Sons of Taurus army list revision

I jiggled things around a bit from the initial test list, dropping the longer-ranged squads for a second doom siren delivery squad and another defiler.  Makes it a little samey, but I can justify it as representing the two horns of a bull. ;-)







Revised 1500:

HQ - Chaos Lord (Minos the Malign)
Mark of Slaanesh, Daemon Weapon, Mount of Slaanesh, Meltabombs (170)

HQ - Daemon Prince (Taurus the Terrible)
Mark of Slaanesh, Wings, Lash of Submission (155)


 Troops - Noise Marines
8xNM, Champion (Hadrian the Hateful) with powerfist and Doom Siren.  Rhino with combi-melta, dozer blade. (265)

Troops - Noise Marines
8xNM, Champ (?) PF/Doom Siren.  Rhino with combi-melta, dozer blade.(265)

Troops - Noise Marines
6xNM, 6xSonic Blasters, Rhino Havoc Launcher (200)

Heavy - Defiler (3xccw, reaper) (150)


Heavy - Defiler (3xccw, reaper) (150)

Heavy - 2xObliterators (150)

to 1850 (1847):

(HQ) - Greater Daemon (100)

Elite - 7xPossessed, Champion, Icon of Slaanesh, Rhino (247)

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

In other hobby-related activities, I've gotten a little more painting done for the Scythiak, and got a game and a half in this week, with Tau and the Sons of Horus CSM, both using Battle Missions scenarios.  The first was my Tau and Seneca's Orks vs. two Eldar players in a mission that had the Eldar outflanking Wraithlords and Avatars, the other was my Sons of Horus vs. Seneca's Orks in a mission played long-ways on the board.  It ended up being pretty rough for the Orks, especially with his big mob tied up throughout most of the game by a dread that just wouldn't die. 

Blood Sharks option 2 - Jump Around

Another option for the possible future Space Sharks using the Blood Angels codex, this time as a primarily jump pack force.


It's very spammy, but could be fun.  I could play around with the weapons in the assault squads to reduce the spamminess, but by their nature more extreme lists tend towards repetition. 






1500:

HQ: Librarian, jump pack (lance, shield) (125)

(HQ) Honor Guard, jump packs, 2xflamers, lightning claw (190)

Troops: 10xAssault marines, 2xmeltaguns, powerfist (235)


Troops: 10xAssault marines, 2xmeltaguns, powerfist (235)


Troops: 10xAssault marines, 2xmeltaguns, powerfist (235)


Troops: 10xAssault marines, 2xmeltaguns (210)

Fast: Land Speeder, HB/Typhoon (90)


Fast: Land Speeder, HB/Typhoon (90)


Fast: Land Speeder, HB/Typhoon (90)
Libby runs with the PF-less squad.  Jump around, assault stuff.  Booyah.  I think Dawn of War could be fun - deploy two assault squads and the honor guard, HG providing FNP for everyone, tie up enemy while rest of force zips up.

To 1850:

Add second Librarian, jump pack (125)
Add PF to sgt in 4th assault squad. (25)
Add Furioso, frag cannon/meltagun/dccw, magna grapple, extra armor, drop pod with locator beacon (200)

Test Models - Heralds of Oblivion, Sons of Taurus, Space Sharks

Some sloppy test models for armies I'm thinking about. 









First up, potential scheme for the Tzeentchian Heralds of Oblivion.  My current thought if I use this scheme and expand to other gods like Khorne or Nurgle is to just replace the blue with an appropriate color so the force will still look unified but easy to distinguish within the force.

Next, some possible schemes for the Sons of Taurus:

And lastly a test Space Shark:

Whatcha think?  Do you have a favorite Sons of Taurus scheme?

Blood Sharks?

One of the down the road armies I've got on my project list is the Space Sharks.  Even under the PDF Blood Angels list I thought they might work with how I wanted to do the Sharks (with assault squads for troops) and the new codex didn't change that.  I picked up the codex the other day and after a quick skim worked up an initial list possibility.  I'll do some more possibilities with regular SM and Space Wolves too and see what looks better.

The Space Sharks seem to like Drop Pod assaults, and I do too, so I'm leaning towards a pod list.  I think that chainswords are the essential 40K weapons and go well with the idea of sharks, so I'd like to use a lot of them, ripping the enemy apart into chum.  Looking at the BA options, Seth with his huge honkin' chainsword would seem like a good fit, and dreads with harpoons?  Sign me up!

