Video Battle Report: Bugeater GT Winning Tyranids vs. Blood Angels/Imperial Guard

I will have a full rundown of Bugeater later, but in short I went 3-3, my worst showing ever at a GT, but in the process won best sportsman and was nominated by the judges for best painted. While I am quite perplexed as to how my army, many of the models included having been painted in the car on the way down to Nebraska, got a perfect score on the initial appearance rubric, I am more than honored that my opponent’s thought so highly of me that I would earn the sportsmanship award.

Only the best armies are painted in this manner.

Before I go more into Bugeater (and all the GT's I have played in this Spring), I thought I would share this battle report which has been lost in a sea of tech troubles. It is timely though, as in it I face off against Matt Root, who not only won Bugeater for the second year in a row, but did so with the list I face here in this video. Facing off against his monster of a list, I will be using my triple land raider blood angels with imperial guard allies.

You can check it out after the jump!

Bugeater GT List: Nidzilla Tyranids Return!

On top of graduating from college the last few weeks have been filled with a revolving door of armies all vying to be my army for Bugeater. Chaos Daemons, Blood Angels, Chaos Space Marines, Dark Angels, my Orks hit the table in a serious list for the first time in ages, and I even started an Imperial Guard army out of unbuilt models I had sitting around. The only thing I didn’t dust off was my DE. In the end though, after much pushing by defending Bugeater Champion Matt Root, I was back with the bugs. Nidzilla is back!

Hive Tyrant (Wings/2 Twin-Linked Devourers)

Hive Tyrant (Wings/2 Twin-Linked Devourers)

Doom of Malan'Tai (Mycetic Spore)

10 Termagants

10 Termagants

Tervigon (Catalyst/Onslaught/Toxin Sacs)

Tervigon (Catalyst)

3 Biovores

2 Carnifex (2 Twin-Linked Devourers Each)

Trygon (Toxin Sacs)

The meta has changed a ton in the eight months since this army last saw the table. Back then Flyrants couldn't use skyfire, utilizing blobs was only something you heard about in obscure corners of the internet, and a shocking four armies have had a new codex printed. Heldrakes were not even a thing yet. A lot has changed, and this list represents some of those changes.

Blood Angels List: Three Land Raiders and a Blob (and a RTT Report)

I have always like land raider redeemers. The idea of AV 14 bringing a payload of S6 AP3 flamers is far too awesome to not like. I decided to start playing Blood Angels at the tail of 5th strictly because they could bring more redeemers than anyone else. I tested my old list out right when 6th drop, and after it did not perform I put them in a box for eight months, taking them out to play in an 1850 point tournament with only 90 minute rounds because I knew I would be able to play fast. Chaos was giving me much to focus on so I forgot them again. After being disappointed by the abundance of bad matchups for daemons I decided to start looking at the old raiders again. Something was missing though. with changes to FNP in the new edition the assault marines were not cutting it for me. I have always wanted to play with an Al'Rahem outflanking IG blob...and finally the opportunity had presented itself.

Librarian
5 Terminators (5 Thunder Hammer and Storm Shields)
~Land Raider Redeemer (Melta)
5 ASM
~Land Raider Redeemer (Melta)
5 ASM
~Land Raider Redeemer (Melta)
Vindicator (Dozer)

Company Command Squad (Astropath)
Infantry Platoon
~Al'Rahem Platoon Command Squad (Chimera/Vox/2 Melta)
~Infantry Squad (Axe/Vox)
~Infantry Squad (Axe)
~Infantry Squad (Axe)
~Infantry

 Find out how this list is supposed to work after the jump:

Ork List: And Not A Assault Was Given That Day

Woah. Nothing says crazy post Adepticon meta shifts like a random list to end the week. On the way back from the Gt we started talking about some of the things that we do and don't see in orks after seeing both the successes and failings of our nob biker/60 boy teammate. I have for a while been thinking about how to create a full ork shooting list, and used this opportunity to build such a list. Taking suggestions from my other team mates and a friend who won Bugeater last year with Orks we came up with this concoction at 1850.

