The Astronomican

For Sale: Dwarf Army

2010-06-07T16:13:00.003+01:00

Hello guys! I'm afraid the blog has been rather dead of late, but I am still out there. I'm currently in the middle of a long stretch of straight working days, so I've not had much hobby time to speak of. And, in addition, I'm also running out of money so...

Yep. Its come to this. This was a very short lived project, I didn't even get all the little fellows built. But, alas the overwhelming need for money has forced my hand, and I have to sell on my Dwarf army.

What is on offer is the contents of the old Dwarf army box, plus a few extras, including a carry case complete with bronze dwarf badge on the front. At the moment I can't supply pictures as my camera is away, but they will come soon. So, on the contents:

x1 20 strong Dwarf Warrior Regiment (assembled with Great Weapons)

x1 20 strong Dwarf Warrior Regiment (assembled with Hand Weapons and Shields, 1 test model is painted)

x1 20 Strong Dwarf Thunderer Regiment

x1 20 Strong Dwarf Regiment (could be assembled as either Thunderers or Quarrellers)

x1 20 Strong Dwarf Miners Regiment

x1 Organ Gun

x1 Cannon

x1 Gyrocopter (Assembly in progress)

x1 Dwarf Lord with Great Weapon & King Alrik & Shieldbearers - These models are in the process of being converted, with the Dwarf Lord model standing on King Alrik's Shield. The King model itself (which I'm not a fan of) has been mounted standing on a normal infantry base. Pictures of this will follow!

x1 Runesmith

x1 GW Standard Carry Case (which will fit whole army!)

So, that's what is going under the hammer. As new, the army comes to the princely sum of £221, including the carry case. So keen am I to sell the lot soon the I'm going to be letting it go for £120 posted, saving you £100 on buying it new. Not bad eh?

If you are interested please leave a comment on this post, or email me directly at sovietspace@hotmail.com. Its first come first served, so be quick!

Thanks for looking!

New GW Daemon Models!

2010-05-22T20:10:00.003+01:00

Hey guys, just a quick post from me today, and something that I think has been missed to date. The new Daemon models are up on the GW website!

With a bit of searching you can find an un-publicised article called Daemon tactica, which pictures of all the Daemon models, including the new ones. Enjoy:

Fateweaver

New Bloodcrusher:

The Changeling:

Horrors:

Seekers:

Daemon Prince:

(What do we reckon that this a kit involving the parts to make the fantasy-esque Daemon Prince we have seen on BoLS? The legs look remarkably similar...)

Well there you go. I personally think there are some superb sculpts there, especially the Fateweaver and Changeling. Spread the news guys!

Praetorian Pattern Chimera

2010-05-09T12:22:00.001+01:00

So, I've been working on getting my Chimera ready for painting. Now, I've never really liked one key aspect of the Chimera model; the turret. Even on the new version its painfully small. I really don't see how anybody could operate that without having his feet in the drivers face. I also dislike the fact its forward mounted. I wanted my chimera to look something more like this:

Bradley APC.

I was also really inspired by SandWyrm's excellent Chimera Conversions. Its a really great tutorial if your looking at doing something similar...

Sooo, after buying two different tank kits and some extensive cutting, filing and plasticard-ing, heres what I came up with:

Praetorian Pattern Chimera

I've got to be honest, I'm pretty damned pleased with it - it certainly looks more bulky and 'tank-like' than the normal Chimera model. It also gives the impression of more space for the passengers, which is no bad thing...

Let me know what you think!

New Black Library Covers

2010-05-04T21:12:00.004+01:00

Well, I just got this in my twitter feed; some upcoming Black Library book covers. Allow me to show you one of them...

Oh my, oh my, oh my, OH MY!

How frigging awesome is that picture! Not only is it a Dark Angel, its also superb. I haven't the words to say how much I love it, I just had to share it.

Anyway, excuse me while I dig up some Dark Angels to paint.

Oh, there was also some other cover with the Raven Guard. Whoever they are...

Farewell to the Cosmic Serpent - Battle Report

2010-05-03T14:24:00.000+01:00

''Stand To!''

Welcome one and all to a rather special battle report here on the Astronomican. Not only do we have a guest opponent, in the from of Zzzzzz from the blog Devos IV (go on, have a look), but also we also see the departure of my Saim-Hann army. Zzzzzz had travel through dark and blighted lands (read as Southern England) to pick up his new army and we though it would be only natural to have a small game to celebrate.

We also decided to play in a much more narrative way than I normally do. I've spent the last couple of years playing really competitive games, and only occasionally thinking up fun scenarios and just making stuff up on the spot. I want to thank Zzzzzz for making me doing it again, it was a load of fun (we both ended up making silly sound effects at all the right moments!). To that end, what follows is not a 'serious' battle report, but a roughly narrative account of what happened to the Praetorian 5th during their brief posting to Devos XIII...

The Battle of Silo XI

Dawn was just breaking when the close range auspex scanners of A Company (5th Praetorian Regiment of Foot) went dead. The order 'stand to' was given immediately, the garrison was ordered to take no chances with its precious charge - an ancient and rare planetary defence silo.

Suddenly out of the darkness two red shapes advanced at alarming speed. The Praetorians checked their lasguns and readied themselves. The xenos pirates had returned...

Despite their incredible speed one of the heretical craft was brought down by the steady aim of Medusa 323 (11th Siege Artillery). Pouring smoke the skimmer bailed onto the deck. However, to the dismay of the defenders, most of its passengers seemed to survive, the lithe blue-armoured shapes taking cover behind their craft.

As soon as the smoke began to clear, a second wave of xenos vehicle arrived, this time the sleek forms of multiple jetbikes and Vypers. Meanwhile the remaining tank from the first wave continued to flank the Imperial line.

However it was not all bad news, as Sir Xavier Marbo (Praetoria's stealthiest noble - previously a Hive Spyrer) revealed himself in the midst of the Eldar host. He desperately tried to buy some time for the defenders with a well placed demolition charge, but ultimately the speed of the aliens saved them, as they rose above the explosion.

Marbo belatedly reconsiders his heroism...

To make matters worse, Imperial fire from the defences was dismal. Despite overwhelming fire-power, both Infantry and Tank gunners were unable to touch the 'Falcon' pattern craft. On his position on the front line, Lieutenant Caine ordered his men to fix bayonets.

With a hail of Shuriken discs, the Wild Riders launched their first assault. Marbo was badly wounded by a torrent of fire from the warriors later identified as 'Dire Avengers', but managed to survive in his hastily built fox-hole.

All across the Ageis Defences brave guardsmen began to fall. 1st and 2nd squads were badly hit, and even the carapace armour of the Spireborn veteran squad could not stand the punishment, with several of the noblemen meeting their end in the dirt. Even Commissar Thorn almost fell, his mind probed by the sorcery of Eldar witch. Thankfully his faith in the Golden Throne saw him through.

This firefight was followed up by 3 of the Jetbikers assaulting the lines. Their brutal charge claimed two more brave lives for no loss. However, more shocking events were taking place further down the line.

In a totally incomprehensible move (at least from an Imperial mindset!) the Eldar 'Falcon' gunned its engines and drove itself directly at the Leman Russ holding the left flank. After a hurried order to brace, the crew felt the full impact of a surprisingly sturdy grav tank moving at insane speeds...and survived. Proving the superiority of Mechanicus designs, the Falcon slammed into the front of the battletank and proceeded to 'skim' of its hull, coming to a halt behind it. Indeed the true surprise was that Flacon suffered no fate worse than scratched paint.

Regardless of the tactical sense of the move, the line had been breached.

The Imperial response to the assault was swift and brutal. Back on the line, the brave men of 1st and 2nd Squads, backed up by Lieutenant Caine and Commissar Thorn, cut down the three jetbikers who had logded themselves in the Imperial bunker. With the rest of the Aliens out of reach, cowering behind cover, Commissar Thorn led the assault. He had decided if the enemy would not come to them, then the regiment would have to dig them out. The Spireborn and Officers would hold the line (and the cover).

Charge lads!

Ultimately though, as brave as the charge was, Commissar Thorn was not to wittiness its end. With Shuriken to the left of them, Shuriken to the right of them, Skuriken to the front of them, the vast majoity of 1st Platoon was cut down. Commissar Thorn suffered an ignoble death when his Plasma Pistol blew up in his hand, resulting in massive burn trauma. The few survivors went to ground, stuck between the enemy and their own fortifications.

An overview of the battle

Over on the left flank both the Medusa and Leman Russ tired to finish their work with the Flacon, but yet again the Skimmer prevailed. The surviving crew were to receive numerous 'motivation details'. This would not include the crew of the Leman Russ, who promptly discovered why the Eldar Aspect known as 'Fire Dragons' were to be so feared.

They might have orange jumpsuits, but they still pack a punch!

After suffering such losses, the Officers once again rallied their men and began a renewed counter-attack. The Jetbikers had tasted victory and had rushed toward the silo - finally leaving them in the open. After negligible fire from what remained of the infantry, the Spireborn jumped the line and charged into the squad containing the Eldar Witch, whilst Marbo finally recovered his wits and charged the remaining jetbike squad. Following this example (and with Lieutenant Caine ordering them back into the fight), the survivors of 1st squad bravely charged the Dire Avengers.

The results of this charge were swift and brutal. Marbo, true to his reputation, was able to bring down all three of this opponents, and turned to advance on the alien Psykers. They were entangled with the Spireborn squad who had, despite some losses, killed all of the Wildrider escort.

This level of carnage seemed too much for the cowardly xenos. Despite being so very close to their supposed objective (only the men of 4th Squad stood in their way) they abandoned the assault on the Silo as swiftly as it had begun. Despite the cost paid by the men of A company, they had gained much glory for themselves, the Regiment and the Emperor.

A thorough review of the silo's defences were carried out after the battle, and significant improvements were enacted.

4th Squad push the Xenos off the Silo, securing the area for the Imperial Forces.

Awards and Dispatches

Lieutenant Caine - Honorifica Imperialis

Commissar Thorn - Medallion Crimson (Posthumously awarded)

Sergeant Williams (1st Squad) - Medallion Crimson (Posthumously awarded)

1st & 2nd Squads - Mentioned in Dispatches

An extract from the Military History of the 5th Regiment of Praetorian Foot

+++++++++

So there you have it, a narrative game and a narrative battle report. If you enjoyed that I suggest you check out this post on Zzzzzz's blog to see why the Elday didn't loose after all, pesky pointy ears! Here's hoping I see my old Eldar on his site some time soon, and get another chance to play a great game with him!

Meanwhile, I'll working on the new army that I have been able to buy due to the sale of the Eldar; more on that soon! I'll also be trying to design a new banner, without the Cosmic Serpent of the Saim Hann. Any input/banners would be graciously accepted!

Thanks for reading guys!

Fortress of Redemption: Finished!

2010-04-30T11:37:00.003+01:00

Hello guys, I pleased to say I've finally finished the awesome Fortress of Redemption kit. Well, mostly. As the alert amongst you will notice, the lascannon battery is absent. Unfortunately my desire to see the fortress put in my local GW's cabinet saw me cutting some corners! Still, here she is:

Sorry for the flash on some of the photos, kinda wiped out some of the detail. Still I'm really pleased with how its turned out. It takes an awful lot of effort to get a model of this scale done, I think I've put in about 15/20hrs into this thing. I've not tried to do much special, otherwise I would have been painting forever!

The Missile Silo is a great piece of detail, and the cover has either the Dark Angels logo or an Aquila on the reverse. Mine is more bleached bone that white, but again the flash has done is mischief!

I painted the rockets in a straightforward way, but hopefully they look nice and effective! Below are some details of the tower and door and such.

The tower Angels were really simply done. Dheneb Stone base coat, followed by a heavy Bleached Bone drybrush. Next I added a ton of Gryphonne Sepia wash, and finally another Bleached Bone drybrush. Job done!

The bastions have got some great detail on them, and are really fun to paint. The statue insets are taller than a marine!

Finally a picture of some heroic marines manning the defences. This is what its all about, some great models on lovely terrain. Makes all the effort worthwhile!

So guys, please let me know what you think! Any comments and criticisms are welcome...

14,000pt Apocalypse Game

2010-04-20T12:30:00.002+01:00

Hey guys and girls. Last week 5 mates and I spent a day playing a rather large apocalypse game. Although I tried to keep a track on what was going on, the pressing need to focus on what 28,000pts of models were up too kept me occupied! So below you can see some snaps from the event along with a few recollections of what might have been going on at the time. Enjoy!

Terrain set up - I find that 12'x4' can accommodate this size game quite well. Just be sure to 'clump' terrain and leave open areas

My contribution to the good side - 7000pts, exactly half the combined army.

The forces played out as follows:

Good

Imperial Guard, Imperial Navy, Inq, Dark Angels

Black Templars

Eldar

Bad

Chaos (including Iron Warriors, Tratior Guard, a Warhound and two Superheavies)

Eldar

Inital deployment saw the Chaos bidding low and deploying in force and the Imperials grouping into what cover they could find.

Chaos Warhound = Awesome

Turn 1 - The Choas forces pull out a careful planning asset and swarm the field with their forces, vastly outnumbering the Imperials.

Iron Warriors defend the Slaaneshi doomsday device, otherwise known as the 'Doom Nipple'

Chaos Turn 2 - The remainder of the Heretical forces (along with Eldar allies) arrive, continuing the punish the Imperial forces mercilessly. The good side hadn't even received any reserves at this point!

A Warp Rift spews forth Daemon Filth - much to the delight of the Daemonhost hiding to the right of the picture (it managed to make itself T9 and S8. Yes please!)

Imperial Reinforcements arrive to redress the balance. They have an uphill struggle.

The might of the Imperial Navy makes itself felt - killing 45 Khorne Berserkers with its bombs alone.

Templar bikers launch a suicidal charge into traitor Terminators holding an objective - straight into the face of the Chaos guns...

A quiet corner of the field is set upon by a Dark Angel Redemption force hunting one of the Fallen

Turn 3 - Imperial Guardsmen arrive to bolster the rapid moving Astartes, their guns thinning down a Berserker charge led by no less than Abaddon and Khan.

Its raining men around the Doom Nipple (or, Black Templars assault the Doomsday device)

Sly Marbo makes himself known, hurling explosives into the now stalled Berserker charge

(Pictures of my painted Marbo soon!)

The end of turn 4 and, despite a early hammering, the fast moving Imperial forces have managed to secure 4 objectives to the 1 held by the Traitors. A glorious victory for the Emperor!

The charge that never was. Khan, so close to the softy chewy centre of the Imperial Army is forced to turn back. How odd that Khan suffered a similar fate at the end of a previous Apocalypse game!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Tale of Painters Entry 8

2010-04-15T09:03:00.002+01:00

Only time for a quick post today as I update what I have completed for ToP this month.

Epic IG

Superheavy Tank Platoon - 200pts

So not much of an entry, and I'm still miles behind with the army, but next month shall be epic month! I have no 40k to do so next up is titans, valks and tanks tank tanks!

Army to date:

2050pts

40 IG

Busy month with the IG, I tried to get them done for a tournament. I just fell short and had to use an old Chimera, but it did mean that I got these two bad boys done:

Leman Russ & Medusa - 300pts

Army to date:

1434pts

So thats another month, another entry. I do love ToP, its such a good motivator, if a bit stressful at times. Look forward to all the epic stuff coming your way!

Fortress of Redemption WiP (and some light comedy)

2010-03-23T21:34:00.004Z

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I been working on a house for my Dark Angels, namely the new Fortress of Redemption kit. Allow me to show you the progress I have made...

First off, the all important scale shot, with a crazy priest for flavour.

So as you can see, I have been working on the central walkway and the tower. The walkway is pretty much done:

Just some simple dry-brushing and washes for the green steel on the walkway, and same again for the grey walls and bone panels. It's not going to win any prizes, but at least its getting done!

On to the central tower, and after several hours work I have all four of the angels base-coated, washed and dry-brushed as well as the grey of the tower done. I have also got the skull pile on one done and the halo on another finished.

Well, that my progress so far, and I think it's shaping up nicely. Please let me know what you all think.

Before I leave you, I want to point out the sheer amount of skulls on this thing. I know the Imperium rather likes the liberal application of skulls to everything, but this building must have been designed by some Gothic master on overdrive. Indeed, the appearance of skulls all over the Imperial Guard and Astartes always makes me think of the sketch below. Enjoy...

Of scenery, tournaments and fortresses...

2010-03-21T08:34:00.000Z

So then, time to prove I've not been idle while I've been quiet.

One of the things I did last month was have a 'scenery day'. I've been meaning to do this for a very long time because, although I have a lot of the stuff, its not all in a good state and I knew it deserved better.

For me scenery is the forgotten 'third player' of any game. Its a vitally important part of the experience. Not only does it effect how you play the game and the obstacles you have to overcome, it also greatly enhances the look of the whole thing. And lets be honest, the only reason we are gaming and not playing computer games or reading sci-fi is that this looks cooler.

So, the first thing I set about doing was painting up most of the forge world terrain I had. I had picked up these bits from a verity of sources (I'm sure some of them are on 'long term' loan), but they were all unpainted. Given how awesome they are, that simply didn't seem right...

Troopers Williams and Jones patrol through the ruins

For painting I chose the simplest and most effective route I could. Sprayed grey base-coat, followed by two levels of dry-brush. Job Done. I think thats the key to getting terrain done whilst still having time to paint your armies. Don't get bogged down in the details, unless its a special piece. You can always go back to it later.

These ruins are a prime example, there are a load of ammo crates and foliage that aren't detailed, but at arms length that doesn't detract from the scenery.

Next I set to making some of my own scenery, mainly for the Dark Heresy campaign I am running (hoping to write up a blog post on that soon). Taking some wire mesh and sprue bits I was able to cobble together some effective fencing and, using toothpicks and the GW razor wire kit, I produced some barbed wire fencing.

Simple and effective! Although the barbed wire still needs painting...

The picture below shows the fencing before painting. The two main struts are supported by pieces of spare sprue - that stuff is so very useful when it comes to making terrain.

So, we are nearing the end of my terrain post, and I'm still yet to mention either tournaments or fortresses. Well, allow me to change all that!