So here's the basic idea:

Space Sharks (Codex Blood Angels) 1850pts

HQ: Seth (160) (Big choppyness, good for enemy walkers or high T critters, getting to tack some high Str wounds on at initiative)
HQ: Librarian (Blood Lance, Shield of Sanguinius) (100) (Lance to hopefully have some fun with enemy parking lots upon arrival, Shield in enemy turn to help protect disembarked troops and dreads.)

Each HQ also lets you take an Honour guard squad, which look good to me - 2A base, include a Sang Novitiate for the FC/FNP bubbles in the cost.  Let's take two and stick the ICs in with them.

(HQ) Honour Guard x5, Champ (PW/combat shield), Meltagun, Drop pod w/beacon (190)
(HQ) Honour Guard x5, Champ (PW/combat shield), Meltagun, Drop pod w/beacon (190)
(Drop in with characters, hope to pop something then provide bubbles for the army and dig in with those chainswords)

Elite: Furioso Dread, Frag Cannon, meltagun/dccw, magna grapple, extra armor in pod w/beacon (200)
(Destroy tanks or shred infantry as needed.  Grapple to sometimes drag tanks into line for the blood lance if don't destroy them outright)

Troops: 5xDeath Company, PF, Infernus pistol, Drop pod (175) (2A base, bring their own FNP so can drop them away from the main force if needed, and they unlock...)

(Troops) Death Co. Dread, magna grapple, meltagun/heavy flamer, drop pod with beacon (195) (Similar to other dread, but a bit more assault oriented)

Troops: 5xAssault Marines, flamer, sgt lightning claw, pod (125)
Troops: 5xAssault Marines, meltagun, pod (110)
Troops: 5xAssault Marines, meltagun, sgt power fist, pod (135)
(Second wave to grab objectives and help deal with hopefully disembarked enemy troops)

Fast: Land Speeder - HF/Typhoon missiles (90)
Fast: Land Speeder - HF/Typhoon missiles (90)

Fast: Land Speeder - HF/Typhoon missiles (90)


(Shoot stuff at long range or zip in on locator beacons, HF clumps, contest objectives if survive)

Basic idea is the first wave would be the two dreads and two honor guard + IC pods, try to take out what tanks can.  Second wave arrives with aid of beacons if needed, aiming to get in range of the FNP bubbles, then chop up whoever's left.  Speeders either deploy to cause early trouble, zip in via regular reserves to get side shots once enemy has turned to face podders, or deepstrike in depending on scenario/enemy.

The main thing I might change would be to swap the death company out for another regular assault squad so they can score, which would also swap the DC dread for another Furioso.

To take it to 2000, would just add 7 deathwind launchers to pods and another beacon or misc. upgrade. 

As a special treat for all the Space Shark fans check out this great army over at Target Gaming Blog.

Where do you get your variety?

As the old saying goes, "variety is the spice of life".  It's just as true for the 40K portion of your life as well.  But how do you go about getting it?

For me, I enjoy the idea, look, and different play styles of different armies and have collected a few (too many...) .  I generally build an army to a particular points value, with little to no variation possible in the lists at the top point level.  So I'll have a 2000pt loyalist IG army, a 2000pt traitor army, 1850 space marines, 1850 chaos marines, etc.  When I want variety for a game, I bring a different army/codex.

Other folks find one army and are committed.  They continually build up more for that one army, with some large eventual goal like a complete SM company/chapter, or having enough to fill every FOC with every possible combination.  When these people want variety, they change their list up, swapping out terminators for more land speeders or whatever. 

Some times I wish I could be the latter type, and have shelves full of something to keep swapping in and out.  But I could never decide upon which army to do for it.  GW's done a good job of marketing to me over the years - there are few armies I wouldn't want to collect if I had a chance!

Which way do you go?  Are you committed to a particular race/faction?  Do you hit the buffet?  Do you have any particular long-term collecting/painting goals?

Kilroy! Err, Killgore! The 40K Minotaur is finished, plus misc figs.

Secret secret, I've got a secret!

