Against the Grain

Giving the Sarge a Home: Drawing 2 12.09.2011

2011-12-10T11:55:00.001-08:00

CanolliCrusader!!

Your name has been drawn, and you have the opportunity to win the ltd. Edition Sgt. Aurelius! Contact me within the alotted time to claim your prize!

"Giving the Sarge a Home" Drawing: Winner!

2011-11-06T12:00:00.001-08:00

So it was that one name was randomly chosen from amongst a little over 93 names for the Sgt Aurelius limited edition space marine. One name was drawn from those contestants:

Elazar The Glorified

Congratulations! EtG, you have five days to contact me in comments (or by email) for your prize!

Battlefield 3 October 25th!

2011-10-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

A little unrelated from the hobby, but I LOVE this amazing game so sue me.

Dice launched the official BF3 game trailer:

I played multiplayer alpha and beta, and let me just say how AMAZING this game is! I love FPS, namely the Battlefield series, and some years back I joined a great clan called the Devil Dogs. The clan was formed way back in the days of 'Day of Defeat'. Subsequent games brought in new members (such as BF bringing me and my buddy Psyko to the fold).

If you're thinking about this game (and you enjoy multi-player FPS) then get it! If you're looking for a clan, check out the Devil Dogs web site. We will have our own BF3 64-man Conquest server, and that information will be plastered on the website once the game goes live.

One more video to leave you with: See if you can spot "Karkand".

Hope to see you ingame!

WIP: Kapitan Ivanka Kuganova

2011-10-14T15:55:00.001-07:00

I was able to whip up a base for the good Kapitan this morning:

I drilled a hole in her right foot to secure a small piece of paper clip that would better secure the figure to it's 28mm base.

Unfortunately the process may have created a small fracture in the figure's right ankle...I may use JB Weld to Reinforce it (unless a reader knows of a better option).

For the base I used a headstone and skull from a skeletons' box, a piece of sprue, and some coarse ballast. I arranged the various components in green stuff which I created texture using dentist's tools.

Tonight I'll use PVA glue and ballast to add dirt/rocks to the base as well. I'll wait 24 hours to prime then paint the figure. I'm going to use the DKoK paint guide found on 'First Rank, Second Rank', per Six-Deucer's preference.

I'm really excited to paint this figure- Raging Heroes did an amazing job with this sculpt.

My Current 2,000 Point BA List

2011-10-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

After some trial, and lots of error (error related more to my 'generalling , or lack thereof) I have settled on a list that provides me utility at the expense of fun assault.

This list actually leads me away from large, fun assault units; instead favoring Multiple Small Units MSU).

Mephiston and Friends (2,000 Point Blood Angels)

250 Mephiston
60 Sanguinary Priest w/combi-melta
185 (x4) 5-man Assault Squad(s). 1 Melta Gun. (4) Sgt(s). w/Infernus Pistol(s). Razorback Transport(s) with Dozer Blade, and Las/ TL Plas turret
170 (x2) 5-man Assault Squad(s). 1 Melta Gun. Razorback Transport(s) w/Dozer Blade, and Las/TL Plas turret
120 (x2) Baal Predator(s) with Dozer Blade
70 Land Speeder w/ Heavy Flamer and Multi-Melta
150 (x2) Vinidcator Tank w/Dozer Blade

As other 40K generals have illustrated way before this post, Las/Plas offers the best bang for your buck:

Two unique weapons (one more weapon destroyed result on the vehicle damage table)
Both AP2
Plasma Gun is rapid fire (2 shots if transport moved six inches or less, and distant to target is 12 inches or less)
Great against armor and other transports (or meaty 2+/3++ units when focus-fired)

Utilizing MSU(s) in the form of 5-man assault squads strapped inside Razorback transport- six to be exact. Each Razorback is outfitted with a dozer blade (hedgerows' beware!), and a Las-Cannon/Plasma Gun (Las/Plas). Melta + Infernus Pistols are included to melt anything AV13 or higher. One squad goes it with a sole melta gun-

"Roll exceptional, boys!"

Baals get scout (or can outflank in a pinch). Since my Baals are usually moving 12 inches,

Am I the only one that hears AC/DC's Big Balls whenever there is a Baal Predator reference?

I allocated sponson points toward the Land Speeder (LS). That LS will provide me with at least one multi-melta shot (hitting 50% of the time) per game, and a heavy flamer (which usually survives as long as the LS). I don't like scatter dice, but I do love the psychological effect two Vindicators have on my opponent.


Rumor has it that Michael Bolton was the inspiration for Mephiston's appearance...

Sassy!

Finally, that silly Mephiston is a great anti-CC unit. In my local meta Mephiston is worth taking, as he doesn't get locked-down often. He is costly, but his utility (and the psychological effect the unit has on an opponent) is worth it.

So, each turn of shooting this list has the capability of generating 6 Las Guns and/or 6-12 Plasma Gun shots, 8 Assault Cannon shots, two str. 10 template(s), 10 melta shots (9 on subsequent turns). Unfortunately, this list is one big paper pinata in a Kill Point (KP) mission- all my opponent has to do is nudge it a couple of times with a stick for those juicy KPs.

Thoughts or suggestions? Is there anything I missed?

Purgatus responds:
'A few things. One, on a Blood Angels tank, you can move 12" and still rapid fire your Plasma Gun (or shoot it once up to 24"). If you move six you can rapid fire the Plasma AND shoot the Lascannon, so 3 shots at targets within 12" and 2 at targets within 24".

Second, I'm not sure that the Dozer blades are worth it for Las/Plas. They are "nice" but are they 50 points nice? You could almost buy another Speeder for that. For TL Heavy Flamers... yes, get dozer blades - you NEED to be able to drive through terrain to shake and bake. If you happen to immobilize a Plasback though... it's not that big of a deal. And they don't HAVE to go into terrain as much.I would favor Autolas Predators over Vindicators, but I understand why they are cool.Finally, I'm not sure you need 6 double melta units in this army. 4 is probably enough. The other units can have flamers which would, together with dropping the Dozer Blades, get you your speeder. And give you some nice anti-infantry.'

Wow: Raging Heroes

2011-10-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

When Six and I first started amassing our relative armies (he the Death Korp of Kriegs; me the Blood Angels), he treated me to Land Raider doors from Forge World. Later he set aside a FW plasma gun for a Mephiston kit-bash I had in mind.

One day, perusing different blogs and forums, I happened upon a link to the Raging Heroes website. I happened upon Kapitan Ivanka and immediately decided it was time for me to return the favor and surprise Six with a little gift of my own.

I wasn't sure how he would feel about a big-breasted, stiletto-healed Commissar, but the figure itself appeared to have such beautiful detail, and so many options that I finally caved and purchased it (at the risk that Six may reject the miniature outright).

I plan to base and paint the figure for Six (in his army's color scheme(s) of course) and gift it to him in time for our Teams Tournament January 28th.

I was able to show him the figure last weekend to see if he would actually like it...
Upon inspecting the miniature his jaw dropped in approval- Score!

What I really liked about the kit was the amount of bits that came with the figure: Two different, unique swords, and three gas masks that fit over the figure's face.

Raging Heroes not only offer cheap shipping, but the figure arrived prompt and well packaged (I'm not referring to the Commissar's assets) via USPS.

I can't recommend this company enough- here is hoping that they allocate more resources to sci-fi stuff!

Vindicator WIP: Magnetized Rhino Chassis

2011-09-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

Today being Tuesday, I'm going to enjoy a night of 40K at Olympic Cards and Comics. Yesterday I had a little time that I devoted to assembling two Vindicator tanks that I'd like to use in my list.

I have to say that I didn't have the normal issue(s) assembling the Rhino chassis that previously plagued me, assembling Rhino(s) and Razorbacks (parts not fitting, parts not measuring out properly). Of course this was accomplished by "dry fitting" pieces in a particular portion of the assembly process before gluing- its amazing what screwing up a couple of kits can teach you.

I used rubber bands when gluing the chassis together to ensure it remained straight while the adhesive cured.

Back to the Vindicator:
I fit the top piece of the Vindicator kit over the Rhino chassis and marked off four points where I would drill holes to install magnets. For this job, I'm using rare earth disc magnets .125" x .063".

I began by drilling four holes into the corners of the top that would fit over the tank. I inserted a magnet, flush, into each of the four holes. Then, using a permanent marker (you can use paint instead), I colored each magnet surface prior to 'dry fitting' the piece to the top of the Rhino chassis. This gave me four distinct marks on the Rhino chassis where I could drill and insert a subsequent magnet.

At this point you want to check, then double check the polarity of each corresponding magnet prior to inserting that second set of magnets. There is NOTHING worse than installing a magnet only to find that the polarity is wrong!

I will use green stuff to fill the holes visible in the top armor.

The front assembly (front face with demolisher cannon) and the subsequent siege shield are easily removable from the Rhino chassis. This gives you two more options in the event you want to field Rhinos/Razorbacks/ or some other variant.

Note that I didn't magnetize the additional side armor found in the Vindicator kit. If you want your Predators' and Vindicators' to share a chassis (and want the option to take side sponsons'), then you will need to magnetize the Vindicator's side armor piece(s) as well. I have enough Predator chassis' with magnetized side sponsons, so I decided to save time and glue.

After tonight's gaming, I'll finish assembling the Storm Bolters', green stuff the drilled holes, then prime each tank for painting.

I hope you found this helpful!

TSFH New Release: Arch Angel

2011-09-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

One of the composers in my playlist that I enjoy when modeling and painting is Two Steps From Hell. If you watch TV or have been to the movies, then more than likely you have, perhaps unwittingly, heard their music. The group just released a new album for public consumption: Arch Angel.

I'm going to purchase and download it tonight as soon as I get home from work! From Amazon, of course, since it is 3.00 dollars cheaper than Itunes.

Against the Grain Give Away: Sergeant Aurelius!

2011-09-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

"Do you want to win me?"

We are on the doorstep of Fall, waving good bye to Summer. Back to school. Back to work. Back to short, cold, dark days...and the perfect time for a give-away!

Givin' The Sarge a Home

On October 21st 2011, I'm going to select at random one lucky person. That person will win a limited edition 2005 Games Day Space Marine, Sergeant Aurelius! I scooped up this figure off of Ebay for a steal, but I already own a Sgt. Aurelius! However, I'm sure someone out there would love to own this guy. Lets give him away!

Whose eligible to participate? Anyone that follows my blog. If you don't follow my blog, take solace- you won't be excluded from the fun! Simply leave a comment in this blog post with your name (or persona) and that you want a chance to win Sergeant Aurelius!

I will draw one name on Friday, October 21st, and announce the winner here on my blog. That winner will have five days to contact me (on the blog, or via the email associated with my blogger account) in order to claim their prize. If that lucky person fails to contact me within the allotted time, I will draw a subsequent name and provide them with the same dead-line. I will continue to draw a name until which time someone claims the prize!

No purchase necessary. Following my blog is not necessary. I will need a valid mailing address from the winning participant in order to mail the swag! I will pay for the postage to have this figure mailed to the winner, however, I am not responsible for lost or stolen mail once he ships!

Now, 'the Sarge' had been a previous victim to a poor paint job, which I have kindly 'Simple Greened' away for him, though some of the paint remains. There are some left-over traces of the paint, but nothing that can't be scrubbed and picked away.

So, lets kick the Autumn doldrums off with a bang and some free sh*t! Good luck!

September Slaughter Teams Tournament 2011

2011-09-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Six-Deucer and I threw our hat in and participated in the 2,000 point teams tournament MC'd by Dante of Warsound, and hosted by Gabi at Olympic Cards and Comics (OCC). We met up at OCC a little after 10:00, as dice were supposed to drop around 11:00 hours.

Last November, Six and I had participated in the same teams' tournament; two very new, very green 40K players. Some label such players as "baby seals". He sported an IG list, while I played Blood Angels. Over the course of our three games, Six and I managed to win one of the three. We took away some valuable lessons and experiences from that tournament, that has since helped us with our game play.

This year, we were determined to improve our performance and most importantly HAVE FUN. I think it is important to accentuate that last goal because over the course of the teams we faced-off against yesterday, they were a blast.

Six and I ran lists that better complimented one another this year: He ran a Straken IG army with lots of Chimera(s) and two Vendettas', whereas I actually brought a Jump Pack (JP) Death Company (DC) and DC dreadnought led by Astorath the Grim, a landspeeder, and a Baal Predator with Flamestorm cannon. In fact here are our lists:


Six's IG List

Gone's BA List

As you can see, my job would be relatively easy: Reserve the Baal, deploy speeder behind Chimera(s), deploy Storm Raven in such a way as to get cover moving flat out. Point at enemy. Shoot. Six would attempt to obstruct line of sight of any enemy target(s) we didn't want the DC gobbling. The Baal Predator did a splendid job threatening the enemy's flanks. Unfortunately, objective claim(s) would have to rest solely on Six, since my troop choices are not allowed to claim/ hold objective(s).

This being my first time playing Death Company, I was pleasantly surprised with their performance. I had three marines equipped with power weapons, a fourth with a hammer, and then one DC with a chainsword (wound soaker). The power weapons seemed too redundant on paper, but, those power weapon wounds were pivotal in two of our three games. In fact, I'll perform a quick synopsis of each of our games to give you an idea of what we faced:

Game 1: Versus Grey Knights and Space Marines

Two very fun, and gracious opponents: George and Zen (later I discovered that Zen runs The Seattle Heart of Fire Tournament TSHFT). Had I known that prior to facing off against him I would have probably been very intimidated. Zen showed up lacking an opponent, and Jancoran called his buddy, George, at the 11th hour to fill in. Zen and Jancoran took a few minutes to cobble together a list of Grey Knights for George to play (his first time playing the new Grey Knights). All of that aside, both men were fun to play against. Zen was very easy going, and a generous opponent. I didn't exaggerate when I stated that all of our opponents were fun, cool dudes. If I had to rate one opponent as the best in terms of attitude and demeanor, then Zen would be the man. Did I mention that Zen's Space Marines were marvelous to look at? That man can paint!

Back to game one. We were able to manage a victory due to kill points, while holding a central objective that awarded our team an additional four kill points.

My MVP for this game was my Death Company. After a lucky melta shot blew up Vulkan's Land Raider, my Death Company assaulted Vulkan and his squad. The DC managed to wipe out the squad before they had the opportunity to swing in assault, which resulted in Vulcan failing a morale check and running off of the board.

Six's MVP was Straken: He and his unit held the central objective and earned us the additional kill points. Over all this was a fun game, but we weren't actually able to finish it due to time. This left our opponent's forces largely on or near their board edge due to the Officer of the Fleet detaining their reserve rolls.

Game 2: Versus Blood Angels and Space Marines

This time Six and I faced off against two very fun, and challenging opponents: The twins (Guys, I apologize for not remembering your names'). These fellows had a beautifully painted army- Blood Angels in theme. We faced off against a Mephiston driven mech list that included three Vindicators, lots of Typhoon speeders, and Las/Plas Razorbacks!

Ouch.

Even with the 4++ cover save for moving flat out, my Storm Raven was punished and wrecked at the bottom of first turn. Unfortunately, this placed my Death Company in a precarious position that allowed our opponents to screen them for the rest of the game. My Baal Predator came in around turn three, and on the side where my DC sat. I would have preferred to outflank on the opposite board edge, where a lonely Razorback filled with troops sat holding an objective.

Oh, did I mention this was an objective grab mission? One objective in each corner of the table, with the final objective placed in the center.

With four of my five units neutralized or screened, that left a huge burden on Six to make things happen in this game. Unfortunately, he was up to his eyeballs in space marines for most of the game. My MVP in this game was my little old Landspeeder. With it's trusty heavy flamer, that little Landspeeder wrecked a Vindicator and stopped a second from shooting. Amazing!

Astorath managed to sharpen his Executioner's Axe on a Landspeeder Squadron- downing them both. Unfortunately, it was too little too late in the top of the fourth. Next turn he was able to make it to our opponent's left side of the board and that objective marker (held by the Razorback and troop choice). Unfortunately, Astorath was a smidge too (less than an inch) away from assaulting the troops that were forced to pile of the Razorback after it had been wrecked in our shooting phase). As they stood between Astorath and the Objective, that left them firmly in control of said objective.

It was unfortunate that we were not able to play this game to it's full conclusion. Though, it was looking dire for our team, we may have been able to pull a tie in a subsequent turn. I fault myself, really. I should have pushed my Storm Raven to the center of the table instead of the far side. This would have left them in a better position to assault troop choices, gain cover, and most importantly neutralize the Vindicators' pie-plates. Any scatters would have fell dangerously close to allied marines in the area. Alas, hindsight is 20/20, and I will file that lesson away for future reference.

This was by far my most challenging game, and its a shame that the twins don't live closer to OCC. I'd love to play against them in the future as I felt the ass-whoopin provided me with some very valuable lessons.

In conclusion, we lost our second game to two very deserved opponents.

Game 3: Versus Chaos Space Marines and Chaos Demons

We played against Team Boozenheimer, in a version of 'my base your base' where each base sat at an opposing corner of the game board. This was the first time that Six and I faced off against the spawns of Chaos- and a lash list! Man, first of all I have to say that this game I really noobed up. I kept getting my rules wrong, and our opponents were very patient and gracious throughout the whole game. My mind was elsewhere by this time (I had a little one feeling under the weather at home), and it seemed that all of my precious rules knowledge that I have worked so hard at acquiring (and retaining) fell away like a house of cards.

We won the dice roll to go first and our opponents reserved everything. This is where Six's Officer of the Fleet had the opportunity to shine- and he did. Our opponents forces came in largely piece-meal, giving Six and I the opportunity to focus-fire and neutralize specific units before reinforcements could arrive.

We focus-fired and whittled down the red dog lookin' things (I love those models- they are soo badass) to the point that once my dreadnought assaulted them, it was able to mop up and finish the unit off.

Death Company's overwhelming amount of power weapons were a blessing during this game. So many Chaos-Things with crappy invulnerable saves!

Death Company ripped apart some flying disc-man, then moved on to some demon things- each with two wounds. Their power weapon attacks forced invulnerable saves that whittled away wounds. Astorath made this job much easier due to his forcing an opponent to re-roll successful invulnerable saves made against his attacks.

I have to say, that the MVP for this battle was Strakken. I'll be damned if Six didn't launch him into assault against a bunch of Blood Letters, and he ruined them. It was incredible. Every time I see Strakken in action, it makes me want to play IG- he is so freakin cool!

Unfortunately, the TO called 10 minutes left of game time. We had just finished the bottom of turn four, and Six and I were up next. We desperately wanted to speed hammer through turn five, in order to grab the win. I had a landspeeder that could contest our opponent's base, while Six had enough to pummel the second horde of Blood Letters sitting on ours. After some gentlemanly debate with our opponents, we decided to roll off to see if the game would end at the bottom of four, or continue into five. The die roll ended the game for us- resulting in our second and subsequent loss. It was a little disheartening, however, I Space Marine'd Up and congratulated our opponents on a very fun, and well fought game.

Now one thing I have to say about these fellows: They had me in stitches most of the game. Two very fun and friendly guys whose gaming clan apparently play 40K in a bar up north! Man, talk about good times!

In Conclusion:

Game one went well for us. Six and I did a great job at the tasks we had agreed to when putting together our lists': He would hold and contest objectives, I run amok in our opponent's back field.

Game two unraveled largely when I lost my Storm Raven (and where I lost my Storm Raven). My DC were easily screened, and whittled down. My dreadnought was held up long enough for Mephiston to make an appearance, successfully roll Sanguine Sword, and ruin it.

Game three was one of those games where you kick ass. Take names. Kick ass. Chew bubble gum, then all of a sudden- troops go poof! Lets just say compulsory moves and jump packs equal a lot of dangerous terrain tests. Add to the fact that all of the 'ones' on my dice decided to take that specific opportunity to make an appearance, and you have a lot of dead Death Company. The inability to complete another turn (or more) removed our ability to win this game.

I had personal goals to at least win two games this year (and improve my stats from last), so that was disappointing. However, I chose to play an unconventional list for this tournament, which gave me a new-found respect for Death Company. One thing I will say is that I was much more confident in playing the game, and what to do this time around.

Awards:

So, with only twelve participants (and six teams), prize support was very generous. Each team won a little something, which was cool. Six and I tied Zen and George for 'best sportsman', however, since Zen and George placed second in the tournament we were awarded the honor! We each received 30 bucks of in-store credit
Fuggin' sweet!
I had not hoped to win anything due to our abysmal win/loss record, so this award was a very pleasant surprise for the both of us.
Thanks Gabi! Thanks Jeff!

So to re-cap:

Best Overall: The twins (UltraMarines+Blood Angels)
Best General: Jancoran and Scinister (Sisters of Battle + Dark Angel Deathwing)
Best Paint: Zen and George Butler (Ultramarines+ Grey Knights)
Best Sports: Six-Deucer, and Gonewild (Imperial Guard +Blood Angels)

This was a "For-Fun" tournament, and that is exactly what happened yesterday: Fun. All of our opponents were very cool, and very entertaining. If all tournaments were like this (and I'm not deluded enough to believe that they are), I would be throwin' my hat in to as many as I could allocate time off from work. Dante is a great event organizer, and Gabi of Olympic Cards and Comics is THE BEST shop owner and host hands down.

09/13/2011 Status Update: WIPs

2011-09-13T01:35:00.000-07:00

Stop what you are doing. Listen carefully...

Do you hear that? The sound of angels singing? I finally primed some of my army.

No shit!

Over the last week I have devoted my free time to my army. Tonight, I was able to prime those units in preparation to paint them. The inspiration came while listening to an Independent Character podcast. The guys were talking about the social contract of the game, including providing your opponent with a modeled and painted army to play against. Many of my units are not only incomplete- most of them also lack paint of any kind.

Its thrilling and inspirational for me to see Purgatus, Six-Deucer, Jancoran, Don, or Scinister place their beautifully painted army on the table. My goal is to elicit a similar feeling once my army gets a little color!

My Veteran Assault marine will be a part of a diorama on my Stormraven's base! I plan to have the marine launching himself at a pack of skeleton warriors! To create the Storm Shield I used bike fairing found on a Dark Angels' upgrade sprue, and a combat shield found in the assault squad box!

Don's Stormraven bases look so amazing, I was inspired to try to do something cool with all of that real estate. I decided to use all of that space to create a diorama.


Here is my Stormraven base. I used ballast and cork board to represent earth and rock.

"Fight! Fight to the last man! To fall in battle is to honor the Emperor and Sanguinius himself!"

I'll let the primer set, and check on them tomorrow. While writing this blog entry, I realized that I didn't primer Dante and Astorath the Grim. Guess I'll do it later today! In the meantime, September Slaughter is now less than a week away- hope to see you there!

A Moment of Silence.

2011-09-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

"A moment of silence to remember, so that we may never forget."

I won't be posting anything hobby related, today, to honor the memory of our sons, daughters, brothers', sisters, husbands', wives, and friends that gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Status Update: WiPs Including Astorath Fine Cast

2011-09-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

I have managed a considerable amount of hobby time over the last week. As a result, I have been able to complete models, magnetize them, and begin the basing process.
I had hoped to finish basing my 1,000 point army for the September Slaughter Teams' Tournament last night, so that I could begin painting today. Unfortunately, I wanted to add more detail to model bases, and as a result I won't make my deadline.

Here are a few pictures of my Works in Progress (WIPs):

This brave Terminator fights on; eviscerated and literally falling apart- talk about a candidate for Dreadnaught status! He will make a fine addition as one of my objective markers'.

What you can't see are the hollowed out portions of the Terminator's trunk and legs; inside are bone bits from a GW Skeletons' kit. The chalice is from the 2009 Space Hulk board game (Games Workshop, you really need to re-release that thing). The Terminator trunk is an old Ebay purchase, whereas, I used the Terminator legs from the Dark Angels veteran box.