Warboss (Squig/Armor/Cybork/Klaw/Slugga/Bike)
15 Lootas
15 Lootas
15 Lootas
11 Gretchin (Runtherd)
30 Shoota Boyz
30 Shoota Boyz
30 Shoota Boyz
Dakkajet (Extra Gun)
Dakkajet (Extra Gun)
Dakkajet (Extra Gun)
Skyshield

My thoughts after the jump...

First Thoughts on Daemons Post-Adepticon: Welcome to Life as a Midtier Codex

Woah. It has been too long. This post will begin my coverage of the spectacle that is Adepticon. This year was my first time at Adepticon, and while some things were not as immense as expected (in my head the whole event was bigger) the weekend fully met my expectations, and I am already looking forward to the next one.

Trying to keep Alex Fennell off the relic.

The big thing for me was the fact that I essentially was fully converting and painting a full daemon army in just over a week. This included bits I ordered not getting shipped, having huge trouble matching up wings for my black mace prince, and of course the trouble of painting a list when every day there are different models in it. In the end I was able to fully convert my army and get it all to at least three colors (most was four to six). The important thing for me was that I didn’t get last place in painting, though I was surprised how low of a score I got considering 95% of the models were converted or scratch built.

As for the event there is very little I could say that would be any different than the rest of the commentators online. I really like the four day format, especially considering how with the weather (tons of roads were closed from rain and flooding) made Thursday go until after midnight. The terrain was amazing, and really made alternating placement work. I have openly advocated since the event for all tournaments to begin using this method. As for the Renegade Open GT, we don’t feel we would be able to create uniform large pieces like Adpeticon had, but we are intentionally working toward the point where we can use alternating terrain placement in our event.

New Chaos Daemon Codex List & Analysis: Part 4 (Pre-Adepticon)

This post was started prior to Adepticon. My Adepticon coverage will start tomorrow. Some of the views contained in this post do not represent those that I currently have with the daemon book, but since I wrote this, I figure it should be posted up, as the majority of my feelings on much of this is the same.

My goal with the new chaos daemon book was to have fun. That I have. I am eleven games in with the new codex and every one (well, except maybe one crushing loss) has been a very fun game. I love how aggressive I can be, and the fact that the army is so different each game (depending on rewards and psychic powers) keeps things fresh. I even have gotten in a game against the new Tau. I will use this post to show off a few of my converted models and talk about where I am headed as I go toward Adepticon next week.

Chasing Down Some Tau

Speaking of Adepticon, my army is very much not ready. I estimate that I am 44% done currently when it comes to building and painting everything (though my list for the championships changes every day), so this weekend will be key to getting things done. I have been working in the Bronx lately, so not having my models with me while out of state has slowed my progress down. A full weekend to hammer out the warhammers is something I have been looking forward to.

Here are my current list thoughts; I am very open to critiques and suggestions:

Daemon Prince (Nurgle/Armor/Wings/Level 3 Psyker/2 Greater Rewards)

Herald of Slaanesh (Steed/Exalted Loci/Greater Reward)

Herald of Khorne (Juggernaut/Exalted Reward/Greater Reward)

10 Horrors of Tzeentch

10 Plaguebearers of Nurgle

20 Seekers of Slaanesh

10 Flesh Hounds of Khorne

Daemon Prince (Tzeentch/Armor/Wings/Level 3 Psyker/Spell Familiar/Black Mace)

10 Cultists (Pistol/CCW)

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

Aegis Line (Quad Gun)

New Chaos Daemon Codex List & Analysis: Part 3 (Chaos Space Marine Allies)

After the nonsense that was fine tuning the Chaos Space Marine/Daemon list of the last few months, I really feel like just having a good time. I enjoyed my list, it played how I liked and allowed me to come from behind to win in many circumstances. Honestly though, it wasn't fun for many of my opponents. At the GT last weekend my round two opponent only had two models left after my second turn (vendetta and a wolf priest) and my third round opponent only had three models left after my third turn (three ork flyers).  I quickly realized it was not a list to bring to friendly games, and if the new codex wasn't just released I would bring it to local tournaments either. While I had fun, if I bring a list to a tournament where we both are having fun, then it will be more enjoyable for the both of us. On top of this, 6th edition is way too rock-paper-scissors right now to rely on a list. A bad draw on the wrong mission makes any amount of mathhammer and playtests void. All we can rely on the "competitive" 40K is skill. I like to think I have some of that, and learning more with every game I play, but since the list matter less now than it ever has I think it is a great time to start having fun in the hobby. This was my teams philosophy when we finally built our list for the Adepticon team tournament. we thought about adding wraiths to our necron players list, but then we said it would be more fun to have a second C'Tan. Yes, it is going to be that much fun.