OK, not much of a secret - some completed figs, including the first completed figure for the Scythiak, the minotaur master of malevolence, Killgore!  This guy will count as the Bone'ead for my Chaos Ogryn squad, and looks much more impressive than his actual stats indicate.

Slicey dicey oncey twicey claw and fang will kill Dredd nicely! (old Klegg mercenary song)

Meaty beaty, chop 'em neatly, death or glory no retreatee!  For those not familiar with the charming and musical Kleggs, they were alien mercenaries who appeared in an old Judge Dredd storyline, and in some ways may be the idea from whence the Kroot sprung - alien mercs, eat their enemies, have alien hounds...yeah.

Takes a strong back to support that huge noggin.

I really like how his CCW turned out, and am glad repositioned it to make it more dynamic, but that made the face a real pain to get to!

One down, a whole bunch to go!

Next up, a bunch of Lord of the Rings rangers done up as rangers, bandits, or other bushwhackers as needed for RPG storylines, led by a Reaper rogue-type figure.  Very quick and dirty job here, with the washed out look very deliberate, wanted them to look very dingy.

Third we have an old Citadel fig, from the "Heroic fighters of the known world" group.  Basic job, with a cloak from a polar bear or something, and some monstrous blood or daemonic ichor on his weapon.

And lastly, a seeress from the always delightful Sandra Garrity by way of Reaper.  There's a lot more detail on the figure than I took advantage of; the outfit could have been done much more extensively but I was looking for something simple so kept it all one color.

The crystal ball was just white with a blue wash over it, and I tried the wash for her eyes too - just a little bit dabbed onto the white eye, made a little spot of color and filled in the outline in the recesses too.  I'll be doing that again, hopefully it keeps working well.

Stay Bloodthirsty my Friends

He once shattered a Legion because he was bored.


Despite using a plasma pistol for over ten thousand years, he’s only died twice. Neither time was due to overheat.


He’s so over the top that the giant skull on his crotch doesn’t seem out of place.


He’s been voted “scariest thing with bunny ears” ten years in a row, even though the contest has only been running for six.


He is…The Most Interesting Berzerker in the Galaxy.

100+ Discriminating Readers, IA 9 Badab War general impressions

Wow, I've hit 100+ committed readers.  Thanks folks!  Hope most of you are still checking in now and again!  I've made some more painting progress and will get some pics up early in the week, including a mostly-completed Killgore, the 40K minotaur.

IA9 General Impressions

I won't go into a full detailed breakdown, at least not here, but some general thoughts.

The Good:

• The story is pretty good, following pretty well along the lines of the original Badab War storyline, but adding detail to some parts and fleshing out the background a bit more, including motivations for most of the different factions/chapters.   In an empire so spread out and factionalized as the Imperium of Man is, a lot seems plausible.
• The characters, boarding rules, scenarios and army list are good and workable, if nothing incredibly exciting.  With a little tweaking the boarding rules could work really well alongside Killzone.
• It's pretty, with a number of nice pictures.  The Fire Hawks pics especially look really cool, but I'm a sucker for flame jobs.

The Disappointing:

• For me, it's a bit disappointing having to wait for the next book for most of the Chapters I'm really interested in.  Space Sharks, Minotaurs, Mantis Warriors, etc.
• While I think the new Astral Claws scheme is fine, didn't really see the need to change it. 
• It feels a bit light in content in some respects, but I guess they had to cut some places in order to keep it from being three volumes.  The chapter sections feel kind of meh, not up to the level IMO of the old Index Astartes articles.  I didn't see any kind of Table of Organization for the forces involved, which would have been nice.  Aside from the special characters, nothing new was really introduced.  Something, even an Astral Claws dread option variant or some kind of tank thrown together by the Tyrant's Legion would have been a nice addition.
• The pictures that were included were nice, but IMO lacking.  While 2-d paintings are nice, I'd like to have seen good pics of actual miniatures converted and painted to match the chapters and Tyrant's Legion showcased.  The only pics of minis were obscured behind computer screen effects and the like, very atmospheric, but disappointing compared to the showcases we get with regular codexes. 

Imperial Armour 9 Badab War - Tyrant's Legion List review

I received my (signed) copy of IA9 the other day.  Nice book, as one would expect from Forge World.  I haven't read through the entire thing yet, but wanted to give a quick review of the army list included with the book, The Tyrant's Legion. 