On the 7th of April I am attending a small tournament at Warhammer World, and I'll be taking the Dark Angels off the shelf and bringing them along. This is mainly because there will be a planetstrike game, and I love deepstriking and assaulting Deathwing!

However, the coolest thing is that each competitor needs a terrain piece. Now, I could have dipped into my terrain collection, but then I recalled that GW had recently released a Dark Angels specific terrain piece. Well, I simply couldn't resist...

I'm hoping to be able to put aside a whole day or two, and try and get this done before April. Wish me luck and look out for some pictures!

Thanks for reading...

For Sale: The Astromonican's Saim Hann Eldar!

2010-03-18T09:45:00.004Z

Yes, its true, I want to sell my Eldar. Why? Well there are two reasons, first I barely play them any more and secondly there is another army that I am really keen to buy. Which army is that, I hear you cry! Well, I'm not telling you, but I can promise its dramatically different to my current collection...

On offer to you, dear blog reader, is my entire Eldar collection. I'm posting it here first; if there is no interest then it will reach eBay, but if I can avoid sellers fees, I will!

So then, what is there? Firstly there are all the models I have painted:

In summary:

9 Jetbikes (3 with Shuriken Cannons)

Converted Jetbike Warlock

2 Vypers

10 Dire Avengers

1 Wave Serpent (Magnetised)

1 Falcon (Magnetised)

WiP stuff:

Converted Jetbike Farseer

6 Fire Dragons (1 Painted)

At the bottom of the post you can find some more pictures of this stuff (and there are more in this post here)

However, that is not all I have. Unpainted or assembled I also have:

1 Jetbike Autarch (Unassembled)

Warlock on foot

12 Guardians (with Support Platform)

6 Howling Banshees (Unassembled)

5 Shinning Spears (Unassembled)

1 Grav Tank (with parts to make it either a Falcon or Wave Serpent)

My Eldar bits box.

Finally, included with that is a Sabol Motor Pool Carry case, already worked to fit the majority of the army.

So thats 16 Jetbikers, 35+ Infantry, 2 Vypers, 3 Tanks, some unique conversions and a carry case.

All this, brand new comes to £321, not including the carry case.

I'm only asking for £200 posted for the lot! That saves you £121 pounds at least, and you get a bonus carry case! Not bad eh? So if you are looking to start an Eldar Army or know a friend who is, this is for you!

I'll will happily post photos of the un-pictured models & case if there is any serious interest. I'm not really looking to spilt the army up, but if you do want a large chunk of the stuff, make me an offer. I'll see what I can do!

Please comment on the thread or contact me via my profile page.

Thanks for reading guys, heres hoping someone can help me get a new army!

Jetbikes and converted Warlock

Vypers

Dire Avengers

WiP Converted Farseer

First Painted Fire Dragon

Magnetised Grav Tanks

Tale of Painters Entry 7

2010-03-16T16:26:00.005Z

Well, once again I have let the blog fall silent for far too long. Never fear however, in this last month I have not been idle, in fact I think I may have bitten off rather more than I can chew in hobby terms, but more on that in future posts!

For today, regular as clockwork, is my monthly tale of painters entry.

Epic IG

Well, I went back on my promise to get the warhounds done. I tired to get the epic done but once again they fell by the way-side. Failure to produce any models next month will see them out of the competition, so I'm determined to get at least something produced for April.

40k IG

The Praetorians however are a different story. I am attending a tournament at the end of this month with the Bristol Vanguard, and I am hoping to bring the little Pith-helmeted fellows along. I've realised they wont be quite finished, I'm going to settle for having an old stand-in Chimera, but I want everything else completed. This means getting a Russ, a Medusa, the Command Squad and Sly Marbo finished before April.

Well, I can proudly report that the Russ is 75% done and the Command Squad is finished. Indeed, there were my March entry to ToP:

Similarly to my Veterans I'm using Vostroyan models to represent 'Spireborn' Praetorians. I do love these models, they are really in-line with the Praetorians, and they provide a nice change of pace and upping of detail. First off, here is the captain (with a chip on his nose I have just noticed...)

Next, the most striking model in the squad (and already the most chipped...)

I'm pleased with how the banner came out, its not fantastic, but I think above normal table-top quality.

Finally, one of my favourite models, the medic with the huge syringe.

And finally, an army shot, showing where the Praetorian 5th are to date.

Sorry for the rushed post, I'm already going to be for work! Still, this is more interesting...

Any comments greatly appreciated!

Praetorian Guard Wanted - Cash Waiting!

2010-02-18T14:39:00.004Z

Hello guys, here is a shout to all those people who might just have wasted Praetorian models sitting in their cupboards. Why not sell those models to a loving home? Remember, a Praetorian is for life, not just for Christmas...

After working out what I would like my Guard collection to eventually look like I've settled on wanting another full Praetorian platoon and bit more besides. Basically, if you have any of the models below for sale, please email me on the address below or post in the comments. We can then arrange a price and within a matter of months you'll see your models taking pride of place on my blog. Everyone is a winner!

Email: sovietspace@hotmail.com

Wanted:

37 Guardsmen with lasguns

4 Sergeants

1 Flamer

2 Lascannon Crew

1 Heavy Bolter Loader

2 Autocannon Loaders

2 Sitting Gunners

1 Officer

1 Standard Bearer

1/2 Buglers

So guys, please let me know if you can add to the glory of the Praetorian 5th!

Tale of Painters Entry 6

2010-02-14T21:31:00.008Z

Its that time of the month again...

I'm now at the half way point of the LO Tale of Painters challenge, and I'd sad to report that I'm behind schedule with both my 40k and Epic entries. However, that was the case last time, so I'm confident I'll get everything done in the end!

This month I failed to get any work done on the Epic models, which is annoying. I'm going to get my two Warhounds done for next month though, promise!

As for 40k, I managed to pull through and achieve my target, which was:

1 Leman Russ and 1 Infantry Squad w/ Missile Launcher: 215pts

That leaves my Praetorian army currently at 792pts. I'm half way to 1500pts, woohoo!

I've got to say I'm rather proud of this army now. All the Praetorian models are done, a full platoon's worth, and I think I've finally done the figures justice (especially compared to the last paint job I gave them).

Moving on to the armour, I'm still trying to crack this realistic weathering, and I know I'm still a long way off from getting it. That said, I think I'm still moving in the right direction. For this months Russ, I think I may have gone over the top in a few places, but there are a lot of elements that I think really worked - for example I'm starting to get better use out of those pesky weathering powders. Thats what its all about in the end, gradual improvement. Hopefully I can have a few more tricks mastered before I attempt the Marauder...

Anyway, here are some pics, I would really be interested in any comments or criticisms people have. You should be able to click on the photos to get larger versions.

I really must learn to post less photos..!

My goodness...

2010-02-12T09:30:00.002Z

I recently saw this over at 40k Origins and, as a Praetorian player, I simply had to post it up.

Well, this is my shortest blog post ever. Enjoy!

Battle Missions: The inside scoop!

2010-02-10T21:39:00.005Z

Right then guys, I have seen and had a good look at the shiny new battle missions book, and I've come to share what I have learned! First off, lets get a good look at the missions themselves, in full:

Chaos Marines

1. Pillage
2. Black Crusade
3. Scorched Earth

Chaos Daemons

1. Night Fight
2. Invasion
3. Fight to the Death

Dark Eldar
1. Dawn Raid
2. Slave Raid
3. Feigned Retreat

Eldar
1. Pre-emptive Strike
2. Flank Attack
3. Mobile Defence

Imperial Guard
1. Prepared Assault
2. War of Attrition
3. Trench Warfare

Necrons
1. Ambush
2. Reconnaissance in Force
3. Implacable Advance

Orks
1. Blitzkrieg
2. Waaagh!
3. Cut & Run

Space Marines
1. Vanguard
2. Surprise Attack
3. All-round Defence

Tau
1. Vertical Envelopment
2. Counter-Attack
3. Fighting Withdrawal

Tyranids
1. First Contact
2. Wave Assault
3. Infestation

Universal
1. Kill Team
2. Linebreaker
3. Clash of Heroes

Quite a list!

So then, what else can I tell you. Well, first the book itself is very nice. Its well put together, some good bits of fluff and some great shots of models/battles.

I'm also happy to say I can allay some fears about the race-specific missions. Although they are clearly designed with each army in mind, this is more from a fluff point of view. It is clear that any army could happily play any mission, indeed this is expressed in the foreword. There is no reason why a Marine army couldn't play the Counter-Attack mission in the role normally filled by Tau, for example. This means we are in effect getting 33 new missions, as opposed to the few for whatever races your gaming group has.

As far the missions themselves go, they are a mixed bag. Some are subtle changes of deployment zone or objective placement, while others are really off the wall or ingenious. My personal favourite so far is a Guard mission that has a random bombardment. This involves cutting out bombardment counters, holding them 36'' above the table and letting them 'flutter' down. Where ever they rest suffers a large blast hit. I think this is a really simple but awesome idea (though not one for tournaments...). There are other similar surprises throughout the book

Finally I'm going to highlight the last three missions. Not only do we see a slightly modified return of Kill Team, but also a hero centric battle where only characters are allowed to kill off other characters. These seem like a real blast to play, and I'll be trying them out as soon as I can.

Anyway, that's all I can recall for now, I hope its been of interest. From first viewing I can recommend the book, I'll be getting a copy when it comes out...

Steampunk-ing it up...

2010-02-04T11:06:00.003Z

Hey all, I have just noticed this post over at I see lead people. It details a really cool looking model from Mauser Earth miniatures, the 'Streetbot'. Now then, I've avoided putting any steampunk references into my Praetorian army thus far, but this model will be just superb as a Sentinel...

I had best go check my bank balance!

Marauder Destroyer - Built!!

2010-02-01T08:10:00.000Z

Well then, here is something I have been meaning to post for quite a while! After buying it at the beginning of 2008 I have finally managed to get this monstrosity constructed and I'm very excited indeed!

Now, to be clear from the start, I did not construct this myself. Unlike that brave fellow at The Inner Geek I dont really have the experience or skills to attempt something like this yet. So, knowing I would get a good job I surrendered it to my good friend Jay at Dark Eye Studios. Based in Bristol, UK, this one man shop is a fantastic commission painter and builder and if you want a good job done, consider giving him an email! Anyway, plug over. Back to the big freaking plane...

First off, some shots of the beast itself:

I just love this little shrine in the cockpit, very fluffy indeed!

A couple of bits I want to draw attention to, mainly to show the great work Dark Eye Studios can do. One of my main complaints about the Marauder is its landing gear, which stick out during flight, giving the whole plane the feel of a lander, as opposed to a fighter/bomber.

So, to get round this sticky problem, Jay magnetised the whole malarkey and make up some flush landing pads from plaster card, complete with tread on the bottom! Awesome! As for the wood block, that was to add stability to the interior of the model, giving it a healthy weight and some strength. Not that I intend to drop it.

The world might end if I did...

As good as the landing gear is, the real master stroke of Jays work is below. That right, what every good model plane needs! A flying stand!

Make of a steel rod, its just over 12'' tall, and has really made the Marauder into something special! It also has me itching for my next apoc game. The really good thing is that I have two of the wooden bases, that lift off over the flying stand. This means I can make one display base and one more practical gaming base. Good times!

Thank for reading.

The Emperor really wants you to die...

Kentack VII Campaign - 1. First Moves ' The Land Grab'

2010-01-23T07:56:00.003Z

Hello all, just a quick post today. Following on from my description of the Kentack Campaign and its background, I thought I'd let you know what our first month had produced.

Launching off from their various starting points, each faction attempted to gain as much as the planets landmass as they could. Early manoeuvres saw the Black Templars thwarting the efforts of the Praetorian Guard to claim Hive Primus by moving into the southern habs. Combat was finally joined when the Guard sent in shock troops to dislodge the Astartes. The ensuing cityfight was a slaughter, and confirmed why Terminators in enclosed spaces should be so feared. The Templars emerged triumphant.

In an attempt to regain the momentum after this disaster, the Guard commanders sanctioned an assault on the Eldar xenos forces at St. Veyda's Dock. This too turned out to be a travesty, with the Guardsmen being destroyed upon planetfall by a highly mobile Eldar force.

However, it was not all plain sailing for the Eldar forces either. Attempting to dislodge the Astartes who had taken up residence at Mining Post Xc-03 the Eldar of Cairas Mythar bit their best to capture its vital structures, but were thwarted. Returning to their sleek grav graft, the Farseers promised revenge.

The final move of the first month of conflict saw the Templars and Guard clashing in an epic scale battle in the plains north of Hive Secondus. Attempting to drive towards the Ecclesiarchical Palace the Templars were ambushed by a force including Superheavy Tanks and scout Titans. Though they fought bravely and tenaciously, the Marines were eventually overwhelmed and forced to withdraw, leaving the Praetorians to celebrate their first victory of the campaign.

As the war dragged into its second month, it was clear that battle had truly been joined, and that it was far from over yet.

Current Campaign Points:

Black Templars (Black): 14pts

Eldar (Blue): 12pts

Imperial Guard (Red): 10pts

Any help for a wee Beardling?

2010-01-17T10:06:00.002Z

Hello any Longbeards out there. Below I present my first Fantasy list since 2001, so I would love it if people could point out any obvious mistakes, or stupid ideas. This is not supposed to be a competitive list (which will be evident), but I would like it to hold its own. I've tried to get away from any form of gun-line, and I've taken some basic ideas from Podhammer (who's back catalogue I am quickly listening through!), but I have a feeling most people are going to tell me this list is a no-hoper. Still, you've got start somewhere!

So, here it is:

Lords/Heros

Dwarf Lord - 284pts
Shield & Great Weapon
Shield Bearers
MR of Kragg the Grimm, Ro Fury, Ro Striking, Ro Stone, MR of Spite

Runesmith - 149pts
Great Weapon
MR of Balance, Ro Spellbreaking

Thane - 101pts
Great Weapon, Shield
MR of Challenge, Ro Stone

Core

20 Longbeards - 265pts
Shields
Full Command

15 Thunderers - 225pts
Standard & Musician

15 Rangers - 175pts
Shields
Full Command

Special

20 Hammerers - 305pts
Full Command
Shields
Ro Sanctuary

12 Ironbreakers - 211pts
Full Command
Ro Stoicism

Bolt Thrower - 75pts
MR of Immolation

Bolt Thrower - 70pts
MR Penetrating

Rare

Gyrocopter - 140pts

Total - 2000pts

So there it is. The Lord goes with the Hammerers, and the Thane goes with the Ironbreakers, hopefully tying up fast cav and the like with his challenges. Im not sure where I'd put the Runesmith yet, probably with one of the Warrior units. I considered putting him with the Bolt Thrower with MR of Penetrating, to make it less obvious to attack that one first (over the other one that blows up in your face), but I can see that equalling a dead Runesmith.

I would have loved to have fitted Strollaz's banner in there somewhere, but I couldnt find the points. I was amazed how expensive Dwarfs can be! Anyway, please let me know when you all think.

Many thanks!

Tale of Painters Entry 5

2010-01-15T00:06:00.003Z

Here we are again guys!

This month I epically failed to get enough 40K IG painted, so I've had to play my first joker for the Praetorians, which is not good as I'm already behind with them. I'm hoping to get two tanks and a squad done next month to compensate for this. What I can share with you though is my latest addition to the epic force, a Superheavy Tank Company:

This 600pt addition brings the whole army up to 1850pts, leaving them still 150pts behind target. Jeez, its hard work this painting schedule stuff!

For next months epic entry I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of some Epic Valkyries, so I can start creating my rapid response Stormtrooper platoon. Now I've just got to think up a suitable colour scheme to paint them...

The Kentack VII Campaign - Rules

2010-01-12T11:06:00.008Z

Following on from my last post, describing the background of my current Kentack VII campaign, today I'm going to be posting the campaign rules.

First off, here is the campaign map, with all the territories labelled:

(Click here for a larger map)

Rules

(It is important to note that these rules are designed for Eldar, IG and Black Templar armies. However, with a little tweaking it could be used for any army in the 40k universe).

Starting Locations

Eldar: St. Octia's Station

IG: Praetorian 5th HQ

Templars: Airfield Primus

1. To begin, have all players roll off to see who goes first, second, third etc. This order will remain throughout the campaign.

2. Moving off from their starting point, players may move into an adjacent territory to one they already own (unless location rules state otherwise).

3. To capture a territory occupied by another player, simply declare you are moving into it and then consult the location special rules to determine what sort of game is played. Game size (i.e. points limits) is agreed between players before the game begins. The winner of the resulting game wins the territory.

4. Blue lines donate space routes, which can be travelled by any army. Should a space route be used to invade a territory, then a planetstrike game should be played. Note there is a space route from St. Veyda's Dock & the Praetorian 5th HQ. Also note that, despite the fact that it is linked to the planet on the map, St. Veyda's Obrital station may only be attacked directly by adjoining space routes or St. Veyda's Dock.

5. Campaign play continues either until a predetermined date or until two of the three armies have captured their vital locations (see location special rules). The person with the most territory points is then declared the winner.

Location Special Rules

*note that unnamed territories with the symbol that looks like a cracker are Towns, and unnamed territories without a symbol are Plains.

The Plains

Being largely a bleak and inhospitable planet, Kentack had much to offer in the way large open spaces, be it for leisurely walks in the near-poisonous atmosphere, holiday travel or general carnage and mayhem. Only really to be used as a method to get to somewhere more important, control of the plans nonetheless proved vital in the war of 996.

When attacking a plain, roll a D6. On the roll of a 1 play a game of 40k, on a 2-6 play a game of Epic.

1pt

The Towns

Outside the Hives, settlements are rare - the expense of importing vital resources like water and foodstuffs often out weighed any possible gain. That said, some of the larger mining stations had small supporting settlements, that often became the focus of fighting in the area.

When attacking a town, roll a D6. On the roll of a 1-2 play a game of 40k, on a 3-6 play a game of Epic.

1pt

Airfield Primus

Site of the initial Templar landing on Kentack, the Airfield became the base of their operations for the duration of the war. The extensive airfields and runways allowed the Marines to deploy to any point on the planet, giving them the element of surprise that the Astartes so loved. However, Kentack’s fraught atmosphere, worsened by the increasing Warp tension, meant that any airborne travel was hazardous, and ships often crashed en-route, for no explicable reason.