My Baal Predator is assembled for the most part. Extra details and peripherals I will primer separately, then attach after painting the primary body of the tank. You can see a Rare Earth magnet was glued to the dozer blade.

I included a picture of my Baal Predator's heavily magnetized turret and Flamestorm cannon. I glued two 0.125 inch diameter x 0.0625 magnets to the back of the cannon, and two to the base of the gun with the Blood Angels shielding which attaches to the turret itself.

Finally, I purchased a Finecast Astorath the Grim from Olympic Cards and Comics. Flashing was easy to remove, and inside the package an extra axe had been included. I chose the better looking of the two to utilize with this figure. Having owned a metal version of Astorath, I have to admit that I am very impressed with the measure of detail the Finecast version of the model.

Now, GW's 'Finecast' kits are made from a resin composite and claim that it is not harmful (or toxic). For more information see this link.

Not pictured are five finished Death Company Space Marines, a Death Company dreadnaught, and basing for my Stormraven. I'll snap subsequent pictures for the blog- now to paint!

In the meantime, I am applying Simple Green to five Plasma-Gun Space Marines that I will utilize as my Honor Guard. Time permitting, I'm going to kit-bash five Grey Knight Storm Bolters' into combi-plasma guns'.

September Slaughter Teams Tourney: My 1K List

2011-09-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

'Blood Angel' by Lord Dantes Command

Recently, Dante from Warsound posted that Olympic Cards and Comics would host a 2,000 point teams tournament in the month of September!

Last November, Six-Deucer and I participated in It's sister teams tournament and bravely won one of our three games (lol)! Regardless of the outcome, he and I had a blast and took away some very valuable lessons. Now, ten months later, we are ready to team-up again to take on all foes that would oppose Blood Angels and Death Korps of Krieg!

I was looking back at the list I had built for that event, and with the experience I have gleaned since then, I am able to recognize elements that don't quite fit, or work together. I am still losing more games than I win, and I attempt to take away some form of lesson from each successive spanking!

So it was recently, that I expressed my desire to play a jump-pack army list, and garnered some valuable input from Purgatus, at his blog, "Best Overall". His advice helped me better understand practical application, and use, of the Blood Angel's rule 'Descent of Angels'; to recognize the benefit of the mechanic to an army (rather than dedicating an army to that mechanic). Make sense? Maybe?? Well, it triggered the light bulb above my head.

Having benefit from that knowledge that Purgatus shared with me, I couldn't resist creating a subsequent "jump" list that I am considering as my 1,000 point portion of our team. It is short a deathstar and on invuln saves:

The idea is to push forward with my troops setting up for a second (or third) turn assault. Two squads employ meltas' to burn tanks; each sgt. equipped with a power fist for the 'big nasty' (I'm sure a few of you are visualizing something other than a walker, monstrous creature, or tank- heh). My third assault squad will be tasked with burning heretics out of cover. This is my wound-soaking unit that will screen my PF squads into position- the tip of the arrow. Inside the arrow are my Honor Guard complete with Novitiate providing FnP/FC and equipped with combi-plasma guns'. These guys hang back buffing the BA troops, while rapid-firing at stuff.

This list doesn't feel like a thrill-ride filled with nasty HQ choices, or elite death-stars. Rather, its more akin to Morgan Freeman driving Miss Daisy. Quiet. Unassuming...with potential to be really annoying. What do you think? Thoughts. Suggestions. Criticism would be most welcome!

September Slaughter: 2K Team Tournament September 24th 2011!

2011-08-29T23:48:00.000-07:00

A team-mate can provide excellent cover!

September Slaughter: 40K 2,000 Point Teams Tournament

When:Saturday, ~~September 24th 2011~~ Edit: Date moved to Saturday, September 17th 2011
Where: Olympic Cards and Comics
What: 2,000 point 40K Team Tournament. Each team member fields a 1,000 point army.
Time: To be determined.
Buy-In: 15.00 bucks per person.
The Skinny as copy/pasted from Warsound:

"Find a partner for this Septembers team tournament. Last year we had an amazing turn out of around 44 players. With that many players we had some serious prize money.

I would ask any of you that play outside OCC or post on blogs /forums in the Puget Sound area to please re-post this invite. OCC is a big store, lots of tables and has massive parking, no reason not to try and fill it up.

2000 Point team tournament.
2 person teams w/1000 points for each player.
Each player must meet their own force organization requirements.
$15 per person

Please have with you the following:

• Your army
• 3 Objective Markers
• Tape Measure or any device needed to measure distance
• 5 copies of your army lists
• Your codex (no photocopies or pirated versions!) and any updated FAQs.
• Dice (D6s and Scatter Dice)
• Templates

Questions:

Can allies be used?
Yes they can, if allowed in a normal list.

Can wargear and special rules like synaps or other such area effect rules benefit the other army in that team?
No. Special rules like Sanguinary priests 6" area effect of feel no pain can not be used to provide FNP to tau fire warriors

For all intents and purposes each team has 2 separate and distinct armies that happen to not be killing one another in order to focus on the other 2 armies on the other team.

Will there be a minimum paint requirement for models' and units'? NO, however paint will be a deciding factor in obviously best paint but also best overall.

Will I need to submit my list to you (or another organizer) for verification prior to the tourney? Yes

Should I be prepared to provide a copy of my list to each of my potential opponent(s)? Yes

Will the tournament allow for "counts as" units' and equipment, or will it be strictly, "WYSIWYG"? While It is not WYSIWIG, best efforts are still expected. If for example you have a model that is supposed to be a Combi-flamer but you have none then do your best to represent it, and tell your opponent before the game starts.

*******************************************************************************************************************************************

Scenario 1:       Kill them all! let the Gods sort them out.
Deployment: Pitched 12"
Type: Annihilation

This is a standard KP mission as defined in the 40K rule book with the exception of 1 objective placed in the center of the board.

Whoever manages to have the most units within 6" of this objective when the game ends get +4 KP and will also be used as tie breaker(the score is 9 to 9 but team "A" had the center objective team "A" wins). If no one is within 6" whoever has the closest unit gets +2 KP

Scenario 2:         Secure the Objectives.
Deployment: Dawn of War
Type: Seize Ground

This is a standard seize ground mission as defined in the 40K rule book. there is 4 objectives placed in the center of each corner plus 1 in the middle of the board. Whoever holds the most objectives at the end of the game wins. In case of tie whoever controls the center objective Wins. If no one controls the center objective calculate KP to break the tie.

Scenario 3:         All your base are belong to us.
Deployment: Corners
Type: Capture and Control.

This is a modified version of capture and control. Once deployment zones are decided each team will place their objective in the center of the adjacent corner on their board edge. Whoever controls the most objectives at the end of the game wins If tie whichever team kills the most HQs of the other team wins. If tie remains use KP.

******************************************************************************************************

The above should look familiar, they are a slightly modified version of last years Team missions.

I am looking forward to a good day of gaming and fun to be had by all.

Dante"

Link to Thread

Last November, Six-Deucer and I participated in a similar 2,000 point 40K teams tournament- The Bits Bash. Man, we were like deer in headlights in the actual tournament. Shawn was gracious and loaned me his sniper squad (at the time I didn't own sniper scouts).

I remember how much fun we had investing hours into our team's lists' and tactics. Pouring over our relative codices and nit-picking through our units. I dug up my list that I used in that 2010 tournament, and can see some glaring mistakes. I mean, an Honor Guard with PW and Melta...no shields? No Plasma Guns? One 10-man assault squad, a 5-man assault squad, and a 5-man scout squad? One Baal Pred? I have a lot to learn, and room to grow, but I like the fact that I can find critical mistakes or poor point allocation in this list that I wrote less than a year ago. I mean, take a look at this list!

What was I thinking?! In our defense, Six and I had a pretty cool thing going on. He would use his allies to lower a unit's leadership, then I would fire at that unit with my snipers, or Fear them with my Libby. It was a neat tactic, if not very optimized.

I don't feel as lost as I did last year, having a better grasp on game and rules fundamentals'. Less exasperation fretting over rules, or which units should attack what, will mean more fun! Likewise, I think I can put together a list to better challenge our opponents.

So, if you're going to be in the neighborhood on the 24th, then bring a partner and join the melee at Olympic Cards and Comics! Hope to see you there.

Nova Open on Ustream

2011-08-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying listening to the open-feed of the Nova Open while at work.

Tuesday Throwdown 08/23

2011-08-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

Hydra's love eating Storm Raven's for lunch! Numnumnum!

Tuesday, Six and I were able to get a portion of a game in before Olympic Cards and Comics closed. We played Annihilation, with Dawn of War (surprise!) deployment. I tweaked my list ever so slightly to include a magna-grapple for my Furioso:

Initially, we tied for first turn, but a subsequent roll-off proved me the victor. I reserved my two landspeeders and my five-man jump squad. Six reserved Marbo, and a squadron of two sentinels. Due to the night-fighting rules of Dawn of War- my units' shooting that first turn proved highly ineffectual.
On the other hand, Six was able to destroy my Storm Raven (I should add that I mistakenly attempted to pop smoke with my Raven, but the oversight was corrected. I really thought I had smoke launchers on that thing!). Mephiston and my Furioso would be walking the rest of the game!

Over the course of the game Six and I exchanged blows pretty consistently. His Valkyries did a great job of soaking up shots. Eventually, I downed one, but the second shrugged off the remaining munitions I threw at it. Mephiston performed as expected in this game- utterly vanquishing anything he came into contact with. Still, at 23:45 hours when we received our fifteen minute warning (at the bottom of turn four) I had earned 5 kill points to Six's 7. Those Razorback transports and Landspeeders added up- and really hurt me this game.
Six hadn't counted the kill points prior to congratulating me. I think he was a little shocked when I showed him the tally (and that he had indeed won).

In all it was a good game. I deployed much better- and more confidently. I kept my Storm Raven in the center of my troops. Likewise, I pushed up my Predators 12 inches in my first turn (rather than six), which provided a screen for my units in the initial turn. Mephiston was my MVP (Mephy usually is if he can survive long enough to engage the enemy).

What I would have done differently:

Six's set-up is pretty dynamic: He places a tank between an existing squadron, in turn providing both units a cover save against side shots (they sit butt-up against his table edge). I set-up side shots with my landspeeders against the squadron, rather than front shot(s) against the lone tank in the middle. Another disappointment for me was the fact that I didn't earn a kill point for each vehicle in a squadron I destroyed, rather I earned one kill point for the squadron itself- yeesh.

In my last assault, Mephiston faced-off against a veteran squad and a priest. I should have split my attacks evenly upon the priest and the squad- which I didn't. Mephy could have easily ruined the priest (another kill point), and still earned a couple of kills on the vets. Oh well, next time!

Finally, I love my speeders, but they are seriously lacking heavy flamers. I'm going to reevaluate my list and determine where I should pull those points for at least one heavy flamer. I know I can remove the magna from the Furioso- that would get me one heavy flamer with 5 points left over. Thoughts?

Tuesday Throwdown 08 09 2011

2011-08-10T05:02:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to play 40K last night due to working 60 hours this week. I did, however, manage an hour to work on completing my Storm Raven.
While magnetizing it's weapons, I was reminded of just how sloppy my kit bash had been. The Vendetta door is completely out of alignment with the vehicle's body, so there is a considerable gap on one side- and it is obvious (edit: I'll add some pictures into this post later today). Sometimes it seems that GW's plastic kits do not fit together as intended- often warped or something (This was evident when working on the hulls' of my Razorbacks). I'm curious as to how my readers resolve this problem if/when they encounter it? Soak the plastic in hot water? I look forward to your input!

I also tinkered with my 2000 point list. I dropped the lightning claws from the priests in exchange for a dozer blade on each of my four tanks. Then, I removed an assault sergeant's melta bomb and allocated my remaining points to purchase extra armor for my Furioso dread. The last two games I played, Furioso was target number 2-3 depending on what I had on the board at the time (One being my Storm Raven, two Mephiston). I remember a handful of instances when the dread was stopped dead in it's tracks with a stunned result on the vehicle damage table. I figured I'd play test the extra armor on the dread for a time and see if it improves it's survivability getting into combat. This has left my current army with a shortage on power weapons (only two sergeants carrying a power fist). Worst case scenario, I could always drop a speeder and allocate those remaining points to power weapons for my priests and sergeants. Thoughts?

Six-Deucer changed up his list, so I am very interested to hear how it performed last night. With a little luck, he'll post a bat rep!

Forge World Boarding Marine

2011-08-09T02:39:00.000-07:00

Forge World's Boarding Marine in MK III armor.

My Forge World (FW) Boarding Marine arrived in the mail today, and I have to say it looks amazing. Forge World sculpts never cease to impress me.
The minute I saw the model, I wanted him to lead my jump pack Honor Guard armed with Storm Shields. This fellow, armed with a hammer will be accompanied by three marines armed with shield and lightning claw.

I would really like to suit the rest of the unit in MK III armor. Unfortunately, Forge World's Pre-Heresy assault marines are only available in MK II and MK V armor. There is an MK III combat squad, however, I would have to modify them into an assault based army. I really want to incorporate the retro chainsword and the old school jump packs. Perhaps I'll wait for an MK III assault squad release (anyone know if this is a possibility?). The MK II armor is cool, but I really prefer MK III's visor, chest and leg armor.
In any case, I hope that FW surprises me and releases an MK III assault squad that will compliment perfectly this fellow.

Dragon Flight 32 Bad News: Games Workshop Tournie Cancelled

2011-08-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

Bad news: I receive an email from Ralph with regard to the GW tournament scheduled for Dragon Flight 32:

Due to unforeseen circumstances the GW tournament at Dragonflight has been canceled. We are saddened by this development and are working with the people who pre-registered for the event to refund their money.

If you pre-registered with Dragon Flight specifically to participate in the Fantasy or 40K tournament, contact information may be found in the link below:
http://www.dragonflight.org/contacts.php

Now for the good news for those masochists out there:
Olympic Cards and Comics will be hosting Hard Boys this year! If you're interested follow the link below:
Olympic Cards and Comics Hard Boys

Dragon Flight 2011

2011-08-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

Dragon Flight 32 2011:
Ralph Shelton was kind enough to pass on the following information about Warhammer and Warhammer 40K at this year's Dragon Flight event- a 2,000 point tourney with prize support!

Games Workshop Tournament Details

This year's GW event will be a 2000 point tournament using One Standard Force Organization Chart. WYSIWYG required with Special Characters Allowed within codex guidelines. There will be 3 rounds on Saturday, 2 rounds on Sunday. Registration and Check-in opens up at 8:00am Saturday and the first round begin at 9:00am.
Magic the Gathering: M12 Game Day Event details

Date/Time: Saturday, 2PM - 8PM

Buy In: $10

What to Bring: Pre-Built Deck - Standard Type 2 (Preferably featuring cards from the new M12 set), Method for Tracking Life Totals

Prize Pool: Depends on # of entrants (Max 36). (2 packs per player go into the pool)

Notes: Please arrive early to register and fill out deck list

Warmachine/Hordes 35 Point Steamroller Tournament details

Date/Time: Saturday, 11AM Sign In, Noon - 10PM Event

Duration: Depends on # of entrants (Max 32). 6-10 hours.

Buy In: $5

What to Bring: Models (Basic Painting Required), Stat Cards, Dice, Measuring Devices, Tokens, Markers, and Templates required for their army. 2 copies each (printed or legibly handwritten) of up to 2 army lists. (The same Warcaster/Warlock can not be used in both lists) A copy of the SR2011 scenario reference sheet.

Prize Pool: Coins Awarded to Top Three Players

Notes: Please arrive by 11AM to register and turn in Army Lists

Suggested to become familiar with Official Steamroller Tournament Rules:

Privateer Pres Steamroller Rules.

Dragon Flight 32 Official Web Page

Tuesday Throw Down 08 02 2011

2011-08-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

'For the Emperor!'

Quite a few turned out for the Tuesday Throw-Down at Olympic Cards and Comics- the place was packed! I brought a 2,000 point list similar to my list from the previous week with the following changes:

Mephiston
(1) Furioso Dreadnought with Blood Talons
(2) Sanguinary Priest with Lightning Claw
(2) Assault Squad 9 marines; melta gun x2, Sgt. with Power Fist
(2) Assault Squad 4 marines; melta gun x1, Sgt. with Infernus Pistol, Razorback with Twin-Linked (TL) Heavy Flamer
(1) Assault Squad 4 marines; melta gun x1, Sgt. with Infernus Pistol
(2) Land Speeder with Multi-Melta
(2) Predator Tanks with Autocannon, Las-Cannon sponsons
(1) Storm Raven with Multi-Melta, Extra Armor

I dropped a Razorback in favor of an additional Land Speeder with Multi-Melta. As I suspected, speeders draw a lot of fire, and are capable of ample mischief in an enemy's back forty.

My first game of the night pitted me against Shawn's Deathwing army. Burgeoning with relentless hammer and shield Terminators, a bike squad with locator beacons, Belial and Ezekial. 2,000 points of lumbering death, the same Deathwing that had destroyed my Blood Angels the last time I played Shawn. Our game was 'Seize Ground' with four objectives and our deployment was 'Spearhead'. I took first turn and decided to place all but one 5-man assault squad with jump packs on the board. One of my 10-man Assault Squad(s) rolled thirsty (Red Thirst). Shawn started with his bikes on the board opposite of his placed objective markers.

Objective(s) 1 and 2.

As I mentioned previously, my last game against Shawn didn't fair so well. I was determined this time around to focus-fire on a unit, torrent it down, then move on to a subsequent unit. With that in mind, I moved everything up and out. Shawn mentioned to me that his bike squad had locator beacons, which would allow his Terminator squads to enter the game without the chance for scatter. In my round of shooting I may have picked two or three off, leaving the fearless squad largely intact.
Then came my first shocker! Shawn rolled for each of his Terminator squads to see who was entering the game first turn.
FIRST TURN?!
I wish he had snapped a picture of my facial expression clearly demonstrating my ignorance of Death Wing rules with regard to deep striking first turn! I did not feign ignorance, as our first game played together had been Dawn of War with the 'ever popular' first turn deployment restriction(s).
three of his five Terminator squads teleported onto the battlefield without incident, their cyclone missile launchers hurling winged death at my forces.

Objective(s) 3 and 4

Turn two my 5-man assault squad arrived on the table, near Shawn's board edge. I was able to remove one Terminator squad with a combination of shooting and my Furioso Dreadnought, while Mephiston waded through Shawn's biker squad with minimal effort- depriving the rest of his reserves locator beacons'. Shawn returned the favor in kind at the bottom of two. He successfully teleported a 5-man Terminator squad along my board edge in range of the Relic Armor objective marker, and in his shooting phase managed to silence one of my Predators' for a turn . Belial and his squad (which contained an apothecary and chapter banner), scattered 5-7 inches- landing about 11 inches away from my subsequent 10-man assault squad holding mid-board. Another 5-man squad successfully assaulted my thirsty 10-man assault squad avenging their brethren in a vicious slaughter. Amazingly, my sergeant proved to be my MVP of the game when he rolled 'snake eyes' for his morale check- insane heroism! In the midst of fierce Dark Angel Terminator marines, he balked, refusing to let the death of his men go unchallenged or unpunished. That sergeant would follow his men into the abyss in my subsequent turn, shouting his Primarch's name in a fearless but futile assault against the hardened veteran unit. Mephiston met his demise as he was assaulted by five angry Terminators. His removal from the game would prove challenging for the rest of his Blood Angel forces.

In the top of three my Furioso avenged Mephiston's death, finishing off the Terminator squad in assault. With little threat possible from the Terminator squad closest to Shawn's board edge, my Furioso consolidated five inches choosing to face my board edge- in an attempt to deny Shawn's Terminators' a rear armor missile target. Then I made the mistake of moving my 10-man squad up, toward Belial's squad. I had figured (prematurely) that if I didn't Belial would assault me instead. being in chalice range of a priest, and wanting the charge bonus, I pushed my 10-man squad into Belial, while my 5-man assault squad pressed from the opposite side. I had hoped that 15 assault marines (10 of which received Furious Charge and Feel No Pain) would be enough to ruin Shawn's Terminators, and possibly even dent Belial. I was wrong; my 10-man squad would fold, hanging on for two assault rounds. In the melee I would eventually destroy the members of the Terminator squad, however, Belial proved too tough a nut to crack. Having it to do over again, I would have simply moved my 10-man squad back into cover and let Belial and squad come to them. It may have sacrificed a round of shooting, but I would have recovered that in the following turn.

Ezekial would enter the game at the bottom of turn 3- Ezekial on the other hand, managed to sandwich his drop pod between difficult terrain and my Storm Raven (very impressive). Escorted by a command squad with two flamers, Ezekial proceeded to use his psyker ability to destroy my Furioso. With a strength 10 template attack, Ezekial scored a punishing rear armor shot on my Furioso that would wreck him and remove the old veteran from the game.This would prove a costly mistake for Shawn (in my opinion) as he could have instead targeted my 5-man assault squad all crammed together standing adjacent to my Furioso. his three template attacks, one of which being strength 10 and, I think, AP3 would have wrecked that unit! Later, this 5-man assault squad would move on to hold the Astarte's Remains objective on my board edge (with the potential of holding the Relic Armor objective located at my board edge, as a mere 12 inches separated one objective from the other).

It was at this time that Six-Deucer checked in with us. Looking at the board he asked me if I was playing for a tie, to which I absently answered, 'perhaps'. Six's question snapped me out of my revelry- the slug-fest that the game had fallen into. It is so easy for me to get caught up in the bloodshed and violence- the fun stuff at the expense of a particular game's mission objective(s)... Focused, I corrected a few tactical errors that, with a little luck, would ensure a tie and perhaps land me a win.

First, at the top of turn four, I embarked the 5-man assault squad (adjacent to Ezekiel) into a Razorback, then moved flat out toward my board edge. That would place the unit within reach of the Relic Armor and Astarte's Remains objective markers' at the top of five. Next, I moved my second 5-man assault squad, still nestled in their Razorback, along the left-most board edge. This would place it in a position to zoom across and contest the Weapon and Ammunition objective, or, the Communications' Relay objective. During my shooting phase, I was able to whittle down the 4-man Terminator squad located at the Communications Relay down to two marines. I moved both of my Landspeeders toward my board edge to lend fire support and to better contest the Ammunition and Communications' objective(s) at the top of five. In my assault phase, Belial broke my assault marines and left one sergeant routed. That sergeant would flee 15 inches, in the process survive a dangerous terrain test while falling back toward my board edge. Much to Shawn's detriment (and my shock) it provided me a second troop choice to hold the Relic Armor objective marker.

At this point I was confident that I could claim, and hold, both the Relic Armor and the Astartes Remains while contesting the Ammunition objective. I looked to my ranged units to wreak more casualties against Shawn's Terminator marines.

Turn five proved fruitless in shooting; my Storm Raven, immobilized, was still able to target and shoot at Shawn's two Terminators holding the Communications Relay. My Predators' may have killed one of the five Terminators holding the Weapons and Ammunition objective. I pushed my Landspeeders closer to that objective marker, as well as my Razorback filled with troops and priest. The lone surviving sergeant from the Belial encounter managed to regroup and take the Relic Armor objective, licking his wounds after such a demoralizing defeat. Shawn assaulted my Razorback with his 5-man terminator squad at the Weapons and Ammunition objective, wrecking the transport and forcing my troops to pile out. Fortunately, I was able to pile out with what I believed would be within 3 inches of the objective. If I was right, then that unit would have successfully contested the Ammunition dump at the bottom of turn five, and potentially win me the game should it end...

So, at the bottom of turn five I held two objectives (the Relic Armor, and the Astarte's Remains), while Shawn controlled the Communications Relay. Finally, I may have contested the Weapons and Ammunition depot where Shawn's second unit of Terminators sat. We rolled the dice to determine if the game would continue and generated a six! The game would see another round!