The basic thrust of the army is a force that lets you mix up Space Marines and Guardsmen.  There's a few different things, but for the most part it's a very straightforward army, with little in the way of fancy rules and units.  It could be another option for some Renegade forces, less crazy Lost and the Damned type armies, Heresy-era mixed Imperial forces or other counts-as possibilities.



The Space Marines are basically normal Space Marines, so have ATSKNF and Combat Tactics.  There is another rule for the army, "The Tyrant's Due", that lets Marines taking cover behind Auxilia squads to get a 3+ cover save instead of 4+, but if they do the Auxilia take some damage.

HQ

Lugft Huron, The Tyrant of Badab: The big cheese himself is an HQ option for the army.  He has a number of special rules that make him a tough hombre.  He's more expensive than the CSM version, which is good because he would tear his later self apart.  When taken with the Tyrant's Legion list he also lets you take an Elite unit (ie Sterngaurd, Terminators, etc) of your choice from Codex: Space Marines, as well as Honor Guard.  He's a tough, hard to kill character that also gives benefits to the army as a whole, so if you can make him work with the army he could be a good buy.

Legion Centurion: Space Marine leader type, 2W, 9Ld, typical options.  Have to have one if army is 1500pts or more.  "Angel of Death" rule that if he's with an Auxilia squad that breaks they get an extra chance to rally at the expense of more casualties as he attempts to restore morale via bolter and chainsword.  Maybe if you did an extra d3 wounds to the enemy instead they wouldn't have broken in the first place dude!

Legion Auxilia Command Detachment: Basically an IG command squad with fewer options (fewer weapons, no medic, standard, advisors), no orders.  Option for Chimera.  "Field Commander" - 18" Ld (8) bubble. 

Elite

Corpse Taker: One of the more unusual units in the list.  An Apothecary with servitors that goes around collecting geneseed from fallen friend and foe alike.  Minor CC unit.  "Dark Harvest" - enemy space marine infantry units killed close to him count for extra Kill Points.  Can take a Rhino or Razorback.

Renegade Marauder Squad: Pirates and miscellaneous ne'er do wells from the Maelstrom co-opted into Huron's forces.  Can take a Chimera or an Arvus Lighter.  Some special abilities that make them sort of halfway between IG Veterans and Penal Legion.  Can take up to two Brutes, close to Ogryn stat-wise, with Rending.  May not attempt to regroup - if they break, they're done.

Legion Retaliator Squad: Space Marine CC squad, Rhino/Razorback options.

Troops

Legion Space Marine Cohort: Basic marines, up to 20 in the squad, option for Rhino if small enough.  One special or heavy for every five marines (so with 20 could have 4).

Legion Auxilia: 1+ required.  The basic grunts.  Twenty guys base, with option for up to twenty more.  Except for leader, conscript stats, Ork saves.  Option for flamer/gl/heavy stubber for every ten guys.  While squad leader is alive can regroup even under half strength.

Auxilia Armsmen Cadre: 10-20 strong, basically normal IG stats.  One special, and for every 10 one heavy (including HF option).  Come with lasgun and laspistol standard, can swap lasgun for shotguns or ccw for free, can upgrade to carapace armor.  Option for Chimera if small enough.  Tool these guys up a bit and they'd be a good place to stick the Legion Centurion.

Fast Attack

Legion Iron Hunter Squadron: Marine bikers, up to ten strong, no attack bike option, come with Counter Attack.  If you want some SM bikers riding ahead of your IG tanks, could be fun, but overall pretty vanilla.  If you can arrange to Turbo-boost behind some Auxilia, could have fun claiming 2+ cover saves though.

Auxilia Hellhound Flame Tank Squadron: 1-3 Hellhounds.  HH only, no Banewolves or Devil Dogs.

Legion Sentry Gun Battery: Immobile artillery platforms, like Tarantulas.  Options for TL HB, multimelta, TL las, TL assault cannon.

Maelstrom Fleet Lighters: 1-3 Arvus Lighters (AV10 flyer/fast skimmer transport) bought as a squadron but operate independently.  Options for limited weapons.

Heavy Support

Auxilia Battle Tank Squadron: 1-3 Russ tanks, either standard, Annihilator, or Exterminator.