Speaking of fun, I tested out the daemon list with the Al'Rahem blob, and it was a good time. I spent the night after playing it dreaming of whether I would go for a nurgle-look blob or if I would pick up some dreamforge eisenkern models for a more clean look. I kept looking through the book and reading other's thoughts though and kep fitting new things in, things that pushed the guard out. Sometimes my nidzilla genes act up and I get a lust for flying monstrous creatures. I made a list that had nine juggernauts and four khorne heralds on juggernauts, I couldn't contain the coolness of it. Plus, with the number of conversions I already need to do before Adepticon, building and painting a guard blob is probably a bad idea. So without further build, here is my fun daemon list;

3rd Overall and Undefeated with CSM at the Dark Star GT

The title says it all. This last weekend 70 players gathered for a two day, five round, 1850 point warhammer tournament.

I had a blast, going 5-0,  and successfully beating my 3-2 record from last year, despite having the highest strength of schedule of anyone in the top ten. Despite my strong record I must say that out of all my events with the Chaos Space Marines, this weekend actually was the most challenging. The Minnesota meta brings a fantastic variety of armies, and this leads to many unique challenges. I found myself consistently saying, "You have me on the ropes," to my opponenets as I faced new threats such as multiple wraithlords, speed freak orks with triple dakka jets and more bikes than I have ever seen, hyper-aggressive Dark Eldar (going second and not having my preferred wave with night fight) and of course there was the finals too.

Connor, a friend who I traveled to Indy with and who I have playtested against, was my foe on table one in the last round. He was playing Fateweaver, three units of screamers, three units of flamers, and four of plaguebearers. Five months ago I said this was the one list my army couldn't beat. Back in December we played each other and he clobbered me.

CSM/Daemon List For Dark Star GT and a RTT Report

I have been painting up a storm getting ready for the Dark Star GT which is this weekend. Last year’s Dark Star marked my first venture into Grand Tournament gaming, and with my 5^th edition Tyranids finished tied for 13^th in generalship (though fell to 44^th after factoring in my lack registration points due to signing up through the waitlist and getting second to last in painting). I really feel I can place well this year, A) Because my list might be a bit cheesy (due to the White Dwarf daemons still being legal), B) I have greatly improved as a player this year, and C) my army is fully converted and is already at a three color minimum (with a more forgiving paint rubric than last year). This means I have three days to finish my bases and do enough highlighting to get those points too. I even have a fancy new display board (made from a large portrait from I got at a thrift shop) to help my score in that department. My list, the last hoorah of Tzeentch daemons spam, is similar to what I played at the Indy Open;

Typhus

25 Plague Zombies

10 Plague Zombies

10 Plague Zombies

10 Plague Zombies

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

6 Havocs (4 Lascannon)

The Masque

9 Flamers of Tzeentch

5 Horrors of Tzeentch

9 Screamers of Tzeentch

Soul Grinder (Phlegm)

Aegis Defense Line (Comms Relay)

It is hard to get motivated to paint some of these models which I don’t plan to use anymore (specifically the Masque and screamers), but all in all I am glad to get some of these models done, especially the zombies, as even before any of their green layers they are looking pretty sick. I had a chance to bring this army to a three round RTT that had 19 players at it, most of which were preparing for the Dark Star.

New Chaos Daemon Codex List & Analysis: Part 2 (Imperial Guard Allies)

Unfortunately the opponent who I had planned to film the battle report with and I did not have time to finish our game, so there will not be a video this week. I will give you a quick summary of the two games I have played and then give a list which is very different from what I have previously suggested; an allied Al'Rahem blob. But first, I will actually provide the conclusions I have came to thus far.

1) The problem is not the horrors, seekers, or heralds. These are working like a charm. The problem is that the rest of the list does not synergize in a way which protects their weaknesses. One of the big reasons for this is that the Great Unclean One, despite his great point cost, is too slow to do anything of note even when deep striking off of an icon and thus is not even targeted by my opponents.