Control of the Airfield allows a player to occupy any plain or town on the map, playing a Planetstrike mission to gain control of the area. However, if claiming a territory in this way, the player must roll a D6. A roll of 3-6 means the attack goes ahead as usual. A roll of a 1-2 means that a terrible accident has occurred, and no attack is made. The player may do nothing further in the campaign turn.

2pts

Ecclesiarchical Palace

Keen not to cause unrest amongst the population, nor to give any visible sign of their treachery, Quinn and the Followers left Kentack’s Ecclesiarchical Palace largely untouched throughout their reign (although the preists themesleves were slaughtered, naturally). Upon learning this, the Black Templars made it their primary mission to sucure the Palace and the artificts within, to potect them from any possible harm. They vowed that the bones of Saint Octia would not fall into the hands of any enemy.

When attacking the Palace roll a D6. On a 1-2 play a Cityfight game, 3-4 play a 40k game, 5-6 an Epic game. This is the Templars’ PRIMARY OBJECTIVE.

3pts (8pts for the Black Templars)

Hive Primus

Once the jewel in Kentack’s crown, Hive Primus used to be a relatively civilized place to live. As with any typical Imperial Hive, the glory and splendour of the Spire realms were contrasted with the dull and depressing drudgery of the middle and lower Hives, where life was a simple cycle of working to survive. Home to some 4.5 billion citizens, the Followers of the Farther were keen to keep this valuable bio-resource intact, and as such constructed huge defensive walls and bastions; as much to keep the people contained within as to keep any enemy out.

The result was a besieger’s nightmare of dense killzones and murderous streets.

Hive Primus can only be attacked once all three Hab P territories have been captured. The Grand Assault Mission is always played at this location.

7pts

Habitation Blocks P/a, P/b & P/c

Though often centrally planned, Hives normally sprawl out of their original confines as their populations grow, Hive Primus being no exception. Vast tracks of hab blocks and supporting infrastructure stretched for miles in every direction around the main Hive spire, and this was where most of Kentack’s citizens lived their pointless, unfulfilling lives. Although not designed with defence in mind, the very nature of condensed streets and alleyways made the Hab regions a nightmare to take and hold. This situation was not helped by the murderous hab gangs, who eked out a living, even as war raged around them.

Cityfight games are always played in the habs.

Hab Gangs: Any 1 rolled for difficult or dangerous terrain tests will result in the unit loosing D3 models to stealthy Hab gangs. Monstrous Creatures, Independent Characters or Vehicles are not affected.

2pts each

Hive Secondus

Although significantly smaller than Hive Primus, Hive Secondus proved to be incredibly important during the war for one primary reason. Fearing the retribution of the Emperor’s forces, Quinn and his entourage quietly relocated there, hoping to escape attention for as long as possible. Messages were covertly dispatched to the brain-washed Praetorian 5^th, who made the rescue of their beloved leader their highest priority.

Citfight games are always played in Hive Secondus. This is the Praetorian 5^th’s PRIMARY OBJECTIVE.

4pts (8pts for the Praetorian 5^th)

Habitation Blocks S/a & S/b

Being constructed in the late M36., Hive Secondus was significantly younger than the Primary Hive. As a result its hab blocks were somewhat better planned and often contained wide boulevards and wooded squares. It was therefore a surprise to many that, as war neared, the populous descended into even more violent gang warfare than that seen in the Habs of Primus, as mans basic instincts were revealed.

When attacking a hab, roll a D6, on a 1-2 play a 40K game, on a 3-6 play a Cityfight game. Hab Gangs rules apply.

2pts each

Hive Secondus Habitation Block S/c (The Tunnels)

Another, little known reason, for Quinns flight to Secondus was his knowledge that he could return to his capital quickly if he needed. He was aware of an incredibly long tunnel system that stretched from a secret opening in Hab Block S/c, right into the heart of Hive Primus’ Spire. Constructed by a mad Lord Governor, Rector the Wise, some three thousand years ago, its existence had long since fallen out of common knowledge. It was a useful card that Quinn intended to keep up his sleeve.

When attacking Hab S/c, roll a D6, on a 1-2 play a 40K game, on a 3-6 play a Cityfight game. The player who controls Hab S/c may launch an attack on Hive Primus, by passing the need to occupy it’s surrounding habs. However, due to the size of the tunnel, no vehicles or walkers may be used in the assault.

2pts

Kentack Fabrication Blocks

In addition to its mining operations, Kentack had a small manufacturing sector, which supplied industrial equipment to its own Hives and nearby systems. Sanctioned and co-run by the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Fab Blocks encompassed many miles of factories and workhouses, engaged in relentless construction. The faction that eventually gained control of this region was able to harness these resources to bolster their own forces.

Cityfight games are always played in the Fab Blocks. The player who controls the Fab Blocks is allowed a ‘free’ 50pts in any 40k game, or a ‘free’ 100pts in any Epic game.

4pts

Kentack VII Spaceport

Previously a busy harbour, filled with bulk haulers loading up on Kentack’s mineral exports, the increasing Warp Storms meant that the Spaceport played little part in the wars overall course. Still, it was one of a only a few reliable routes onto the orbital stations, and the powerful assets contained therein.

When attacking the Spaceport (expect from a space route) roll a D6. On a 1-2 play Cityfight, 3-4 play 40k, 5-6 play Epic.

4pts

Mining Post Xc-03

For the population of Kentack, Mining Post Xc-03 was much like any one of the several hundred mining posts that could be found dotted over the planet. It had been in place for several generations and workers had successfully drilled many miles below the surface, following a particularly strong adamantium vein. Little could they know that they were but scant meters from unearthing the immense Engine of Vual, before war came and drilling ceased. For the Eldar, locating this devise was an objective of all consuming importance

When attacking the Mining Post, a 40k game is always played. This the Eldar’s PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

2pts (8pts for the Eldar)

Praetorian 5^th HQ

Positioned far away from most areas of habitation (in order to create detachment between the Guard and the population) the HQ of the Praetorian 5^th was a fortress befitting any garrison force. Though far from any existing front line, the Praetorians had ensured they were well equipped, and boasted a full infantry regiment as well as supporting armour, even a number of Superheavy detachments. As soon Kentack was assaulted the Praetorian 5^th sallied forth from their palisades, ready to rid the world of the enemies of the Emperor. It was tragic that so many of them died whilst unwittingly furthering the cause of the Xenoform Quinn, and it is a sin that the 5^th seek to absolve, even to this day.

When attacking the HQ (expect from a space route) roll a D6. On a 1-2 the Grand Assault Mission is played, on a 3-6 a Cityfight game is played.

2pts

Space Routes

Any attack launched using a blue ‘Space Route’ results in a Planetstrike Mission being played.

St. Octia’s Station

Cited on the smaller of Kentack’s two moons, St. Octia’s station was home to the planets defensive weapon battery, designed to form the last line of defence against any hostile Space Fleet. It proved to be no match for Eldar ship technology however, whose vessels slipped past its defences unseen, and proceeded to capture the station without much fuss. Its guns were not wasted however, as the Eldar Guardian teams put the Mon-Keigh weapons to good use.

Possession of St. Octia’s Station allows the controlling player to launch a preliminary bombardment at the start of any 40k game, or a free Orbital Bombardment (with the stats bellow) in any Epic game.

Orbital Bombardment - 3BP - Macro Weapon

2pts

St. Veyda’s Dock

Similarly to the Spaceport, St. Veyda’s Dock was of little use given that most of the combatants already had their forces on the surface of Kentack. However its advanced communication arrays did allow army commanders greater accuracy in coordinating their forces on the ground, an asset that gave the upper hand in many battles.

When attacking St Veyda’s Dock (expect from a space route) a 40k game is always played. While controlling St Veyda’s Dock, a player may add or subtract 1 from any of their reserve rolls.

1pt

St. Veyda’s Orbital Station

Taking up the majority of Kentack’s largest moon, St Veyda’s Obrital Station was almost a city in its own right. Constantly looking onto the surface of the planet, the Station was mostly used as a launch pad for strikes onto the surface, though these faced similar difficulties to those lunched from Airfield Primus.

When attacking St Veyda’s Station (expect from a space route) an Epic game is always played. Control of the Station allows a player to occupy any plain or town on the map, playing a Planetstrike mission to gain control of the area. However, if claiming a territory in this way, the player must roll a D6. A roll of 3-6 means the attack goes ahead as usual. A roll of a 1-2 means that a terrible accident has occurred, and no attack is made. The player may do nothing further in the campaign turn

3pts

End of Location Rules

So there you have it guys! This is the first campaign that I have entirely written myself and I would love to hear any questions or comments you guys have, either to clarify or improve the rules.

Soon I'll be posting up how our first few turns went, and the adapted Cityfight/Cities of Death rules we are using for the Hive games. Until then, thanks for stopping by...

Kentack VII Campaign - Background

2010-01-09T07:42:00.001Z

Recently I have undertaken to launch my gaming group onto a 40K and Epic Campaign, in order to give the games we have been playing a linked feel. We are already several games into it, and I have only just realised that I haven't mentioned on this blog! Heresy!

In this first post I'm uploading the Campaign story that I wrote up. Now, I warn you, it is rather convoluted! I was keen to make a story that could do several things:

A. Find a reasonable reason why my Praetorian Guard, Mullan's Black Templars and Ben's Eldar would be fighting each other.

B. Set the action in the Segmentum Tempestus. As the location for my beloved Preatoria, I have decided to set all my fluff in Tempestus (as can be seen in my Dark Angels Background).

These objectives have led to a rather interesting tale, involving all manner of evil and indeed Tyranids, an army that nobody is even playing!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings! I hope you all enjoy, Campaign rules are to come...

Kentack VII and her moons

Late in the year 996.M41, the previously peaceful world of Kentack VII was the site of a bitter struggle between three mighty forces. What began as a straightforward compliance action by the Black Templars Adeptus Astartes, was turned on its head by the sudden arrival of the Eldar of Cairas Mythar. The Xenos intervention signalled that the world of Kentack VII was of great strategic importance, and would ultimately be a place of death and suffering for all concerned...

The Kentack system was located in Segmentum Tempestus, around 9 months rimward warp travel of the Segmentum Capital at Bakka. Although consisting of 11 desolate planets, an early Imperial exploratory team singled out Kentack VII as suitable for human habitation, and the world had remained under imperial control for tens of thousands of years. Despite having no natural water deposits and a barren landscape, Kentack VII’s mineral wealth ensured the construction of a plethora of mining colonies and even a few scattered Hive Cities, whose hard pressed inhabitants refined the rocks harvested out on the plains.

By M41, generations of industrial activity had resulted in a thick smog that enveloped the planet, leaving it a dim and depressing place to exist, as well as hampering air travel to and from the surface. Continuing regardless, the mining operations became of such importance that a Space Dock was constructed on one of Kentack VII’s moons, along with orbital defences, and a permanent Imperial Guard presence was installed on the planet. Ultimately the planet paid its tithes to the God-Emperor and thus remained a largely uneventful little place. This was until Victor Quinn assumed the role of Planetary Governor.

As head of the wealthiest mining family, Victor Quinn assumed the role of Planetary Governor upon the death of the previous incumbent. For the first 20 years of his reign, life on the planet continued much as it had for thousands of years. However, at some point the ruling class of Kentack were gradually and quietly converted to a cult known as the Followers of the Farther. Initially portrayed as another branch of the Imperial Creed, the few Ecclesiarchical priests on the planet paid it little mind; until it was too late.

At the beginning of 995.M41 warp storms began to trouble much of Segmentum Tempestus, and the guiding light of the Astronomican waxed and waned. On Kentack, contact with the Imperium became intermittent and unreliable. As if foreseeing these events, Quinn and the Followers of the Farther initiated plans to break away from Imperial control and a successful covert campaign saw the agents of the Adptus Arbites and Adptus Administratum quietly removed and eliminated. However, to take total control Quinn still needed to ensure the loyalty of the population of Kentack and, perhaps more crucially, the Praetorian 5^th, who were the Imperial Guard regiment stationed on the planet at that time.

Taking to the public address system on the eve of New Year 996.M41, Quinn announced to the population that a great shadow was about to fall over the galaxy. Fabricating a false tale of an Imperium in ruins, Quinn convinced the people that the Followers of the Farther where the true incarnation of the Imperial Church and that the Emperor had in fact sent the current series of Warp Storms to protect Kentack from strife. Fantastically, the velvet tipped words of the governor were convincing enough to even persuade the Officers and Commissars of the Praetorian 5^th, who moved man Kentack’s defences. With the Planet under his complete control Quinn and the Followers began to work toward other, darker, ends.

However, unfortunately for Quinn, the cessation of exports from Kentack did not go unnoticed. Segmentum Command at Bakka learned of Quinn’s Heresy. Coincidentally a battle group of Black Templars were less than a months travel from Kentack, assembling to undertake a new crusade. Asked to re-establish the Pax Imperialis, the Templars took to their Strike Cruisers within days and entered the warp.

Upon arrival in the Kentack system, the Templars quickly launched an unforgiving assault on the planets main airfield, catching the Praetorian garrison completely off guard. Finding themselves under attack, the Praetorians resisted with maximum force, but the Marines quickly gained a foothold. In response Quinn quickly began to mobilise his forces, and war was afoot. However, even as the initial assault was happening, Alien forces were arriving, and would proceed to make the situation much, much more complicated.

Under the direction of Farseer Idranel, the Eldar of Cairas Mythar used the commotion of the Templar assault to gain a control of the small orbital station of Saint Octia’s dock. It was crucial to the Eldar that this planet be theirs as soon as possible, for they knew the true nature of the Followers of the Farther, and the horrors they were seeking to aid. They knew that the Great Devourer was coming.

Barely a year before, the Seer Council of Cairas Mythar had foreseen that imminent arrival of Hive Fleet Leviathan, which would tear into Segmentum Tempestus by the end of 997.M41. They had seen that the Followers in fact formed a small part of the vanguard of this invasion and that the ‘Farther’ to which they referred was no less that a Genestealer Patriarch, who had infiltrated Kentack generations ago. Indeed Quinn himself was descended from this hideous creature, and was a powerful Hybrid Magus in his own right. This was the reason that his words were able to overpower the minds of population of Kentack and the Commissars and Officers of the Praetorian 5^th. In a story repeated on several of the most isolated worlds in Tempestus, the Followers were to ensure that Kentack would fall to the Tyranid fleets without a shot being fired, gifting them crucial recourses with which to jump-start their invasion.

But the reason that the Eldar chose to intervene on Kentack was deeper still. They knew the planet by another name entirely, that of Chen’lack. Ancient beyond reckoning, Chen’lack was a bastion world of the old Eldar Empire, designed to guard the fringes of Eldar space from its enemies. To this end the planet had been heavily reconstructed by the bonesingers of old, and at its heart lay an Engine of Vual, one of immense power. Forgotten after the Eldar fall, and revealed to the Seers of Cairas Mythar, Idranel knew that if they could secure it then his forces could set a trap for at least some of the approaching Hive Fleet. Whether it would be enough to blunt the invasion or not, he could not discern, but he knew they had to try…

Colour Sergeant Williams slammed home another magazine and returned the lasgun to his shoulder, which was already bruised from an hour of rifle firing. The small garrison of Airfield Primus had done its best to hold on against the black clad monsters, but it was clear that their time was almost up. Hope had been lost the moment Lieutenant Wilkins’ fire-support team had been brutally ripped apart by bolter fire and chainswords. Without those Autocannons there wasn’t much the rest of the Praetorians could do against the ceramite armoured Black Templars.

With that thought Williams faltered, for the second time during the battle. Black Templars? But they were Astartes of the Emperor, why were they massacring loyal Imperial soldiers? He quickly remembered the words of the great Quinn, his revelation that the Imperium was tearing itself apart with civil war, but it suddenly just didn’t feel right. Why was this happening?

As he looked around him however his doubts quickly faded. As he saw 2^nd Platoon engage the enemy, saw Lewick’s Squad cut down by a single Astartes, saw Commissar Thorn fend off three Marines single-handed, he decided only loyal soldiers of the Emperor could die with such heroism. The enemy must be traitors. And, as he was decapitated by a Chainsowrd he never saw coming, Colour Sergeant Williams was convinced that what he was doing was right...

Moving at a Dwarf's pace...

2010-01-07T20:49:00.005Z

So, the building begins and my room is a mountain of sprues!

So far its taken me a few days of sporadic work to build up the three regiments you see below, and I have two left to work through. Once I have these done I'll look to buying some more fun stuff, with Thanes, Hammerers, Ironbreakers and Slayers definitely on the agenda.

Not much to really add at this point. Its going to a really slow burning project, what with both the 40k and Epic Guard on the go as well. But, hopefully as I get re-acquainted with the fantasy rules I can bring you such delights as Battle Reports and Army Lists.

I will say that if you can find any of the old Army sets, buy them, they are great value and a really good way to start up an army, especially in fantasy where you need a load of models.

I'm also wondering if anybody else is finding the Dwarf models a pain to assemble? It seems to me that the torso joint is difficult to get right, and the mould lines are numerous and are in particularly annoying places. That said, the moults/sculpts are great, with some really characterful pieces. Finally, I'm beginning to realise that I'm going to be drowning in spare bits. If anybody needs an axe for a model, I'm your man...

13,000 points of Apocalypse...

2010-01-02T10:00:00.000Z

So lets start the new year with a little bit of excitement eh?

Months ago, the day before heading off to Games Day, myself and four friends played a 13,000 Apocalypse at my house. Kicking off at 10am and finishing sometime around 8pm, we managed to play a full 6 turns and rack up some considerable carnage!

What follows are some photos from the battle, including a video of the point where nearly all of the 26,000 points of models were on the table. I intend to let the photos mainly speak for themselves, as I've rather forgotten the flow of the battle! In addition to that I call on all of you to head over to forgotmytea. As a player on the opposition side, Ben has some much better photos of the battle (damn him and his good camaera), as well as a narative descripition of the role his Eldar played in the battle.

Enjoy!