At the top of turn six, I did something edgy- I moved my assault troops contesting the Weapons and Ammunition objective just out of contesting range. This was probably silly, but I wanted to give both of my Predator tanks' a clear shot at Shawn's Terminators located at the Ammunition depot. In the event I couldn't shoot the unit off the board, I would run my assault squad toward the objective (and would have to roll at least 2 in order to succeed). My round of shooting in turn six proved fortuitous; my Stormraven managed to kill the two remaining Terminator marines holding the Communications Relay objective. My Landspeeders and Predator tanks managed to destroy the rest of Shawn's Terminators located at the Weapons and Ammunition objective. Shawn conceded and I thanked him for a very intense and fun game.

Conclusion:
I was aware of a number of mistakes that I made during this game. I engaged my troops, unecessarily into close combat with Terminators. In the future, I will look for opportunities to kite Terminator units, baiting them into chasing my jump-pack marines. I should have attempted to keep my reserved unit in reserves longer than turn two. When that unit arrived, it really didn't do much other than shoot at Shawn's bike squad. Later, that unit wrapped Belial in a two-pronged assault and eventually lost.
I think Shawn should have finished off my transports when he had the opportunity. That would have denied my two 5-man squads the mobility that allowed them to take and contest objectives. Like mentioned above, he had the opportunity to wipe out a 5-man assault squad that eventually held one objective (and could have held the second if necessary) with Ezekial. I think he should have annihilated that unit, rather than targeting my Furioso Dreadnought. Shawn got really unlucky when my jump-pack sergeant escaped from Belial. That allowed me another troop choice to take/hold objective(s).

NOOB Questions: Rule Clarification(s)

2011-07-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

I'm hoping my readers might assist in clearing up a few rule questions Jancoran posed on the Warsound forums recently. Jancoran is by no means a noob, however, I am- and I believe a couple of the questions he posed were for my benefit.
Any assistance would enrich my gaming experience, and also assist me in speeding up my game. Following is a cut/paste of his post:

"After a recent game, I was reading on line of sight for vehicles and it says you must fire from the Base and along its barrel.
1. So one could not twist a turret sideways to effectively fire at a 90 degree angle from the barrel. Correct? It has to be on a straight line down the barrel is my understanding after reading it.

2. Colossus is the only Barrage weapon that cannot fire direct, right? So it will always scatter the full 2D6 amount?

3. Does an AP3 weapon somehow negate Feel No Pain on a Space Marine if it is not double the toughness? Some units essentially come with ONLY FnP, which means anything NOT ap 1 or 2 would kill them anyways and FnP would be pointless! So what seems obvious to me is that unless it is AP 1, 2, Double toughness or ALLOWS no save (Like Dangerous Terrain does not) then you get FnP. Agreed?

4 Space Marine and Blood Angel FAQ (both and probably the others):
Q: Can you take a Drop Pod with a 10-man squad and
then put a combat squad in it, deploying the other
combat squad on the table, or leave it in reserve but
not in the Drop Pod? (p69)
A: No, because squads that are placed in reserve may
not break down into combat squads."

A couple of these questions pertain to me and my Blood Angels. Jancoran enlightened me with regard to Feel No Pain: I had been denying my Blood Angels' FNP rolls if a weapon's AP was the same as their armor save (3). After carefully, re-reading the FNP rule, it looks like I was wrong. FNP may be rolled as long as the weapon would not otherwise deny an armor save (such as a power fist, power weapon, or the weapon's strength is twice as much as the unit's toughness value). Likewise, AP1 and AP2 weapons void FNP.

I would appreciate further clarification on deep strike and 10-man squad(s). Admittedly, I have been doing this wrong; During the deployment phase I would mistakenly combat-squad a 10-man assault squad then roll for each combat squad in reserve. Now to the question: Can I divide a 10-man squad into combat squads the turn it arrives onto the table via deepstrike (reserves)?

Tuesday Throw Down Recap: 07 29 2011

2011-07-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

Real marines deep strike with their helmets' OFF.

So a couple of cool things happened over the last three days: I won a 40K game for the first time, and I was chosen to test Battlefield 3 Alpha and let me tell you even in it's current state BF3 is bad ass.
Following is the list I faced off against Six-Deucer:

Following, my 2000 Point Blood Angels List:

HQ Mephiston
(1) Elite Furioso Dreadnought with Blood Talons
(2) Elite Sanguinary Priest with Lightning Claw
(2) Troops Assault Squad 9 marines; melta gun x2, Sgt. with Power Fist
(3) Assault Squad 4 marines; melta gun x1, Sgt. with Infernus Pistol and Power Weapon, Razorback with Twin-Linked (TL) Heavy Flamer
(1) Land Speeder with Multi-Melta
(2) Predator Tanks with Autocannon, Las-Cannon sponsons
(1) Storm Raven with Multi-Melta, Extra Armor

Our game was Dawn of War (bleh), seize ground. There would be five objectives that Six and I would vie for. This game was a knock-down, drag-out fight that lasted the full seven turns. Each turn beyond five allowed for me to make more mistakes and Six to capitalize on them. Fortunately for my sake, Six made a couple of mistakes as well, which led me to hold one objective with a troop choice. Six contested another objective where my second surviving troop choice sat.
Gonewild: 1 objective
Six-Deucer: 0 objective

Recap:

Ohhh ho, ho, ho. I was painfully reminded that Hydras' are designed to take down fliers with extreme prejudice! Fortunately, Mephiston and my Furioso only experienced a bruise ego as a result of my Storm Raven exploding in a hail of flames!
Six used allies effectively, locking down Mephiston's psyker powers roughly 45% of the game. The big one? Denying Meph unleash rage against his Straken unit.
Tank shock AWAY from meltas' and power fists. Expect 'Death or Glory' to succeed at your most inopportune time(s).

Things I may change:

I may drop one of the three Razorback(s) for a second Land Speeder equipped with a Multi-Melta. The Land Speeders are wonderful agro-magnets and excel at flanking armor for side and rear armor shots. I would retain my five man assault squad, giving them jump packs and equipping the Sergeant with an Infernus Pistol and Melta-Bomb. That would make this unit well suited to suicide armor, or support my two 10-man assault squads.
My priests with their amazing weapon skill of five are just too tempting to leave in a Razorback in order to confer a wider chalice aura. I'm still on the fence about stripping each Marine of their lightning claw, so for now I'll leave those as-is.
I really enjoyed the long-ranged support of my two Predators. Someone suggested trading the autocannon and las-cannon sponsons for a twin-linked las-cannon turret. This would effectively increase the mobility of each Predator at the expense of firepower.

In conclusion I really liked the way this list played. For the first time I felt confident in my list composition- I don't know how much of that was a result of the actual units, or perhaps me growing accustomed to 40K. Mephiston is fun, but I don't want to become reliant on him.

Tuesday Throw-Down 07 26 2011

2011-07-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

My "Crux" Pattern Storm Raven.

Today, I'm going to meet up with Six-Deucer at Olympic Cards and Comics for a 2,000 point 40K throw-down. It has been some time since my last game, so I am excited to finally have the opportunity to once again deploy my Space Marines.

This week I am going to change my list again in order to try new elements from my codex that look appealing. Last year when I first started playing 500 point games to get a feel for the flow of 40K and to familiarize myself with the rules, I dabbled with Mephiston and the Storm Raven. At that time, the Storm Raven kit was not yet available, so I kit-bashed a Vendetta and a Whirlwind following patzgcrux's tutorial for the "Crux" pattern Storm Raven. I still prefer this version, visually, when compared to the official kit that Games Workshop eventually released some months ago. However, it is not as cost prohibitive when you factor in all of the bits one must acquire to complete the Crux Storm Raven and the various weapon choices available in the Blood Angels codex. Following is the list I will field today:

2000 Point Blood Angels List:

HQ Mephiston
(1) Elite Furioso Dreadnought with Blood Talons
(2) Elite Sanguinary Priest with Lightning Claw
(2) Troops Assault Squad 9 marines; melta gun x2, Sgt. with Power Fist
(3) Assault Squad 4 marines; melta gun x1, Sgt. with Infernus Pistol and Power Weapon, Razorback with Twin-Linked (TL) Heavy Flamer
(1) Land Speeder with Multi-Melta
(2) Predator Tanks with Autocannon, Las-Cannon sponsons
(1) Storm Raven with Multi-Melta, Extra Armor

I usually prefer generic HQ choices for my lists, allocating those saved points elsewhere in my army (an Honor Guard, for instance). This week I'm going to do something different- I'm going to field Mephiston and a Furioso Dreadnought with Blood Talons. Now, I've had very little luck in "walking" these units across the table top to close the distance with an opposing force (OPFOR). Therefore, I'm going to toss them both into a Storm Raven.
'Shotgun!'
The Storm Raven should provide me the speed and agility I need to get the point-bloated Mephiston into the thick of my enemy's force early in the game. Mephiston and my Furioso should be able to counter and neutralize any "deadly" my opponent chooses to field...The only thing I don't like is throwing so many points into one armor 12 basket.
Two, 10-man jump pack assault squads' will start on the table to provide my mechanized units cover, or I can combat squad one of them to reserve them in after turn 1. Each of my three Razorbacks are equipped with a twin-linked heavy flamer ready to gobble up any horde unit(s) that I may encounter, two of which will carry a Priest. Each priest will be expected to not only provide their Furious Charge/Feel No Pain aura, but also wade into the thick of combat and bloody their respective lightning claw(s). My Landspeeder will provide a screen when necessary, with the ability to melt enemy MEQ.
Long distance support will be provided by two Predator tanks with Las-Cannon sponsons; lets see if two provide adequate cover fire while the spear-tip of my assault forces close to range with the OPFOR.

Looking forward to a game or two tonight! Bat-reps to follow...

Off-Topic: BF3

2011-07-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

A very quick off-topic post linking a video game that I am very excited about. The latest teaser for Battlefield 3 was released on the 20th.

Man, I wish they'd make a 40K game that looked and played like this! Could you imagine?

Space Hulk Saturday

2011-07-16T11:12:00.000-07:00

"Covering your six- Run brother!"

I have returned after a lengthy, but enjoyable vackay out of state. Today, my nephew and I donned our Terminator suits and boarded the Sin of Damnation to purge enemies of the Emperor and recover valuable relics for the Legion.

Playing the "Rescue" mission as the Blood Angel(s), I successfully extracted the C.A.T. unit out of the "Sin of Damnation" without losing a single marine. Playing the same mission as Genestealers has proven challenging. Currently taking a break from the action, my nephew has managed to pass the C.A.T through a line of Terminators like a baton. I managed to accumulate a screen of 'stealers blocking the Blood Angel's extraction point. Likewise, I have spared a couple of blips to gnaw at my nephew's flanks to keep the pressure on. We'll see after our break if the Terminators will successfully complete their mission, or fall victim to the Tyranid elements festering inside "Sin of Damnation"...

Aside from enjoying Space Hulk, I have been tooling my 2,000 Blood Angels force to face off against the guys at Olympic Cards and Comics. Taking advice from Purgatus, I built a list that uses elements of Descent of Angels (DoA), but doesn't rely on it exclusively. In the mean time, I am going to run the list he suggested to see what I can accomplish- a green 40K player.

Celebrating Independence Day

2011-07-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July!

I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge Independence Day, July 4th. Be safe, and have fun during your celebrations and goings-on. If you are abroad, this ones' for you!

After performing my list of honey-dos I may get a game of Space Hulk in. I'll be sure to bat-rep it!

Red Skelton Performs the Pledge of Allegiance.

Home for Wounded Warrior's Charity

2011-07-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

A Battle Foam Pack 432 Bag with foam is being auctioned with proceeds going to Jared Allen's Home For Wounded Warrior's Charity. If you're not familiar with Jared Allen, it is a non-profit organization that builds and/or modifies homes for war veterans- very cool indeed.

I own a Battlefoam bag, and I must say it was the best investment for my minis I have made to date (Thanks, Romeo). This particular bag has been all over hell and gone collecting stories and signatures around the middle-east, and now it can be owned by the highest bidder! Take a moment and follow the link to the auction. If you have the scratch- bid on the bag. Its a worthy cause.

Tuesday Throwdown 06/28/11

2011-07-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

"We are simply numbers. Numbers that fulfill the Emperor's will."

Last week, I met up with friends at Olympic Cards and Comics (OCC) and played my first 40K game in over six months. This week, I applied new elements to my list that I wanted to try. I kept the Vanguard Vets and removed the jump packs from the rest of my assault squads in favor of Rhinos. I wanted to revisit mech (MEQ) in order to compare and contrast with jump pack units. Following is my list:

HQ:
Librarian w/ Shield of Sanguinius and Unleash Rage
Honor Guard w/ four melta guns in Razorback w/ Twin-Linked (TL) Heavy Flamer

Elite:
Furioso Dreadnought w/flamer and Blood Talons
Sanguinary Priest

Troop:
(2) 10-man Assault Squads w/ 2x melta gun; One Sgt. with Power Fist and Infernus Pistol (the other Sgt. sported a Lightning Claw). Both Squads rode in a Rhino transport.
(1) 10-man Assault squad w/ 2x melta gun; Sgt. with Power Fist and Infernus Pistol with a Land Raider Crusader as transport.
(1) 10-man Tactical Squad with Flamer and Missile Launcher

Fast Attack:
Vanguard Veteran squad (5) w/Lightning claw, 2x Melta Bomb(s); Sgt. Thunder Hammer.

Heavy Support:
Vindicator Tank

I played Annihilation, table corners, against Six's Kriegs Army- Six winning the initiative. My Librarian and Priest piled into the Crusader which spearheaded toward Matt's forces. The distance seemed substantial, and later it was pointed out that our table was actually too long. Not as detrimental to a "shooty", or ranged army such as the Imperial Guard (IG) compared to a close/assault force such as Blood Angels. As you can see, my list had 0 long-range support. Fortunately, for me, my fast vehicles covered the distance adequately, and Six's dice rolls were unusually poor. My Furioso Dread' shrugged off multiple attacks being poured into him, while the Crusader refused to flinch at the Krieg's line "bubble-wrapping" his "castled" mechanized (mech) units. My Honor Guard's Razorback was immobilized at the top of turn two, effectively neutralizing it for the rest of the game. This lone Razorback would actually prove to be my MVP as it drew a considerable amount of weapons fire from Six, in what should have been an easy kill point. Instead of crumbling under the pressure, that Razorback soaked it all up like a thirsty sponge! This allow my units to advance in a two-pronged assault on Six's units with relative impunity!

My Vanguard Vets arrived at the bottom of turn two (thank you, Descent of Angels). Ignorantly, I allocated them to attack Six's troops protecting his front line. Attached to this unit was Yarrik- whom I quickly developed a measure of respect for by the end of our game. I should have dropped my vets adjacent to Six's second Valkyrie which sat isolated on my side of the board, in the opposing corner to my army's starting position. My vets valiantly held the line for two turns of close-combat with Yarrik, ultimately dying by his hand. Then I made the mistake of disgorging my HQ unit with his 10-man assault squad from the bowels of my Crusader providing Six with all sorts of succulent targets to pop in his shooting phase. My original intent was to assault a unit of vets secure in a transport within six inches of my assault marines. However, after the Chimera violently exploded and casualties were tallied, Six managed to pile out far enough away to avoid assault. Next, I mistakenly disembarked a 10-man squad out of their healthy Rhino then failed to assault Six's MEQ line well-within range. Que dramatic music, "Dumb, dumb- dumb."
Heh, my force crumbled, largely my own doing, as a result of poor tactical decisions. However, each mistake was a lesson learned that I will carry forward. My Tac squad didn't get much action the entire game, my Vindicator threw pie-plates that scattered ineffectually, and my Furioso lost both weapons and was then immobilized over 12 inches away from the action. I tried new elements in this list, but it still completely lacked synergy as those elements didn't really mesh together during my game.
I know my overall performance improved because Six was very intense throughout our game up to turn five when it became obvious that he had it in the bag.

The next game I gladly spectated as Jancoran faced off his Grey Knights against Six-Deucer's Kreigs army- and I'm glad I did. Each phase of every turn proved to be bloody by all accounts. The battle see-sawed, as both generals vied for an edge over the other. The game ended in turn six a draw. I should have bat-repped this one. Both armies are well painted and each general proved very competent.

Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to finish amassing my assault marines so that I can properly field the list that Purgatus suggested playing without any "counts as" units. In the mean time I want to try different elements in a new list comprised of the following:
HQ
Librarian w/Shield of Sanguinius and Unleash Rage
Honor Guard 4x Storm Shields; 3x Lightning Claws; 1x Thunder Hammer. Jump Packs.

Elite:
Furioso Dreadnought w/Flamer and Blood Talons
Sanguinary Priest

Troops:
10 man Assault Squad 2x Melta Guns; Sgt. with Power Fist and Infernus Pistol. Jump Packs.
(2) 10 man Assault Squad 2x Melta Guns; Sgt. with Power Fist and Hand Flamer. Rhino Transport

Fast Attack:
(2) Baal Predator(s) with Dozer Blade and Pintle Moutned Storm Bolter

Heavy Support:
Storm Raven
(2) Dreadnought with two Twin-Linked Auto cannon(s).

This list would provide plenty of fast, in your face, unit choices with two "Riflemen" dreads providing long range support. The majority of Six's MEQ is front armor 12, with the "Demolisher" (needs verification) being the only unit sporting a higher front armor. My Storm Raven would bravely cut a swathe right up to my opponent's line, depositing my HG and Furioso to wrought havoc. My Baal Preds providing fast front armor 13 cover for my Rhinos' laden with assault marines, always vigilante to find a side armor shot to commit their twin-linked assault cannons.

Any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated!

Tuesday Throwdown 06/21

2011-06-23T05:58:00.000-07:00

Dante, Bishes!

After an extended hiatus, I managed to set aside the time to meet up with friends and field my 40K forces at Olympic Cards and Comics (OCC)- and let me tell you how I have missed it!
Duties such as our baby, the process to find and purchase a house, coupled with work afforded me little time to devote to this hobby. With a balance slowly emerging in my personal life I am able to focus, once again, on the war-ridden 41st millenium. And during my brief hiatus the Grey Knights finally received their updated codex, with an impending pink-slip to Imperial Guard's (IG) allies only weeks away.

Yesterday I met up with Six-Deuce, Jacoran, and friend's Don and Sean at Olympic Cards and Comics to field my Blood Angels in a couple of 2,000 point games. Also present were Mike, Jeff, Mat, and Greg (I think your name is Greg, however, if my memory has served incorrectly forgive me, good fellow).

My first game pitted my Blood Angels against Six-Deucer's "Bug-Jagers" in a kill point game. Six won the roll-off and chose to go first; this was perfect for my Descent of Angels list that I chose to play. Following is that list:

Dante
(2) Sanguinary Priest(s) w/Jump Packs
(1) Honor Guard with (4) Plasma Gun(s); Jump Packs
(3) 10-man Assault Squad(s); Sgt with Power Fist & Infernus Pistol. (2) Melta-Gun. Jump Packs
(1) 10-man Assault Squad; Sgt with Power Weapon. (2) Flamer. Jump Packs
(2) Vanguard Veteran Squad(s); Sgt with Thunder Hammer. (1) Veteran with Power Weapon. (3) Veteran's with Melta Bombs. Jump Packs.

I reserved my entire force,and ran into my first rules' snag of the night. During the deployment phase, I didn't declare any combat squads. I had read and perhaps misinterpreted the FAQ with regards to assigning combat squads to units in reserve- I thought that I had to wait until the units arrived on the table (deployed) to combat squad them.
Oh well- as Six pointed out that it would only provide him the potential for more kill points. However, a ten-man unit is a hefty foot print when rolling even rolling one D6 to scatter. Six was truly worried- the second time I have seen him visibly concerned playing against him. He admonished that his list coupled with the kill point mission would be hard pressed to compete with my Descent of Angels list...Yet, by the end of turn five victory would be his.

Due to shoddy troop placement, I ended up rolling three mishaps (ones and twos), and scattered a fourth unit off of the board! One a VV squad, the rest assault squads. In fact, my second game of the night (against Sean's Death Wing list) resulted in a loss for me- another painful but valuable lesson in troop deployment! My units were spread about, piece-meal, across the board, which provided Sean the opportunity to engage units singly with relative impunity. Add to that fact that someone (being me) devoted my plasma gun-wielding Honor Guard and Dante to tangling with a unit of bikes on the side opposite of both objective markers and you get one messy recipe for a Blood Angels puree. Sean has had about as much luck as myself winning a game of 40K, and as much as losing sucks, seeing a friend finally win a game was well worth it.

Why didn't I bat-rep it? Oh man, I was slumming with "counts-as" troops to cover the plethora of assault figures I do not own, heh. Likewise, many of my marines were unfinished; missing arms, jump packs, and even weapons! My poor ghetto-troop have spent the last seven months packed away in storage boxes in various states of assembly. I plan to allocate the necessary time to finishing my army so that painting can commence on my troops! With excuses aside, expect more iPhone bat-reps in the future from yours truly!

Closing Thoughts with regards to my DoA list:
I had a lot of fun with this list. Ever since I watched Jawaballs field his Blood Angels against Fritz over two years ago, I had been smitten with the idea of marines that excel in assault. The idea of decisive close-combat in this game is what drew me in to the 40K universe for a second time in my life. I will admit, that out of all of the lists this noob has played so far (using assault termies, storm raven, mechanized assault) this one was my favorite to date. I will play this list some more, swapping out Dante for Astorath, or even two Librarians' to see which I prefer.

In the mean time I'm on the hunt for good tutorials (videos, articles, etc.) on deployment and such for new players. I'm going to dig around Fritz's videos on Youtube- he used to have a few gems. Please share any suggestions you may have.

Is that Dante, or a Droid that specializes in Human-Cyborg relations?!

Edit: Purgatus has been kind enough to devote time and energy covering my list, and DoA in particular over at his blog, "Best Overall" that is worth a look. I'm looking forward to part 2 which should extrapolate on ideas presented in part 1.

Art Supply Sale (Online)

2010-12-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a couple of promotional codes I received by email good through December 24th on all art supplies found at Chicago Airbrush Supply, and their sister website; Artsupply.com!

Chicago Airbrush Supply (CAS) is offering a site-wide 15% discount through their website; Artsupply.com, by using the promotional code "xmas15". This particular discount is only good through this weekend, so purchase accordingly.
Likewise, CAS is having a sale good through December 24th on all of their airbrushes. For those of you lacking a local art supply store (such as myself), this is the perfect opportunity to grab that new brush and save a few bucks. I purchased my Harder Steenbeck 2 in 1 through CAS. They treated me right, gave me the best price at the time, and worked to resolve any issues I may have had- definately a five star vendor. Following are the codes related to CAS discounts:
Buy a brush over 100.00 dollars and save 10% with this code: 10-100
Buy a brush over 200.00 dollars and save an extra 12% with this code: 12-200 *cough* Infinity 2 in 1 *cough*
Buy a brush over 300.00 dollars and save an extra 13% with this code 13-300

Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Battlefoam 1520 On Order

2010-12-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

The Battlefoam 1520

Another week, and very little time to devote to the table-top. However, I did receive word that my Battlefoam 1520 is almost ready and will be shipped soon- my Christmas present this year. I wasn't convinced, leaning toward a Sabol Designs' bag, until my friend Six-Deucer purchased a 1520 earlier this fall.
He has left the bag (stuffed with his IG) with me so that I may paint his army for him. That has left me with almost two months with the Battlefoam 1520 and it has afforded me a new appreciation for it's size, sturdy construction, and the way foam is accessed (side-loader). I can honestly say when Battlefoam announced It's black Friday sale (discounting all orders by 25%), I jumped at the opportunity to invest in the 1520 and 24 inches of foam. Battlefoam customer service has been exceedingly cool to deal with- especially in regards to a made to order foam piece.
The one detraction of this bag is that I will not be able to check it in as carry-on luggage on most (all) national flights. However, I have no plans to travel, on a plane, to participate in a tournament any time soon. I figure when that time comes I'll pick out a bag that meets or exceeds airline criteria for carry-on luggage (I don't want my troop carrier filled with my army getting shoved below with a bunch of heavy luggage). Maybe another Battlefoam bag, or a Sabol Designs bag, maybe a carrier similar to the one Brent (from Strictly Average) uses, or maybe just make my own.
In the coming days, I hope to sneak in a game of 40K before Christmas, and I'll make sure to take plenty of pictures for a Bat-Rep!