2) My ally is not an efficient use of points. Yes the heldrake is great, but I am paying a huge tax to get it in the list. These are points that are putting me "behind the eight ball."

What I need is an efficient ally who can at a minimum match what I can do with my heldrake and havocs. Enter the traitor imperial guard:

Herald of Slaanesh (Greater Reward/Ex. Loci/Psyker Level 1/Steed)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Locus/Psyker Level 3)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Reward/Psyker Level 3)
Herald of Tzeentch (Exaulted Reward/Psyker Level 3)
17 Horrors
10 Plaguebearers
20 Seekers (Heartseeker)

CCS (Astropath/Chimera/3 Meltagun/Vox)
Infantry Platoon 
~1 Squad (Meltagun)
~2 Squad (Meltagun/Power Axe)
~1 Squad (Meltagun/Power Axe/Vox)
~PCS (Al'Rahem/Chimera/3 Meltagun/Vox) 
~1 Special Weapons Squad (3 Flamers)
~Commissar
Vendetta

New Chaos Daemon Codex List & Analysis: Part 1

Three of the top five most read posts on this blog are from my Chaos Space Marine “List Building and Analysis” series. As such it only makes sense that I do the same with Chaos Daemons. I am on a strict timetable as I need to come up with a new list and build and paint the conversions by Adepticon, so look for these posts to be coming in rapid succession!

The new codex means some proxies meet the tabletop.

Knowing I would be at the Indy Open, I preordered a copy of the new codex in Indianapolis.  This meant that while I was painting all night Friday, and on the ten hour drive home, the four of us who made the trip from Minnesota got to make ourselves familiar with the book and start working out some combos. As such not all of the ideas in this post are my own. Extra credit goes to Hulksmash who I have been bouncing ideas off of.

My original plan was to keep the CSM as my primary detachment and just ally the daemons so that I could keep using two heldrakes, but the fact that I cannot put four heralds in a single unit for an allied detachment put that plan to the kibosh. I decided to make a list that included most of the units I wished to try out (excluding Beasts of Nurgle, which as cool as they are happen to be far too pricy).

Check the list out after the jump!

Badger Airbrush Signs On To Sponsor The Renegade Open GT!

Big news this week for the Renegade Open GT, as Badger Airbrush has signed on for not one, but two, Gold Level sponsorships. This means there will be an additional $1,000 dollars in prize support for this event, which is HUGE!

Prizes will include at least 2 renegade Krome airbrushes, at least 2 Patriot airbrushes, at least 2 full sets of Minitaire paints, at least 2 Minitaire 12 colors starter sets, and at least 2 Minitaire ghost tint sets. That is awesome! Thank you Badger Airbrush (which is an American made product) for supporting our event.


Speaking of the event, registration has begun, with numerous warriors already signed up. Don't be left out in the cold this November, make sure your name is on the list. Don't forget, if you are local to the MN area you can register in person at any of our pillar stores for $5 off the registration cost.

6-1 At The Indy Open

I had a great time in Indianapolis at the Indy Open GT. I was painting right up until 11PM the night before in my hotel room to get my army to look at least half way decent (I didn't get lowest paint score!). While I didn't win the GT I did have an impressive showing, only losing one game (to Hans who won the last Indy Open and took 2nd this year) and winning my bracket. I doubt I will do battle reports as the new daemon book makes the tactical side of reports defunct, though I took pictures so I may post them another day. Here is my army and a list of my games:

Typhus

15 Plague Zombies

10 Plague Zombies

10 Plague Zombies

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

5 Havocs (4 Lascannon)

The Masque

9 Flamers of Tzeentch

5 Horrors of Tzeentch

9 Screamers of Tzeentch

Soul Grinder (Phlegm)

Aegis Defense Line (Comms Relay)


Round 1: MSU GK

He had first turn and combat squaded everything. By the time he moved up and used the jump move on his now four squads of interceptors I had very little space to land my deep strikes, leading to a soul grinder mishap. At the end of my second turn I only had 19 models on the table. Typhus was forced to roll five saves and failed four of them, dying. It was an uphill climb, but with some major help from my Heldrakes when the dust settled on turn six I was winning by a slim margin.