The Board

In order to give the game a little bit of extra space, I used the Space Hulk board sections to create an underground tunnel system, with some extra rules and features. Although, in the event, these tunnels didn't really feature in the fighting, its an idea I would use again!

Deployment

Both armies bid highly with their deployment times, with the Evil armies going first. After labouring to place out nearly all their models, we rewarded the heretics hard work by declaring we would deploy nothing. A cunning plan was afoot.

Turn 1

Turn one came and went, as again the good forces committed no forces to the fight.

Turn 2

Turn 2, well, erm, still no actual fighting.

Turn 3

Turn 3. This was more like it. The Imperials had waited to commit all their forces in one go, the boards literally breaking under the weight of all the assembled models.

Turn 4

65 Terminators from various chapters deep struck into the enemies rear, following two orbital bombardments.

Rhinos form a screen around the entrance to the tunnel system, whilst Tactical Marines descend to clear out the aliens and heretics within.

Turn 5

Terminators charge the mass ranks of Necrons. Despite their unchallenged destructive power, the presence of 5 Resurrection Orbs meant they simply couldn't kill the machines fast enough.

Carnage across the table!

And combat in the tunnels...

Turn 6

The Terminators, now severely depleted, still try to deal with the un-dying masses of Necrons.

The damned indestructible monoliths, sitting atop an objective each.

By the end of a hard days fighting, victory narrowly law with the forces of evil, by one objective. This was in no small part due to the fact we simply couldn't kill off 120+ Necron warriors, and the Monoliths squatting over vital objectives. Still, an exceptionally fun day, I hope you all enjoyed the photos!

Stunted Seasons Greetings!

2009-12-26T23:54:00.003Z

Hello all, just a late post to say Merry Christmas to all of you out there, and I hope you have a happy new year!

Its also a post to mark the point where I think I truly became an insane hobbyist:

Now how on earth did that happen?

Look forward to some more on this in the new year...

Aboard Horus' Battle Barge

2009-12-18T13:40:00.002Z

So the astute amongst you may have noticed my last post promised two tales from WD 161, whilst only one appeared. Here is the second and, in my opinion, is the best. I hope sharing these has got you as excited about the Horus Heresy game as I am!

Aboard Horus' Battle Barge by Bill King

Even through the shields, impacts makes the Imperial Palace shake. With a screech of tortured stone an angel topples from its alcove high on the throne room wall and crashes to the marble floor a kilometre below. It shatters into a million pieces. Splinters of stone flash across the hall like shrapnel.

From his throne the Emperor watches his warriors mill around in confusion. This hall holds ten thousand men, seasoned veterans, and all now panicking. He knows they are more frightening by his silence than by the enemy. They look to him for leadership and he can give them none.

For the first time in his millennia-long life the Emperor knows despair. The magnitude of his defeat stuns him. The lunar bases have fallen. Most of the earth is under the Warmaster's heel. Rebel Titans, towering 30 feet high, surround the palace and are held at bay only by the desperate efforts of a few loyalists. It is only a matter of time before the palace's defences fail and the last bastions of resistance fall.

"Sire, what are your orders?" asks Rogal Dorn, massive dark-haired Primarch of the Imperial Fists. His golden armour has lost its lustre, is dented in a dozen places by bolter shells. The Emperor doesn't answer. He is lost within himself seeking answers to his own questions.

He has come at last to the dark place, the time of testing, the era hidden from his precognition vision and beyond which he cannot see. The moment he has always dreaded has arrived. Is my time over, he wonders? Is this where it all ends? Is this why I have reached the limits of my prophetic powers. Is this where I die?

He felt bewildered. Even now, the Traitor Warmaster's forces were battering at the gate, he finds it difficult to believe that he has been betrayed.

Horus was more than a trusted comrade, more like a favoured son. Of all the Primarchs the Emperor relied on him most. Not for a second had the Emperor doubted him, not even when word had come from the Savage Worlds that the Warmaster was gathering forces. He had deluded himself that Horus must have good reason to do so without consulting him. I should have been warned by the failure of my precognition, he thinks.

"Sire, what are your orders?" asks Kane, acting Fabricator-General of the Adeptus Mechanicus. He stares at the Emperor, a trick of light turning the glass slits of his brass mask into accusing eyes. Once more the Emperor does not reply. Kane's presence reminds him that not even the head of the Adeptus is to be trusted. His superior, the former Fabricator-General, has chosen to side with Horus.

On Mars civil war rages between factions of Tech-Priests. Ancient, forbidden weapons are being deployed. Viral plagues kill millions. Fusion bombs scar the earth.

So much will be lost. He thinks of the slow piecing together of the old science. The Librarium Technologicus is in flame now, ancient core data systems in meltdown. The time of re-building is over. The Great Crusade, as much a quest for lost knowledge as a war to reclaim the human worlds, is ended. The Warmaster's treachery has seen to that.

"Sire, what are your orders?" asks Sanguinius, angel winged Primarch of the Blood Angels. He gazes at the Emperor with blazing eyes, his face a mask of terrible beauty.

The Emperor knows they rely on him for guidance. They still believe in him. They think he can lead them from this trap. They are wrong.

Horus is the greatest general the galaxy has ever known. Who should know better than his creator? He is schooled by a century of warfare. There will be no way out, no loopholes, no flaws in the plan. The Warmaster would have to be mad to leave one.

The Emperor looks down on the faces of his followers, sees the trust written there, feels the weight of responsibility it brings. He knows that for their sake he must try, even if it is hopeless, He casts forth his clairvoyant sight, lets his mind drift beyond the ruined gardens of the palace, over fields where colossal Titans battle by the twisted light of the sculpted moon. He sees the whole war spread out beneath him, his pitifully outnumbered legions being mown down by the traitor hordes. He reaches up to the sky, where he senses the fleet of battle barges that rain orbital doom upon the tortured Earth. Amid those thousand glittering points he finds the Warmaster.

Hope flickers within him. The shields of Horus's ship are down. Briefly he wonders why. Is the traitor's confidence so overwhelming? Does he wish to witness the battle himself. Or is it a trap? The Emperor touches the ship and recoils from what he senses within. How could Horus have done that, made a pact with the ultimate abomination?

The Emperor comes to a decision. Trap or not, this is the only opportunity he will get. He has no option but to seize it; the position is so desperate. Even as his spirit returns to his body, the ominous thought strikes him that the Warmaster must know this.

"What are your orders, Sire?" Sanguinius asks again. The Emperor's eyes snap open. His voice is full of authority. "Prepare to teleport. We will take the battle to the enemy." The men smile confidently. They now have a purpose. While he inputs the teleport co-ordinates they move, without question, to obey.

A flash of light, a feeling of coldness. They have teleported into the Warmaster's ship. The Emperor takes an instant to re-orientate himself and realises that something has gone wrong. He stands in a vast, warped chamber with only a few Marines in attendance. The Terminators and Primarchs are not present. How is this possible he wonders. Could Horus have disrupted the teleportation beam? Is he so powerful?

Insane voices gibber madly inside his skull. There are figures trapped in the stone walls of the vast room. Hands reach out for him, grasp at him with rock-like strength. He shrugs them off easily. His comrades are not so lucky. Bolters chatter and flash as the Marines attempt to fight off their demonic assailants. A man screams as he is drawn into the dark and slimy walls. As he vanishes, ripples spread from his point of disappearance. The Emperor's sword lashes out, severing limbs, freeing trapped Marines. He summons his psychic energies. A nimbus flickers around his head as he unleashes his power. A tidal wave of destruction rips through the daemons, leaving his own men unscathed.

He scans about him, seeking the Primarchs but the walls of the Warmaster's Battle Barge are resistant to his mindsight. He gestures for the surviving Marines to follow him.

They wander through the ship distorted beyond all recognition by the warping power of Chaos. Great sphincter-doors distend from walls of flesh-like stone. Transparent veins bear rivers of blood along conduits in the floor. Carpets of mucous cover a road of tongues.

Winged and distorted things that might once have been human flit through the archways of bone and perch on ledges of rib. The Marines gasp in horror. He exerts himself to calm them, psychically soothing their fear of this dreadful place. All the while he scans the area looking for the spoor of Horus. He knows now the nature of the pact the Warmaster has made and the dreadful consequences of his victory.

They pass pits that gape like glistening gullets in the floor and echo the beats of a distant giant heart. They are showered by waterfalls of stinking yellowish liquid that cascades down cliffs of carved cartilage. Sometimes they hear weapons fire but when they arrive at the source they find nothing.

Mists of rainbow vapour drift across their field of vision, obscuring corridors of carnivorous stone. Clouds of insects swarm over their faceplates and choke the extractors of their airpipes. They switch over to internal oxygen supply.

They are ambushed by scuttling skull-faced things in the armour of Marines. They fight hoardes of mutated beasts. One by one they die. In the end the Emperor stands alone. Then and only then is he allowed to enter the presence of Horus.

The Warmaster bestrides the body of a broken angel. Behind him the tortured earth fills the viewport, a bauble for Horus to seize with one clawed hand. Corpses of massacred Marines lie everywhere.

Face glowing with internal bloodlight. Horus speaks. "Poor Sanguinius. I offered him a position of power in the new order. He could have sat at the right hand of a god. Alas he chose to align himself with the losing side."

The Emperor stands transfixed, trying to force frozen words from his tongue. In the end he can only whisper, "Why?" Mad laughter rings out. "Why? You ask me why? Have all those millennia taught you nothing? Weak fool, your timidity prevented you from binding the forces of Chaos. You shied away from the ultimate power. I have bound it to my will and will lead humanity into the new age. I, Horus, Master of Chaos."

The Emperor looks at his former friend and shakes his head. He sees the trap that has ensnared Horus. "No man can master Chaos," he says quietly. "You have deluded yourself. You are the servant, not the master."

A look of rage transfigures the Warmaster. He stretches out a hand and a bolt of force leaps forth. The Emperor screams as agony wracks his body. "Feel the true nature of my power then tell me I am deluded," roars Horus, in the voice of an angry god.

Beads of sweat stand out on the Emperor's forehead, he steels himself against the pain. "You are deluded," he says.

Once again Horus gestures and lances of pure poison sear through the Emperor's veins. "I let you come here, old friend, so that you could witness my triumph. Kneel before me and I will spare you. Acknowledged the new master of mankind."

Desperately the Emperor summons his power and lashes out. Lightning flickers between the combatants. The stench of ozone fills the air. The Emperor leaps forward, sword raised. Weapons clash as battle is joined on every level: physical, spiritual, psychic.

Bolts of force flicker as mortal gods clash, balancing the fate of the galaxy on every blow. Runesword and lightning claw ring against each other with a sound like thunder. Energies potent enough to level planets are unleashed.

A backhand buffet from Horus knocks the Emperor through a stone bulkhead. The counterstroke tears a supporting column out of the ceiling as the Warmaster ducks.

In the warp the Emperor hears the Chaos Powers howl as they feed their pawn more power. The Lord of Humanity stands alone against their massed might and knows that he is losing. Somehow he cannot bring his full force to bear on the Warmaster. Horus shows no such restraint.

A lightning claw cuts the Emperor's armour as if it were cloth, sheers through flesh and bone. The Emperor ripostes with a psychic stroke intended to disrupt the Warmaster's nervous system. Horus laughs as he deflects it.

His claws take the Emperor across the throat, opening windpipe and jugular. Another blow severs the tendons on his wrist, causing the sword to drop from nerveless fingers.

Insane laughter echoes round the chamber. Horus breaks several ribs with an almost playful punch. A surge of energy seers the Emperor's face, melting the flesh till it runs, bursting an eyeball, setting his hair alight. The Emperor stifles a whimper, wonders how he can be losing. Blackness threatens to engulf him.

Horus grasps his wrists, splintering bones. Blood pumps from the Emperor's throat. Horus lifts his foe above his head and brings him down across his knee, breaking his spine.

For a second the Emperor knows only darkness then a flare of agony brings him back to consciousness as Horus rips his arm from its socket. The Warmaster howls with bestial triumph.

Suddenly the battering stops. Through his good eye the Emperor sees a solitary Terminator has entered the room. The Marine charges towards the Warmaster, stormbolter blazing. Horus looks at him and laughs. For a moment he stands triumphant, allowing the Marine to see what he has done to his Emperor.

The Emperor knows what is going to happen next, sees the gloating triumph on Horus' face. There is no trace of his friend left there. There is only a daemon driven by insane destructive fury.

Horus turns his burning gaze on the Terminator and the Marine's flesh flakes away to reveal his skeleton, then even that is gone, reduced to dust.

The Emperor sees the trap that has been set for him. He has been restraining himself, trying not to hurt one who had been as a son to him. Now he sees that there is no trace of his trusted comrade left. He knows that he must stop this semblance of his former friend and avenge the fallen Terminator. He must strike one deadly blow. He will get no other chance.

He gathers every particle of his power, focuses it into a mighty bolt of pure force, more coherent than a laser, more destructive than an exploding sun. He aims it as Horus, a lance of power destined for the madman's heart. Horus senses the upsurge of energy and turns to face the Emperor, a look of horror on his face.

The Emperor lets fly. It strikes the Warmaster. Horus screams as destruction rains down on him, twisting and writhing in titanic agony. He strives frantically to counter the Emperor's deathblow but his struggles become more feeble as the lethal energies play over him.

Driven by all the force of his rage and pain and hatred the Emperor wills Horus's death. He senses the forces of Chaos retreat, disengaging themselves from their pawn. As they do so sanity returns to the Warmaster. The Emperor sees realisation of the atrocities he has committed flicker across Horus' face. Tears glisten there.

Horus is free but the Emperor knows he himself is dying and that the Powers of Chaos may once again possess the Warmaster and he will not be there to stop them. He cannot take that risk. Horus must die. Yet for a second, looking into his old friends face, he hesitates, unable to do the deed. Then he thinks of the slaughter that still goes on outside, may go on forever. Resolve hardens within him.

He forces all mercy and compassion from his mind, empties it of all knowledge of friendship and coimraderie and love. His eyes lock with Horus and see understanding there. Then with full cold knowledge of what he is doing the Emperor destroys the Warmaster.

Rogal Dorn enters the chamber. Horror fills him as he sees the mutilated form of the Emperor and the shrivelled husk inside the Warmaster's armour. He curses himself for taking so long to fight through the Chaotic hordes, He knows now why their attacks ceased and why the ship is reverting to normal.

He rushes to the Emperor's side, detecting the faint pulse of life. Perhaps there is yet hope. Perhaps the ruler of the Imperium may live.

Rogal Dorn will do his best to ensure it.

Image of Sanguinius holding the Ultimate Gate taken from Studio Colrouphobia & used without permission. No offence intended.

On the thirteenth day of Secundus, the barrage bombardment began...

2009-12-17T11:48:00.008Z

As most of you will know, Fantasy Flight Games, the people behind the amazing 40k Role-play books, are releasing another 40k game in the new year, The Horus Heresy.

A card based board game depicting the final assault on Terra, it will feature all the forces of good an evil present, up to and including the Emperor and Horus themselves. Needless to say, after Space Hulk, I'm pretty damned excited about this game and will have to pick it up. I'm more than looking forward to playing the loyalist side, and throwing the traitorous scrum back into the warp.

A view of the game board. Not the most visually striking, but the story itself should make up for that...

However, the main reason for this post is a reaction to some of the promotional writing on the FF website, particularly this phrase: 'On the thirteenth day of Secundus, the barrage bombardment began...'.

It stuck in my craw because I knew I recognised it from somewhere. After an hour of searching I rediscovered two fantastic tales from way back in WD 161, that I want to share with you all. They both have got me absolutely jumping in anticipation for the Horus Heresy game, and I hope you enjoy them...

The Assault on Earth by Bill King

On the thirteenth day of Secundus, 30,014, the barrage bombardment began. From orbit the Warmaster's ships laid down unrelenting missiles and deadly energy beams. The aim was to cripple the defences around the Emperor's Palace and make possible a massive invasion of Earth. The lunar bases had already fallen and the defending fleets had been scattered. On Mars, as across the entire vast Imperium, bitter civil war raged.

On countless worlds blood-mad warriors clashed. Some had pledged loyalty to the Emperor. Others had sworn fealty to Warmaster Horus, and, through him, to the dark powers of Chaos. The Emperor's realm was in turmoil and some of the greatest battles in human history were being fought. On the hive-world of Thranx over a million warriors died in a single day on the killing fields of Perdagor. On the blazing deserts of Tallarn, at the Ka'an Salient, fifty thousand tanks clashed in the greatest armoured action of all time. During the spacedrop on Vanaheim three hive-cities were depopulated by rebel forces as a warning against resistance and still the defenders fought to the last man.

Like a cancer the Heresy infected the entire structure of the Imperium. Everywhere brave men gave up their lives to try and excise that cancer.

It was on Earth, at the very heart of humanity's realm, that the fate of the galaxy was to be decided. In those last days, the sky was black with dust clouds and the earth was split by gigantic fissures. Tectonic plates shifted under the stress of the bombardment. Mountain chains shivered and seas evaporated and became salty deserts. Rains of blood and ash dripped from the dark sky. Everywhere oracles muttered evil portents and men went mad with fear.

Hideously twisted ships full of the lost and the damned hung in orbit over the ravaged world. Shielded from the devastation by the cunningly wrought defences of the Adeptus Mechanicus a pitiful few stood ready to repel the invaders.

The embattled remnants of the Emperor's army were desperately trying to hold out until reinforcements arrived. The Emperor himself oversaw the defence of his fortress-palace, personally commanding the Adeptus Custodes, his elite guard. He was accompanied by Sanguinius, white-pinioned Primarch of the Blood Angels and his Chapter of Space Marines. In the palace grounds stood the stalwart Adeptus Arbites.

The palace was not the only bastion of resistance. There were others; each an awesome fortified city filled with dauntless soldiers. Beneath their Fortress Monastery, grim-visaged Rogal Dorn led the stern Imperial Fists in final prayers. Within the armoured factory complexes of the Adeptus Mechanicus, techpriests put aside their tools and girded on the fearsome weapons of their order. In the rubble of burned-out hab-areas Primarch Jhagatai Khan mustered the White Scars, the Chapter of Space Marines he had personally instructed in the art of lightning warfare. Three full Titan legions stood ready to defend their Emperor.