Vassal 40K

2010-12-02T06:05:00.000-08:00

As we progress through the holiday season, I find myself with less and less time that I can devote to getting away from family and work duties to play a game of 40K. Six being in a similar boat, we looked to alternative ways to sate our desire to play 40K together. Vassal 40K was a no-brainer, however it would seem we were late by about six months.

For those of you not familiar with Vassal 40K, it is a Vassal module that simulates 40K table-top gaming. It allows people to play 40K together that otherwise could not (using the internet). A perfect way for Six and I to continue to play 40K when we can't venture out to Olympic Cards and Comics!

The problem is that until very recently the 40K mod for Vassal has become very difficult to obtain. I'm not one for torrents' or torrent sites, so imagine my relief when Six-Deucer found an updated Vassal 40K complete with a link to download version 5.4!

I've downloaded Vassal, and the 40K module and installed them both, now I'm slowly wading through building my army using the program. This is my first time using Vassal, and it is very unintuitive. Attempting to recreate my Blood Angels army within the program, I can't seem to find half of my HQ choices...It is definitely, 100%, user error, but instructions and/or tutorials are difficult to come by.

Vassal 40K will not replace or usurp the act of physically playing 40K for me (or Six), however, it will allow us to play one another from a distance during this busy time of the year!

When Vassal 40K exasperates me, I have been turning to Call of Duty Black Ops multiplayer to relieve the pressure- Nuketown being my favorite map!

If anyone has advice, or links to a noob guide, or FAQ please share the goods!

Dawn of War 2 Gold: 66% Discount on Steam

2010-11-26T22:31:00.000-08:00

If you don't own it, or own Chaos Rising, this is the perfect opportunity to scoop it up for dirt cheap! 13.60 and it's yours!
I've had a lot of fun playing this squad based RTS- and fell hard for the storyline tying all of the missions together. In DoW2, you fight a three-way war against Orks, Eldar, and Tyranids, as the Blood Ravens' space marine chapter. In Chaos Rising, you attempt to counter legions of traitor marines, as you and your sergeants are tempted by the forces of Chaos.

The one thing I didn't like about Chaos Rising was the fact that it was too short. I wish more Space Hulk missions had been crammed into that x-pac. These two games are definitely worth 13 bucks!

Battlefoam Black Friday

2010-11-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

Friday November 26th Battlefoam is hosting a 24 hour sale, with all orders receiving a 25% discount!

I've been on the fence for about six months, now, in regards to a troop carrier. Six-Deucer took the plunge and purchased the 1520 bag, along with custom cut foam for his IG army. I will admit I am thoroughly impressed with the Battlefoam product, and have every intention of scooping up my own troop carrier filled with foam on Friday. What sold me the most is the reinforced panels, standard to Battlefoam bags. I was hesitant to purchase the 1520 due to it's irregular size (I want a bag that meets airline criteria for carry-on luggage)- the 1520 doesn't do that in most cases. However, Battlefoam boasts bags that meet or exceed airline requirements for carry-on luggage and I will be purchasing one of those bags! Battlefoam won me over with the way foam trays are loaded, and stored, in their transport bags. I want a side-loading bag that stores the foam trays in an upright position, with the bag boasting reinforced plastic lining.
After using a cardboard box that originally housed a video card, I'm ready to take the plunge and protect my plastic toys as the investment they are!

Don't forget that Sabol Designs just released their own troop carrier that boasts protective plastic inserts! The company is currently running a special offering 20% off their entire line of product, which will be replaced with a new special deal December 1st. Like I stated above, I was on the fence for a long time until I got to spend some hands-on time with the 1520 bag. The product is superior enough to convince me to buy Battlefoam as my personal troop transport solution. Formulate your own conclusion, but do yourself a favor and invest in a troop transport. In just the short amount of time I've been playing 40K, I've already broken models in transit from home to a game.

I am not a spokesperson, nor am I affiliated with, or an employee of Battlefoam or Sabol Designs.

40K Bits Bash Results: Loads of Fun and One Win!

2010-11-23T18:54:00.000-08:00

And the winner is...

Saturday November 20th Six-Deucer and I threw our hats in and took part in a 2,000 point teams "for fun" tournament hosted by Gabby at Olympic Cards and Comics. The event was a huge success largely due to Dante and Purgatus and quite a few other (to whom I tip my baseball cap for I don't recall your names').
First of all- no pictures for my part. Since this was my first tournament (albeit, a fun tournament), I was so focused on my army, rules, and communication with my partner, Six, that I forgot to take pictures. This was unfortunate because there were some truly well-painted armies taking the field, Saturday.
I was really impressed with Kieth's Grey Knights, Chris' Tyranids' and Scott's Black Templars (commissioned as vanilla marines for the sake of this tournament), the fellow whom we played against in game three- his Eldar and Harlequin army, and Purgatus Space Wolves. There was one particular Valkyrie that stood out. I don't recall the fellow's name, which I apologize, however he had the most amazing desert camouflage pattern along with weathering and battle damage. The battle damage was the best- he scored out chunks from the wing and model adding bits of wire to personalize the model. I regret not taking a picture of the model to display with this blog entry, but perhaps I will have the opportunity to catch up to him and get that picture at a later time.

The tournament was fun. It seemed well organized, and started quickly (considering how many turned out to participate). There were something like twenty teams; 40 participants! Dante, Jancoran, and a few others judged the competition- each and every one of them were fast, polite, and always available for any issue we threw their way. At one point I had set Six's codex down near his side of a table, and a fellow IG player, adjacent to him, inadvertently picked up the book over the course of our second game. Judges, our opponents (and even fellow attendees) helped us locate the book. In the end the fellow checked his things and realized he had two IG codices in his possession- he handed the book over immediately with a sincere apology. Each of the three missions were fun and unique, and very difficult (if not impossible) to earn a tie. This was due in part to the secondary and tertiary objectives in each of the mission(s).

That was the thing- I did not come across one mean or nasty player over the course of the entire day (10 am to 8 pm). I met so many fun, respectful, and kind people- I couldn't hope to remember all of their names (which is "my thing" and I apologize). Every team we played against were cool guys. Scott and Mike were our first opponents- and they were very patient. Six and I being new, played very slow at times, averaging 4 turns per game due to time constraints. The third team we played against was comprised of two gentlemen that had me in stitches our entire game- nothing got them down! They were upbeat and humorous, and their joking was contagious. Six and I ended up losing to them both, but the laughs made up for it! I just want the fellow playing Blood Angels (Apologies for my poor name retention!) to know that when I use the word "sir" in reference to another, it is out of sincere respect!

I made quite a few mistakes over the course of the day. For instance, during our first game I pushed my Baal Predator, armed with a flamestorm cannon, into a less than optimized position to attack our opponent's forces. Had I chosen more carefully my approach, I could have flamed a squad of scouts and some terminators (rather than just a terminator). Stupid- ya, I know. I was face palming the minute I committed to the move- it was like some sort of premature baal pred"ation" or something...heh. Later, during our third game, even though we had first turn, I didn't push my Baal across the board to flame a ten-man squad of assault marines chillin' in some cover. I was gun-shy after my first game, and that squad ended up hurting us later in the game. Likewise, I forgot to fire off my Librarian's unleash rage ability in one of the assaults' that occurred in game three. This was huge as later, he and the Honor Guard accompanying him were wiped out over the course of four turns and poor dice rolls (for my part) (those Harlequins were happy, though)!

Game One pitted Six and myself against an army of Space Wolves and an army of vanilla Space Marines. I made a huge tactical error when I incorrectly placed my Baal Pred during my scout move. It was only able to target one Termintaor, and fell prey to enemy fire in the bottom of turn 1. Six and I managed to successfully one-two, punch an assault terminator squad led by a Librarian HQ into failing a leadership check. His psyker battle squad coupled with my Librarian forced the unit to run 9 inches toward their respective board edge (which would have forced them off the table, destroying the unit). Unfortunately, the distance was incorrectly halved because the unit was in difficult terrain. I utterly missed the discrepancy, and Six didn't catch it until after the game was finished. That terminator assault squad would later rip apart my Honor Guard and scout squad in subsequent turns. Our opposition apologized for the mistake, which I believe to be honest, and Six and I chalked it up to the fact that we are two very green players. Nonetheless, a valuable lesson we learned from our first tournament game!

Game Two saw Six and I battle against two players fielding a Space Wolves "Logan Wing" and a vanilla Marines force, respectively. This was a very close, and fun game for both teams- and these guys were very pleasant to play against. Logan and his terminators ripped through my Honor Guard, however, my assault squad(s), and Furioso Dreadnought eventually avenged their death(s). We would have lost the game had it not been for my Baal Predator which happened to be parked 3 inches away from our opponent's claimed objective. It was so close that I was going to dismiss it as being too far away to contest. A kind fellow watching our game pointed out the tank, and asked the opposing team to measure the distance (remember, this was a friendly tournament). There were two reasons why this tank was not intentionally placed closer to that objective by me; 1.) we ran out of time- our game ended on turn four. 2.) In my green newbness, I didn't have the foresight to prepare for objective grabs in turn three/four because Six and I were resolving things so slowly. The most valuable lesson I learned in this game: Never assume- always measure distance and never concede!

Game Three: There Six and I stood with one win and one loss under our belt. We faced off against two very amusing fellows playing a Harlequin Eldar army and a Blood Angels army. This was a great, fun game- I really enjoyed it because our opponents were wise cracking the whole time. I made another Baal mistake in this game: I didn't push it a full 18 inches in scout move to get it within flamestorm distance of a 10-man assault squad parked about six inches from the board edge. I would have had it, but I was so gun-shy after the error I made in game one, I hesitated. This squad ended up wreaking havoc upon our forces later in the game, which ultimately we lost. So, we ended the day 2 and 1. I was exhausted, I missed my wife and child, but I had so much damn fun I can't wait for the next "fun" tournament!!!

In the end, Purgatus and his partner Crash won the tournament with their Space Wolves/ Dark Eldar army- congratulations you two!

Six and I lost two out of three games, had a blast, made a lot of new friends, and enjoyed our first tournament. I learned just how valuable a display board is (I'm going to acquire one, ASAP) when displaying, and moving your army around. I developed a new-found respect for my Librarian HQ and the Blood Angels Honor Guard (they were soo badass).

I would like to thank every one of our opponents, whom I enjoyed immensely. Dante, Purgatus, Jancoran, and quite a few others really made this an enjoyable experience that I will gladly participate in again, given the opportunity. Thank You Gabby, and staff for opening Olympic Cards and Comics early and providing us a place to throw dice. Finally, I want to thank all of the great people I met Saturday. I look forward to catching up with each of you over the coming months for a friendly game of 40K!

40K Bits Bash Saturday November 20th 2010

2010-11-20T00:34:00.000-08:00

These kids are competing for fun, much like Six and I will be doing today. Six is the kid in the pink cap!

Today is the big event! Olympic Cards and Comics will be opening their doors at 09:00 PST to host a bits swap scheduled to take place from 09:00 to 12:00 PST. At 12:00 PST a 2,000 40K Team Tournament will begin. This will be a "fun" tournament and require participants to pony-up a 10.00 entry fee.

Six-Deucer and I have our team list ready. Our goal isn't lofty, we're going to have fun and do the best we can!
I should also note that Olympic Cards and Comics is having a huge sale, discounting most of their store merchandise!
Hope to see you there!
40K Bits Bash

Thursday Throw-Down Pre-game: 11/18/2010

2010-11-17T23:42:00.000-08:00

Thursday Throw-Down is going to be a lot of fun this week! Six and I will be testing our lists that we hope to field Saturday the 20th at the 40K Bits Bash Teams Tournament! Due to work I won't show up at Olympic Cards and Comics until 7pm PST, however, Six-Deucer will be there sometime after 4pm. Chappy has committed to bringing his army to play, Reknyard will be there later in the evening, and I hope to see Jancoran as well. If you have a 1,000 or 2,000 point 40K army, bring em' down to Olympic Cards and Comics around 5pm for "Thursday Throw-Down"
!

Last week each of my 1,000 point lists consisted of new elements (units) that I have no prior experience playing. The Sanguinary Guard squad were a little underwhelming, while my assault Terminators proved fun. I made quite a few mistakes last week; (jumping into/out of/through difficult terrain rather than walking/running) cost me two units to dangerous terrain tests, failing to move a squad into assault cost me an objective, forgetting to roll for the Red Thirst at the beginning of a game, and failing to scout move a squad of scouts to name a few. I'm still grasping the concept(s) of deployment- and it shows. A steep learning curve for me, with a couple of draws and a handful of losses to show for my endeavors to present. Rather than get discouraged, I constantly analyze my tactics, performance, and troop choice combination in an effort to improve my game. Eventually, every dog gets lucky- time will tell. In the meantime, I keep a wise old proverb keeps me warm as I continue to plod through 40K, "Losing sucks, never quit!"

If you have the time, stop by Olympic Cards and Comics Thursday night for a little dice "throw down".

Recruitment Continues: WIP

2010-11-16T23:57:00.000-08:00

Chaplain with Honor Guard. In the background, two assault squads' are visible.

Let me say that I absolutely support the 40K rule that, "What You See is What You Get" (WYSIWYG). Absolutely. In a tournament, it decreases a player's ability to mislead or cheat an opponent. However, when I'm forced to glue tiny frag and krak grenades onto each of my Blood Angel space marines...it was like creative kryptonite- an exercise in masochism. Perhaps I should have asked this question a week ago; For the purpose(s) of tournament play do you, reader, adhere to WYSIWYG so stringently that their equipment is reflected in the figure? Specifically, a unit's grenade(s) that are standard issue to that unit?
I'm not talking about primary or secondary weapons- meltaguns, plasma pistols, infernus pistols, melta-bombs, and such. I'm talking about frag grenades, krak grenades; compulsory or standard equipment found on every single unit of that particular type (such as infantry).

I magnetized the jump packs pictured because I want the ability to field assault squads' with jump packs, or with troop transports.

Do you model your 'nades?
Today I made sure that each of my Blood Angel marines had a krak and frag grenade on their person. I finished magnetizing different weapon arms, I bashed an infernus pistol from a meltagun, and I magnetized marines' backs, backpacks, and jump packs. For the jump packs, I used 1/8 x 1/16 rare earth magnets. I drilled a 1/8 hole into the back of each marine and glued a magnet into each hole. In turn, I pressed a 1/8 x 1/16 magnet into each jump pack. The size of the groove holds the magnet snugly without the need for adhesive, and the size of the magnets ensures that the jump packs don't move or fall off. Why all of this fretting and magnetizing? I want to make sure that each of my unit choices are represented accurately in the 40K Bits Bash 2,000 point Teams' Tournament this Saturday. Eventually, each firearm will have a hole drilled into it's muzzle; visually, it makes a huge difference to me.

After I was finished with my troops', I began work on my Dreadnought (a Forge World Chaplain Dreadnought). I have to admit I don't care to work with resin. It is brittle, it doesn't like glue (even after multiple washings'), and it is very poisonous. When drilling a hole for a magnet into the Dread's right arm, I had to do it outside wearing a breathing mask. I wet the resin piece(s), and the drill bit so that the resin dust/debris would be heavier and less likely inhaled. Now, a question about your Dread; did you glue your dread's arms' in place, or somehow leave them loose? This model's legs' are connected to it's abdomen by a ball joint that fits into a hole in the bottom of it's abdomen. However, the fit is very loose, and I have yet to decide the best way to anchor the two pieces together to afford pivoting. Same issue with it's arms- should I use magnets in those places as well?


A Forge World Dreadnought arm (Pictured Left) in comparison to a Games Workshop Dreadnought arm (pictured right). I drilled a magnet into the FW hand, and eventually glued FW talons' to it. In this way I can swap out the left talon for different weapons.

I'm going to use a small piece of guitar wire, cut to size, that will run from the meltagun to the base of the Dread's shoulder.
Depending on the humidity tomorrow, I may base-coat my troops, finish my dreadnought, and finish bits and the Flamestorm cannon for my Baal Predator.
I have committed to a 1,000 point list for the Tournament, Saturday, and I'm looking forward to getting some practice during Thursday's Throw-Down.

1,000 Point Blood Angels List

2010-11-13T22:12:00.000-08:00

A week from today I plan to participate in my first tournament, the 40K Bits Bash at Olympic Cards and Comics. The Bits Bash is a teams' tournament, where each team member supplies a 1,000 point army following their relative Force Organization Chart (FOC). Six Deucer, my partner for the tournament, will be fielding Imperial Guard (IG), and I will be bringing a Blood Angels force.

Over the last handful of weeks he and I have met up Thursday nights and practiced 1,000 point force builds (either against each other, or teamed up against guys such as Chappy, Jancoran and Reknyard). Since I am new and relatively inexperienced, Chappy and Purgatus (a contributor from Yes the Truth Hurts) were kind enough to provide me with 1,000 list ideas. Each of their offerings were subtly different, so I played both and noted what elements worked for me. From those elements I created a 1,000 point list that felt comfortable to play which included a Librarian HQ. During last Thursday's play session, I experimented with an assault Terminator squad, and Sanguinary Guard. The Sanguinary Guard were cool, but I didn't care for them as much as a unit of Honor Guard. The Honor Guard get a Sanguinary Novitiate (Priest) built-in to the squad; it is not an independent character and therefore cannot be targeted during an assault. The Honor Guard also have at their disposal so many different types of weapons available as options to four of five squad members. The second coolest thing about the HG unit is that it can take a Chapter Banner (granting each member of that unit an additional attack in the assault phase). With Furious Charge (FC), and a Chaplain providing "to hit" re-rolls, that's an assault steam roller with the potential to annihilate a lot.

What would I pit this unit against? In my limited experience (and time) playing, I would say Death Star units;(HQ units, Monstrous Creatures, Termiantors)...right?
What should I avoid with this unit? Things with higher initiative that deny armor saves?

I have been fielding a Librarian HQ up until now, and quite frankly, I am dissatisfied with the unit based on the games I have played. Perhaps I am not fielding the unit correctly, but in comparison to other HQs' he seems underwhelming. A psychic hood is nice, but absolutely not a guarantee that your opponent's psychic power will be neutralized. Against Tyranids, my Libby was a big paperweight on the table.
I really want to try a Reclusiarch. Yes, perhaps the unit is over priced (30 more points than the Librarian), but he gets a higher BS and Initiative, he has three wounds, he grants fearless to any unit he joins, and boasts a 4+ invulnerable save. The biggest selling point (to me), is the fact that he (and any unit he has joined) may roll failed to-hit rolls in assault combat.

Including a Reclusiarch with an Honor Guard unit seems to have the potential to be a devastating combination. Worth the points?
Opinions, comments, and critiques are most welcome.

Thank You

2010-11-11T13:52:00.000-08:00

I want to thank each and every man and woman that have served and sacrificed for our country.

Thursday Throw-Down: 11/11/2010 Pre-Game

2010-11-11T12:12:00.000-08:00

With a mere 9 days until the 40K Bits Bash (a "for fun" 2,000 point team tournament that will take place starting at noon at Olympic Cards and Comics), Six-Deucer and I will be meeting up at Olympic Cards and Comics each with a 1,000 point army to play some 40K and practice for the tournament. We'll start tossing dice around 4:30 PST. If you're in the area, or have the time, head on in! Tonight one of our mutual friend, Reknyard (also new to 40K), will be bringing his Space Wolves- it should be a lot of fun!

Getting back to the tournament, Six and I have been fine-tuning our lists to better compliment one another for the event. I mean, take a look at the sort of armies we're up against, and it is a little intimidating. Last Saturday, I got to watch this list in action- one word: Wow! Those Dark Eldar look phenomenal (and they are brutal on the table)! There are going to be a lot of fun and competitive lists that Six and I will have the opportunity to play against. Not only will this tournament challenge the both of us, but I'm hoping we glean valuable lessons' and experience.

Prior to the Bits Bash Gabby (OCC's owner) is going to open the store at 9:00am for a bits swap! Whether you have a ton of bits, or figures to unload (or you're looking to score bits for that latest conversion)- the bits swap will more than likely have it! There is only one rule: Refrain from swapping bits for cash in the store; if you need to "buy" a bit or item, do it with an Olympic Cards and Comics gift card (or store merchandise). This courtesy provides that the store doesn't lose out while hosting this free event. Personally, I like supporting Olympic Cards and Comics. I get to make use of their game tables free of charge 7 days a week, time permitting. Not to mention the fact that Gabby is the coolest gal around!

Last but not least; apparently this morning GW "accidentally" leaked a FAQ describing how to paint "your Storm Raven"...with a picture. Tomalock posted links to the article (that GW later removed from their website). I have one word for the supposed Storm Raven pictured in this article: Yuck!


How do bricks fly in the 41st millennium?

The various kit bashes that fans and players have devised (and shared) with the community are much more visually satisfying than this thing- even the Forge World Cestus looks better!

I preferred the "Crux" version of the Storm Raven shared by Patzgcrux. This is the one that I made following his directions.

I followed the "Crux" pattern kitbash combining a Valkyrie model with bits from a Whirlwind tank. The Crux pattern is sleek, but still looks as though it could carry a Dread onto the battlefield...and most importantly; that it would be piloted by a Space Marine!

Blood Angels Objective Marker WIP 11/09

2010-11-09T07:07:00.000-08:00

I'm posting an update of my Terminator objective marker. The chalice dwarfs the Terminator and as a result I may not incorporate it with this model. Let me know what you think:

Fallen Terminator without chalice

I drilled holes in the Terminator armor where munitions had punched through; the chest wound appears to have caused the fatal blow.

Fallen Terminator with chalice- note the extreme difference in size.

Personally, I like the Terminator without the chalice after combining the two elements on a 40mm base. With regards to my third objective marker, I was advised that I should keep the marker sizes relative to one another. Since I have plans to use 40mm bases for my first two markers, my third should be 40mm as well. To be honest, 60mm seemed a little large to me, and I only considered using it to justify the cool mental image I had of a battle-damaged dreadnought's sarcophagus spilling out it's ancient occupant. That leaves me with one more objective marker that I need to work out for the 20th.

Blood Angels Objective WIP: Dead Terminator

2010-11-08T04:44:00.000-08:00

I cut up a plastic Terminator from an Ebay purchase I made last year.

I'm really excited about participating in my first tournament- The 40K Bits Bash on November 20th at Olympic Cards and Comics. The tournament has been designated a "fun" tournament with a low entry fee, making it accessible and attractive to newcomers such as myself. Honesty- I would be much more hesitant to drop 25-100 bucks to play in a tournament against guys the likes of Chappy, Purgatus, at my current level of play. This tournament promises to be fun due to the simple fact that it is a partners' tournament and Six-Deucer has agreed to be my partner. Six and I have a lot of fun together, and we've known each other for quite a while so it was a no-brainer to ask him to team up for this event.

After some careful filing, I used green stuff to reassemble the Terminator armor so that it would appear to be laying down.

One of the requirements for The 40K Bits Bash is that each contestant have available at least three objective markers. Earlier this May, I purchased the dead terminator sitting on a throne found in the 2009 Space Hulk release for about 7 dollars with the intention of incorporating it into an objective marker! One down, two to go!

The minute I saw this guy, I knew he had to be showcased on the gaming table!

I've seen a number of cool objective markers utilizing the Space Marine Casualties' figures. I love the sculpts, but they seem to be a popular, and common choice for Space Marine players. With that in mind I decided to pass on the Space Marine casualties in favor of something a little more unique for my Space Marines to fight (and die) for, utilizing the extra figures and bits I have lying around.