RTT Report: Blood Angels w/ Dark Angels Allies Take On 90 Minute Rounds!

A few Saturdays ago I played in a ‘silly’ RTT at Village Games in Anoka, Minnesota. Why was the even silly? First, being Super Bowl Sunday, only five of us showed up. Second, we found out a few days before the event each round would only be an hour and a half despite the points limit being 1850. Third, though we didn't know this ahead of time, the missions, while from the rulebook, were hilariously described, with us all laughing together as we tried figuring out what we needed to do. With this in mind those of us considering going made a “gentleman’s agreement” to not only bring an army that could play five turns in that amount of time, but also to not bring any daemons. It is worth noting that every game did go at least five turns.

Everyone suspected that I would dust off the old Nidzilla to fill the ‘low model count roll’, but I have been aching to have a reason to bring out my unfinished blood angels, anchored by three land raiders. I spent a while playing with the numbers since I have not used my Angels since the end of 5^th edition, and made a silly list that looked like fun, and hopefully could show that assault angels – of all varieties – could be effective. I introduce…THE ANGELS OF DEATH!

Blood Angels

Mephiston

Chaplain (Meltabombs)

Sanguinary Priest

5 Terminators (5 TH+SS)

~Land Raider Redeemer (Multi-Melta)

5 Assault Marines

~ Land Raider Godhammer

10 Death Company

~Land Raider Redeemer (Multi-Melta)

Dark Angels

Librarian

5 Scouts (Camo Cloaks)

5 Tactical Marines

The essence of the list is three hard hitting assault units in durable vehicles which are also offensively potent. Mephiston, who should be improved by biomancy, deploys with the priest behind the empty Godhammer (as the ASM are in reserve with the other troops). On my first turn they split up, with Mephiston rocking the Godhammer, and the priest joining the terminators and divination librarian in a redeemer. The chaplain naturally rides with the death company. Lets break it down…Mephiston before biomancy will have 6 S6 AP3 attacks on the charge that have the force ability, the Terminators are S9 on the charge and should be durable with a 2+/3++ and FNP, and the death company who will have 55 WS5 S5 attacks on the charge that reroll all to hits and to wound on the charge. The list hits hard, plus the land raiders, sporting either two twin-linked lascannons or two S6 AP3 flamers with assault cannons, are nothing to forget about. The natural weak spot is the scoring units, which are only five marines strong in each. This hopefully can be mitigated by threat vectors and reserves.

I really like the list which has no spam (minus one dedicated transport) and lots of unique was of killing. But how did I do? Check it out after the jump!

Humorous Challenge & Serious Dark Eldar List

Vect: He will run train on your harpies.

A rivalry several days in the making...

I have been thinking a lot about what army I will be playing post Adepticon, knowing that I will most likely be getting burnt out of Chaos Space Marines. I posted an horde Ork and a mostly foot Dark Eldar list to a Minnesota community wargaming group and a skilled, yet admittedly cocky player, believed that my list was poor (which it might be). I wrote a response, but there was something about how he said it that made me want to throw down, so I issued a challenge...

...which was turned down.

I responded that only way I knew how...with an over the top video challenge...On 2/20/13 "American Dream" Turn 7 Wargaming laid down a challenge to a cocky youth who needed to be put in his place. After Twitch (known in some circles as Emo Joe) refused to put his money were his mouth is the "International Superstar" Turn 7 Wargaming had no choice but to make a video to capture his thoughts and let a small portion of his fan base speak their mind. It's a rivalry two days in the making!

More on the lists after the jump!

Hobby Progress (Heldrake, Daemons, and More) and Life Update

I'm not dead! It has been a few weeks, and I have not played many games, though I did play in a tournament with 90 minute rounds at 1850 points that will have a blog coming soonish. My life has been filled by my last semester in college and getting hired for a position post graduation. This is good news because I am excited for it and  know it is what I am meant to be doing, but bad because it is requiring a lot of time prior to prepare and train as well as meaning I will have to take a year of from wargaming. More on that position later, right now I am going to show you what I have been working on (for my chaos army...since I doubt you all care about econometric calculations).