As the earth shuddered under the bombardment, tank divisions roared across the tortured landscape to take up their position against the coming invasion. Brave men checked their weapons and offered up last prayers. Defence lasers swivelled to face the turbulent threatening sky. Suddenly, the night was streaked by the plasma contrails of drop-pods. Within the Emperor's halls even the Space Marines shuddered knowing that they would soon confront their lost and damned brethren. The terrifying prospect of facing those corrupt Primarchs who had sold their souls to Chaos filled every man's mind with indescribable horror and dread.

The pods touched ground and from them erupted the mightiest champions of Chaos, the renegade Space Marines of the lost Chapters. These were no longer the fine human warriors of legend but twisted creatures, bodies warped by the energies of Chaos, minds twisted by their devotion to the dark powers. If what had happened to the Space Marines was bad then what had happened to their Primarchs was worse. They had been created higher in the Emperor's esteem and had fallen further. None of their former comrades would have recognised them - they had been transformed into creatures both daemonic and exultant.

Mighty Angron bellowed orders to his blood-drinking followers, the World Eaters. Brandishing his great runesword he led them against the defenders of Eternity Wall Space Port. Around his red-armoured followers bolter shots whined. Unflinchingly they advanced, determined to spill blood for the Blood God.

At Mortarion's soft-spoken command the Death Guard emerged silently from the festering cocoons of their drop-pods and advanced on their terror-stricken foes. The dread runes on Mortarion's scythe glittered eerily in the night as he gestured for them to advance.

Magnus the Red glared triumphantly about him with his one watchful eye before ordering the mage-warriors of the Thousand Sons to cast their spells of doom. A hail of deadly bolter shells cut down dozens of the Emperor's Children. Undeterred, the wounded howled with pleasure at the experience and chanted the praises of their Primarch Fulgrim. The Renegade Space Marines surged forward to carve a path through their foes.

Perhaps some defenders went mad with fear. Perhaps the corruption of Chaos ran deeper than anyone suspected. Perhaps some were foolish enough to think that they could negotiate with the ultimate enemy. Whatever the reason one last vile treachery was to take place. Many units of the Imperial army that had pledged loyalty to the Emperor turned blasphemer even as the Traitor Space Marines made their drop. It was almost as if it were a pre-arranged signal. In one of the basest acts of betrayal in humanity's history they turned their weapons on their brother warriors and cut them down like dogs. Thus did the Lions Gate Space Port fall to the rebels. As the heretics chanted and howled their mad prayers, the air shimmered and slavering daemons emerged from the warp to spread terror and dismay.

Then indeed did it seem to the defenders that they were living in the last days of mankind. Huge bat-winged Bloodthirsters swept triumphantly across the weeping skies. Clawed Keepers of Secrets danced lasciviously on piles of corpses. Great Unclean Ones chuckled as they lumbered through the ruined streets spreading trails of filth and slime and disease. Enigmatic Lords of Change perched atop the towers and statues and supervised the coming of Chaos to the heart of the world.

Mighty ships began the descent from orbit, hoping to overwhelm the defenders by sheer weight of numbers. Unlike the drop-pods these presented fine targets for weapons of the defenders. And thus did the battle lasers blasted many renegade ships from the sky, sending thousands of tons of fused metal death down onto the ground below. One giant craft span out of control and crashed into a hab-unit, killing a hundred thousand people. Another was welded to the ground, disgorging its passengers into a lake of bubbling tar and plas-crete. The vessel of the Warped Dogs was vaporised and that Titan Legion's name passed into history.

As quickly as they disembarked the Traitors surged forth from the space ports to besiege the bastions of the defenders. Their first objective was to silence the lasers inflicting such casualties on their comrades. The rebels were met by a wave of Imperial defenders, desperate men who knew that they were giving their lives for their home and their Emperor.

In the tightly packed streets around the space ports the fighting was close and deadly. Bolters chattered and missile launchers delivered cargoes of death from building to nearby building. Traitor tanks rumbled through the avenues, turrets swivelling to bring weapons to bear on the hastily improvised barricades of their former comrades.

Soon the defenders of Eternity Wall Space Port had been swept aside by the merciless assault and the hordes of the Warmaster were in total possession of the spacefield. More and more intricately wrought dropships descended from orbit. They towered over the landing ground like nightmare skyscrapers. The dark runes on their sides glowed evilly in the gloom. Hundred-metre high doors opened in their kilometre long sides. From their red depths Titans, ten times the height of a man, emerged. They were warped giants; the armour of their carapace fused and moulded into new shapes by the power of Chaos. Within them were men melded to their machines. Some of the hideous Titans had strange and potent weapons, others were a bizarre hybrid of the organic and the machine. Metal tentacles lashed, spiked tails whipped back and forth. Engines roared like the voices of angry beasts. Banners fluttering, the Titans of Storm Lords and the Flaming Skulls legions marched forth. At Lions Gate Space Port the traitors welcomed the towering black war engines of the Khornate host. Minotaurs and trolls and cultists seethed like angry ants around their bases.

Reinforced by this fresh wave of troops the hordes of Horus swept on, driving through the exhausted and demoralised Imperial troops to the very walls of the Emperor's palace. Khornate warriors mounted on bestial daemonic Juggers raced towards the marble and steel outer ring. Hordes of horn-headed Tzeentchian disc riders soared on the wind, bolts of mystic power erupting from their clenched fists to rake the defenders. Slaaneshi beast riders swept aside the Imperial Guard infantry and reached the Satumine Gate.

Round the walls bitter fighting ensued as the Imperials sallied forth, trying to drive the attackers back before the main body of the assaulting troops arrived. Men died in their thousands. From pillbox emplacements in the palace walls Imperial gun crews rained death down on the relentless attackers. Again and again the streets outside the palace were swept clear of heretics. Again and again new foes stepped forward to take their place.

Now indeed it seemed the tide of battle had turned against the Emperor. The space ports were firmly in the grasp of the minions of the Warmaster. Hundreds of thousands of troops poured down from orbit. Goat headed beastmen, gibbering mutants and hideous amorphous Chaos Spawn surged out of the dread ships. Under the banner of the great eye, the sign of Horus, the lackeys of the four Great Powers of Chaos marched united. Mounted on Rhinos, lurking within mighty Behemoths and clinging to the sides of gigantic war engines they made their way en masse to the Emperor's palace.

Looking down on the seething sea of foulness the defenders' hearts went cold. Mingling with the daemons and the mad-eyed cultists, the trolls and the beastmen they could see heretical Space Marines and traitor Guardsmen. These were people they might have once fought alongside, who had once been as loyal to the Emperor as themselves. They looked upon a dark mirror of their souls. Down there they could see martial honour become berserk madness, human cleverness become sly treachery, hope become foulness and love become abominable lust. The brave men on the walls knew that there was no way out. Here they must stand and fight and die. There would be no mercy from those below. This was a war where there could be no honourable peace. It was destroy or be destroyed.

For a moment all was silence, then Angron strode forth. In his brazen voice he demanded that the loyalists surrender. He told them that their cause was hopeless, that they faced a foe who could not be defeated. They were cut off, outnumbered, and defending a ruler too weak to be worthy of their loyalty. In that moment the men on the walls felt their resolve weaken. Looking at the transformed face of the Primarch who had been one of the Emperor's finest warriors, they saw an invincible, relentless foe backed by a numberless horde and all the daemonic might of Chaos.

There was a clamour on the walls as Sanguinius and the Blood Angels arrived. Standing on the wall, the angelwinged man glared on Angron with angry contempt. For long moments their gazes locked. Each Primarch seemed to be measuring the other, searching for chinks in the armour, for any sign of weakness and lack of resolve. Who knows what they saw there? Perhaps they communicated telepathically, brother Primarch to brother Primarch. The truth will never be known. Eventually Angron turned and walked back to his lines. He told his troops that there would be no surrender; they should kill everyone they found within the palace. No stone should be left upon turned.

With a roar the horde advanced towards the walls. Great Lords of Battle lurched forward on iron wheels, crushing anything in their way, unloading racks of missiles and turning the area on the top of the walls into blazing storms of death. Doom burners sent tongues of superheated metal licking out at the emplacements. Molten brass filtered through the windows and scalded those inside. Multi-tracked Cauldrons of Blood squirted jets of obscene daemonic ichor onto the defenders. Enormous fleshhounds of Khorne loped forward in their wake. Titans armed with specially constructed siege weapons lumbered into position. Battle cruisers dropped megatons of explosive death onto the defenders.

Every loyal warrior knew that he was already dead; that there was no way he could survive the coming of the daemonic army. The soldiers fought with the desperate ferocity of hopeless men, firing until their weapons were empty, snatching up the bolters of the fallen, and facing monsters with the butts of their guns when all ammunition was exhausted. Three times the horde managed to scale the walls, and three times it was driven off by the valiant efforts of Sanguinius and the Blood Angels. Wearily the Primarch marshalled the defenders, rallying the broken, speaking words of comfort to the mortally wounded, fighting with cold, implacable fury when he was called upon to do so. Slowly though, despite his efforts, the Chaos forces managed to erode the defence. They seemed numberless as the grains of sand on a sea shore and Horus spent their lives carelessly.

Outside the walls Imperial forces frantically raced from their bastions to try and relieve the palace. Titan legions boldly cut their way towards the centre of the rebel army. The Whitescars harried its flanks. No attempt to break the rebel line succeeded. Breaking through that blood-mad horde was a near impossible task. All four of the daemonic Primarchs inspired their followers to feats of Fiendish bravery. For every Chaos warrior who died it seemed two more stood ready to take his place.

In orbit the Warmaster watched approvingly. If the palace fell and the Emperor died loyalist legions across the galaxy would lose heart and the war would be over. Without the psychic shield of the Emperor's power, humanity would swiftly fall prey to Chaos. Horus would stand triumphant amid the rubble of humanity's greatest empire. He would become a new and angry god. If he did not win soon reinforcements would filter in from the corners of the Imperium, and his attack would falter. For the Warmaster this was the desperate ultimate gamble. Everything was staked on this attack. It had to succeed, and at that moment it looked as if it might.

Day by day the siege wore on, casualties rose from the thousands to tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. Bodies had to be bulldozed from the access ways to the Saturnine Gate by war machines. Chaos Titans blazed at the walls, specially constructed missiles ripping great chunks from the masonry. The Titans of the Fire Wasps answered their fire with volcano cannons. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the corpses of the dead were incinerated in funeral pyres a hundred foot high. Obscene ash parched the throats of the defenders. The World Eaters built a pyramid of scorched skulls sixty foot high in Temple Square. By night the chants of degenerate cultists echoed through the streets and daemons flitted among the ruins of Earth.

Slowly, foot by torturous foot, the defenders were forced back. The great walls of the palace were riddled with hundreds of kilometres of bulkheads and corridor. Within this maze hand to hand fighting ensued till entire sections of passage were filled with bloated corpses. Feeling progress was too slow, Horus ordered Titans of the Death's Head Legion to demolish entire sections of the wall. Despite taking tremendous casualties the great Warlord Titans broke through, and the forces of the Warmaster flooded into the palace grounds.

While all this was taking place Jhagatai Khan had implemented a change of plan. Rather than throwing away his forces against the near invincible bulk of the main Chaos army he launched a lightning raid against Lions Gate Space Port. This night attack was spearheaded by the shaven-headed warriors of the Whitescars, who led the remnants of the 1st Tank Division and elements of the surviving Guard armies against the surprised heretics. Khan threw a defensive perimeter around the space port and held it against all counter-attacks. The flow of men and materials towards the palace was halved at a stroke.

This success gave heart to the defenders. They swiftly attempted to seize Eternity Wall Space Port but here the forces of the Warmaster were better prepared. The attackers were ambushed and driven back by traitors. Horus knew it was imperative to keep his beachhead secure. The final push on the inner palace had begun.

The battle raged across the grounds of the Inner Gardens. What had once been a vast parkland was swiftly turned into a killing ground. Men used statues for cover and monuments for bunkers. Blood swirled in the waters of the ornamental lakes. Groves of ancient redwoods burned. The smell of the burning mingled with the acrid odours of weapons and engines and death. Red-eyed, snatching sleep when they could, both sides fought a total war. Trenches were hurriedly excavated in the meadows. Snipers killed men as they tried to sip brackish water from the ruined fountains.

Both sides fought with unimaginable naked ferocity. Both sides sensed the end was near. Eventually Sanguinius was forced to retreat to within the palace itself, personally holding the Ultimate Gate against the oncoming horde while the last of his wounded men was carried through. Just as the giant ceramite gate was about to close a Bloodthirster of Khorne leapt upon him. The daemon's huge talons closed around his throat. Sanguinius took to the air. Angel and daemon wrestled over the warring armies. Both sides halted for a moment to watch the titanic struggle. It was a conflict such as has been rarely seen; two beings of awesome power wrestled.

Sanguinius was weary and near the end of his strength and the daemon gouged great wounds in his flesh. The heretical throng roared its approval as the Primarch was cast to the ground, the impact splintering the granite. For a moment the Primarch lay still and a groan rose from the Blood Angels, the daemon stood over him and howled in exultation. Then slowly and painfully the Blood Angel rose and seized the creature, raised it high and broke its back across his knee. Then with a halo of power playing round his head he tossed its broken carcass back amid its followers. They beat their chests and rent their hair and wailed in dismay as the Ultimate Gate shut.

The great Sky Fortress bore Rogal Dorn and the remnants of the Imperial Fists to the inner palace. The loyal old general was determined to stand and die with his Emperor in the final hour. The Sky Fortress raced away from the palace in a desperate attempt to reach Shagatai Khan and return him to the palace. It was destroyed by a blaze of fire from the Death's Heads Titan Legions. Even in death its commander wrought havoc on the enemy, bringing the crippled vehicle down into the centre of the Chaos Horde. It seemed as if a new sun was born on Earth as the plasma reactor exploded, blasting out a crater three kilometres across. Those within the palace knew they were cut off; now they were truly alone. Only a miracle could save them.

Now the final siege began. Through great breaches in the outer walls more and more armaments and reinforcements were brought to bear. The Warmaster himself prepared to teleport down to the surface and supervise the destruction of his former lord. Then a daemon from the Warp whispered to him the words that he had dreaded.

A loyalist fleet under Leman Russ and Lion'el Johnson bearing a fresh army of Space Wolves and Dark Angels was only hours away. It would take days to break humanity's last citadel, even with Horus leading his troops. It seemed that time had run out for the Warmaster, that his gamble had failed.

Horus was first among the fallen, with the power of a god and the cunning of a daemon. He resolved to try one final desperate gambit. He could still kill the Emperor. He ordered all comm-net communications blocked so that the defenders would get no word from their rescuers and then he used his psychic powers to the full to prevent the Emperor becoming aware of this. Finally he dropped the shields of his command ship. It was an invitation and a personal challenge that he knew the Emperor could not resist. He was being offered a chance finally to smite the foe who had harried him for so long.

The Emperor rose to the challenge, and he and his surviving Primarchs teleported aboard the Warmaster's battle barge. Horus used his powers to separate the Emperor from his loyal followers. The loyalists were transported to different spots within his hideously altered ship. Sanguinius he had brought directly to his throne room. In his evil cunning the Warmaster offered the Blood Angel a chance to switch sides, reasoning that the winged Primarch's followers would be useful when the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels arrived.

Sanguinius refused. Horus grew wrathful and attacked him. At the peak of his powers the Blood Angel would have been no match for the Warmaster and now, sorely wounded and weary he had no chance at all. Horus strangled him with his bare hands before the throne the Powers of Chaos had gifted him with.

The Emperor found Horus shortly after this and what happened next is the subject of legend. The two mightiest beings in the history of mankind clashed. They met blade to blade, power to power, mind to mind and tested sinew and psychic power to the ultimate.

Behind Horus was the massed power of the Chaos Gods. The Emperor stood alone and still he triumphed, although he was terribly wounded in the process.

The psychic shock wave of the Warmaster's passing rippled outward through the warp. On Earth, daemons screamed and vanished, and the rebel Primarchs stood dumbfounded. It was their leader, not their enemy's, who was dead and they knew it. With the one who had raised the banner of rebellion dead, there was nothing to hold the rebels together. They were demoralised and dismayed. When word of the oncoming Imperial fleet reached them they knew that they must flee.

Within the perimeter of Lions Gate Space Port. Jhagatai Khan and the handful of unwounded Whitescars watched in amazement as the horde halted in confusion then retreated. Angron, Fulgrim, Magnus the Red and Mortarion led their men to their ships and departed, leaving the deluded, traitorous followers of Chaos to their fate. As he stepped aboard his ship Angron turned and shook his fist at the glittering dome of the Imperial palace that had proved just out of his taloned reach. Then he shrugged; he and his fellow rebels had all eternity to seek revenge. The Battle for Earth was effectively over. The Horus Heresy was ended.

Rogal Dorn found the Emperor's broken body in the ruins of the Warmaster's throne room. Through mangled lips the Emperor whispered instructions for the creation of his golden throne. Dorn smiled, for while the Emperor still lived there was still hope. The old general returned to Earth. There was much to be done.

40k Tale of Painters Entry 4

2009-12-14T23:31:00.003Z

Hello all. After showing off my Epic ToP entry, its time to bring out the 40K. The Praetorians have come on in leaps and bounds since you last saw them, with addition of 5 news squads and the first of the armour pieces. I'll start by showing you what I produced this month, which thankfully is most of the interesting stuff!

This months entry:

7 Veterans, 1 Commissar & 1 Medusa @ 354pts

Army to date:

7 units @ 747pts

First off here are some pictures of the Veterans. I couldn't seem to get good shots of these guys, but they will do now.

Though I'm using the Vostroyan models (which are awesome), these are not Vostroyans on an exchange trip, but rather Praetorian 'Spire Born'. In my fluff, every Praetorian Infantry Company contains a few squads of Spire Born, normally in the 3rd (support) Platoon. They are the sons of Nobles and merchants, from the highest levels of the Hives of mother-Praetoria, and are equipped with the best weapons and armour the Regiment can offer. They are expected to prove themselves by dealing any threat that the poor grunts are overwhelmed by.