For my second objective marker I visualized a dead Terminator marine whose suit belies his mortal wounds. In his lifeless hand, or Terminator glove, a Chalice. I think any respectable Space Marine would want to secure the Crux Terminatus, but no Emperor fearing Blood Angel worth his fangs would allow a Crux Terminatus and a "Dante Goblet" to fall into the hands of the enemy! Now, I had an extra chalice found in the Space Hulk game released last year that would suit this purpose.
I then began to visualize how this would look and decided immediately that the dead marine's face should be visible. That would require a head bit...maybe a skull, or even a rotting or mummified head. I sniffed around on Ebay however, I didn't find a bit or figure that I would want to use. Fortunately, I found a blister pack filled with three pewter zombies released by Reaper Miniatures at Olympic Cards and Comics that would be perfect!

These were the Reaper minis' that I purchased for about 7 dollars. I will use the figure on the left for my dead Terminator, while I think the figure on the right would make a cool Dreadnought occupant!

Don't think I didn't pass by the Warhammer skeleton box more than once, but I was concerned that the heads would be a little too big for my project. I think a 15-25mm skull or head would look proportionately better and less "toony". By the way, how come there aren't more skeleton sets, or skeleton boxed sets out there?

The Space Marine defended the sacred chalice to the end...talk about rolling snake eyes!

After I had cut the Terminator's left leg at the hip join, I cut the figure's left arm above the elbow. I filed down both pieces, cleaning any flash resulting from my hack job. This allowed me to position the Terminator's left leg in a prone position, as well as position the left glove palm up (as shown above). My next step will be to drill a relief in the top portion of the Terminator's chest where the head bit will sit inside the armor, but I may paint the head prior to placing it.

So, does anyone field 60mm based objectives, or are 25mm and 40mm the norm? I have a really neat idea for my third objective, but I think it would require a 60mm base. The idea would incorporate a ruined Dreadnought whose sarcophagus was compromised, exposing the ancient (and mummified) space marine inside.

Conclusion: Thursday Throw-Down 11/04/10

2010-11-06T02:29:00.000-07:00

"All along the watch tower..."

Last night Six and I met up at Olympic Cards and Comics for our usual Thursday Throw-Down. We were joined by my friend, Reknyard, who is also learning fifth edition rules. Later, Jancoran showed up, and Chappy dropped in (stealing away from family night)! The last couple of weeks, Six and I have been practicing with 1000 point lists in anticipation of the teams tournament, the "40K Bits Bash" slated for November 20th.

Last Thursday, my Blood Angels received a thorough ass-pounding at the hands of Chappy's force. The experience made me aware of my list's shortcomings. Chappy and Purgatus had suggested a couple of lists that were very different from one another. I decided to field each of these lists with minor tweaks/changes.

My first game I played against Six, each of us fielding a 1,000 point force, proved beneficial, as it let me experience first hand what he would potentially be fielding against our opponents'. For this game, I used the list that Purgatus had suggested. The game called for objectives and we determined there were three total with a Dawn of War deployment. I don't care for Dawn of War deployment, you lose a whole turn and are only allowed to field up to two troop choices and an HQ...with night fighting rules in that first turn. I won the roll to go first, and Six failed to seize initiative. Following is my BA list:

HQ: Librarian Shield of Sanguinius, and Sanguine Sword
Elite: Sanguinary Priest Melta Bombs
Troops: (3) Five-man Assault Squad(s); each with (1) melta gun, Each with a Sgt armed with (3) Infernus Pistols, (2) Power Weapons, and (1) Power fist, and (2) Melta Bombs. Each squad received a Razorback Transport armed with a Twin-Linked Heavy Flamer (TL HF).
(The two sergeants armed with power weapons were allocated the melta bombs).
Fast Attack: (3) Baal Predator(s) armed with Twin-Linked Assault Cannon(s) (TL ASSC)

My Librarian and Assault Squad pushed deep into Six's board edge. This forced his subsequent units to focus on them rather than the two objective markers on my side of the board!

I set up with one assault squad in a Razorback with my Librarian attached. Six brought out a Vendetta crammed full with a vet squad. The game was fierce, my biggest mistake of the game was bunching up two of my Razor transports behind two of my Baal Predators disregarding Six's Manticore!

Smoke was the only thing that spared me losing both Baal Preds and Razorback transports!

The thing fires 1D3 strength 10 barrage templates! It was a fateful lesson, Six landed the maximum amount of barrages on turn 2 striking all four tanks resulting in a wrecked Baal, and stunned/shaken results for two of three remaining. I managed to spread two of my three assault squads over the objective markers closest to my table edge. Over the course of our game, both squads were reduced to one marine each: A space marine equipped with a melta, and a space marine sergeant respectively. Six managed to successfully contest one of those two objectives, and sieze the third with one of his veteran troop units. Those vets really did survive the gauntlet; rallying about 2 inches from his table edge after failing a morale test, the unit managed to stand on top of the third objective marker by turn six. So, with each of us in control of one objective, and a third being contested, the game ended in a draw for the both of us!

Our first game was so close, and so competitive that Reknyard was elated to run home and grab his Space Wolves. He didn't have a 1,000 point list, but Six and I were having so much fun he didn't want to be left out of game two! Jancoran had brought his Tau army, and happily paired his 2,000 point list down to 1,000 points in order to pair up with Rekn. So for our second game of the night, Six and I would team up our lists. After some "humming and hawing" I decided to run the second 1,000 point Blood Angel list I had brought with me. This list was a little more troop heavy, limiting the amount of mech. I mixed a combination of assault marines in Rhino transports with one assault squad equipped with jump packs. This was a list inspired by Chappy's suggestions based on the force I had fielded the week before:

HQ: Librarian Shield of Sanguinius, and Sanguine Sword
Elite: Sanguinary Priest with Combi-Melta, Lightning Claw
Troop: (10) Assault Squad with (2) melta guns, Sergeant with (1) hand flamer and (1) Power Fist in a Rhino transport
Troop: (5) Assault Squad with (1) melta gun, Sergeant with (1) hand flamer and (1) Power Fist in a Rhino transport
Troop: (5) Assault Squad with (1) melta gun, Sergeant with (1) hand flamer and (1) Power Fist, jump pack(s).
Fast Attack: Baal Predator with TL ASSC, and Heavy Bolter sponsons
Fast Attack: Baal Predator with Flame Storm cannon

Six and I won first turn, so we set up our side of the table. The game was capture and control (each team would place one objective); I set up my Rhino transports behind my Baal Predators on a stretch of road to ensure my armor would obtain that extra six inches of travel. My Baal Predators scout-moved pushing toward Rekn's Space Wolves: Three empty Razorback transports and a unit of Long Fangs with missile launchers. Jancoran had placed two snipers on opposing sides of his board edge, with great field of view! I knew that my Baals wouldn't take any first turn shots due to the fact that Six's two Vendettas started on the table; I've written about my lesson(s) in not making Vendettas' priority number one. The game was furious! Jancoran is a great and patient teacher, but, he took off the kid gloves and really put our forces to the test. He also assisted Rekn with his Space Wolves, which proved very formidable. I took the chance and assaulted Rekn's Grey Hunters, to get an idea of what assaults are like against the Sons of Russ. They are just as formidable on the table as they are on paper: without my Priest's chalice providing Feel No Pain (FNP), and Furious Charge (FC), my 5-man assault squads would have been lost.
My squad equipped with jump packs proved a great harassing force. Due to my choice of placement during their successful deep strike, they had to suffer a round of shots without cover saves. Three of the five survived to assault in the following turn, however, next time I'll follow my gut and drop them in cover and chance the terrain test. I never had the opportunity to unleash my Baal's Flame Storm on Rekn's space marines, it did manage to put the hurt on one of his Razorback transports. By the time that the "crew shaken" result had expired (and Rekn's Space Wolves were on the table from reserves), Olympic Cards and Comics was closing, so we had to call the game and pack up.

Conclusion:
I really liked the troop amount in my second list. Leaving Six with ranged combat duty, and focusing solely on close range and assault combat, really demonstrated to me Blood Angel's strengths as an army. I was impressed with the flame storm cannon, but, I'm still hesitant taking two. I like having at least one Baal pumping four strength 6 rending shots, twin-linked at my opponent(s). I really enjoyed the twin-linked heavy flamers selection for Razorbacks in the first list. They were free, but proved to be an excellent harassment tool against Six's Imperial Guard. I wasn't impressed with the hand flamers' that I assigned to my assault sergeants. I did, however, like the Infernus pistols. Their relative cost is prohibitive, but having that extra strength 8 AP1 shot added to the assault squad's melta gun means that usually at least one of the shots' are getting through. I really liked the jump pack squad. Their ability to re-roll failed reserve rolls and scatter 1D6 less than normal deep strike units allowed me to insert them onto the table very aggressively. My priest never did get to use all of his shiny toys, and I am considering taking Purgatus' advice and stripping the priest of extras'. I really liked my Librarian's 3 (4 on the charge) strength 10 attacks thanks to Sanguine Sword- better than the Blood Lance. With Six pumping out so much ranged firepower, the Blood Lance really isn't necessary. I have to say that I'm still torn between the Sanguine Sword and Unleash Rage. Giving an entire unit preferred enemy for an assault round means more hits getting through...I'm going to test both powers to see which I prefer, personally. In the end, I walked away formulating a list that combined elements from both of these lists into a hybrid that I hope proves fun, and successful, next week.

This side of the board didn't see much action in game 1. Game 2 provided enough points on the table to rectify that!

Pretty Marines: Holy @*#$%

2010-11-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last night while surfing Ebay for veteran Space Marines, I tripped over an auction that literally made my mouth drop in shock...and awe.

Flash back to Spring of 2009...Jawaballs and Fritz bat-reps were rejuvenating my interest in the 40K universe, specifically 40K. It was at that time that I discovered an amazing artist, and "painter of miniatures", that would have a profound effect on me, and ultimately influence me artistically. So, what awesome commission or piece of Brandon Palmer's effected me so? It was the first army that I recall seeing that Brandon had painted: The Pretty Marines (scroll down the page to see the "Pretty Marines").
Obviously, this themed army isn't for anyone- Space Marines with an anime look and a Yaoi theme? However, I imagine getting an ass whoopin' at the hands of the Pretty Marines would definitely piss off any guy with homophobic tendencies, or uncomfortable with his sexuality...that could be entertaining.
All of that hyperbole aside, what impressed me about this army was the amazing paint job. I remember looking over pictures of that very army to better understand how Brandon blended a certain part, or what color combination he used. I became a fan of Brandon's and signed up for his annual newsletter that usually included pictures of his current project(s)- his work never ceases to inspire me!

So, when I was surfing Ebay last night, and stumbled upon an auction with units that appeared to be Brandon's "Pretty Marines" my mouth dropped! There they were- five Pretty Marines standing next to a Rhino transport. All purple, and adorned with hearts...looking pretty! I thumbed through this particular seller's store and found that the whole army had been sectioned off and is currently being auctioned over the next eight days!

Man, here is the opportunity for someone to own a Palmer painted army for peanuts! That old saying, "One man's trash, is another man's treasure" really pertains in this instance. Here is an opportunity for some lucky guy or gal to literally get a one of a kind army painted by Brandon Palmer. I just wish I had the reserve to scoop up these units myself! I'd field the "Pretty Marines" and count em' as Space Wolves, LOL!

"Our overly hairy, and uglier brothers from another Primarch need to be taught a lesson!"

For those of you interested in the auction(s), follow this link:
Likewise, if you're interested in viewing more of Brandon's work, or request a commission, check out his website, GMM Studios!
Edited: Pretty Marines Codex (Thanks Chappy!)

Thursday Throw-Down! 11/04/2010

2010-11-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight's Thursday Throw-Down will be starting at 5:30p hours PST, rather than the usual 4:00p hours. Bring a 1000 point army, or a 2000 point (or both) for some fun at Olympic Cards and Comics!

Pregame: Thursday Throw-Down 11/04

2010-11-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

You know,
I've posted a handful of army lists since the inception of my blog, Against the Grain. After looking back at some of these lists (with no actual experience fielding them), I have to say some of the disparities are much more prevalent to me, personally.

Last week, Chappy had the time to drop in and throw a 2000 point mixed force against Six and I, simulating an opposing team we might likely face in the upcoming 40K Bits Bash November 20th at Olympic Cards and Comics. I ran a largely mechanized (MEQ) Blood Angels list, really thin on troop choices. My units got plowed, failing to bubble wrap Six's IG units. After the battle, Chappy and Purgatus were kind enough to provide me with suggestions how to better tweak or balance my army with the intention of transforming them from a desktop paperweight into a face-hunting brick. Here is a list I'm going to take out for a test spin; as always constructive criticism is highly appreciated and welcome.
1K Blood Angels

HQ Librarian with Shield of Sanguinis and Sword of Sanguinis
Elite Sanguinary Priest with combi-melta, and lightning claw
Assault Squad (10 man) Sgt w/hand flamer and Power Fist, (2) melta-guns, Rhino transport
Assault Squad (5 man) Sgt w/hand flamer, Power Fist, (1) melta gun, Rhino transport
Assault Squad (5 man) Sgt w/hand flamer, Power Fist, (1) melta gun, jump packs
Fast Attack (1) Baal Predator TL Assault Cannon (TLASSC), Heavy Bolter sponsons
Fast Attack (1) Baal Predator Flamestorm Cannon

My idea is to push up the middle, providing a screen for Six's IG units. I have three assault squads (four if I combat squad the 10-man), which should be an improvement over the two, five-man squads I used last week. I want to create enough momentum, ramming this army into my opponents', stealing their focus from Six's army onto mine. It felt weird taking a 5-man assault squad with jump packs, however, I have the option to deep strike this unit, which will hopefully create some late game harassment against my opponent(s). This will be my first time using the flamestorm cannon (and I was hesitant to equip both Baal Preds' with the flamestorm), but it's stats look impressive: Template weapon that negates cover, strength 6/AP3- very few will have the opportunity to roll armor saves against that!

Depending on how this list performs for me, I may add jump packs to the other five-man squad...

WIP: Kriegs Army

2010-11-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend I finished basing Six's Kriegs army with a mixture of fine and course ballast, baked coffee grounds, and PVA glue. I snapped some pictures of my progress:

This army is such a visual feast for the eyes: On one hand, you have the Forge World Kriegsman that look absolutely fantastic. Complimenting Six's Kriegsmen are Pig Iron's "Kolony Rebel" figures; can't you see the lot of them battling for every square inch of that nuclear wasteland they call home?

I will remove any flash Six may have inadvertently left on his Pig Iron figures prior to applying foundation paint.

The Las Cannon tripods' were a challenge. I finally used green stuff and a little glue to secure them to their relative base(s).

On the field you are more likely to see the vets behind their penal battalion cannon fodder; can't you hear them shouting orders in their guttural tongue?

Tonight, I'll clean up base edges. In the meantime I need a little advice (since this is my first time basing figures); Should I use or apply anything else to hold/secure/weatherize the ballast to base?

When you have the time, check out Pig Iron Studios! Their 28mm figures are awesome.

Army Builder Newsletter 10/30/10

2010-10-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

Today, I received an update from Lone Wolf Studios (the company responsible for Army Builder software).
You know, I wasn't a big fan of Army Builder until I actually used the program. That was a year ago, and even then, it just didn't seem like enough to justify me spending 40 bucks...

In April I learned that version 3.2 of Army Builder would support iPhone I had to have it. I purchased the program, and I honestly don't know how I managed without it. If you don't own Army Builder, you should seriously consider purchasing a copy. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) is intuitive and easy to use, the program's ability to verify lists is awesome, and the format in which those lists can be printed out makes it so easy to reference. Here is a copy of their October newsletter:

TAKE YOUR GAME TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

October 2010

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Welcome to the October newsletter from Lone Wolf Development. We're just a day away from the scariest night of the year, but before the ghosts and goblins come begging for candy, please look over the newsletter for some exciting developments at the Wolf Lair. In this month's newsletter, we talk about:

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MORE DETAILS ON REALM WORKS

Last month we talked a little about Realm Works and how it's being designed from the ground up to help you create, run, and manage your games. In this month's newsletter, we're going to explore more of what exactly Realm Works does and how it will revolutionize the creation of game content.

Realm Works is a collaborative tool for the creation, ongoing evolution, and sharing of campaign content. As such, Realm Works is tailored first and foremost for GMs, but the dissemination of content to players and even contributions by players represent an integral part of the overall product concept. Some of the basic features of Realm Works include the following:

Edit and revise content as easily as you do within your favorite word processor.
Evolve and maintain a "world bible", with clear knowledge of what content has (or hasn't) been revealed to players.
Create links between elements to reflect all the interconnections of your realm (e.g. people to the locations they appear in, quests they are involved in, and whether or not their secrets have been revealed).
Carve content into individual snippets of information that can be selectively revealed to the players.
Navigate between related content as easily as browsing the internet – no laborious scrolling or searching to find linked information.
Reveal individual snippets of content to players with a single mouse-click, while keeping hidden the secrets they haven't discovered yet.
Embed external game elements like maps, images, Hero Lab portfolios, even audio and video, into content for instant access during the game.
Completely customizable to suit any genre (fantasy, sci-fi, modern, etc.), any game system, and any play style.

We'll even be including a fully playable region, town, and adventure written by game industry superstars like Owen K.C. Stephens, Charles Ryan, Jeff Quick, and Steve Winter to demonstrate the power of Realm Works and provide examples of how to leverage the tool for your game. We're pretty excited about Realm Works and can't wait to tell you more about it.

We'll be opening Realm Works up to Beta testing in a couple of months, but until then, please click here to learn more about Realm Works.

TOURNAMENT TEXT OUTPUT FOR ARMY BUILDER

We'll be starting Beta testing shortly for AB3.3. You can find out more details on our forums in the coming weeks so be sure to check them periodically. To get you ready for that, here's some info on one of the new features we've been adding: Tournament Text Output.

When you're building a roster for a tournament, you'll often need to supply a copy to the organizer to verify your army list. The organizer probably doesn't care about unit statistics, or special abilities, or the equipment your units get for free - all he wants to know is:

How many models did you take, and from which units?
For each unit, did you pick any options that cost points? If so, what's the total cost per model, and the total cost of the unit as a whole, so he can check your math if necessary?
What's the total point cost for the army?
What are the composition group breakdowns of your army?
Did your army break any validation rules?

As you can see, this includes a lot of information that you, the player, don't need to see on your own printed output. When you're playing, it doesn't matter whether you paid 2 points per model for a weapon, or whether that unit gets it for free.

Army Builder 3.3 adds a new type of output, optimized for tournament organizers to make their job easier. The new output type includes all the above information, without the distracting details that are irrelevant to an organizer. All you get is model counts and points costs.

As you can see from the screenshot below, we've integrated tournament text output into the regular Text Summary Output form along with roster output and model list output. We've even added some new capabilities to text output. In addition to the old BBCode and HTML output formats, you can now generate a Wikitext roster and a plain text roster (that can be printed or saved as a PDF.)

HERO LAB AND PATHFINDER

We've been integrating more and more of the supplemental Pathfinder content into Hero Lab over the last couple of months, and our first Pathfinder Campaign Setting packages are now going through approvals and review with Paizo. These will include popular books like the Faction Guide, Seekers of Secrets, and more - look for these to arrive sometime in November. In addition, we've been adding new features and functionality to the core Pathfinder data files as free updates since our last newsletter.

Remember, you can always download updated data files through Hero Lab's integrated updates mechanism! Here's a summary of the major changes we've made:

All 80 plus pages of NPCs from the Gamemastery Guide are now available as stock heroes.
The playtest version of the Magus base class is available.
The updates allow for one-click adjustments for some common spells, class abilities, and combat status, including handling for special situations like the Cavalier being mounted on his class mount.
Hero Lab now includes one-click customization of NPCs, allowing you to change out the default feats / skills of an NPC race.
All of the content from the Advanced Players Guide is now included.
All Artifacts and Cursed Items from the core rulebook are available.
The data files have been updated to include Pathfinder Society rules and Core Rulebook Errata 3.0.

Hero Lab is the only officially licensed character management software tool for Pathfinder, and soon you'll be able to use almost every book Paizo has released to build your character. You can download a free demo of Hero Lab here - take it for a test drive today!

LONE WOLF ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER!

We're pretty excited by the number of "Like's" Hero Lab and Army Builder have been getting, plus the number of Followers our Twitter feed has received. If you haven't checked any of them out, you can keep up to date with what we're doing by checking out the following links:

Army Builder Facebook Page

Hero Lab Facebook Page

Lone Wolf Twitter Feed

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Copyright (C) 2010 Lone Wolf Development All rights reserved. Army Builder, Hero Lab and the Hero Lab logo are registered trademarks of Lone Wolf Development, Inc. Realm Works, Tournament Ace, Card Vault, the Card Vault logo, the Army Builder logo, the Realm Works logo, and the Tournament Ace logo are trademarks of Lone Wolf Development, Inc.

Conclusion: Thursday Throw-Down 10/28/2010

2010-10-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Last night, Six-Deucer and I met up at Olympic Cards and Comics (OCC) for our usual 40K slug-fest that we have coined, "Thursday Throw-Down". This week was a little different; instead of Six and I facing off, Chappy and Joseph dropped in, and we were able to catch a game with each individual, respectively! I was a little late arriving at OCC, however, when I did show up I was greeted with a nicely decorated table where all of the terrain was evenly placed. Six and I plan on participating in our first 40K tournament next month, which is a 2K teams' event.
Well, Chappy provided these two green players with a very sobering ass-whoopin' to demonstrate the types of tactics we will be facing...wow. It was A LOT of fun, and also a very informative play session. Last night I learned about troop composition, deployment strategy, target priority, the threat that infiltrators can pose, and that bug lists can be really unforgiving to psyker characters! Chappy pitted his 1K Tyranid list combined with a 1K vanilla Space Marines list against me and Six.

I played a 1,000 point Blood Angels MEQ list. However, my list could have been better optimized. For the sake of constructive criticism, I'll post that list:
HQ: Librarian (Libby) with Blood Lance, and Shield of Sanguinus
(2) 5-man Assault Squads in Razorback transports equipped with Twin-Linked Assault Cannons (TL-AssC). Each squad included a marine equipped with a melta gun. Each Sergeant was equipped with a hand flamer and power fist.
(3) Baal Predators with TL AssC.
(1) Vindicator Tank represented by a Rhino proxy.

A Baal Predator parks adjacent to the smoking wreckage of another Baal Predator as it prepares to square off against a Tyranid line.

After my conversation with Chappy (and watching his 1K vanilla marine force perform), I would be more inclined to trade both of my assault squads in exchange for two, ten man tactical (TAC) squads. It would force me to drop one of my Baal Predators' and replace my Razorbacks for Rhino transports, however, I could take a Las Cannon and a Melta Gun or Flamer and combat squad each unit (for a total of four scoring units). I did not better apply my assault squads to their full potential: One got rocked by infiltrating genestealers at the top of turn one due to choices I made in the deployment phase of the game; Chappy successfully deployed his genestealer, out of sight, which provided him enough distance to close with one of my two assault squads in his first assault phase.

Lets pretend that the blur effect is due to the high rate of speed that the Vendetta is traveling, rather than a sub-par Iphone camera!

There were quite a few high points for me during this first battle: Number one was losing this battle. Perhaps that sentence sounds absurd, however, the lessons that Chappy taught me as a result of this game were priceless. I got to see how units moved through cover and ruins as they closed for an assault; I got a demonstration how effective combat squads can be- and TAC squads. I was provided a live demonstration of units used as speed bumps, dangerous units (otherwise known as Death Stars), objective placement and defense, Tyranid effects on psykers', and later Chappy provided us with ideas and demonstrations how to counter his forces. After roughly four hours, we wrapped up our first game session- a loss for Six and I. One of the highlights of last night's throw-down was Chappy's meticulously painted Space Marines.

Chappy is an avid collector of obscure and vintage GW and Citadel figures...can you spot them?