I knew I needed to get this up when I read Goatboy's weekly post on BoLS this week, the guy said he was going to make a Storm Talon Heldrake. I can't let the Great Goat get credit for the idea, I needed photo evidence! In all actuality he will do a much better job than me, but here is my progress on it so far. I need to do more green stuffing, especially tentacles and other Slaaneshi things. The big issue here is the wings, as this is smaller than a real Heldrake. My take on it is that between the fact that it is a flyer and has a 5++ size doesn't really matter in regards to cover and in a pinch I will just rule in favor of my opponent for size, but a few people have mentioned I should find a way to extend the wings.

Tournament Pro Tips

As part of getting the local community excited for the Renegade Open GT my team asked me to write up a guide of tips for individuals who have never participated in a Warhammer tournament prior to ours. This document is a result of that request. A lot of these tips were already on the internet, so I am certainly standing on the shoulders of giants, but I believe that through my compiling and adding of my own tidbits that this document can be of use to both novice and veteran players alike. Please let me know anything you think I might be missing, and if you run a blog, feel free to run this on your website (all I ask is that you provide a link to the original here).

Why should you play in a tournament?

There are lots of reasons people play in Warhammer tournaments. Some people enjoy the social aspect, others like showing off their hobby skills and seeing the conversions and paint jobs of others, and of course some people enjoy the competitive side of the game. I personally enjoy crunching numbers, making lists, and trying out new tactics against exciting opponents. No matter why you like wargaming, tournaments are the best, and most fun, way to experience it.
  

What should I bring?

1)     Your army. Duh.

2)     A copy of your list for yourself, the TO, and each of your opponents. See below for more information.

3)     Dice. See below for more information.

4)     A 6^th edition rulebook, any codex you are making use of in either your primary or allied detachments, a printed copy of the most recent general game FAQ and a FAQ for every army used in both your primary and allied detachments.

5)     Hydration and a snack. See below for more information.

6)     Medication. Does standing all day make your back hurt? Does thinking to hard give you a headache? Bring whatever medication you will need to have the best day possible.

7)     Two tape measures. I always bring two because between opponents forgetting and mine breaking, you will use the second more than you think.

8)     All three game templates. It doesn’t matter if your army uses all of them or not, you want to have them in case your opponent forgot theirs. This prevents you from having to harass another table in order to borrow one. I would also highly suggest a tactical template (1”, 2”, 4” and 6” measurements) as they greatly speed the game up. The Gale Force 9 version is most popular, but you can also order them from the Renegade GT’s event sponsor Applied Perspective for only $5.99. I also suggest a way to mark exploded vehicles. Terrain Foundry produces great ones cheap, but psychic cards work well too.

9)     Two pens (or pencils if you are one of those people…).

10)   A way to carry your army. See below for more information.

11)   Comfortable clothes. See below for more information.

Announcing The Renegade Open GT (November 23rd and 24th, 2013)

Get your army ready, because there is a new GT in town. This November the inaugural Renegade Open GT, taking place just North of the Minnesota Twin City metro area, looks to become not just one of the premiere tournaments in the Midwest, but rather the entire country. The event features four rounds on Saturday, judged via a Win/Loss/Draw system, with the top sixteen moving on into a winners bracket on Sunday. The rest of the field will have their scores cleared and will enter into a separate three round tournament scored equally on their table top performance and the appearance of their army.

You should definitely check out the website, as it is one of, if not the, nicest looking tournament website in the world!

More info after the jump!

RTT Report: My CSM Make Their Debut (1.19.13)

Last Saturday I brought my Chaos Space Marines out to their first tournament, which took place at Legion Games in Burnsville, Minnesota. There were eleven players, which is more than they had at some events last fall, but still below how many they used to draw. While I don’t plan to do full battle reports until this army is painted, I will be providing a synopsis of each game. This provides a record for me as well as a point of perspective for other players when looking at match ups. My list was;

Typhus

25 Plague Zombies

10 Plague Zombies

10 Plague Zombies

10 Plague Zombies

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

Heldrake (Baleflamer)

6 Havocs (4 Lascannon)

The Masque

9 Flamers of Tzeentch

5 Horrors of Tzeentch

9 Screamers of Tzeentch

Soul Grinder (Phlegm)

Aegis Defense Line (Comms Relay)

Game one is after the jump!