The bespoke equipment of the Vostroyan models fitted this idea brilliantly, and the Bearskin hats helps the army keep its British military heritage intact. With this in mind I used lots of gold and bright colours in order to make the Spire Born stand out, as they would expect!

Next up with have the mighty Medusa, the first of two.

(Go here for some large versions of the pictures, as Blogger seems to hate my photos)

I've tried to add a lot more realism to my Guard armies, as opposed to my heroic Dark Angels, and so I want the tanks to look like they have been through several months of hard campaigning. To this end I experimented with some of the tips in the Forgeworld Master Class book (which I would highly recommend!). I find one of the hardest things with weathering is knowing when you've gone over the top, and I'm not sure if I have on this Medusa, so I'd love to know what you all think.

I also used the new forgeworld weathering powders, especially the soot and dirt ones. I'm not entirely sure how best to use these yet, so I didn't go overboard, but I think they added to the model nicely.

I regret not adding any stowed kit, something I'm going to rectify with the rest of the tanks. I think it finishes the 'used' look.

Also in a departure from form, I painted the wonderful interior on the model. Its so nice, it would be rude not to!

I really think the interior adds to the overall tank, and even though it will rarely be seen, I'm happier knowing its there!

Right, finally, my favourite model I produced this month, Commissar Thorn:

(Again, please go here for some larger shots)

Its hard not to love this model. Like the Interrogator Chaplain, I think he is one of the best sculpts GW has produced. It just exudes character, and you can almost hear the orders bellowing from his mouth.

So, with all that in mind I was keen to get a good paint job done for him. I will admit one of the great frustrations with using the army painter method to get my Praetorians done is that it really does nothing to black. Where as I'm used to seeing black highlighted (as on my Ravenwing), I decided not to add too much to what the AP does, in order to keep painting quick. Plus I'm pretty sure that to highlight the black would make the model looks less gritty and push it into that 'heroic' paint style I mentioned earlier. What do you guys think?

Anyway, regardless of how the black worked out, I'm still in love with the model and pleased with the paint job. So much so the Commissar Thorn has taken up residence on the right side-bar of my blog. He said he'd have me shot if I didn't let him...

So that's it for now. When I get a chance I'm going to take some shots of the Platoon Command Squad, as I realise these Praetorian command models have not have their 5 minutes of fame on the blog, which is simply not on. I've also finally got a big FW toy constructed and ready to paint, pictures coming in the new year!

Thanks for reading!

The Return! Plus Epic Tale of Painters Entry (Month 4)

2009-12-13T09:57:00.008Z

Well, its been a while hasn't it! No, I'm not dead, but I have had an enforced break from blogging over the last few months. Real life has been somewhat chaotic and rubbish of late, which has drained time and energy I would normally put into these here posts. Its also meant I've not been reading and commenting on all the other fine blogs out there, and for that I apologise. Let the great game of catch-up begin!

Anyway, on the meat of today's post. In spite of all that's happening in real life, I have been able to keep my painting schedule mostly up to date. We are on month 4 of the Librarium Online Tale of Painters, so both my Epic and 40k Guard are starting to look like armies in their own right. Today I'll post up my Epic work to date, and then I'll get up some photos of the Praetorians in the next few days!

Epic IG

This Months Entry

4 Leman Russ (including Vanquisher) & 1 Superheavy Tank Platoon @ 400pts

Army To Date

3 Formations @ 1350pts

So, given that I'm aiming for 400pts of epic in a month, I'm a little bit behind on where I should be overall. This was due to a joker that I had to play last month. This said, the epic stuff is so quick and fun to paint, I'm sure I can pull those points back later!

I've got to say, I absolutely loved painting the Baneblade. Its not very often you can claim to painting a baneblade in a single day, and the forgeworld model is really well detailed considering the scale. I was also glad that I took the decision to break up the grey space with the company marking (the red stripe on bone). I think it makes the model stand out much more, and appeals to the organiser in me.

Is it sad that all my guard models are correctly organised in companies and platoons, with the markings to boot? Probably, but I don't care!

Well, thats all your getting for today's post, I'd love to hear what you think. I'll leave you with a picture of where my Praetorians are to date, hopefully to wet you appetite for more photos to come!

Review: Simple Green

2009-10-01T09:00:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post today to cast my critical eye over Simple Green. This product is cited again and again by gamers as the most hassle free way of stripping old models of their paint.

Intro

Commonly found in most stores in the US (so I'm told), Simple Green is a non-toxic household cleaner, used for cleaning things such as baths and kitchen surfaces. It came to my attention around the time I decided I wanted to strip all my old Praetorian figures and re-paint them. On all the major 40k forums I could find at least person extolling its virtues and so, not wanting to risk my rare Praetorians with anything less than the best, I tried to find some.

Living in the UK this was easier said than done...

It would appear that Simple Green is simply not sold in UK stores, so I ended up ordering a 1L bottle direct from their website for the costly sum of £10. Be sure to get the household stuff not the industrial strength, or you may well melt your models...and your hands.

Application

Using Simple Green really couldn't be easier, first find a container like a cup or bowl, pop in your miniatures and then pour in enough Simple Green to cover all the models. There is no mixing or watering down required, just pour the Green straight in.

Now this does mean that you can use up that 1L bottle fairly quickly. It just about managed to cover up the 56 Praetorians I had to strip, but if your looking at doing whole armies and you live in the UK, it could get a bit costly. But more on that later.

1 Platoon, 5th Praetorian Regiment of Foot...having a their group bath...

After this you simply have to let the Simple Green to work its magic. Leave your submerged models to sit for at least 24hrs. Don't worry about leaving them for longer, some of mine sat submerged for over a week and there was no damage to the metal models. I can't guarantee that plastic would be similarly unaffected, but to be honest I don't think this stuff has the power to really corrode plastic.

On point worth mentioning is the smell. Though not entirely unpleasant, it is very strong and you are going to want to store your models somewhere out of the way, like the garden shed or garage.

After leaving the models to sit for at least 24hrs, run a sink full of hot soapy water and grab and old toothbrush.

You can see the paint already peeling off the model before the scrubbing even starts

Take your model and dunk it into the soapy water and getting scrubbing with that toothbrush. It should be the work of a few seconds to get off the majority of the paint, a little longer to get into the crevasses.

And there you have it, done and ready to be repainted!

It took me less than 5 minutes to do the 4 miniatures below, and I had all 56 of them scrubbed down within the hour.

So to summarise...

Pros

Easy to use

Non-toxic

Does the job!

Cons

Cost & Availability in the UK

The Smell!

Can irritate some people's skin (so I'm told)

Since using Simple Green I have discovered that standard household Dettol can achieve the same effect in the same way, so I would recommend UK readers to go with that, for cost reasons. However, if you live in the USofA you might as well go green!

So a great product for stripping miniatures, with only the UK cost being prohibitive for me. Using Oni's great rating system I award Simple Green:

4 Golden Aqulias out of 5

Thanks for reading, I'll leave you with one more before and after shot:

Imperial Guard Vs. Eldar - Epic Battle Report 1

2009-09-24T22:48:00.003+01:00

Well guys and girls, here is the first of what will hopefully be a series of Epic Armageddon Battle Reports.

A couple of days ago I met up with Ben, author of the blog Forgot my Tea, who brought his new and growing Eldar Warhost to the table, ready to face my IG army.

As we are both far short of the standard 3000pt size armies we totalled up what we had and settled on a 1750pt game. As it turned out this resulted in quite speedy games so we ended up with two battle reports, so look out for the second one soon!

One point to note, I'm not going to have time to delve into the game mechanics of epic, so in order to understand exactly what is going on some knowledge would be useful. I can highly recommend the Bell of Lost Souls series, Epic 101 (Part 1, Part 2) as a good way of getting the gist of the rules.

Anyway, here are our army lists....

Imperial Guard - 1750

Mechanised Regimental HQ

Mechanised Infantry Company

Tank Company

1 Baneblade

Eldar - 1750

1 Avatar

Guardian Host

Guardian Host (mounted in 4 Wave Serpents*)

Aspect Host

Ranger Troupe

Windrider Troupe

Fire Prism Troupe

1 Scorpion**

1 Wraithship

* Wave Serpents are represented by Falcon models

** The Scorpion is also represented by a Falcon model

Objective placement and Deployment

In the picture below you can see how both sides deployed and the placement of objectives.

*Larger version here*

One point worth noting for all the non-epic players out there, is how vitally important objectives are. Unlike 40k, for example, where there are a number of different standard missions, epic only has the one standard scenario, but there are a number of different ways to win. If, by the end of turn 3 or 4 either side has:

A. Achieved at least 2 of the below objectives

B. Has achieved more than their opponent

...then they are the winner. Should there be no clear winner by the end of turn 4, then the winner is normally decided by Victory Points.

The possible objectives are:

1. Blitzkrieg: Capture the enemies first placed objective (represented by the teleport homers in our game)

2. Break Their Spirit: Destroy the formation worth the most points in the opposing army

3. Defend to Flag: Control all three of the objectives on your table half

4. Take and Hold: Capture two objectives in the enemies half

5. They shall not pass: Have no unbroken enemy formations on your half of the table

The Eldar Warhost readies itself for battle

Imperial Tank Columns rumble onto the field

Turn 1

Having the higher strategy rating Ben was able to choose who went first, and surrendered the initiative to me. This was a clever move as I already had far fewer formations than he, in effect giving me less moves, allowing Ben to make all his important decisions at the end of the turn.

Not wanting to show my hand too much, my first move was simply to advance my baneblade forward, into the cover of one of the tower blocks to my front. In response Ben began to shift his army to the top of the board, using the city blocks as cover. First his scorpion and then his wave serpents made a beeline for this cover, and I could see that he was using his army's speed to round on my isolated mechanised company, who drove themselves further into cover in response.

The first turn seemed to be all about the armies manoeuvring, until my Tank Company rushed forward into the city. Seeing their chance Ben's Fire Prisms launched out from cover and unloaded into the tanks through a narrow gap in the streets. Suddenly ripped up by super-charged energy, two tanks blew sky high and the formation took a number of blast markers. Not a great start for the imperial forces.

Turn 2

Choosing to go first this time, Ben's Prisms once again fired upon the Leman Russ column, destroying one more, before disappearing into cover (Eldar rules allow their units to fire either before or after moving, a distinct advantage over the 'lesser' races!).

Realising that my only hope against the Eldar was to keep my forces together, I marched my isolated Chimera column back to the main group, hoping that I could force Ben to commit his Eldar to attack my formations head on.

In his turn Ben attempted to use his Wraithship to bombard the Imperial forces from orbit, but he failed his action roll, and the ship appeared to have gotten lost somewhere in the atmosphere...for this turn at least. The Imperial forces breathed a sigh of relief.

Wanting to inflict some damage on the Eldar forces, I doubled my Baneblade round the buildings it occupied and opened fire on the distant aspect host, gunning down a stand and gifting them some blast markers. Embittered by this, the aspects moved toward the Imperial forces, seemingly itching for combat. Seeing this as a cue the Regimental HQ launched forward, firing into the Aspect Warriors as they went. However, for all this bravado they only managed to kill one more stand, and were now stuck out in the open, a choice they would learn to regret.

'Damn the cover and open fire!!'

Seeing the foolish Mon Kieh move, the mighty Scorpion tank gracefully lifted itself above the surrounding buildings and proceeded to strafe the Regimental HQ, killing off three Chimeras and their occupants in one fell swoop. The grav-tank then used its 'pop-up' rule to drift back behind cover, denying the imperial forces any targets.

Trying to secure my now weakened position in the centre I moved my tank company up to support, ready to engage next turn - the lumbering tanks did not have the movement to fire effectively this turn, nor did I want to risk leaving them out in the open to receive Eldar fire!

With free reign to move the rest of his units, Ben pressed the advantage and brought forward the Windriders, whose Vypers managed to kill one more of the Regimental HQ's chimeras, breaking the whole formation. Curses.

The turn ended with the rest of the Eldar forces advancing and with my Regimental HQ failing to rally, leaving them inactive and cowering behind my lines next turn.

Turn 3

Once again using their superior strategy rating, the Eldar moved their Wave Serpents out from cover to take a damage point off the Baneblade, stuck out in the open. The Serpents then moved back into cover. After this Ben stole the initiative with the Vypers, to move them closer to my lines and, to further annoy me, he proceeded to steal the initiative for a 2nd time, something only Eldar can do. This time it was the might Scorpion that was activated and it effortlessly blew the weakened Baneblade to the heavens, along with any realistic hopes of winning the game back...

Abandoning any tactics and acting out of a desire to kill as many xenos as they could, the mechanised company struck out and pummelled the Windriders, finally managing to dent the Eldar line and breaking the formation. Their heroism would be remembered!

Affronted by taking some damage, the Eldar called upon their Wraithship once again, and this time it arrived on cue, with devastating results. Ben's pre-planned (and secret) orbital bombardment was right on the money, and caught my Tank Company, killing enough Leman Russes to break the formation. With this I had no actions left to take, and it was simply a matter of the Eldar forces moving to claim what objectives they could, and securing their victory.

Eldar Victory

Thou Shall Not Pass & Defend to Flag

*Image from DeviantArt

Conclusion

Well, what a pounding eh? This hideous defeat taught me to respect and fear the power and sheer mobility of Eldar firepower. Previous to this game I had only fought marines, and enjoyed blasting apart their short ranged units from afar with my Leman Russes. This time the tables were rudely turned on me and then some!

My biggest mistakes were splitting my force at deployment and then hanging back trying to find an opportune moment to strike. I think a better approach would have been to rush the Eldar lines, accepting the inevitable casualties along the way. To allow the xeno to dictate the terms of the battle, and to allow them to hug their cover, proved to be a disaster.

I must take my hat off to Ben, who played the Eldar forces very well. The Eldar list is really well written, and allows them to be as infuriatingly tricksie, as they should be. Indeed one of the reasons I enjoyed the game (despite being slaughtered) was seeing that in Epic Eldar do play like I imagined they would. Hopefully, if I can reach them, they will also be as easy to kill as Eldar should be...

We did manage to get a second game and battle report sorted, so look out for that write up in the next few days! And also check out forgotmytea soon, for some better pictures and hopefully Ben's thoughts on the game!

Thanks for reading!

Dark Angels Updates: Tactical Squad 3

2009-09-20T11:27:00.003+01:00

Its a bit behind schedule, but here are the last set of photos of the Dark Angels I completed during my brief hiatus from blogging. They are nothing too special, just a Tactical Squad and a Rhino.

I was pleased at how this unit came out, some of the high points being the Rhino, the Sergeants Power Weapon and the Plasma Cannon. They aren't quite finished yet, as I need to get round to adding squad numbers onto the shoulder pads.

Yet again I have to say sorry for the picture quality. Once I actually get some form of job a camera will be bought dammit!

This last addition sees me done with painting Dark Angels for the foreseeable future. Left unpainted in my collection I have a standard Land Raider, the Land Raider Ares and a Forge World Ven. Dread. I also want to get Azrael, and paint him up really well but, at the moment, its full steam ahead with painting guard!

Thank for visiting!

Heretical Commercials (Blogs & Roleplay)

2009-09-16T09:18:00.003+01:00

Hello bloggers, just a quick post today, mainly to highlight the blog of a very old friend who I have recently rediscovered and started gaming with again. Forgotmytea and I started gaming together at some point around 2000, but lost contact after going to college and uni. In the last month however I have not only discovered that he still paints and plays wargames, but also that he is a fellow blogger!

So head over to Forgotmytea where you can read about his growing Epic Eldar army (xenos rivals to my own glorious Imperial force) as well as his established Necron army of doom.

The first of hopefully a few awesome objective markers, made by Forgotmytea

+++++++++

In other news, I myself have descended further in to the world of geekdom and have been convinced to try something that I have resisted for so long: Roleplaying Games.

Our GM, who has more roleplay experience in his little finger than I do in my whole body has decided to introduce us to The World of Darkness, a game set in the modern day where Vampires and Werewolves exist alongside mankind.

We have already begun the preliminaries, sorting out characters and background etc. I myself have assumed the role of a Russian Vampire, born under the rule of the Tsars and serf to a powerful noble, who just so happened to be a vampire. Exiled to the UK after the revolution I am always keen to take revenge on...well, just about anybody I can. Links to shadowy figures such as Rasputin are already being formed and the whole thing looks to be a lot of beer swigging fun. If I can, I will get some write-ups sorted and posted here.

Finally, if I do get into the spirit of this roleplay business (and I must admit I was skeptical), then I hope to GM my own Dark Heresy based adventures. To this end I picked up the book yesterday, and dear god it is beautiful. If the price tag wasn't quite so high I would recommend it to anybody just for the fluff sections; as it is I am very pleased with my purchase. I wont be performing any in-depth reviews, as I have no roleplaying experience to judge it by, but as a product in itself it certainly get a thumbs up from me!

Tale of Painters 2 Deadline 1: Met (Sort of...)

2009-09-14T11:47:00.009+01:00

This post my first begin with an apology. I have well and truly failed to keep apace with 73rd's excellent A Tale of Even More Painters. I am sad that I didn't have the time to sort out my entries to the last few deadlines, but it has been great to see how the group has melded together, and how like minded hobbyists can offer each other a great amount of support and advice. 73rd, if you read this then please consider me off the challenge, but I wish you and the rest of the entrants the very best of luck!

A second apology also goes to the rest of the blogesphere. I've been remiss in barely commenting on so much of the great work that goes on out there. I'm going to try and follow the lead set by Gamer's World in suggesting the Common Posters Group, as it is unfair that I take so much enjoyment from what I read but do not give anything back. Damn my short attention span!

Anyway, despite failing A Tale of Even More Painters I have been able to keep up the longer term goals set by the Librarium Online challenge. Below are some shots of my entry for the first month:

1. Epic IG

Mechanised Infantry Company - 400pts

At 400pts completed I have managed to stay on target with my Epic force, and I am really enjoying painting at the smaller scale. In particular it was great fun painting the Chimeras, and I do love seeing them arrayed out in a mechanised column.

The scheme itself is rather simple, a military looking grey with highlights, and then simple highlighted browns and greens for all the stowed kit. I want to convey and real utilitarian and military feel with my IG armies. These are not the glory boy marines, all polished and shiny, these are the grunts that bear the brunt of the galaxies fighting and suffer for it...