My camera does not do them justice, however, I will share those pictures with you all the same. The clean lines, color choice, and detail work were awesome. Chappy had fluffy stories for primary characters found within that army which I really liked. Chappy's army looked awesome on the gaming table.

Overall, our first game was grueling, but very rewarding; thanks again Chappy!

Our second game pitted Six and I (using the same 1K list sported in our first game) stand against Jancoran and his 2K army of Tau. Six and I had a blast playing against Jancoran, who provided us with an almost limitless amount of patience as he helped us through rule confusion, mistakes, and the like. It was a kill-point mission (every destroyed unit would provide an opponent with at least one point) that we were unable to finish due to time constraints (new players are slow). I credit Jancoran for his patience and pleasant attitude; I had as much fun playing our second game as I did the first! Thanks Jancoran!

In conclusion, Six and I are a step closer to better understanding this game, and our relative forces we have chosen to play. I learned that specific dynamics in my 1K list don't compliment one another, and I'm going to make little changes to see if I can improve it to fit the way I want to play Blood Angels. Lastly, I learned that I really love get into close combat with my forces, rather than "plinking" from range.

Thanks again for the fun night, guys!

WIP: Kriegs Heavy Weapon Teams'

2010-10-28T01:35:00.000-07:00

Later, I used a mesh screen to create texture on the green stuff!

Here are some Work In Progress (WIP) pictures of Six's Kriegs Heavy Weapons Teams'.
I'll finish basing them tomorrow night, after our Thursday Throw-Down! I followed Mini Wargaming's guide how to make sand bags using green stuff then I followed the excellent guide to crafting Hedgehog tank traps found on the PX40K blog. Finally, I followed Marty's step by step guide to craft the barbed wire found on the Armorama site.

Six will be able to add and remove the Hedgehog as he sees fit- it's a little cramped on that base. With a little paint and weathering, it will look pretty good! I'll finish basing the weapon teams Friday, then drop some foundation on them.

The barbed wire appears a little too thick in my opinion. I'll use a smaller gauge of wire next time.

I let the green stuff cure for about 10 minutes before I began working with it on a piece of wax paper. I used generous portions of water so that it didn't stick to my fingers. The water also helped the green stuff retain it's shape when I was adding detail.

Using bits of "L" shaped plasticard, I fashioned what will be steel posts.

Using bits of plasticard, I fashioned what will be broken pieces of road/asphalt.

In conclusion, I liked the way everything turned out except the barbed wire. Its too bulky in comparison to the infantry in my opinion. I'm going to experiment with smaller wire gauges to see if I can obtain a slimmer look for the barbed wire.

November 20th: Olympic Cards and Comics!

2010-10-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

On November 20th 2010 beginning at 09:00 hours, Olympic Cards and Comics is going to host a 40K bits swap! Then at noon, a 2000 point 40K Teams Tournament will commence! Teams will consist of two players, each taking 1,000 points worth of units following their relative force orginization (FO). Six-Deucer and I have agreed to team up and participate in our first-ever 40K tournament. We are both really excited, and have already committed to the event by getting that Saturday off! This will be a "fun" tournament and a perfect way for two new players to get their feet wet and experience tournament play!
Six and I are going to try different armies and unit composition to determine what compliments our budding play styles'.

So, I'm interested to know how you prepare for a tournament or competition? If you have any good advice to share, or a story about your first 40K tournament/competition- all the better! 40K tournaments are so few and far between in the Pacific Northwest, I want to make sure to get the most out of this event!

If you're interested to learn more about the planned events for November 20th at Olympic Cards and Comics, follow the links, below, for details:
40K Bits Swap
40K Teams Tournament 2,000 Points

I will update information for these events' as it comes!

Monday Retro

2010-10-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Today I wanted to feature one of my favorite minis', the Chainsaw Warrior!

I purchased this figure a little over twenty years ago to use him in my Necromunda game! Not only did I dig his pose, but also his facial expression. I still admire how well the sculptor captured the little details' such as the warrior's equipment and accessories. The size of the warrior's body in relation to his limbs seem anatomically correct, and appeals to the eye; I don't care for figures or sculpts that appear "stubby" or "deformed". This guy would make a great addition to an ally's retinue, or a "counts as" special character, or maybe even a veteran or a sergeant! Its nice to see one of the original Citadel figures remain relevant more than twenty years after being cast! Do you have a favorite mini or kit of yore? Share it!

Conclusion: Thursday Throw Down! 10/22/10

2010-10-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

When Six-Deucer and I arrived at Olympic Cards and Comics (OCC) for our 1500 point Thursday Throw-Down, we were treated to an unexpected surprise that Chappy had laboriously prepared for the both of us! Using the awesome tables and terrain available at OCC (thanks Gabby!), Chappy had created a table with lots of difficult and dangerous terrain. He had painstakingly populated the table terrain in such a way that neither side held any real advantage over the other.

I was a little curious as to how my army would move and perform in a cover-rich/obstacle heavy environment- my assault squads could maximize the potential cover available, but my tanks and transports would have to duck and weave in order to clear the distance to Six's force(s).

Warning: My Blood Angels models are not completely assembled, nor are they painted. If that breaks your heart (or your eyes), you may want to stop reading here. I'm working to complete and paint them as fast as I can.

Six and I had agreed last week that the first game we were going to play would be the one scenario type that we had yet to experience: Seize Ground. Based on that fact, and the knowledge I had acquired due to last week's games, I had created a troop heavy list that I hoped would give me an edge in this scenario. Now, here is where Six and I differed. Six created a list to test new units' and unit combinations'. My list had a slight competitive edge due to his force choices, however I knew that Six's ability to tailor and apply tactics to suit his strategy could more than make up for any potential or perceived deficit in his list- Six competes to win, regardless of the odds set before him. Following is my list (Note that I had failed to properly decrease the number of troops in each assault squad, and subsequently failed to catch that discrepancy before our throw-down). So, although I fielded each assault squad as a five man unit, I had actually paid for three six-man assault squads in my force list!

1500 Blood Angels List:

HQ: (1) Librarian w/ Shield of Sanguinius (SoS), and Blood Lance (BL)
HQ: (1) Honor Guard with Sanguiniary Novitiate, one marine with melta gun and power fist, one marine with melta gun, and one marine equipped with a flamer. Rhino transport.
Elite: (2) Sanguinary Priests each equipped with (1) lightning claw, and (1) combi-melta
Troop(s): (3) five-man assault squads, each with one marine equipped with a melta gun, and a sergeant equipped with hand flamer, and power fist. Each squad purchased a Rhino transport in exchange for jump packs.
Fast Attack: (2) Baal Predators with Twin-Linked Assault Cannons (TL-AssCan)..."opening a can of ass".
Heavy Support: (2) Predator(s), each with a Auto Cannon (AC) turret and Las Cannon (LC) sponsons.

Six's list comprised of two Vendettas', each with a veteran squad (verification needed), a psyker battle squad (I hate these guys), a Primaris Psyker a Chimera, two Medusas' (verification needed), an Inquisitor Lord and retinue (you bet the lord has a psychic hood!), with a Land Raider transport and last but not least an assassin! If I forgot anything let me know, Six.

So, I ditched Razorback transports due to their higher point cost (when fitted with a weapon), and their lack of a firing point in favor of Rhinos (mobile weapons platforms) which would allow my squads' to shoot their melta guns or flamer pistols with relative impunity from weapons and weapon effects that potentially deny my marines cover or armor saves. My Baal Predators, each armed with a TL AssCan, would prove to be useful against Six's infantry unit(s) with enough teeth to sink into his lightly armored meq. My Predator tanks, armed with lascannon sponsons,would provide an adequate solution to anything with an Armor Value (AV) over 12...and let me tell you, imagine my surprise when Six dropped a Land Raider on the table (proxied by a Forge World Macharius Vulcan chassis). I was really excited to test the Honor Guard unit, and I gave them their own Rhino transport, two melta guns' and a flamer. A list I had hoped would prove to be very fast and agile- getting my troops to their target destination, where my assault squads could ply their deadly trade. I had every intention of closing the distance to Six's forces as early as possible, this time around. Just to be clear, my first mistake of the night occurred when I failed to decrement my assault squads in Army Builder before saving this particular list, shorting myself three assault marines (or 54 points).

Jim Morrison has nothing on THAT Rhino.

Circled in red are the four objectives Six and I would battle for. Perhaps they represented some lost Terran technology, or long lost holy text from the Emperor himself...or maybe even four latte stands- who knows!

After Six and I determined our deployment type (Dawn of War), we rolled off for first turn and I won! Six and I then determined how many objective markers were available to us for this game (4). After placing those markers, I chose my table edge and began setting up my forces. I decided to bring everything in first turn. I grouped my Predators' and my Baal Predators' separately, near the center of my table edge. Then I placed a Rhino behind each of the four AV13 tanks. My Honor Guard flanked an Assault Squad to my left, while my Librarian HQ joined an Assault Squad on my right. The two remaining Assault Squads each received a Sanguiniary Priest.

Six set up his two Medusa tanks on his left table edge behind a nice big piece of impassable terrain, while his Chimera and Land Raider held his right table edge. Six placed both of his Vendettas in reserve, with the intention to outflank both.

As you can see, I scout-moved my Baal Predators toward Six's Medusa line.

Turn One:

My Baal Predators ripped through alien flora and fauna as they rushed to bring their TL AssCans into range of the two Medusa tanks that would prove a dire threat to the rest of the Blood Angel detachment. I swear I heard "Flight of the Valkyries" play as my Baal Predators pushed forward.

For the record, my Baal Preds were NOT equipped with heavy flamer sponsons- I made sure Six was aware of this and never used or attempted to use them in this game, or subsequent games (my second mistake of the night being that I attached the weapons in the first place).

While my Baal Predators pushed towards the left flank of Six's forces, the two Rhinos that began the game behind those Baal Preds pushed, flat out, into a 13 inch area separating the two objective marker(s) placed on my side of the table, and popped smoke to complete their turn.


Two of my Rhino transports (one carrying my Librarian HQ) parked in the location occupied by my Baal Predators in the above picture taken during my scout move.

On my left flank, two of my Rhino transports pushed flat out in an attempt to close the distance to Six's Land Raider- there it loomed amidst the ruins of an old Administratum building, long abandoned to time and the elements. Both Rhino transports popped smoke at the end of their movement phase in the vain hope that whatever violence the Land Raider might commit against them, the Emperor would protect! In the mean time, both my Predator tanks pushed toward Six's Land Raider as well- at a marginal speed to allow the firing of their Las Cannon sponsons. Even such a mighty weapon as the Las Cannon is a gamble when pointing it at a Land Raider!

May the Emperor Protect! Look brothers, a latte stand in sight! Of course no one noticed the Chimera hiding in the corner...

In my shooting phase, my Predator tanks fired lascannons' harmlessly at Six's Land Raider to no avail. My Baal Predators on the other hand proved much more productive, twin-linked assault cannons spitting powerful rounds of munition at Six's Medusa tanks! Rending shots were rolled, which led to shaken results for both Medusa tanks, and an immobilized result for the Medusa on the left. Careful boys- don't look into the eyes of Medusa! This concluded turn one for me, since I didn't have any units able to assault! Now Six would have the opportunity to respond to my initial attack in kind!
At this point, Six moved his Inquisitor Lord out of the Land Raider, so that he could move his Psyker Battle Squad into the Land Raider. (under the assumption that the PBS would be able to use psychic shooting attacks from within the Land Raider. Six was not aware that the Land Raider lacked a fire point, and psychic shooting attacks were treated and resolved as normal shooting attacks (line of sight) unless otherwise stated in the codex rules. At the bottom of turn two, Six would be left deflated with that realization, because it completely negated the strategy he had hoped to employ with this combination of units). Six's Land Raider wrecked one of my Predator tanks (and stunned my Honor Guard's Rhino)- ouch! Six's Chimera may have also had a part in that carnage- I can't quite recall.


Turn Two

I began turn two by adjusting the position of my Baal Predators to better target Six's Medusas', with the hope that in my shooting phase I could destroy them, and neutralize a threat to the rest of my army spread over the battlefield.

My functioning Predator tank repositioned itself behind the wreckage that was once my other Predator tank, in order to gain cover from Six's murderous Land Raider. The functioning Rhino transport located at my left flank pushed into difficult terrain in an attempt to get within Melta distance of Six's Land Raider.

Sensing his battle brother's trepidation, my Librarian ordered the Rhino transport he occupied to move flat out towards that Land Raider, while reciting a litany to the Emperor. He ordered the remaining assault squad (led by a Sanguiniary Priest) to hold the area at all costs in his absence; scouts reported that there were two Vendettas in the area, and a sneak attack was imminent. In my shooting phase, I managed to knock out one of the Land Raider's TL Lascannon sponsons! A paltry result considering how much firepower I had dedicated to the Land Raider...
My Baal Predators managed to shake both Medusa tanks a second turn. Fortune blessed the Blood Angels, sparing them another turn of deadly ordinance from those Medusa tanks!
Six failed to successfully bring in both of his Vendettas' and his assassin- a serious boon for me. It was in this portion of turn two that Six realized he couldn't use a psychic shooting attack from within his Land Raider. I don't recall exactly what happened in Six's shooting phase- his Land Raider failed to destroy any of my vehicles, and his Chimera failed to do anything memorable. Fate is fickle, and at this point in the game I literally looked over my shoulder to make sure she wasn't behind me with a billy-club!


Turn Three

At the top of turn three I moved the Rhino located at my left, in difficult terrain closer to the objective that Six's Land Raider was positioned over. If I remember correctly, I was unable to move my Honor Guard's Rhino, nor was my Librarian's Rhino able to move. My Librarian chose to gamble, remaining in the Rhino transport in the hopes that he could summon a blood lance against the mighty Land Raider mere kilometers away from his position. Finally, the assault squad assigned to hold the two objectives located on my side of the gaming table disembarked from their transport, and dug in to cover, heeding their commander's warning. Vendettas' were closing in and would be upon them at any time! During my shooting phase, my Baal Predators managed to destroy one of the Medusa's primary weapon, while shaking the other- silent for another turn! My Librarian failed to successfully summon the Blood Lance, while the melta fire I dedicated to the Land Raider, merely tickled it' thick armor.

A Vendetta looms onto the battlefield promising swift death to It's foes!

Six successfully rolled in both of his Vendettas, and his assassin! One Vendetta outflanked on my right, while Six's second Vendetta outflanked to my left. Six chose to enter both Vendettas onto the table where the short edge meets my assigned long edge, then Six ~~infiltrated~~ Polymorphined his Assassin in some cover adjacent to my Predator tank.

Six moved his Land Raider toward his second objective counter, disembarking his pysker squad to effectively bubble-wrap the Land Raider.

Six then rolled in the pain train, as the Vendetta to my right successfully wrecked one of my Baal Predators, while his forces managed to immobilize my Librarian's Rhino transport.

I believe his Assassin successfully managed to shake the crew of my Predator tank, removing it's ability to fire in turn four- ouch! If I remember correctly, Six chose to ignore the Rhino carrying my honor guard in favor of shooting at the Rhino closest to his Chimera tank (and near his first objective marker). At this point I believe he managed to stun or immobilize the Rhino.


Turn Four

In my fourth movement phase I immediately focused on getting my surviving Baal Predator into cover. It was a difficult choice (selecting to focus fire on the Medusa, rather than Six's Vendetta), however, I chose to focus my Baal Predator on Six's Medusa a fourth time. I believe this was the third mistake I made in this game. In retrospect, Six's Vendetta, filled with scoring troops, and bristling with TL LCs' posed a much bigger threat than an ordnance 1 pie-plate with 36 inch range. The Medusa's front armor matched the Vendetta's side and front armor- both equally challenging to crack. I moved my Baal Predator towards the Medusa, butting- up it's rear armor to the wreckage that was once my second Baal Predator.

Then, I attempted a desperate maneuver with the Rhino transport assigned to the assault squad that had dug in to protect the two objectives on my side of the table; I attempted to ram Six's Vendetta with it! I failed, as the agile Vendetta lazily dodged out of the way.

My Librarian had sensed a psychic disturbance emanating from within the Land Raider, and his suspicions had been validated when Six had disembarked his Psyker squad from the Land Raider in the previous turn! My Librarian ordered his assault squad out of the immobilized Rhino transport. Pointing toward the Psyker battle squad, he pronounced them "unclean mutants" and his fellow Blood Angels hollered in ascent. The din of the battlefield faded, as my Librarian and his assault squad focused solely on the mutant human psykers- they had to be put down!

"Burn the heretics'!"

I pivoted my Honor Guard's Rhino transport 180 degrees and moved six inches toward Six's second Vendetta that was threatening the rear of my left flank. I didn't have juice range, but both of the Honor Guard's meltas' were definitely within range to hit the flying threat.
In my shooting phase, my Baal Predator managed to destroy the Medusa's siege cannon- negating the threat to the rest of my troops on the field. My Librarian failed to summon a Blood Lance, again, to hurl toward the Psyker battle squad! Man, I had the worst luck with my Librarian in this game (and the subsequent game we played). My assault squad fired a melta into the throng of psykers, while the squad's sergeant engulfed the psykers' in flame using his hand flamer. My Predator, stunned in turn three, could only look on as the battle unfolded. My Honor Guard focused their melta shots at Six's second Vendetta, successfully wrecking the skimmer, and forcing his second unit of veterans to disembark!

The honor of the Blood Angels has been upheld once again!

During my assault phase, my Librarian led his assault squad in and slaughtered the remnants of Six's Psyker squad. This left them in plain sight of his Assassin!

Six moved his stranded veteran squad around a large embankment (and out of sight of my Honor Guard's dreadful gaze).

"Run to the hills; run for your life!"

Six moved his assassin in close to my Librarian and his assault squad, the huntress had a visual of her prey, which would spell his doom! During Six's fourth turn, he moved his surviving Vendetta forward and closer to my surviving Baal Predator. In his shooting phase, Six made sure that my sole Baal Predator vanished in a ball of white fire thanks to his Vendetta's three TL LCs'! Six's assassin made mince-meat of my Librarian and his assault squad; leaving tattered remains (two space marines) in her shooting, and subsequent assault phase. Broken, those two remaining marines would end up running away from the assassin- no good cowardly dogs. Six's Chimera may have immobilized my Rhino transport sitting in the difficult terrain closest to the abandoned Administratum building.


Turn Five

At the top of turn five, my broken assault squad continued running away from the fight, while my Honor Guard's Rhino transport turned tail and moved 12 inches toward Six's Chimera. My Honor Guard then disembarked, melta guns pointed right at the Chimera. The immobilized Rhino transport, located behind the Honor Guard's current position, disgorged an assault squad that moved towards Six's assassin. Nothing short of vengeance would sate them after the violent loss of their Librarian commander! On the other side of the battlefield, my Rhino moved into cover, successfully contesting my second objective marker closest to Six's surviving Vendetta! My Predator, once again able to move, backed up out of assault range of Six's Assassin; better to leave her for the foot-sloggers, for there was a Land Raider that needed to be put down (in all honesty, I didn't want to risk an attempted tank shock on her, giving her the opportunity to perform a successful "death or glory" on my Predator)! In my shooting phase, I believe that my Honor Guard wrecked Six's Chimera forcing his Inquisitor Lord and retinue out of the failed transport, while my ~~Predator tank fired upon his Land Raider, immobilizing it (right on top of his second objective marker- lattes' anyone?)~~. (Six reminded me that he actually failed a difficult terrain test when attempting to move his Land Raider, and it became immobilized right on top of his second objective. I think that if my Predator didn't flat out miss Six's Land Raider in this phase of shooting, it may have shaken the crew...I don't recall.) My one of two surviving assault squads fired upon Six's assassin (and would later successfully best her in assault).
The bottom of turn five saw Six move his first veteran squad towards my Predator, while his surviving Vendetta disgorged his second veteran squad over the objective marker contested by my Rhino transport. Six's Inquisitor Lord assailed my Honor Guard, to no avail. His surviving Vendetta pumped TL-LC fire into my second surviving assault squad, who were hunkered down into cover. One marine succumbed to the powerful attack, but the squad, accompanied by a Sanguiniary Priest, mustered on.
The end of turn five saw my Blood Angels in control of one latte stand, while my Honor Guard and Rhino Transport contested two others. Six, on the other hand, managed to contest one latte stand with his Land Raider, while his veteran squad was in control of . His Inquisitor and retinue were not close enough to the latte stand that my Honor Guard were contesting...now all that was left was to roll for a turn six- would the game continue or end? We rolled, and the game continued!


Turn Six

At the top of turn six, I took a huge risk and attempted to tank shock Six's veteran squad adjacent to his surviving Vendetta with my Rhino Transport. At the same time, I was going to attempt to ram the Vendetta with my Rhino. I failed on both accounts, and the Rhino stalled harmlessly in front of his veteran squad. Now for my fourth mistake in this game: I moved the assault squad that had successfully bested Six's assassin in turn five, toward his immobilized Land Raider.

The Honor Guard order a refreshing caffeinated drink after a long-fought battle!

The Land Raider, sitting on Six's second objective marker, was further away than the objective marker being contested by my Honor Guard- a non-scoring unit. Whoops! Had I focused on the actual game type, I would have moved (then perform a running move in the shooting phase) that squad toward my Honor Guard, and be one step closer to winning the game!

Wrong way, Corrigan, thats not Long Beach!

In my sixth shooting phase, my assault squad aimed their melta, and their Priest's combi-melta at Six's Vendetta. In my shooting phase I was unsuccessful in destroying Six's Land Raider. For some reason I didn't move my assault squad into close combat with his Land Raider, which led to my fifth and final mistake in this battle: I could have claimed that objective marker! My sergeant, equipped with a power fist, was guaranteed a hit against Six's immobilized Land Raider, ~~and after winning the combat a consolidation move would have followed...why didn't I do it?~~ After reading Purgatus' comments, I re-read the rules for assaulting a vehicle and confirmed I would not have earned a consolidation move if I had successfully assaulted Six's Land Raider. Being new I tend to get a lot of stuff wrong, so I really appreciate the rules' corrections (and explanations) as they come. Thanks guys! This solidifies the fact that I should have held the objective contested by my Honor Guard with this unit! I don't know! I think in the excitement of it all, I forgot that my Honor Guard unit was not a scoring unit. On the other side of the table, my priest and assault squad managed to immobilize Six's remaining Vendetta. In the bottom of our sixth turn, Six fired his Vendetta's TL LC's at my surviving assault squad. One marine was lost, but the squad did not waiver; they stayed cool and maintained control of their relative objective marker. Six's veteran squad blew up my Rhino transport, leaving a nice heaping wreckage for them to hide behind!

At the end of turn six, Six and I both controlled one objective marker. Six managed to contest a second objective with his Land Raider, while I contested a second objective with my Honor Guard. We rolled a dice to see if the game would continue into turn 7, but instead it ended in a draw!

Conclusion:
In the future, I will not only remember which of my units are scoring units, but I will use each unit to it's peak effectiveness until the end of the game! I mean, if this game had been an actual competition, I would have screwed myself out of some important points! My tactical choices improved in comparison to my performance the week prior, however, I didn't stick to my strategy (securing as many objectives with scoring units as possible) and therefore earned a draw instead of a win. Deviating from your strategy is huge, and I will not make that mistake again! I really liked the way that this list performed: The Rhinos were highly mobile, and allowed me to utilize my melta weapons without exposing my troops. My Baal Predators did a great job at neutralizing Six's Medusas'. In fact, I scored more rending results than I had anticipated, which made me reconsider the effectiveness of the Baal Pred. I was less impressed with my Predators'; choosing the lascannon sponson in favor of the TL LC turret saves points that can be allocated elsewhere in my list, but lacking that re-roll seemed big to me. More than once, I failed to hit with those lascannons! Likewise, I didn't hit much with the authocannon turret, but perhaps that was just dumb luck? I don't expect much when targeting an AV14 vehicle such as the Land Raider, but even against AV12, it performed paltry at best. Two priests may have been over-kill for this list. I mean, had I really needed a second FC/FNP bubble, I could have utilized my Honor Guard a little more creatively, and allocated that 75 points elsewhere. Failing to proof my list also cost me 54 points, or three marines, for this game. I will make sure that my list is finalized before committing to it in the future. In the end, I learned quite a few lessons this session, and I feel much more confident with the Blood Angels in a week's time. I gave Six a run for his money- definitely something I was shooting for! I will let Six add his thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.