Indy Open 2013: I Am Going And So Should You

There were a few GT's the first two quarters of the year which were on my list of perspective events either because of their affordability or the praise past years had gotten. After some prodding from Hulksmash I am officially registered for the Indy Open 2013 the weekend of March 2nd and 3rd.

The event is a six round 64 person tournament using a win loss draw format. They will have over $2000 dollars in prize and are drawing some huge names from the 40K community considering it is only their second year running the event. Saturday is four games to determine fight for first on day two, and for those not still in the hunt for can play in a multitude of events including a three round RTT with brackets set up for players to play their peers based on the previous day's results. The only downside is that the event is 1750 rather than 1850, but that is a small detail in the long run.

Last I heard they had about twenty spots left, so if you are on the fence now is the time to buy them before others do!

2012 In Review

2012 was the biggest year of my wargaming career. I played in my first GT (first three to be precise), got what I would say is ‘pretty good’ at one army, started another, and started developing real hobby skills. This is a review of 2012 and a preview of 2013.

First though, a quick background to my history in wargaming. I started playing 40K in December 2002. It took six months of saving my allowance, and I still to this day fondly remember making the purchase of the 3^rd edition Dark Eldar and Space Marine starter set (which compared to today’s starter boxes was atrocious). I began playing the dark elder, which was already an outdated codex, but the fact that I could not afford to buy any vehicles meant that my gunline DE earned no wins over a three year period, leading me to quit the game and put my models in a box.

Most of my now unloved DE army.

In 2010 I by chance walked into a lounge were some guys were playing on a pool table. I asked if it was 40K and we exchanged phone numbers. The next fall I joined their league at my college, and while I was still terrible, I focused on learning tactics. These lessons, combined with the new DE book getting released led my group to call my army over powered and suggesting that I play in a real tournament. Two years form tomorrow was that first foray (winning only one game), and I have loved the competitive side since.  I played DE for a few more months until a temporary move to Detroit led to me leaving the hobby until I got back to MN. In November 2011 I started playing again, this time with Tyranids. This brings us to 2012, I am full of energy with a new army and a mind full of ideas, but I am still lacking refinement in the tactics department.

Hobby: Typhus Conversion

Internet...meet Typhus.

January is my easiest month work wise, which means I have gotten a lot done. The flamers just need a few minutes of touch up, I finished my horrors last night, and both heldrakes are in the final stages of green stuff. The most important completion of late though is my warlord Typhus.

My goal with Typhus is to make him imposing, not a character who kicks ass in assault, but rather a model that is so commanding and powerful that you fear the idea of getting into assault with him. I knew I needed him raised up in order to create that sort or presence. I chose to do this with a rock rather than bark or foam as this would weigh his base down, preventing him from falling like other top heavy models. His legs and powerfist are from the CSM Terminator box, and his torso, head and shoulder pads are from the Forgeworld Death Guard Terminator kit (I believe; I got these bits as part of a bigger trade). His other arm is a cut up combi-bolter arm. The wires come from a CSM Terminator power mace, and the handle above the hand is from a terminator power axe. The scythe head is from the empire wizard box. I need to do a bit more work on the greenstuff, adding more vines to cover the joint. The arms under him and behind the cloak are from the fantasy ghouls box. I believe the tabardesque chains are from the CSM Terminator kit. I will need to hunt down my flagellent chains so as to connect his cape to the front tabard.

Overall I am very happy with him, as I am with all of the conversions thus far. Now that challenge is to find a build for the screamers that I like before an RTT on Saturday. I already have their bases weighted and magnetized, I just need a model to rock on top.

Biggest Changes In Today's FAQ

Today's FAQ release is quite a doozy! Everything from a confirmation of the reported Necron flyer rule, to Mycetic Spore changes that make Doom even more dangerous, plus some new game mechanics. Here are the top changes I found when reading the updates this morning;








Main Rulebook Page 43 – Special Rules, Vector Strike.
Change the second paragraph to read “When Swooping, this model may savage its prey. At the end of the Movement Phase, nominate one unengaged enemy unit the model has moved over that turn. This unit may even be an enemy Flyer. That unit takes D3+1 hits, resolved at the model’s unmodified Strength and AP3, using Random Allocation. Against vehicles, these hits are resolved against the target’s side armour. No cover saves are allowed against these hits.”