2. Praetorian Guard

Infantry Squad w/ Grenade Launcher - 55pts

After only managing to complete one squad I am already 145pts behind where I should be with my 40k Guard, leaving me a lot of work to do next month! However, I am pleased that they are at least off the ground and that I am starting to get to grips with using the Army Painter.

Although I do consider it cheating slightly I cant deny that the Army Painter dip is the only way I could conceive of getting an IG army done in a reasonable time, and I pleased with the inital results. The type of shading style you get with the Army Painter also reflects the more realistic and darker tone that I wanted for my IG - getting away from the heroic style of my Dark Angels. I have also added in some details, making sure that all the lasgun targeting lenses are painted properly, as well as detailing the eyes and adding a few subtle highlights here and there (the sergeants sword for example).

I am sorry for the quality of the pictures, it is becoming clear that my camera phone is not up to the job! This said, I would love to hear any comments or criticism that people have.

For next month expect to see an Epic Armoured Company, as well as 3 more Praetorian Squads. This, at least, is the plan...

Thanks for reading!

Dark Angels Updates: Objectives

2009-08-21T23:35:00.006+01:00

More new photos for you all, this time of the objective markers that you first saw here. Mostly straightforward work on these, although greenstuffing the tread for the marine took a little effort, especially as I'm not a fan of green stuffing. I keep on meaning to work up the courage to try and freehand a chaos star on the black helmet, but so far I haven't managed it. Soon though...

I've got to say that making objective markers is not something I originally planned on doing but, now that I have, it is certainly something I'll be doing again! It adds another level of story to all the games you play, as well as looking very cool. I even find myself hoping we will roll up objective games, even though my DA are far better at kill points!

Comments welcome guys :)

Dark Angels Updates: Deathwing Squad 3

2009-08-19T08:40:00.000+01:00

Well, I've finally found a digital camera I can borrow, and this means I can show you the progress I've had in the last few months. First up is the Deathwing Squad that you saw as a WiP a few months ago. I recently found the time to finish off my 'wing collection, and I'm very proud of them!

Doesn't that last photo just look cool! Though I can't believe I missed the time stamp. And, while we are looking at it, how horrifically out of date is it... *goes to fiddle with camera*...

You can also see below a picture of my whole Deathwing collection, a feat that has taken god knows how many hours to achieve. Apologies for the rubbish pic, I really must build a light box!

This signals the end of my Deathwing painting for the foreseeable future. This said, my last post noted that I had just pre-ordered Space Hulk, and if those Blood Angels Termis are easily converted, I can see them making superb reinforcements ...

Next up, when I get a bit more time to post, will be my new Tactical Squad, Rhino and the painted objective markers.

TOEMP Deadline 1: Met... Oh, and SPACE HULK!!!

2009-08-17T22:15:00.004+01:00

So, let the challenges roll in! Despite it being set at crazily short notice (your insane 73rd!), I was able to meet first The Tale of Even More Painters deadline. 73rd tasked the group to paint 75pts of models, to bed us in for the start of the challenge.

Given that I am painting my brand new Epic Imperial Guard force for the challenge, I have decided I will double all the targets set for those painting the larger scale models, simply to make it fairer for the rest of the bloggers in the contest. This means that my target was to paint 150pts of epic which, using some dodgy maths, equates to roughly 3 quarters of an infantry company, which you can see below:

As you can see, I've chosen a fairly simple paint scheme for the infantry. I had originally intended to paint them up in Praetorian colours, but I decided that it would not fit with the greatcoat'ed models. I went for a grubbier and WWI style drab uniform, which I think befits the larger scale of epic.

It has been an interesting and very welcome change painting epic scale models. It is certainly an easier process than painting Deathwing! I'm cracking on with more of the infantry stands, as I'm committed to paint the rest of the Infantry company (13 stands in total) and a Leman Russ squadron for the LO Tale of Painters. Oh, and then to the 40k scale Praetorians. I'm going to be busy!

Below you can see my Epic collection to date. This is why I love the game - there is something brilliant about seeing tank companies arrayed along with massed infantry. Maybe I just like parades...

As well as the visual scope, I have also found the game rules really fun and very challenging. The step from using tactics to taking on a more strategic overview is a big leap, but an enjoyable one. I hope to be able to set up some battle reports soon, so look out for that!

And finally...

I've you've missed the hubbub around the pre-release of Space Hulk, then you are probably living under a rock. Or dead. Or both.

Either way, I've seen the released pictures of the boxed game, and I was impressed enough to pre-order it on the spot! My only complaint is that I've going to have to heavily convert the Blood Angels terminators to make them Deathwing ready, but I'm absolutely sure it will be worth it! Look forward to a review of the game, short after it arrives at the beginning of September.

Ooooh dear god I'm excited!!

I would have love to have written more for this post, but alas I'm in a rush. But please do let me know what you think of my epic efforts. Do you get it...epic efforts.

I'll get my coat.

Bristol Vanguard Spoils of War Part 2

2009-08-09T19:28:00.009+01:00

Hello again people! Two posts in two days, what a pace! Either way, I hope it is a sign of more regular content in the future.

My second day at the Vanguard Spoils of War was less than successful in game terms, with my Dark Angels suffering two losses. However, in a sign of how well run the weekend was run, both games were very enjoyable; with the second game against a Thousands Suns force being particularly cinematic.

Spoils was a very interesting tournament, in that it was explicitly a 'campaign weekend' as opposed to a competitive event. Special rules were devised for the various tables, for example having ALL the terrain on a board rotate 90 degrees every turn on a roll of 3+. On the final game all tables were positioned around a central table, on which a warp rift had occurred. At the beginning of each game turn each player rolled a dice for their army. Each unit in the army was then moved that amount towards the rift, being destroyed if it hit it. Most interestingly, this rule applied to ALL the other boards, with units being dragged towards the central board, and being destroyed if they reached a table edge. This led to some very amusing situations, and is the sort of wacky stuff you just couldn't do in a competitive tournament. I can say how much fun these sort of events are, and I would strongly recommend that anybody to give anything like it a good go!

Anyway, I didn't have time to collate any in-depth battle reports, but here are a few more pictures of the event for you all to look over!

The Warp Rift in progress

A particularly good looking game of Orks vs. the Praetorian Guard. 2000pts and models galore!

Below are some pics of my last game against the Sons. A very visually striking game on a great board and, most importantly, a wonderful opponent to play against.

And finally, some pictures of some of best painted armies on display...

Eldar

An awesome Chaos army, including a truly fearsome Daemon Prince...

A lovely Blood Raven force

Elements of the Chaos Daemon army that won best painted

Some pictures of the Imperial Fists army that was my favourite army. It contained a stunning amount of individual conversions, as well as some excellent paint jobs and three of the funniest Vindicators I have ever seen. And lets be honest, Vindicators are rarely called funny...

So there you have it, my brief and picture-filled report from Spoils. I'll leave you with a photo of all the Dark Angels I have painted to date, totalling 2000 blood soaked points.

For the Lion!

Bristol Vanguard Spoils of War & Tale of Painters Reborn...

2009-08-08T22:13:00.007+01:00

Well, its been quite an absence hasn't it! As I mentioned in my last post (over a month ago!) the amount I am able to blog right now is pretty limited, but I do hope I haven't been forgotten.

I'm hoping that I should have some more to show you soon, including some newly painted Dark Angels units, as well as the start of both Epic and 40k Imperial Guard armies. I will be building the new armies in conjunction with both 73rd's Tale of More Painters (on his excellent blog The Unforgiven Angels), and Librarium Online's newest Tale of Painters group. More details on those soon...

Turning back to more current events, I have just got back from the first day of the Bristol Vanguard Spoils of War tournament, a friendly event with battles ranging from 750pts to 2000pts. As expected the Vanguard has turned out another expectionally good tournament, with superb terrain, missions and home made brownies to boot. With around 30 players in attendance its been great fun so far, and I can't wait to get back to the coal-face tomorrow.

Below are a few pictures of the first games from my camera phone. So far I have tallied up a loss, a draw and win; a distinctly average day!

I hope that has wetted your appetite, look forward to more from the Astronomcian soon!

The Astronomican's 1st Birthday!

2009-06-25T11:45:00.001+01:00

Well, the Astronomican is officially one!

A year of blogging has seen me write 50 posts and hopefully add some interesting stuff for the blogosphere to read. I had hoped to find time to do a round up of some of the first years highlights, but real life has defeated my urge to blog once again. Needless to say I want to thank all who have taken the time out to read my humble efforts, the 72 followers that I am amazed to have, and especially all those who take the time to leave comments! You guys make the whole process more than worthwhile.

Alas this Dark Angels cake is not mine, but dear God I wish it was!

Some of you might have realised that it's been a long time since my last posting, almost a month. Well I'm sad to say that since leaving university life has come exceptionally busy - to the extent that I barely have time to either paint or game, much less write blog posts.

Up to this point my aim has been to try to write around 4 blog posts a month, and leave as many comments on other blogs as I am able. I am now struggling to achieve even this, so I'm afraid you will all be hearing a lot less of The Astronomcian for the foreseeable future. Whilst this is no huge loss I'm sure, I do appreciate that some of you out there have taken a great interest in my corner of the hobby, and I wanted to explain why things will be getting quieter! I will still be putting updates when I can, but they will be fewer and further between.

Anyway, returning to the Astronomican's Birthday posting, I thought I would finally bring you the final installment in my WPS tournament report...

WPS Club Challenge: After Action Report (Part 4)

Game 3 - Eldar

Capture & Control - Spearhead

This was a game I was looking forward to as soon as I saw my opponent - Eldar. I was pleased not to be facing Marines, and I had never actually played against Eldar, despite having an army of my own.

My opponent had a fairly balanced force, with lots of elements that gave me pause for thought - namely the Fire Dragons, Dark Reapers and War Walkers with Star Cannons.

I, of course, was using my 1500pts Tourni List.

Launching an all out assault with my Crusader, Belial, Command Squad and Ravenwing, the game went well from the beginning. A crucial point was when his Fire Dragons and Wave Serpent only managed to knock a few guns off my Crusader, leaving it mobile and ready to deliver Beilal and co. into the fray; slaughtering several Eldar squads that were advancing towards my objective. Belial and his squad were even able to best a Wraithlord in combat and, when the second Terminator squad arrived to bolster the advance, victory seemed certain.

To add insult to my opponents injury, I was able to block an expensive unit of Pathfinders sniping my objective by using the Rhino to form a cheap roadblock. My opponent sent 4 turns trying to rend the Rhino, to no avail.

However despite the fact that my Deathwing reached the enemy's objective (right in his back corner) and contested it in turn 5, victory was not to be mine. In a move that would make Fritz of Way of Saim-Hann proud, the now badly damaged Wave Serpent swooped in to contest my objective on the 5th turn, just as the game promptly ended. Given more time my Deathwing would have been able to finish off the few remaining Eldar on their objective, sealing the game, but victory was stolen with the roll of a dice!

Draw!

Despite the draw on this game I did enough damage to earn 19 points out of 30. This left me on a tally of 62 out of a possible 90 for the first 3 games. Not bad I thought, as Saturday ended and we all went off to get trashed...

Game 4 - Daemon Hunters

Seize Ground - Spearhead

First game on Sunday morning and I was facing off against the Chairman of the Spiky Club of Reading (UK), a group I may be visiting soon now that I have left the Bristol Vanguard behind. A lovely guy with a pure Grey Knight army that gave me no end of trouble.

Have not played against GKs since 3rd Ed., I was swiftly reminded of the damage they can do - especially to marine armies. This is one of the forces that can beat me at my own game, with GK Terminators laughing in the face of Belial's charges.

I didn't take many notes in this game, mainly because I was focusing on damage limitation. A badly timed early combat saw most of my Deathwing being wiped out, and without my main assault force I was rapidly put on the defensive. Despite my best efforts Physcannons and Meltabombs took their toll and my forces simply couldn't fight back effectively.

By turn 6 I only had 3 Tactical marines remaining, huddled into cover, whilst the majority of the GK were swooping on objectives across the board. This was the closest I had ever come to being tabled in my gaming career, and I was not a fan of the feeling!

Grey Knight Victory

Despite my dramatic loss, I was able to pick up some bonus tournament points, for killing off HQ's and most expensive units etc. Because of this, game 4 rendered me with 14 points, A result I knew I was lucky to get! This was compared to my opponents score of 24.

Game 5 - Choas Space Marines

Annihilation - Dawn of War

Reaching the last game I was amused to see I was facing another Nurgle based army in a Kill Point game (rather like Game 2). This was the one mission where I should excel, and both times I had encountered armies just as hard as mine!

Again I didn't take as many photo's & notes as I would have liked, so I'll recall what I can from memory. Rather like the last game, this one started badly for me. My Ravenwing bikers were wiped out in the second turn, and the enemy managed to get a quick charge off with his Daemon Prince into my Tactical Marines. By turn 3 he was deep into my table half and I was on the ropes.

However, in a stunning display of just how resilient the Deathwing can be, I was able to pull off three Crusader/Deathwing charges in the game - saving my Tactical Marines and destroying the Daemon Prince, 2 Marine squads and the hated Obliterators. Meanwhile my Attack Bike and Landspeeder merrily sniped off Rhinos and the enemy Land Raider - with only the Attack bike going down in the process. The game went all the way to turn 7, by which time the tally was 7 kill points to 2 in my favour!

The Deathwing Advance Victorious

This was probably one of the most stunning comebacks I've had to date and, if memory serves, I scored something like 34 points in the game. This was however capped to 30 - but still, maximum points is maximum points! And great way to end an awesome weekend.

Dark Angels Victory

Unfortunately we had to leave the venue before the results were announced, so I had to wait until they were posted online before I could see how I did.

After a few days or so the WPS released the results and I was very surprised to find I had placed 8th out of 39. My final 30 point win, combined with full marks for sportsmanship and one off full marks for painting (woohoo!) had pulled me out of the middle ranks and placed me firmly in the top quarter. Not at all bad for my first tournament! I cant help but wish I had done better against those pesky Grey Knights...

So that finally wraps up my WPS report. I hope you had half as much fun reading my reports as I had playing the games! I will definitely be trying to get to more tournaments if time allows, and I will certainly go armed with my camera.

In other news...

I hope to be able to post a painting update soon. My last Deathwing squad is taking forever (as usual), but I am now on the last model. I'm also painting up my objective markers, and they are turning out very nicely indeed. So keep you eyes peeled for at least one update soon.

Anyway, thanks once again for reading The Astronomican - heres hopeing I am around this time next year!

WPS Club Challange: After Action Report (Part 3)

2009-05-30T18:58:00.004+01:00

Hey guys, its time to continue my report of the Club Challange and move on to my second game of the weekend.

Game 2 - Daemons (Andy)

Annihilation - Pitched Battle

After finding my table for my second game I was reminded that we were playing an Annihilation game and briefly took hope. My list only gives out 9 kill points and contains some units that are pretty hard to kill, so normally Annihilation is my forte.

That was until I realised I would be playing a pure Nurgle Daemon army, full of mutli-wound Monstrous Creatures and Feel No Pain units. This game would be tricky...

The above picture only shows some of Andy's awesomely converted and beautifully painted army. It was a real pleasure to look at, but a nightmare to fight!

Andy's List

Kugath

Epidemius

14 Plaguebearers with Icon

7 Plaguebearers with Icon

7 Plaguebearers

8 Nurgling Bases

Daemon Prince (Iron Hide, Noxious Touch, Flight, Mark of Nurgle, Daemonic Gaze, Cloud of Flies)

Daemon Prince (Iron Hide, Noxious Touch, Mark of Nurgle, Daemonic Gaze, Cloud of Flies)

9 KP's

So, an extra hard list that not only contained 3 Monstrous Creatures (that I often struggle with) but was also capable of throwing out AP2 pie plates. To have any chance of getting to winning this game I realised I would really need to concentrate.

This being the case, I managed to make mistakes from the beginning!

Now this was the first time I had actually played Daemons, and I was so concerned about how I would go about deploying that when I won the roll off for first turn, I stupidly took it without thinking! An ultimate mistake against Daemons, as you effectively loose a whole player turn to kill them. I was thus off to a great start!

Deployment

From the start I was worried about Kugath's ability to drop AP2 pie plates, so I deployed in a way that protected my greatest assets, the Terminators. I hugged the South Eastern corner of the board, ensuring that no Daemon would be able to deep strike behind me. The Tac Marines occupied a large building, looking to make good use of the cover. Unusually for me I placed my second Terminator Squad in the Land Raider, figuring that it would be better for them to use its extended charge range. Their multiple Power Fists would do better against the Monstrous Creatures than Belail's squad that relied on Lightning Claws. I was hoping that the Ravenwing's mass melta would be able to take out enough of those MCs, so that the D'wing could deal with the rest of the horde.

Turn 1

With no enemy on the board, I held fast in the first turn, waiting to see what would arrive from the Warp.

In Andy's turn the skies darkened and the first wave of filth was borne forth. Getting the part of his force that he wanted, Andy deepstruck Kugath, the two Daemon Princes and Epidemius with the 14 'man' Plaguebearer unit, focused in roughly the middle of the board. In his shooting phase he was able to down 2 of the Ravenwing Bikers shielding Belial, and Ran Epidemius and his grizzly escorts into the cover of a nearby building.

In the above picture, Kugath is the uppermost model, with the winged Daemon Prince next, and the walking Prince in the South.

Conor: 0KP Andy: 0KP

Turn 2

In my turn my forces rearranged themselves, well aware of the fact that half the Daemon army was yet to arrive. The Ravenwing Speeder, Attack Bike and the Crusader swung round to the north of my deployment, taking pot shots at Kugath but failing to hurt him. The bikers, reeling from their wounds, sought better cover whilst Belial's squad advanced cautiously, behind a screen provided by the Rhino. Bar this the Rhino popped smoke and the Tactical Squad's Lascannon managed to take a wound off Kugath.

1 wound down, 5 more to go. Not to mention the two other MC's. This game was not looking good...