Auxilia Siege Defence Squadron: 1-3 Thunderer, Medusa, or Basilisk.

Artillery Barrage: Off-table artillery, several options.

Auxilia Fire Support Cohort: 3-6 weapon teams plus leader.  Mortar, TL heavy stubber, heavy bolter, autocannon, missile launcher options.

Maelstrom Fleet Naval Squadron: 1-3 Thunderbolt, Lighting, Vulture.

Astral Claws Chapter Support: For every Legion Space Marine Cohort taken can use one of your HS slots to choose HS from Codex: Space Marines.

Auxilia Heavy Ordnance Battery: 1-3 stationary Earthshaker or Medusa platforms.



Overall as said it's a pretty straightforward army.  It looks like it could be a fun way to combine Space Marines and IG equivalents, and could lead to some neat Lost and the Damned armies.  You can mech up, but the large squad sizes seem to be encouraging a more footslogging horde with support.  Nothing is really out there - if you leave the flyers at home and don't fool with the more scenario-appropriate stationary platforms I think it would be fine to play against.  Given that you can get a lot of marines and also pull units over from Codex: Space Marines, the feel to me is much more a Marine list that can get some IG-type support rather than an IG list with marine support, though you could build it that way if desired.

Cage Match! November 13, come one, come all!

Dude.

Our local club has put on a couple of big get togethers over the past couple of years, and another one is coming up next month!  Here's the official blurb:

Fellow Gamers,

The winds of winter will soon arrive, but before they do GameOn is hosting its
annual Games Day. This event will be hosted at The Cage on November 13. What
does this mean for you:
Games Workshop gaming galore. If GW makes it or made it, we will have it
available to play or learn. We will have games and space available for
Warhammer Fantasy, 40K, Aeronautica Imperialis, Mordheim, Blood Bowl,
Apocalypse, Battlefleet Gothic, Lord of the Rings, Space Hulk, and anything I
may have missed.
Last year we had 49 gamers and the year before we had 52 gamers come out. We
want a bigger group this year…..the
reason, more charity fund raising. Last year's entry cost was 2 canned food
items for the local food bank for the Holidays. So again, we will require 2
canned food items to come in and play GW games for 12 hours. That's right….The
Cage will be open from 9 am until 9 pm on the 13th. Let's set a goal of 120
canned items.

So mark your calendars, set the day, and come out and have a blast gaming for a
great reason…..helping others. Ask around, people had an AWESOME time the last 2
years.
We will even open the swap meet for those that have minis to buy, sell, or
trade.
Let me know if you have any questions…..hope to see you there.

Bobby
GameOn

Site: 600 N Scientific St, High Point, NC
Parking will be to the right side- from Pump Station Rd

This is just a big get together, no tournament or anything like that.  Meet & greet, get some games in including some of the less common GW ones.

Fair warning, this will be held in mid-November in a warehouse.  So if you come, dress appropriately, wear good shoes for the concrete floor, and be prepared for limited and cold relief facilities.  There are a number of restaurants a quick drive away if you can hold it.

The locale.

Tzeentch CSM - The Heralds of Oblivion

I'm frequently amazed at what I can find in the way of album covers.

I like Tzeentch, but never really cared for the post-Rubric Thousand Sons with the automaton marines, and there hasn't  been a way to really do official Tzeentch without them in the past few editions.  So the new Chaos book with the option for units devoted to a god but not Cult troops appealed to me, especially for Tzeentch.  While I was scribbling lists on vacation recently, I turned to my half-formed ideas for some Tzeentchian renegades again.

So since I don't want Thousand Sons, my mandatory Troops would need to be regular CSM with an Icon of Tzeentch.  It's pretty expensive for small squads, so let's try big ones, like 18-strong to bring down the per-marine cost.  Two meltas to keep the enemy honest and a champ with powerfist for each. 

They'll need some concentrated power to help them, to replace some of the oomph normally spread out among squads.  So 9 Terminators with various weapons and icon of Tzeentch.  Can dish out a good bit of damage and with 2+/4++ should be hard to shift.

Some HQs to round things out and help with some CC punch.  I have one of the new DP models, so this seems like a good place to use it.  Daemon Prince, wings, Mark of Tzeentch, warptime, wind of chaos to help thin out enemy hammer units.  Should have a disc rider, so Lord, Mark of Tzeentch, Disc, Deamon Weapon (Deathscreamer), meltabombs, personal icon.  Should be a good guy to fly somewhere and bring the termies in.