Two big changes in here. First, random allocation is now in play for vector strikes. This prevents me from sniping models via heldrakes flying of the table at specific angles, and fluff wise makes sense. I already through some DnD dice with my Chaos army to speed up allocation. The second is a huge benefit to vector strikes...no cover saves! This makes vector strikes one of the most reliable ways to finish off the last two of three guys in a unit.

More changes after the jump!

Defilers, Maulerfiends, and Soul Grinders...Oh My!

A friend who was leaving the hobby invited me over to his place to look through some CSM models to see if there was anything I would be interested in. I already had my early 2013 GT list set for the most part, but figured it was worth a gander. There was some good looking stuff, including conversions that would fit with my army, but I really didn't have the cash to afford models I don't need. Then I saw it...the Forgeworld Nurgle Plague Hulk.

The pictures on the Forgeworld site don't do it justice (partially the bland coloring used on the rotting flesh), this model is superb. My friend also posed it well and modified it so that it would fit on an oval base, making the model sturdier.

So I bought it. The price was low enough that I felt I could fit this monstrosity into my budget. The question was, what would it be used as? I saw three options; a defiler, a maulerfiend, or a soul grinder.

Breaking: Necrons Do Not Take Damage After A Night Scythe Is Destroyed



Credit: Blood of Kittens

I don't normally post "news" as typically it would just be a repost from every other blog, but this is huge and has not spread much yet. The image to the left is from the Blood of Kittens facebook page and shows a very clear change from the previous wording as to what happened when a Night Scythe is destroyed.

Old Rule:  “If the Night Scythe is destroyed, the embarked unit is not allowed to disembark, but instead enters reserve (when they arrive, they cannot Deep Strike).”

New Rule: "If the night scythe is destroyed, the embarked unit suffers no damage."

This should end all the debates, all the arguments, and all the blood feuds...except for one little detail - it does not appear in a GW FAQ yet. I sincerely hope they make that change soon though. As Reece (i assume) from Frontline Gaming said, "I am just glad they're actually addressing this stuff, who cares if the RAW or RAI is correct." I agree, a definitive answer is what I will always prefer.

Either way, this is a clear statement by GW of their position on the matter, and I think that is very much worth noting.


Caveat - I do not own the Necron eBook (or an iPad for that matter), so if anyone who does could comment here, facebook message me, or email me a confirmation of this image's validity that would be awesome! I have now received independent confirmation which verifies this change.

Bastion vs. Aegis - A Fortification Dilemma

It seems like everyone brings an ADL these days.

With my Chaos Space Marine list utilizing Daemon allies, flyers, and fragile troops which I want to keep off the board I knew I needed a comms relay. The question quickly became to take a bastion or an aegis line to secure myself those sweet, sweet, rerollable reserves.

Aegis Defense Line

If you play 6^th edition Warhammer 40K then you are more than familiar with an aegis line. It is cheap, long, and gets the job (in this case reliable 4+ cover) done. Because my troops are T3 with a 6+ save, 4+ cover literally is a life saver (for whatever life zombies possess). The aegis also serves a key purpose in protecting the havocs in case the deployment zone does not have a ruin or area terrain on a hill. With the short sides of the aegis and the table edge you can ensure they are protected on all sides from flyers. There really is not much to say about the old dependable aegis line.

Havocs vs. Obliterators - A Chaos Space Marine Quandary

Partially Kitbashed Lascannon Havoc Conversions

I will have a review of the last year and a preview of this coming year posted next week sometime. This week I will be talking about heavy support choices, fortifications, and why I bought a forgeworld model. Today though, we begin with the age old Chaos Space Marine question…havocs or obliterators? When the book first came out I was all about havocs and gave no thought to obliterators. Several people questioned this behavior and pushed me to try the obliterators. The results of those tests are the basis of this post.

Havocs

One of the major comments the CSM book received upon release was the affordability of havocs. At 115 points you can get five with four autocannons, or for 155 points you can get five with four lascannons. Worth noting is for 175 you can get five with four missile launchers equipped with flakk missiles, though between cost and the low quality found in S7 against flyers I don’t believe this configuration is worth taking. Havocs allow a lot of shooting for very little investment.