In his turn Andy was gifted with the arrival of a Pluage Bearer squad and the Nurglings, both of which deployed around his MC's, with the Nurglings scattering quite far forward. Continuing their advance, the MC's bore down on my forces, but still looked like they would need another turn to engage me in close combat. In the shooting phase Kugath again targeted the Rhino-shield but scattered badly. Meanwhile the Daemon Princes unleashed their Demonic Gaze at the bikers, but only managed to kill one more, due to their better cover.

Conor: 0KP Andy: 0KP

Turn 3

Determined to gain the initiative, I reasoned that I had to get Belial and his squad into the game, fast. I figured that in Andy's turn they were either going to be subject to Kugath's AP2 Blast o' Doom, or a charge from the Winged Prince...or both.

I decided to help this process along by having Belial and co. charge the Nurglings directly in front them. Assuming they couldn't chew threw this 21 wound unit in one go, it would give Belial and his squad protection from shooting. I also hoped that this rash move would force Andy into making the obvious counter move, charging his Daemon Princes into the combat. If all went to plan they would be softened up by any of the squad that survived and then I could charge my Power Fist armed termi's from the Land Raider, hopefully dealing with them. That would still leave Kugath to deal with but, with his Slow and Purposeful rule, I hoped the Ravenwing could run rings around him. It was a fine theory. Now to see if it would work...

Retreating the Rhino to the rear ('Get that Kill Point out of there!'), I moved Belial and co. forward, towards their target. The Ravenwing forces continued to make good use of cover, hoping to soften up Kugath some more. Finally the Land Raider rumbled forward, ready to strike next turn.

Shooting went okay, with the Ravenwing managing to take 2 more wounds off Kugath (only 3 left...), whilst the combined fire of the Tactical Squad and Crusader only managed to drop the winged Prince down by a wound.

In the combat phase things went as well as I could have hoped for, as Belial and his squad cut a swath through the Nurglings for no loss. Once the dust settled (and fearless saves were made), one 1 Nurgling base with 1 wound remained. Perfect! I had images of Belial and his squad passing the Nurgling round to use as cover, much to the creatures delight!

The Deathwing/Nurgling clash in progress

In his turn, Andy received the last of his reserves, in the form of two 7 'man' Plaguebearer squads, that Deepstruck as close to the central combat as possible. His advance continued, with both the Daemon Princes positioning themselves for the expected charge. Kugath suffered badly with his Slow and Purposeful rolls, probably slipping in his own slime, whislt Epidimus remained in cover with his attendant Plaguebearers, frustrated at how slowly the tally was coming along.

Shooting was ineffective, with Kugath failing to hurt the Crusader, and both the Princes focusing their attention on the combat ahead. When the combat came, it again went as well I could have hoped. Firstly Belial, who was stuck fighting Nurglings, managed to dispatch the base, earning the first KP of the game. Then, despite having 10 combined attacks, hitting on 3's and inflicting power weapon wounds on 2+, the Daemon Princes only managed to kill 3 Terminators. In response the Standard Bearer and Apothecary inflicted a stunning 5 wounds, leaving both the Princes on a wound a piece! Glory for the Lion!

Even Belial is somewhat taken aback at how well his men did...

Conor: 1KP Andy: 0KP

Turn 4

Executing my plan, the Land Raider launched itself forward, ready to drop the second squad of Terminators into the central combat. Meanwhile the Ravenwing continued to drive north, and the Tactical Marines held firm, making good use of their cover. In the shooting phase the Ravenwing took one more wound from Kugath, while the Crusader and Tactical Squad managed to drop a few Plaguebearers from the southernmost squad. I quickly realised I was going to have to get my Kill Points in combat, as this was not an army I could gun down!

In the combat phase my second Terminator Squad joint charged both a Daemon Prince and the southernmost squad of Plaguebearers, drawing more units into the melee. The combat itself was mixed, with both the Daemon Princes and a few Plaguebearers falling, but not before they killed off the rest of the Terminator Command Squad and a few of the new arrivals.

In the Daemon turn Kugath again failed to make any headway with his Slow and Purposeful rolls. Becuase of this Andy seemed to get worried that the battle was starting to turn, and moved Epidimus and the large Plaugebearer squad out of their cover towards the combat. With difficult terrain and run rolls of 6, they made worryingly good progress!

No doubt frustrated about all his fumbling, Kugath launched his shooting attack at the Ravenwing Bikers in cover and managed to kill 2, leaving one slime covered biker remaining.

In combat Andy charged in a second 7 man Plaugebearer squad into the fight. This turned the tide in his favour - although Belial reduced the first Plaugebearer squad to 1 man, the reinforcements finished off the other Terminators before they could even strike.

Conor: 3KP Andy: 3KP

Turn 5

Starting this turn in the lead (just), I decided I would stick to my guns and try and kill Kugath before he made it to the central combat. I knew I was likely to lose Belial (and a Kill Point), but if he could finish off the now 1 man Plaguebearer unit in his combat, I should be home and dry.

Moving the Ravening and Land Raider into better firing positions, disaster struck. Attempting to get himself out of cover, my last Ravenwing biker snagged himself on a rock and went crashing into the dirt, taking his kill point with him! Nooo! I had a grim feeling that this would come back to bite me in arse!

To make matters worse, the Ravenwing failed to even hit Kugath (damned Multi-Meltas!) and Belial failed to kill one Plaguebearer with his 5 attacks!! Luckily he survived combat, but I was not impressed.

In his turn Andy continued to advance his forces with Kugath finally making it to within charge range. With no shooting Kugath launched straight in...and entered the most boring combat phase of the century, with neither side making any kills. Apparently both sides were just staring at each other or something...

Conor: 3KP Andy: 3KP

We rolled for the game length and got a turn 6.

Turn 6

Turn 6 left me with very few options. I wouldn't be able to gun down any of Andy's remaining units with the fire power I had, and I had nothing more to throw into the central combat. I had to hope Belial could kill off his Plaguebearer opponent and survive the reprisals. In my shooting phase I poured some fire into the big Plaguebearer unit, but only dropped a few.

Turning to the all important combat... yet again nothing happened! Belial failed to kill the Plaguebearers, and even Kugath failed to kill him in return.

In his turn, Andy's only significant move was to charge the last 7 man Plaguebearer unit into the combat. Belial AGAIN failed to kill his mark, and the reinforcements were enough to finally bring the Master of the Deathwing down, pushing Andy into the lead for the first time. At this point the game came to an end, denying me the chance to try and kill the one man Plaguebearer unit with shooting.

Conor: 3KP Andy: 4KP

Daemons Victory

Well this was a really close fought game, against another great opponent. Andy had a really well crafted army list and he used it excellently. I did my best to wear down his Nurgle units but they just proved too resilient for me, as they should!

In the end I did have my share of bad luck, what the Ravenwing biker being unable to navigate a bit of rubble and Belial seemingly forgetting how to use the pointy end of his Power Claws. That said, I'm not going to blame the dice for my loss, as the Terminators performed over the odds on their charge - so as usual karma balanced the game out.

It being a narrow defeat (along with some bonus tournament points) I was able to take 19 points out of a possible 30 for that game, which was probably a fair reflection of how close it was!

I hope you all enjoyed the battle report; look out for my final write up from the WPS soon, where I'll go over my last 3 games and tell you where I ended up!

WPS Club Challange: After Action Report (Part 2)

2009-05-22T13:20:00.001+01:00

So then, time for a tournament report of the WPS! It turns out that I have enough pictures and notes to make fairly full reports of games 1 and 2, so I'm going to do these as separate posts, before rounding up games 3, 4 & 5. Putting it all together would create a mammoth post that would take an hour to read!

I used my standard 1500pts Dark Angels list throughout the tourni (which can be found here). The rest of the armies were dominated by marines, with Chaos Marines being the most numerous. There were also a few Inquisition forces, and 1 Tau, 1 Daemon, 1 Eldar and Dark Eldar army. I would complain about the lack of variety, but then again I had brought marines myself...

All the games we played were pre-determined and had a varying number of tourni points available dependant on how good/bad your victory/loss was. Extra tourni points (to a max of 30pts per game) could be scored for the following:

1. More Victory Points scored than opponent

2. Killing most expensive enemy HQ

3. Most expensive enemy unit/vehicle under half strength/destroyed

4. 1 Undamaged vehicle or squad above half strength within 12'' of enemy board edge

Game 1 - Space Marines (Dark Angels - Walter)

Seize Ground (5 Objectives) - Dawn of War

Having had to leave Bristol at 5am to get to Liverpool in time, I was already feeling tired as I arrived for the first game. Luckily my opponent, Walter, was an absolute gem of a guy who was also at his first tournament. Amusingly, he was also a Dark Angels player, however, he had the effrontery to be using the vanilla Marine Codex. Now, I couldn't blame the guy, but I figured I should attempt to show him the error of his ways!

His List

Captain - Relic Blade, Storm Bolter

Command Squad - Power Fist, Apoc.

Razorback - Twin Lascannons

Tac. Squad - Power Fist, Meltagun, Plasma Cannon

Rhino

Tac. Squad - Power Fist, Meltagun, Plasma Cannon

Rhino

Tac. Squad - Power Fist, Meltagun, Lascannon

Rhino

6 Man Assault Squad - Flamer

Vindicator

Whirlwind

Deployment

Winning the roll for first turn, I relinquished the initiative to Walter - hoping to have that last turn to grab objectives, and to see where his considerable firepower would be placed. Being DoW, deployment was limited. He placed down two tac squads, one on each side of the board to threaten objectives.

I split my tac squad up and placed the Lascannon in cover behind a hill in the center of my deployment zone, a move and a run away from an objective. I then placed the Plasma Gun Combat Squad in cover on the eastern flank, near another objective. I knew that Walter could easily win the day by destroying my few troop choices, so I was keen to keep them hunkered down until nearer turn 5.

Turn 1

Walter moved his mass of armour on the field, concentrating on the west side of the board, whilst the arrival of two tactical squads in the east more than outnumbered my one tactical squad guarding objectives.

Fearful of the power of his Vindicator and Lascannon Razorback, my Land Raider (carrying Belial and the Terminator Command Squad) and Land Speeder snuck onto the board on the west flank, using a tower as cover. Given that both the D'wing and Ravenwing bikers were in reserve, I wanted to wait a least a turn before striking.

Conor: 0 Objectives Walter: 0 Objectives

Turn 2

In his turn Walter continued to advance his armoured wall, and was frustrated to find he had little to shoot at. What shots he could aim at my tac. marines were deflected by either power armour or cover.

In my turn, in an usually punctual display, all my reserves turned up. To add the icing on the cake, all the Ravenwing managed to outflank to the west, exactly where I needed them. Realising I had to pounce pretty much now or never, I was still concerned about the Vindicator and two Plasma Cannons making a mess of my troops - especially Belial's squad. In order to provide my advance round the building with some cover, I set the Ravenwing bikers against the assault marines. I knew they wouldn't beat the squad in combat, but it would keep the bikers safe from shooting and provide a LoS blocking combat. I was also confident that Belial would be able to charge in next turn to save them, and ready to carve through the rest of the enemy army.

My second D'Wing squad tryed to deep strike behind cover, ready to move onto an objective in the central ruins, but scattered, right into the firing line of the Vindicator. Doh! I was forced to run them, hoping that I would be lucky when the templates came.

After some ineffective shooting, the Ravenwing charged the Assault Marines, killing two for a loss of two themselves. Belial and his squad emerged from the Land Raider and charged to nearest Rhino, immobilising it, and using it as handy cover!

Conor: 0 Objectives Walter: 0 Objectives

Turn 3

Walter was again frustrated by a less than perfect round of shooting. His Vindi scattered badly, only killing two terminators in the central squad, whilst the Plasma and Lascannon fire he poured into Belial's unit was completely blunted by those 4+ cover saves. However, despite this, his numbers were beginning to tell, as he took two objectives in his own deployment zone with separate Combat Squads. Meanwhile the two Rhinos (containing a Combat Squad each) on the west flank pushed towards the centre - bearing down on my Lascannon squad and the nearby 5th objective. He also dismounted another combat squad from the immobilised Rhino, but their shooting at Belial's squad was ineffective. In the combat phase the Terminator Command Squad wrecked the same Rhino.

It was clear at this point that I needed to quickly finish off with the western flank, in order to help my Combat Squads in the east that were about to be overwhelmed. To this end, the Terminator Command Squad advanced on the Assault Marine/Ravenwing Combat, whilst Belial detached himself, confident of his ability to deal with the nearest combat squad alone. Near the ruins, the second Terminator Squad advanced on the Razorback & Vindicator, supported by the Ravenwing and the Attack Bike.

Shooting was mixed, the Attack Bike and Land Speeder managed to immobilise and stun the Vindicator, whilst the Crusader began to whittle down a Plasma Cannon Combat Squad in Walter's deployment zone. Annoyingly though, the Lascannon in my Combat Squad managed to miss the Rhino's bearing down on it. Combat was much more fruitful, with dual Terminator charges - always fun! The attack on Razorback left it immobilised and with no Lascannons, and the Termi Command Squad made short work of the Assault Squad. Belial, charging through cover, was able to kill all 5 marines in the combat squad, but was taken down by the dying Sergeants power fist.

Conor: 0 Objectives Walter: 2 Objectives

Turn 4

With the west flank beginning to crumble, Walter pushed on in the center where he would easily be able to win on objectives. One Rhino peeled off, its squad disembarking in the ruins and claiming an objective, whilst the second bore on into my deployment zone, claiming the objective opposite my Lascannon team. In his shooting phase Walter was a bit limited by the fact that I had consolidated my Ravenwing to screen the Deathwing Command Squad, giving them a cover save against his Plasma Cannons. Failing to kill any Deathwing, he instead gunned down both the Land Speeder and two Ravenwing Bikers, leaving one left. In combat his Command Squad charged the Terminator Squad that had wrecked the Razorback, the Captain's Relic Blade easily taking care of the three remaining Deathwing. Ouch!

In my turn, conscious that I really needed to start moving on objectives, my Deathwing ignored the temptation to charge the Command Squad, and instead advanced towards the Plasma Cannon Combat Squad. The plan was to cut them down this squad this turn, setting me up to advance on another Combat Squad holding an objective behind the hills. In the east, my Lascannon team moved around their cover, and made ready to try and shift the enemy off their objective. In my shooting phase the remaining Ravenwing shot into the approaching Command Squad to no effect, the Crusader failed to kill any of the Combat Squad holding the ruin and finally the Lascannon team managed to kill one of their opponents with pistols. The Attack Bike did manage to blow the Whirlwind sky high, which was a bonus!

Combat again went well, the Terminators easily killing all of the 5 marines they faced, and the Lascannon team managing to kill two marines on their objective. Best of all the Sergeant with the Power Fist didn't manage to hit the lascannon team, though he held fast with the last member of his squad.

Conor: 1 Objective Walter: 4 Objectives

Turn 5

With 4 of his 5 Combat Squads either holding or contesting objectives, Walter's movement was limited to his Command Squad chasing after my Terminators. With that Captain and his Relic Blade backed up by Veteran with a Power Fist, the squad was more than capable with dealing with my Terminators, who really were my only hope at this point.

In his shooting phase the Command Squad attempted to down some of my Terminators to no avail, whilst a Combat Squad gunned down the attack bike. In combat his Power Fist armed Sergeant once again failed to hit my marines and watched while his last comrade was dragged under. The crucial Command Squad charge started well for Walter, with the Captain felling two Terminators. However, in return the Deathwing cut down most of his Command Squad and won the combat. Determined to safeguard his objectives however, the Captain and his remnants stood fast.

Movement in my turn was pretty limited. The Land Raider swung round (running over the wrecked Rhino) to continue firing on the Combat Squad in the ruins, and my one remaining Ravenwing biker turbo-boosted to that objective, hoping to deny it to the enemy should this be the last turn.

After an uneventful shooting phase, the combat phase began. In the east my Lascannon team failed to down the remaining Sergeant, who again only managed to flail wildly with his Power Fist, leaving the objective contested. In the crucial combat with the Terminators, the Captain was only able to kill one Terminator (I made three 5+ saves against the Relic Blade!), and he was swiftly cut down - leaving only one Marine standing bravely in the Deathwing's path. Did I say bravely? I meant incredibly foolishly...

We rolled for the end of the game and the Emperor smiled on the true Dark Angel forces, granting me a turn 6.

Conor: 1 Objective Walter: 2 Objectives

Turn 6

Again Walter was pretty much limited in what he could do. As the Terminator squad was in combat he was unable to fire on them with the nearby Combat Squad, but equally could not move away as he would loose that objective. He was able to destroy the last Ravenwing biker, and regained control of the ruin objective. Finally he moved a Rhino in the east to contest the one objective I actually held at that point.

Combat saw him loose both this Power Fist Sergeant in the east (leaving me in control of that objective!) and the last of the Command Squad. At the end of Walters 6th turn he was 3-1 up - it would be down to the D'wing once again.

My first move in my turn was charge my Land Raider forward, successfully negotiating difficult terrain, to contest the ruin objective. The Melta-Gun armed combat squad there would give me no end of pain if there was a turn 7, but Walter was so far ahead that I had to even the Balance. Annoyingly, both the Lascannon and the Plasma Gun of the Tactical Squad failed to blow up the Rhino contesting the objective furthest east. In combat, the remaining Deathwing advanced and did their job excellently, with the enraged Apothecary killing with all his attacks, wiping out the Combat Squad and taking the objective they were standing on.

(In this picture, the Land Raider is actually on the terrain and contesting the objective, it was just impossible to actually place it there!)

Conor: 2 Objectives Walter: 1 Objective

With the balance temporarily switched in my favour, we rolled for the end of the game. The dice came up a 2, leading to:

Dark Angels Victory!

... victory for my Dark Angels that is!

So, a really enjoyable game where I was able to pull a victory from the jaws of defeat. Walter was an excellent opponent who provided a good explanation for his defeat. He pointed out that he got greedy and attempted to go for all the objectives when the battle was going well. After he had spreaded out to do this, I was able to take his army down piece by piece.

So, with points for a narrow victory, more VP's scored, killing the enemies HQ and most expensive unit, I scored 24 points out of a possible 30, giving me a great flying start for the tournament!

Well, after another long battle report from me, let me know what you all think! Also, look out for Battle Report Two within the next few days.

Cheers guys!