So that takes it to 1500pts, in 5 pretty pricey units.

HQ - Daemon Prince, MoTz, Wings, Wind of Chaos, Warptime (205)
HQ - Chaos Lord, MoTz, Daemon Weapon (Deathscreamer), Disc of Tz, meltabombs, personal icon (185)

Elites - 9xChaos Terminators, Icon of Tz, Chainfist, 2xPowerfist, 6xcombi-meltas (370)

Troops - 18xCSM, Icon of Tz, 2xmeltaguns, Champion w/PF (370)
Troops - 18xCSM, Icon of Tz, 2xmeltaguns, Champion w/PF (370)

For 1850, let's call on the Greater Daemon again, to add some CC power and give me a reason to finally paint that Lord of Change.  For a fast GD delivery system and to keep the Lord on Disc company, 8 raptors, 2 meltaguns, champ with meltabombs, icon of tzeentch.  A few points left over to get to 1850, so upgrade one termie to a champion too.  For an alternative to let me field some Horrors, drop the GD, the raptor champ and the termie champ upgrade, freeing up enough points for 10 lesser daemons.

To get to 2000, throw in two master sorcerers as counts-as obliterators.

1850

Add Greater Daemon (100)
Add 8xRaptors, Icon of Tzeentch, 2xmeltaguns, champion, meltabombs (240)
Add Champion upgrade to one Terminator (10)

2000

Add 2xObliterators (150) (2 single-model units)


I've been thinking of retiring my old Sons of Horus and retasking some of the models for other CSM armies, and the Heralds of Oblivion would be a start to that.  Start with the Tzeentchian faction, then add on units devoted to other gods or undivided as time goes on as different groups and warbands that have glommed together.

Sons of Taurus - Renegade Dilemma resolved?

As noted previously, I have been in a bit of a Renegade Dilemma as to what army book to use to represent the renegade Sons of Taurus.  I had previously been leaning towards Space Wolves, partly to get access to the Thunderwolf Cavalry to represent Bull Centaurs.  Fiddling with lists while on vacation, I looked again at CSM and started with the idea of using the Slaaneshi Daemonic Mount, since it moves as cavalry. 

OK, so that means an HQ with Mark of Slaanesh.  They'll probably be hitting things on their own, so would need to be able to handle it, so Lord over Sorcerer.  Daemon Weapon adds to the Chaos aspect and lets him potentially wipe out squads at one pass.  Blissgiver's Instant Death power can be great against things like Nid Warriors and Nobs, and the Initiative boost from MoS gives him a good shot against enemy characters.  Slap on some meltabombs in case he needs to gallop over to an enemy tank.

Let's keep on with Slaanesh and see where it takes us.  Lash on someone?  Sorcerer, also on steed?  Sorcerer in a squad?  No, let's use a Daemon Prince, as it will let me make up a Minotaur Prince.  So Daemon Prince, wings, MoS, Lash.

For Troops, Noise Marines.  I like the different weapons they can get; it helps make them different than just "spiky marines", and it can fit in well with getting cool gear from a corrupted forge world run by Chaos Squats.  I wouldn't use them as sonic weapons, rather things like the old Kai Gun and other warp-fueled technologies.

The downside of the different weapons for the Noise Marines to me is that they don't play well together.  Sonic blasters should be laying down anti-infantry fire while moving up (until they can sit still and really pump it out).  Blastmaster should be in support.  Doom Siren should be in your face.  So rather than mix them together within squads, let's split them up.  It also helps to keep the Troops squads from looking too similar, which can often happen in CSM armies.

• 6 Noise Marines, sonic blasters, rhino
• 5 Noise Marines, blastmaster, rhino
• 9 Noise Marines, Champion PF/Doom Siren, rhino combi-melta, dozer blade

These guys need some support.  Let's keep that Chaosy too.  Three Obliterators (with some suitable counts-as, since Obliterators Suck.) and a Defiler.  A little left over, so maybe five havocs with four autocannons to help pop open some enemy armor.