The best part about this Thursday Throw-Down was meeting a bunch of cool guys that play 40K, including Joseph, who hung with Six and I most of the night and helped us wade through rule questions while he watched our games. Likewise, Chappy dropped in and we got to thank him personally for setting up our table. Chappy was really cool, and he invited us to his Tuesday paint sessions that he hosts, free of charge, at Olympic Cards and Comics (OCC)! In fact, Chappy actually paints for hire- if you have a commission that needs a professional paint job, check out Stiff Neck Studio! Stiff Neck Studio is owned by Wes, and Chappy is one of his painters- they're really good! It took me a couple days to compile this blog entry because I didn't take notes or record audio notes during the actual game session. Next week, if I don't record the bat-rep outright, I'll make notes for reference so that I can kick these bat-reps out at a faster pace!

Over the course of writing this bat-rep I changed a lot of dirty diapers and lost a lot of sleep, lol! There are a few grammatical and spelling errors as a result.

Force Dynamics 10/18

2010-10-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

"Turtling Up since October 2010!"

This Thursday, Six-Deucer and I are going to face off at Olympic Cards and Comics (OCC) for our first 1500 point game. This should prove a fun night of gaming for the both of us- and I have to build four Rhino chassis vehicles today and tomorrow in preparation for this Thursday's Throwdown! Our last engagement put a few things in perspective for me. First and foremost- redundancy. I've seen it mentioned and extrapolated on Yes The Truth Hurts (YTTH), Fritz 40K, Bald and Screaming, and Kirby's blog "3++ is the New Black". Looking at the lists I've created and fielded against Six, I can say that most (if not all) lack redundancy. As an example, here is the 1250 list that I used to play against Six last week:

HQ Librarian: Power Armor, Sanguine Sword, and Blood Lance
Elite Two Sanguinary Priest(s): 2 Power Swords, 2 Combi-Meltas',
Troops Assault Squad (10 Man): 2 Melta Guns', Power Fist and Melta Bomb (Sgt.), Razorback Transport with Lascannon and TL Plasma Gun, H/K Missile
Troops Assault Squad (5 Man): 1 Melta Gun, Power Fist and Melta Bomb (Sgt.), Razorback Transport with Lascannon and TL Plasma Gun, H/K Missile
Fast Attack Land Speeder: 2 Multi Meltas'
Heavy Predator Tank: TL Lascannon, Lascannon Sponsons', H/K Missile
Heavy Storm Raven: TL Multi-Melta, TL Lascannon, Extra Armor

Looking at it now, I can see that this list is lacking synergy. It's primary function is intended to neutralize armor, or MEQ, but it is far from optimized. This list relied on assault to neutralize massed infantry, unfortunately, Six countered that by placing his infantry in a bunker and deep into cover. I was left with two transport vehicles equipped with (LG/TLPG), a Predator (Pred) tank with a TL LC and LC Sponsons, and a Storm Raven with M.Melta and TL-LC. When I lost one of my "heavy" troop choices, it left me little in the way of countering against Six's Vendettas'. With only two transports firing regular LCs', I incurred quite a few misses. I think dropping the Storm Raven (it was fun, but, not worth the points in this particular list) in favor of another Predator would have been a step in the right direction. Then I would drop my 10-man assault squad to a five man, nix one of the priests, then pick up two Baal Predators with heavy flamer sponsons. My Librarian would drop SS in favor of Shield of Sanguinius (SoS), each of my assault sergeants would replace their infernus pistols with hand flamers', and that would leave me approximately 50- 60 points to play with. Of course, I could dump the Razorbacks (RZR) in favor of Rhinos. Pick up a second Priest with a combi-melta, and turn my Rhinos into shooting platforms...

I have to admit that my propensity for "turtling up" my troops is matched by my overwhelming desire to field "cool" units. You know, like a Storm Raven filled with jump-pack troops, or Death Squad, or a Land Raider with Terminators. However, I'm not sure that these overwhelming unit types- these "death stars" have a function at this point in my army. At my current level of knowledge and understanding of the game, I'm having difficulty building a list that can effectively field one of these death star units while remaining competitive. Again, I have very little experience, so perhaps in time I will discover ways of successfully deploying "death stars'" against my opponents, while at the same time maintaining a competitive edge for my style of play...wait a minute, what is my style of play? That is a question I'm considering as I familiarize myself with the game.

Six stated last week that he is itching to pit his Kriegs' against a Land Raider. In response to that desire, I furiously assembled my Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer kit- the only thing left for me to do is magnetize the weapon set(s). I developed a list around the Land Raider, and my knee-jerk reaction was to fill it with a Terminator Assault Squad. Then I looked at the functionality of that particular squad against a mechanized IG list that I anticipate Six will field against me- That assault squad will be sitting ducks when their Land Raider is wrecked, and there aren't any more troops in range of their ferocious assault. That forced me to lean toward a regular terminator squad with assault cannon- one that could effectively shoot at troops and transports, while soaking up return fire with their invulnerable saves. In fact, I even attached a Libby (Blood Lance and SoS), and a Chaplain in termie armor. The chaplain's provision of re-rolls to attack, I think, would go a long way in helping land hits on their intended target(s). However, that is approximately 600+ points, or 1/3 of my 1500 point force allotment- is that a justified amount of points to dump into a "death star" unit?
Comments are most welcome. In the mean time, I've finished magnetizing and assembling an honor guard, now I'm off to labor over two transport vehicles, a Baal Predator, and a regular Predator!

Thursday Throwdown Conclusion:

2010-10-16T00:51:00.000-07:00

Thursday, Six-Deuce and I met up at Olympic Cards and Comics (OCC) in order to cram as many 1200 point 40K games as we could manage in about 8 hours. Since he and I are still relatively green, games can slow to a crawl when there is a question with regards to rules. Six and I both agree that we would rather take our time in order to learn, and retain, the 5th edition rule set for 40K, rather than blowing through situations that would ultimately lead to rule mistakes.
However, that proved daunting at times over the course of our three games we managed to play. Now, I will concede that Six bested me twice, and I managed a meager draw once. As new as he is, Six is a very sound, and competitive opponent. I really enjoy learning this game with him, because he challenges my performance, my tactics, and knowledge of my units and codex. I remember a year ago how I lamented because the buddy I did know that played 40K had an opposing work schedule, so it made gaming with him extremely difficult. My initial hesitation to seek out strangers willing and patient enough to play games with, and teach, a new player began to waiver. That was until I discovered that Six was interested in diving into 40K as well. Six and I have known one another for years, playing many a video game, MMO, RTS, and FPS together. As I've grown older, I wanted to engage in something a little more tangible. Something that not only offered a creative outlet, but also fed my desire to compete and engage in tactica. Six and I dove into the realm of 40K together- he fielding an awe-inspiring force of Forge World Kriegs Imperial Guard (IG), while I amassed a Blood Angels army inspired largely by the bat-reps posted by a 40K player known as Jawaballs. Six and I also share similar goals with regards to 40K; we both want to eventually play and compete at a tournament level. As grand as that may sound, I'm taking baby steps learning and memorizing the rules, learning the different weapons available to my army of choice, and familiarizing myself with the units at my disposal. Although I experience momentary sparks, I am a long ways off from developing a "synergy" to my game. One of my biggest problems- and it is a personal one, is my initial reaction has been to "turtle" up, or commit to a defensive strategy. It is my nature, and almost the polar opposite of what is necessary to make the Blood Angels army work effectively. To be honest, I hate the thought of committing my marines to the gauntlet- that first turn of shooting.

Getting back to the subject of the three games we played on Thursday, my inability to formulate and commit to an aggressive strategy cost me three games. Now, that isn't a knock against Six who is, as I mentioned earlier, a formidable strategist and opponent. However, I think I defeated myself before I gave Six the opportunity. Not only is that unfair to me, but it is unfair to Six, who deserves to be challenged as well. In the coming days, I am going to attempt to deviate from that course... that instinct, and continuously remind myself that, "the best defense is a good offense".

Wrapping up our gaming session, Six and I discussed our three games and we laughed about one particular incident that occurred during our second game. We were playing capture and control and I had remnants of an assault squad left at my objective, while Six was bearing all he had in the late game (and he had most of his force) to neutralize my forces and take my objective for the victory. My Predator tank had been shaken in the previous turn, so it could not fire it's Lascannon in my next shooting phase. Six's Bane Wolf would clear the distance in the bottom of the turn and place him in a position to fire on my hapless marines the following turn. At that point I would have no defense against his 2+ poison template attack, or the "Space Marine Vacuum" as he calls it. I had to neutralize that tank if I wanted a chance to at least tie the game! Well, I managed to move flat out and ram the rear of his Bane Wolf with my Predator successfully! A six was scored on the damage table marking an explosive end to his "vacuum". We both laughed at the utter absurdity! Ultimately, that helped me to eek out that draw. I'll let Six comment on his favorite event of the night- I'm guessing it might be taking down my Storm Raven, or maybe how his Assassin wiped out an entire squad of my assault marines! It was during our revelry that a fellow gamer introduced himself to us. After introductions, we had an at length discussion about the game, the current gaming scene in the Pacific Northwest and blogs. Six mentioned my blog, "Against the Grain" and that I blog about 40K. Thats when we discovered our new-found friend is a regular contributor on Stelek's blog, Yes the Truth Hurts (YTTH). He goes by the name, Purgatus on YTTH and on the website "War Sound". We chatted with Purgatus at length, and he invited us to drop in at OCC on Tuesdays and Saturdays (days designated for 40K pick-ups). I had a lot of fun chatting with Purgatus, who was a really cool cat. One of these days, I'd like to play a game against him in order to learn a thing or three.

Six and I have scheduled 1500 point games for our session next week. I may bring my camera and actually attempt a written bat-rep...we'll see. In the meantime, I'll post some of the pictures I snapped on the fly with my phone and intersperse them throughout this blog post. Over the next week I will continue to assemble my Blood Angels units and FINALLY base my assault marines. In the meantime, check out War Sound if you have not all ready!

Edit: I almost forgot about that Assault Squad! Deployed onto the table as reserves, the squad held steady in the Razorback transport, driving parallel to my table edge, attempting to gain a bead on one of Six's Vendettas'. The squad piled out in an attempt to add their melta-gun to the vain attempt to pop the Vendetta. Although, I was able to immobilize the transport (and even shoot out a TL Lascannon), it mattered little in Six's shooting turn. The immobilized Vendie managed to disintegrate my Razorback, which led to Six's psyker unit successfully decrease with a -8 modifier! Those troops riding in the Vendie opened up on the assault squad hovering a mere 12 inches away. The assault squad lost enough to force a morale check, which they subsequently failed; only snake eyes would steady whatever conjured horror(s) those psykers' had planted in my stubborn Blood Angel brains (probably a picture of Sanguinius in his angelic underwear or something)...I rolled a four!
Needless to say I failed the morale test, which forced my assault squad to run the 1/2 inch off the board! Six and laughed our asses off because the whole event was so awesome! Regardless if the special is mine, or incurred by my troops- I love watching unique abilities or attacks succeed! This is primarily due to the fact that I am new to the game...

Thursday Throw Down Pregame

2010-10-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

Wasaaaa,
Tomorrow, Thursday the 14th Six-Deucer and I are going to battle in as many 1250 point games as we can squeeze into our allotted time- His Imperial Guard against my Blood Angels. In between burping baby, and changing diapers I have continued to assemble the forces I will need to satisfy my list(s) I've created for this engagement. Pictures will be forthcoming (when my camera's batteries are finished charging).

I'm going to post one of the primary list(s) I plan to field against Six, removing any element of surprise for that particular list because he will probably read this, heh. Instead of point value for each entry, a percentile will appear. This number represents the finished, or assembled state of that particular unit (note, this excludes painting!) This list has been verified using Army Builder 3. Criticism is most welcome:

1250 point BA list:

HQ (100%) Librarian: Power Armor, Sanguine Sword, and Blood Lance
Elite (98%) Two Sanguinary Priest(s): 2 Power Swords, 2 Combi-Meltas',
Troops (98%) Assault Squad (10 Man): 2 Melta Guns', Power Fist and Melta Bomb (Sgt.), Razorback Transport with Lascannon and TL Plasma Gun, H/K Missile
Troops (98%) Assault Squad (5 Man): 1 Melta Gun, Power Fist and Melta Bomb (Sgt.), Razorback Transport with Lascannon and TL Plasma Gun, H/K Missile
Fast Attack (99%) Land Speeder: 2 Multi Meltas'
Heavy (15%) Predator Tank: TL Lascannon, Lascannon Sponsons', H/K Missile
Heavy (97%) Storm Raven: TL Multi-Melta, TL Lascannon, Extra Armor

I will combat squad my 10-man assault squad into two units; one unit to be transported in a Razorback, the second will travel in the Storm Raven. One priest will ride in a Razor, the second will ride in the Storm Raven (with my Libby). My Landspeeder(s) really give Six something to think about when moving his two Vendettas' around the table and will compliment my Predator tank. My intention was to create a list front-loaded with enough firepower to neutralize his armor host, however, it does lack anti-infantry capability.
Criticism welcome!
"edit: Perhaps I should swap out the combi-meltas with two hand-flamers' for two of my three Sergeants?"

October Update!

2010-10-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

The last two months have been filled with a lot of challenges and excitement for me- at work and at home, which culminated into the happy, healthy birth of my baby daughter!
In between diaper changes and burping, I have been furiously assembling my Blood Angels assault squads, a Predator tank, two Razorback transports, and a Storm Raven gunship! After visually comparing multiple scratch-built, and kit-bashed designs I finally decided to emulate patzgcrux version that he shared on the "Daka" forums. I like the overall look of his Storm Raven concept and 100% of the kits bashed for this version are produced by Games Workshop. Of course, this particular Storm Raven requires a Valkyrie kit, and bits from a Whirlwind tank (Blood Missiles and Dreadnaught carrier), a Razorback (TL Lascannon and bolter(s)), and even a Land Raider Crusader (LRC) upgrade sprue (, TL Assault Cannon, Storm Bolters and/or Multi-Meltas). It should be noted, however, that the Dark Angel upgrade sprue includes two Assault Cannons, which may be a much cheaper alternative to the LRC upgrade.

I have also began painting Six-Deucer's Imperial Guard (IG) Kriegs' Army- man, those Forge World models are so badass! His Kriegs' list aside, Six has quite a few "legal" and nasty IG lists to field against opponents'.

It should be noted that approximately four weeks ago I played my first game of 40K! Six and I met at Olympic Cards and Comics with an agreed upon 500 point force (with no compulsory troop choices). This allowed us to swap in various force types and familiarize ourselves with their relative rules. I have to say, again, that Gabby (owner and operator of OCC) and her staff are so awesome! One such employee, Andrew, was kind enough to answer any and all rule questions Six and I had about 40K over the course of our play session. Being new to the actual game, the 40K rule set intimidates me. However, I have noticed that playing in frequency, I have acclimated to the basics (such as turn flow, roll to hit, roll to wound, roll to save). As a result, our games are no longer played at glacial speed: Six and I have met just about every week adding points to each consecutive game we play against one another. This Thursday, Six and I will field a 1250 point legal army against one another! I have a few different lists to throw at him, which will continue to help me get a feel for Blood Angels. Admittedly, I have yet to win a game against Six- even as a new player he is an exceptional strategist. However, during our last game session, I really had him sweating! The game didn't end on turn six (which would have resulted in a tie game), instead it went on through six which provided Six the opportunity to take out my HQ and elite unit(s) with his Vendettas- winning him the game by three points! My list consisted of five units, all of which successfully deep-striked onto the table in turn two! People don't like to lose, however on a personal level I don't mind- it helps shape my performance as a player improving my tactics and strategy. I'm never to proud to accept advice or constructive criticism...

So, expect to see more activity on Against the Grain in the coming days as I paint Six's Krieg army, assemble and paint my Blood Angels, and continue learning and refining my game play!

Obi, out!

Update: Wasaaaa

2010-08-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

My blog has suffered through a period of hibernation through a very exciting, however busy time in my real life. I have had little time to devote to the hobby, and therefore little to write about or share with the community. Suffice it to say, the things that have required my attention are very exciting!
A new house, a baby on the way, new employees to train at work, lots of vacation time to cover, etc- the list goes on! And all within a two month period! I have a guilty confession as well; the fleeting amount of spare time I do have has been allocated to StarCraft 2. For those of you that don't know (come out from under your rock), SC2 is a Real Time Strategy (RTS) that pits three unique factions against one another for universal domination. Strangely enough, this game is produced by Blizzard, and there are strong similarities to the 40K universe.
Anyway, when I do get to play I usually go co-op. I'm a little intimidated by PvP, so if any of you readers enjoy teaching or have any pro-tips to offer up, please sound off.

Saturday Fluff V: Codan Chapter 4 "Regrets"

2010-08-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

Here is the next installment of Codan's story submitted by my buddy, Six-Deucer. Inspired by his penal legionnaires, Six began fleshing out the story of one such unfortunate to wear the exploding collar- Codan. Codan finds himself in the custodianship of strange warrior men that speak a guttural language, and bear few distinguishing features. I have really enjoyed Codan's story to this point, and was elated when I received this latest offering in my email. Read on!

Chapter 4 "Regrets"
Codan awoke, or had he just been thinking? The transition between sleep and wakefulness was always blurred when you were in solitary confinement.   The mind operated on it's own, grinding down incoherent paths, forming fragmented plans only to be dashed against the solid rock of a frivolous mental distraction. Pain was a constant though. Four broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a possible skull fracture, and a certain concussion. Nothing life threatening or permanent, not that it mattered considering where he was headed. He had thought he had run far enough, hell, almost halfway across Ultima Segmentum, but apparently fate, or the Emperor had a sense of humor. Eleven days ago, he had been perfectly content to have an explosive device strapped to his neck, and go to war against any foe, regardless of odds. Any foe except the bloody bugs. This entire area had been overrun with them, he had gotten away just before the final battle that had killed so many of his fellows , and had put the nail in the coffin for hive fleet Jormungandr.
Sitting there, in the warehouse, looking out across the walking deck, trying to spot a whore, Codan had realized that he had been there before. The Golden Cage was a pompous name for a shithole on the far end of the Imperium. But it was known far and wide as the place to go if you needed to make a deal with those who wanted to avoid imperial scrutiny. The entire station was the personal property of Priyam Blagga, and as a Rogue Trader, he had a Letter of Marque directly from the High Lords of Terra......untouchable. Blagga had once been Lord Blagga, and had been a rising star politically back on Terra. The man had a penchant for gleaning hidden information, and had apparently used his skill on the wrong person. He had been given a "great honor", a hereditary title, that put him in rank with planetary governors, and space marine chapter masters. Of course you cannot refuse such an honor, and it had a mandate from the High Lords. To go out to the far reaches of Imperial Space, and use his skills for the good of the Imperium. He was given a golden cage.
That had all been many, many, years ago, and he had been an aged man when Codan had met him. He had been selected by his Commanding officer to come to Priyam's station, seeking any allies, be they adeptus astartes, pirate, or even xeno, against the impending battle with the tyranids. As the son of a nobleman, trained as a commissar, he had put all of his manipulative oratory skills to work. In the end, Blagga was immune to reason, perhaps he hated the imperium, and welcomed the death that the tyranids would cause. He certainly had nothing but disdain for Codan.   At the utmost end of hope, Codan had been offered a bargain, apparently there was something that Blagga hated more than his friends back in Holy Terra. Blagga's station had certain rules, in order to cultivate an environment in which ALL types were welcome. No one, including Blagga and his men, were allowed to kill anyone, with the sole exemptions being public self-defense, and verified chaos-worship. For years a certain mysterious eldar had visited Blagga, always abiding the rules, purchasing merchandise, and spending money on human women. Twice Blagga's men had been forced to kill other eldar who had attacked this one unprovoked, and since that time, very few eldar ever returned. Also each time the eldar left the station, human women would come up missing, with no physical trace as to what had happened to them. Blagga felt the eldar was flaunting the fact that he was abusing his host, while following his rules. The bargain he had offered Codan, was if he could get the eldar to violate his rule, by provoking him to attack, he would render aid to the imperium by calling in debts from the local pirate population, and using them to put out a call for further aid. Blagga said the only other way he would help, is if Codan was able to kill the eldar before his men could intervene, in which case, he would then abide by his law and execute Codan.
Codan had been given a description, and informed of the eldar's usual habits on-station, and had left to prepare. From what little Codan knew of the eldar, they were an extremely ancient, and intellectual race. Blagga had speculated that this particular eldar may likely be part of the fractured branch known in the imperium as "dark eldar", but human logic did not apply in most cases to do with a xeno. In either case it was likely the creature was far more intelligent than he was, and would quickly deduce Codan's purpose if he tried to trick it. It turned out that Codan had almost a month to think on the subject, formulating strategies and dismissing them as insufficient. By the time the xeno arrived Codan had finally resolved on a workable strategy. He had to offend the thing on a raw emotional level. That night, in the lounge at the Golden Cage, Codan had eaten three meals worth of the cheapest, and foulest fish stew he could find, and taken a pill. He then stumbled his way towards the thing. Codan smiled as he remembered the look on the creature's face, as it had turned to observe him with a cold, alien, arrogance. The look of hubris had melted from it's face, replaced by horror, then a rage Codan had never before witnessed, as he vomited rotten fish stew all over the xeno's glittering jet-black and bone-white finery.
Even prepared, Codan could barely get out of the path of the blade that blurred in an arc from the eldar's hip. Codan rocked back as the tip rushed past, inches from his neck, and continued on slicing through the arm of a seated man. Having planned for this moment, Codan pulled the trigger on the pistol-gripped shotgun he had leveled at the eldar's chest. To no effect, the slug seemed to distort as it bounced off some type of refractor-field. Still...the force of the blow had knocked the creature slightly backward, making it miss Codan's head as it's backhand cleaved the barrel of the rifle cleanly off. For a split second Codan knew he was going to die, the eldar's eyes stated it as certainty. Luckily in that moment, the blessed bigotry of humans toward xenos intervened in the form of a mug of beer crashing down from behind on the eldar's head. In what seemed one moment, the eldar was able to redirect his forward chop, into a rightwards stab, puncturing the poor fool's skull through the top, spraying blood and brain-matter all about. The move was so quickly executed, only one man in a thousand could have taken advantage of it. Codan was that man. Stepping forward and grabbing both wrists of the eldar, Codan held the creature's sword in place as he violently crashed all six feet four inches and two hundred forty five pounds of his frame into the smaller creature by way of a headbut. Codan then tore the marvelous blade from the hand of the eldar, along with two of it's fingers, and placed his boot on it's chest. Feeling the effects of his adrenaline, Codan held his new prize in his hand, looking down into the eyes of the defeated creature. Codan had been a younger man then, and had wanted to say something really dramatic. After a couple awkward seconds of drawing a blank, and the entire building hushed and looking at him, Codan's mouth fumbled out "nighty night!"   The last look on the eldar's face was one of confusion. A good memory, he had accomplished his mission and gained the reinforcements his men needed. Hell, half the pirates and smugglers who agreed to help, had also tried to marry him off to a sister, or a daughter.....despite the embarrassment of his corny one-line...I mean nighty night? Was he reading the xeno a bedtime story?   Too bad about the blade though, they had taken it from him when he had been captured years ago...some fool of a priest was probably admiring it over his fireplace right now.
Hell, good things to ponder while laying in the dark with broken ribs. With a memory like that, it is surprising he hadn't recognized the station the moment he stepped foot aboard. Codan wondered if the little man who sold the collars was one of the people offering to buy him a round those years ago. The thought of going against the bugs definitely had him unnerved, he was not normally this nostalgic. Either the bugs, or the beating that kriegsman had given him, damn. When Codan had realized where he was, he knew without doubt where they were taking him, and by khorne's teats, better to die trying to escape. With strength given by fear, he had snapped his restraints and grabbed the little man tinkering on him by the neck.   Without remorse, Codan used the little wretch like a club, knocking down two others who attempted to stop him, simultaneously breaking his neck.   Time seemed to slow down as the fleet officer drew his blade and attempted to stab Codan through the heart. The man had some talent, but in the eyes of Codan, it was an artless manuever. Codan simply stepped back, and slapped a jar of some unknown fluid from the worktable beside him towards the face of the fleet officer. The man was able to duck the jar, but was completely out of position as Codan wielded the little man one-handed in an overhand chop. The officer was knocked unconscious before he hit the floor. A heartbeat later, Codan was armed and dangerous with a standard issue imperial fleet blade. Three more workers died in rapid succession, before the rest got the hell out of way between Codan and the door. As Codan moved to exit, he realized the Kriegsman was standing directly in the doorway, head cocked slightly to the side, silent.
Codan wondered for a second what kind of man this was that was about to die, never having shared a word with him. Judging that a second of his time was more than enough for a eulogy, he stepped forward, and drove the blade right into the man. He was stopped so hard, he may as well have tried to tackle a dead marine in a dreadnaught. Looking down he observed that the Kriegsman had actually caught the blade with his gloved right hand. Then, with irresistible force, the kriegsman actually crushed the blade in his hand, pulling it from Codan's grasp and tossing it like junk behind him. What happened next was the singularly most painful ass-kicking that Codan had ever received in his life. His last sight before going unconscious was the sight of metal hidden behind tears in the krieg's uniform. Half of the man's damn body was cybernetic.
Still, better him than the bugs, not that he had a choice.

