk home for an hour in the cold. :@

However, New Year was good for me, and hopefully you'll all have enjoyed (or are going to enjoy) it as much as I did.

Bring on 2011.

Will Read more!