Against the Grain Super Blog Chain Give Away: Winner!

2010-08-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank each of you that participated in my blog give away. It was a lot of fun for me to win Steel Thunder's blog give away, so I hope to pay that forward to the winner of my contest!

Without further ado, the winner of my Super Blog Chain give away is Edward a.k.a. Inquisitor Lord Aki! What won me over (and won Edward the contest) was his submission entry (it made me laugh), and the fact that he has offered to give away a Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer as his Super Blog Chain Give Away (SBCGA) prize! Here is what Edward wrote:
First it was Dark Angels. The Death Wing was what I wanted. So, armed with 40 AOBR terminators, a hacksaw, and a bunch of bits, I went to work. I got some Land Raider Crusaders, a couple of Dread, and I was in business.

Until I realized that somehow I always scatter 4D6" on a deep strike. Yes, math itself is contorted when I roll for Deep Strike. And somehow, I always manage to come in on turn seven, even when the rules state they have to come in on turn five. Go figure.

Then the Space Puppies Codex came along and told me that I can Drop Pod all of my terminators and save them from landing on the floor beside the table. So now I'm building a whole drop-pod terminator army (can you say "IN YOUR FACE, SUCKA!").

Yes, I need another Drop Pod. Yes, I'd like to get more traffic. But, more importantly, I'd like to up the ante and give away a brand new Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer to a fellow blogger.

So Edward gets to choose one of three prizes: The brand new in the box Space Marine Drop Pod, the Tyranid codex (5th Edition), or the Forge World Blood Angel Terminator shoulder pads! Congratulations Edward! If you haven't already, check out Edward's blog, "Inquisitor Lord Aki" as well as Mike's "Steel Thunder Gaming".
Likewise, check out Santa Cruz Warhammer- the guy that started it all!

Blog Chain Give Away: 1 More Day!

2010-08-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

The deadline to my blog chain give away fast approaches! If you're interested and want to throw your hat in, click on the give away icon in the upper left-hand corner of my blog! Entries must be received by tomorrow!

A quick update: My work schedule is returning to normal this week, wrapping up two weeks of overtime and being on-call. When I haven't been working, my wife and I have been house hunting! There are some excellent deals to be had right now if you're a buyer- and we have found a couple that tickle our fancy. Last but not least, we have been attending a birthing class. All of this amounts to very little time for my hobby! Six-Deucer has let me borrow a copy of "Siege of Vraks Volume 1", which has been a great read. I'm also dabbling with Star Craft 2, which has been a lot of fun...it makes me wish for a new Dawn of War.

Our 40K game was delayed, and pushed back because of everyone's schedules. Needless to say, I have been granted more time to build my force. I'm dying to break out my new airbrush and get to painting, however, everything is packed in boxes! I'm scrambling to set up a temporary paint station in my current digs, which is difficult with the wife nesting!

Swag Give Away: One Week Count Down!

2010-08-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

There are seven days remaining to enter "Against the Grain" blog chain give-away! The winner will have the opportunity to choose one of three unique prizes shown below!

A Space Marine Drop Pod (new and in the box. I may ship out of the box depending on postage costs).
A Tyranid Codex, Fifth Edition (5E)
A set of brand new and on the sprue Forge World Blood Angel Terminator Shoulder Pads

To Enter:

1) You must have a blog.

2) You must have something worthwhile to offer up to give away for free.

3) If you win, you must hold your own blogsite giveaway using the same rules to pay it forward. You must contact me and Santa Cruz Warhammer with a link to your give away so we can send bloggers to your site.

4) You may only enter once per give away.

5) Be a follower of this blog (trust me, it'll be worth it!)
6) Leave a comment to this blog post as follows:
- 1st sentence, why you want or need the prize of your choice.
- 2nd sentence, what you will give away on your blog to pay it forward.

I will not consider any entries posted after 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time! I will judge the best entry based on your originality, need for the prize you want, and the prize you're willing to give away. I will announce the winner on Monday August 16th! Good luck!

Monday Retro, Wednesday: Ordo Malleus Inquisitor

2010-08-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

Today's Monday Retro is brought to you on a Wednesday in part due to my inflated work schedule over this last week, and my continued hunt for a house.
The good news is that my boss will return to work next week, which should decrease the amount of time I spend at work, or working. Unfortunately that will, in turn, decrease my overtime. Oh well, more time to blog and lock my wife and I into a house- that is not so bad!

This week, I'm featuring the third Inquisitor found in the Ordo Malleus Inquistor blister that I picked up years ago at my Local Games Shop (LGS). This figure was my least favorite of the three mainly due to his passive pose. I have often wondered why this guy has such a bad ass sword tied to his dress and not wielding it in some dramatic swinging arc, instead of posing in what appears to be an impersonation of Mr Hanky The Christmas Poo. I will say that this Inquisitor's appearance is "Vostroyan-esque", however he does appear to suffer similar iconography woes as the subject from last week's Monday Retro. For instance, what is the symbol on his helm supposed to be? How about his left shoulder- is that a hammer? Finally the hilt of his sword appears to reveal a face (perhaps the face of a demon), but the detail isn't clear enough, or the sculpt was not quite realized.

In closing, this Inquisitor didn't jive with his two counterparts. This translated to him sitting on the side-lines or acting as a proxy in my Necromunda games.

The Caestus Assault Ram, or How My Rifter's Hull Booms Are Swollen and Need to Be Elevated.

2010-08-01T05:15:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the week I received a newsletter from Forge World showcasing the new space marine ramming skimmer, the Caestus. As if the guys flying skimmers around in the 41st Millenium don't have enough to worry about- now they have to ram things, too?
When I followed the link to a picture of the Caestus, I became nostalgic about an old MMO I used to play, EVE. So, this thing retails for about 140.00 bucks before shipping? Ugh, no thanks. Regardless of the special rules, this thing is visually hideous. I'd rather light seven cigars with 20.00 dollar bills than buy this "ramming skimmer".

I wonder who at Forge World play Minmatar, or are fans of the Rifter frigate? If that first sentence was complete gibberish to you, I'm referring to a frigate class spaceship found in the mmo, EVE Online. The game, published by CCP, has been around for years- seven to be exact. It is a sand box mmo set in space- that is, there is little linear progression. Players create content and affect the environment for other players. This is further enforced by the fact that cheating and scamming are not bannable offenses, and GMs won't get involved if someone lies in order to separate you from your money (ISK).

Just to be clear, I wanted the title of this post to be as obnoxious as the Caestus offering from Forge World. I'm confident I accomplished that...

Saturday Fluff: Spirit Eagles Chapter 2

2010-07-31T05:56:00.000-07:00

This week, I continue the further history of my home-brewed space marine chapter; The Spirit Eagles.
If you haven't already, you should read chapter one!
Chapter 1

A Child from the Stars
One particularly cold and starless night a great blue light, the shape of an arrow head, fell from the sky. Riding that arc of blue, a small space vessel plummeted to earth and crashed into the wilds populated by the Tribe of the Black Bear. Tribal elders dispatched a party of warriors to seek out the cause of this phenomena and meet any potential evil with swift justice. Seven warriors volunteered and set out to seek the source of the strange light.
The journey took days, and consisted of many interesting and unique portents experienced by each of the seven warriors. Their journey brought them to a space vessel barely large enough to seat a man. It was scorched and battered- no doubt a result of the vessel's descent into Klikitat's atmosphere. A pressurized seal manifested where no seam existed seconds before, and with a hiss of pressurized atmosphere, a door swung open to reveal a cherub with a mop of thick, black hair. Now, the seven warriors had drawn closer to the ship, weapons held at the ready. Each man wore black paint upon their face and bodies- each with a unique pattern. The human baby did not cry or start at the sight of the seven Black Bear warriors, rather he smiled and cooed innocently. Startled, the men recoiled in shock- weapons drawn. Of all the evils each of the seven had imagined would be found, an innocent babe was not one of them. One of the seven, a warrior named Steillacoom lowered his weapon and spoke to the child, "I am Steillacoom, warrior of the Black Bear People. If your heart is true, and intentions pure then share this drink of cool water with me. The babe looked into Steillacoom's eyes with unusual wisdom. A pudgy hand reached for the animal skin filled with cool water that Steillacoom held in his hand and with surprising strength lifted the water skin to his mouth and drank deeply. The other men gasped at the sight, wide eyed and filled with trepidation. Looking into the young human's eyes, Steillacoom felt an overwhelming sense of ease wash over him. Eyes locked, the baby smiled at Steillacoom as if to say, "thank you". The men wrapped the baby in linen before taking the child back to their village.
The warriors' return to the tribal village with a baby in hand was met with a mixture of emotions. The entire Black Bear peoples' met to discuss the fate of this child that fell from the sky in a metal capsule. This baby who was strong as a man.

A Star Child Amongst Us
When Leschi was first discovered, a toddler in the wilds, it was immediately clear to the People that his soul was pure and devoid of chaos taint. By this time the War Eagles had incorporated rites to root out and purge the festering seeds of chaos within the Peoples. Leschi was accepted into the Black Bear tribe and was taught the ways and customs of the People of the Spirit Eagles. As Leschi's growth and development occurred at an accelerated rate, he had to survive the Soul Purification rites younger than most.

The Rite of Purification
During the Rite of Purification, tribal members of the Black Bear were sent out deep into the forest wilds with only the barest of essentials for six days and six nights. During that time, the person undergoing the rite may face inner demons, or demons from the warp as well. Should a tribal member prove successful in refuting the temptation of chaos, they would return on the seventh day purified. Usually this rite was fulfilled at the age of 13 for men, 11 for women. Since Leschi developed at an accelerated pace, he undertook the rite of purification at the age of eight.

It is said that a great bird on wing- a mighty eagle shadowed the boy into the wilds, and bore silent witness to Leschi's deeds. Leschi faced such corruption and temptation that would have claimed the souls of mortal men, however Leschi proved pure of heart and mind, and earned the attention of a terrible demon on the fifth day of his trial. The foul creature Verbally sparred with leschi one day and one night to no avail. So angry with Leschi's balanced temperament and calm demeanor, the demon attacked Leschi with tooth and claw. Gravely wounded, Leschi prayed forgiveness to a might and ancient tree before severing a rather large branch from one of it's many boughs. It is said that the tree gave itself freely to Leschi, who drove the mighty branch deep into the demon- piercing it's essence and banishing the beast to the warp. The foul demon's cry of pain and anger was so violent, trees rock and the very earth split assunder. Leschi collapsed, utterly spent, to the forest floor where he would lay, dying. So, on the seventh day of his trial, Leschi had banished a malefecent demon, but had been mortally wounded in the process. It is said that the great bird continued to watched over Leschi as a silent sentinel. No animal nor taint of chaos dared to pass under the Eagle's unerring gaze. Leschi, barely clinging to life, returned to consciousness on the tenth day of his trial. Leschi drew sap from the wound he had worked upon the ancient tree during his battle with the demon. He worked the sap into a poultice covering his wounds, then consumed what was left of the sap as nourishment. On the thirteenth day of his trial, Leschi managed to claw his way out of the forest wild. He found his way back to his tribe purified; free of chaos taint. It would be some years until Leschi and his people would see the great eagle again. The great bird would prove to be pivotol in Leschi's life. Leschi survived but would carry with him until death the mortal scar inflicted by the demon of chaos.

Thank You, Steel Thunder Gaming!

2010-07-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

Today, a FedEx guy knocked on my door and delivered to me a brand new Razorback troop transport compliments of Mike from Steel Thunder Gaming, as a result of winning his blog chain giveaway!

I happened upon Mike's blog about a month or so ago and became an instant fan of his ability to weave fiction and great story telling into his bat-reps. I want to take this opportunity and thank Mike for choosing my submission entry as the winner of his blog contest- and shipping the prize so fast! That Razorback will be conscripted into my Blood Angels space marine army- hopefully in time for my first, actual battle, August 8th!

I'll take this opportunity to remind readers to check out my blog chain give away that will end Friday, August 13th. You still have time to enter for a chance to win one of three great prizes! The winner will get to choose one of the following: A drop pod, a set of Forge World Blood Angel Terminator shoulder pads, or a Tyranids Fifth Edition (5E) codex!

In closing, check out Steel Thunder Gaming! Likewise, enter my blog chain giveaway for your chance to win one of three prizes!

Further consideration:
Steel Thunder Gaming
AtG's Blog Chain Give Away!

A Soljourn and a Find: R-97

2010-07-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

My wife and I traveled to the Washington coast to celebrate our anniversary and happened upon a unique and wonderful piece of art- stoic and weathered like a silent sentinel.
Cool winds pushed inland from the Pacific Ocean carrying sea spray from the span of beach that Ocean Shores Boulevard runs parallel to. The brim of my baseball cap shielded my eyes from a light summer drizzle, not uncommon in the Pacific Northwest. I had parked our vehicle to marvel at a rusted seahorse that towered over me by at least a foot. Upon closer inspection it appeared as though the creature was made out of bits of scrap iron; horse shoes, tractor teeth, an old pressure plate with a gauge inside...just about anything you can imagine or imagine discarded. Yet, all of this scrap had been fashioned by a very talented individual- I looked about the creature for a signature or other clue that might divulge the identity of it's creator.

My search paid off! I noticed etching on the creature's base, partially obscured by sand and grime. I wiped away sand and grass to find a name; Dan Klennert. Next to his name was a date and a letter/number combination, "R-97". After taking a plethora of pictures using my iPhone, I left R-97 to it's silent watch. It was getting late and my wife and I had to start our journey home.

After uploading my pictures to my computer, I googled Dan Klennert and was rewarded with a link to his official website, "Dan Klennert's Spirits of Iron". On Dan's website he showcases quite a few of his works, including a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex! I emailed Dan and expressed that I had randomly discovered R-97 and how much the sculpture affected me. I explained to Dan how I wanted to share pictures of R-97 with readers of my blog and he gave me his blessing. In fact, Mr. Klennert then invited me to his Sculpture Park, located at the base of Mount Rainier. Yup- Dan has fashioned iron sculptures for his very own park that he shares with the public!

Wow, you talk about a great resource for observing rust and weathering! Take a moment today and follow the links to my pictures of R-97 on photobucket. Stop by Dan's website and enjoy his other sculptures showcased there, and if you're in the area check out Dan's Sculpture Park!

Personally, I'd love to see Dan fashion some 40K stuff- wouldn't that be bad ass?

Further Consideration:
R-97
Dan Klennert's Spirit of Iron

Noob Question: Assault Squad

2010-07-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

I have a noob question in regards to Blood Angel assault squad(s). While generating a list using the Army Builder program, in order to acquire a melta gun for my assault squad I have to add one additional marine (totaling five marines, one sergeant).

Is the Blood Angel add-on for Army Builder glitched, or do I need to add one additional space marine to my assault squad in order to qualify for a melta gun upgrade? Doesn't a squad of four marines and one sergeant qualify that squad for the melta gun without having to add an additional marine?

Thanks in advance!

Monday Retro: Ordo Malleus, Inquisitor

2010-07-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

The star of this Monday Retro is the second of three Ordo Malleus Inquisitors that I purchased years ago from my Local Games Shop (LGS).
The first thing I noticed upon brushing the dust from this figure is that his armor and clothing seem to be adorned with Xenos iconography. On his right shoulder is what appears to be an Eldar snake, while on his right shoulder a Chaos symbol (?). Below that icon, located on his left shoulder is an infinity symbol...does anyone else smell the taint of chaos? Maybe that's just my toast burning. Anyhow, this was my second favorite Inquisitor in the pack based on the figure's design and pose. The only detraction I see (other than the unusual iconography) is that the shoulders were molded to fit a back pack. I think the figure would have been much more visually pleasing had the shoulder/back area had not been sculpted to accommodate for the back pack.

I had originally purchased the three Ordo Malleus figures to challenge my gangs' in Confrontation (Necromunda). Every once in awhile this guy would crash my underworld fights and clean house, weeding out the weak from my gang.

Saturday Fluff: Spirit Eagles Space Marines Chapter 1

2010-07-25T04:48:00.000-07:00

This week, I'm going to present a space marine chapter I had originally created to play- the Spirit Eagles. When I first revisited the 40K universe a little over a year ago, my initial intent was to create my own space marine chapter to field against my friends. Borrowing heavily names and customs from the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest, the Spirit Eagles were born. Personally, I had to create the fluff before I could set about creating unique rules for this chapter and I was provided that stroke of inspiration while on a flight to the east coast. Over the course of a year, I have lost interest in the idea of playing a fluff marine army. However, I have not lost interest in the story surrounding that fluff chapter, the Spirit Eagles. So, for this Saturday Fluff post (albeit late), I present the Spirit Eagles!

Early Migration from Terra
Spirit Eagle space marines can trace their history to old Terra. At that time their peoples called themselves "People of the Eagle Spirit" and were one of the first peoples to migrate off-planet to populate a new, and distant world. Their journey spanned hundreds of years until finally reaching a planet able to support life. It is said that when such a planet was visible to the colony ship(s), it reflected such verdant greens and blues it were as though the planet greeted the Peoples of the Eagle Spirit warmly. Many chorused greetings in the old tongue, "Kla Hai Um, Kla Hai UM, Kla HAI UM, KLA HAI UM!". The chorus reverberated into a chant which sprung from millions of lips forming a mighty crescendo as the settler ships drew closer to the lush, beautiful planet. The planet was dubbed, "Klikitat" an ancient word meaning "beyond".

The Ferocious Jewel
As settlers arrived planet side, they separated and dispersed into their relative tribes of hereditary descent. Each tribe nominated a representative to speak for them. Each representative, in turn, would meet with other tribal representatives in what would later be dubbed the, "First Annual Meeting of the Spirit Eagles". During this meeting delegates divided the surface of Klikitat in portions for each tribe represented. During this meeting tribal delegates agreed upon many things to safeguard and ensure that the bond remained strong between all Peoples' of the Eagle Spirit. The peoples long maintained a strong spiritual bond with animals and nature on old Terra, and that bond carried over to life found on Klikitat. A balanced symbiosis was maintained between nature and humanity which led to a golden age of happiness and prosperity. Over time there existed many unique tribes of peoples, however, each tribe recognized the other as sisters' and brothers' of the Eagle. Wars between tribes were unrealistic as competition for land or resources were handled in controlled ways- through ceremony and games of competition. These customs are honored and adhered to through present day. The adaptation of war by the inhabitants of Klikitat by no means signaled a weak or martially inept populace- quite the contrary. The wilds of Klikitat cradled and disgorged such ferocious beasts upon the human population that provided her inhabitants with plenty of opportunity to hone marshal training. For all of Klikitat's beauty and fertile promise the planet harbored many dangers and perils deep in her forests and jungles, proving a constant threat to the planet's settlers.

The People's Rite of Passage
When adolescents come of age a set of trials are set before them to become peoples' of their relative tribes. Each tribe's rites of indoctrination differ, however every rite of passage successfully completed by an aspirant culminates into one final trial of spiritually bonding with an animal familiar. If a warrior errant is successful, then that warrior and his chosen familiar are bound spiritually to one another for life. An Eagle will only ever bond with a human once in it's lifetime. As a manner of honor and reciprocation, a warrior will never seek another animal familiar for the rest of his or her life. A warrior aspirant is naturally drawn to their relative animal familiar, be it eagle, wolf or bear. The martial prowess and physical trials required to live on Klikitat would prove beneficial to the Peoples' of the Spirit Eagle; for at some point Klikitat, including a large swathe of space surrounding the planet, would be swallowed by a violent warp storm.

Warp Storm Cabal:
Approximately 1600 years after the first settlers set foot upon Klikitat, a violent warp storm (later dubbed "Cabal") engulfed the planet. Cabal isolated Klikitat and countless other planets from the rest of the Empire and would do so for hundreds of years. The ravaging warp storm claimed any ship foolish enough to travel too close, so it did not take long before the area of space that Cabal encompassed was avoided by all but the most foolhardy. It wasn't long before the entire breadth of space consumed by the vicious warp storm was deemed unsafe and off limits by the Imperium of Man. The planet Klikitat, along with countless other worlds victim to Cabal, was removed from maps and navigational charts to discourage the curious. Over time the planet was stricken from the collective memory of the Human Empire- a casualty to the unforgiving warp.

For many long centuries the planet of Klikitat was isolated from contact with the Imperium of Man. During these dark days, the planet's inhabitants drew their unique customs and heritage ever closer. As technology on the planet slowly eroded, the human spirit rallied and strengthened. As if the planet had been preparing it's people for the coming trial, Cabal introduced the People of the Eagle Spirit to the vile forces of chaos. Such perversions and evil paled any prior trial the inhabitants of Klikitat had faced. Like a raw piece of earth thrown into a furnace, the Peoples of the Spirit Eagle's abilities would be stretched, tested and tempered by the reviled forces of the warp.

Continued in chapter 2

Reader Swag: I won!

2010-07-22T18:16:00.000-07:00

Gyro, author of the blog, "Mik's Minis" issued me a consolation prize for being the 149th follower of his blog! More exciting is the fact that I'm getting "Galaxy in Flames", one of the books in the Horus Heresy series!
I have been meaning to start this series for some time, now, so I am stoked! When I finish the book, I'll pass it on to another fan of the hobby! Thanks again Gyro!

Kriegs Update 07/22/10

2010-07-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

"Tribute to Death Korp of Kriegs" by Howard33

Guess what was delivered to my email today? An updated FAQ for the Death Korps of Krieg (DKoK) to bring the army in line with current fifth edition Imperial Guard.
Upon initial scrutiny, many units are cheaper and a Commissar General can now be taken as an HQ choice! The Death Rider Command Squad would be fun to field just for coolness factor alone. 6+ invulnerable saves...sweet. Even if the DKoK army list is banned from competitive gaming, they are some of the coolest (and most expensive) 40K figures to exist.

On a personal, but unrelated note, my wife and I have been furiously shopping for a house, and preparing our current diggs for relocation. This has taken precedence over my hobby time- slowing my army building to a crawl. Our house shopping may also result in a sporadic posting schedule for me over the coming days.