That brings it to 1500.  To take it to 1850, let's throw in some more Chaosy elements, some Possessed and a Greater Daemon (so I can use the old Chaos Dwarf Greater Taurus I've been hanging onto for years).  Greater Daemon plus 7 possessed, champion, rhino with possession.

So far I like it.  It uses a lot of the things that make CSM different from other SM armies (DP, GD, Possessed, Oblits, Defiler, Cult Troops), and with the different weapons, the Noise Marines are even further from Imperial norms.  No Spawn or Lesser Daemons though, but you can't have everything.  And in some cases, you wouldn't want to.

The List (1500)

HQ - Chaos Lord (Minos the Malign)
Mark of Slaanesh, Daemon Weapon, Mount of Slaanesh, Meltabombs (170)

HQ - Daemon Prince (Taurus the Terrible)
Mark of Slaanesh, Wings, Lash of Submission (155)

Troops - Noise Marines
6xNM, 6 sonic blasters, Rhino (185)

Troops - Noise Marines
5xNM, Blastmaster, Rhino (175)

Troops - Noise Marines
9xNM, Champion (Hadrian the Hateful) with powerfist and Doom Siren.  Rhino with combi-melta, dozer blade. (285)

Heavy - Defiler (3xccw, reaper) (150)

Heavy - 3xObliterators (225)

Heavy - 5xHavocs, 4xAutocannons (155) (I have been debating having the Havocs steal a rhino from one of the support NM squads, or perhaps change them to 4xmeltaguns in rhino instead of the autocannons, or even swap them for another defiler or a vindicator)

to 1850 (1847):

(HQ) - Greater Daemon (100)

Elite - 7xPossessed, Champion, Rhino with Daemonic Possession. (247) (Thinking of dropping the possession for the rhino to get a 10th NM for the Doom Siren squad or an Icon of Slaanesh for the Possessed)

While everything uses the in-game rules for Slaanesh, they're actually following Hashut.  Of course, perhaps Hashut is merely an aspect of Slaanesh unbeknownst to the Sons of Taurus...

Incremental Insurrection - Scythiak Usurpation 1000pt + lists

While on vacation, spending time as a passenger plus some down time at night at the hotel I had time to fiddle with lists, and I did several that I'll share over the next few days.

First up are the Scythiak, my Chaos Guard army.  I have most of the 2000pts built (except for the two Chimeras and a Hydra), and the painting has started on the Ogryn.  After all that building though, I am a little daunted at trying my normal total assembly line for the whole mass, so wanted to break it up a little and get playing with the army sooner.  So, smaller lists to paint towards were the order of the day.

A 1000pt list was first up, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, letting me use many of the elements that appeal to me for the Scythiak - psykers, cavalry, Ogryn, and Spawn-riders.


Scythiak Usurpation - 1000pts

HQ - Primaris Psyker (70)

Troops - Infantry Platoon
-Platoon HQ 2xFlamers, PW (50)
-Inf squad Melta, PW (70)
-Inf squad Melta, PW (70)
-ML squad (90)

Troops - Infantry Platoon
-Platoon HQ 2xFlamers, PF (55)
-Inf squad GL PW (65)
-Inf squad GL PW (65)
-Mortar squad (60)

Elite - 6xOgryn (250)

Fast - 10xRough Riders, sgt w/meltabombs (110)

Fast - Sentinel with ML (45)

Mortars plink at threats to be annoying and hope for lucky pins.  MLs and Sentinel try to open enemy cans to let the choppy units do their thing.  Primaris hooks up with Ogryn, hopefully saving them from a little shooting and boosting Ld.  RRs move up behind big tall Ogryn until get a chance to charge out.  Infantry tries to avoid dying too fast.

To 1500:

Add Lascannon squad (+105)
Add 2nd RR squad (+110)
Add 4 Ogryn (to 10 strong) (+160)
Add Marbo (+65)
Add 5-man psyker battle squad (overseer + 4 psykers) (+60)

Similar plan, but moreso.  Marbo to try to take out any especially tasty targets.

To 1850:

Drop Primaris (-70)
Add Company Command Squad, regimental standard, 2xflamers, Straken, Chimera. (+225)
Add psykers to full squad (+50)
Add Chimera to psykers (+55)
Add 2 Sentinels w/ML (+90)


To 2000:

Drop ML team (-90)
Add Eradicator (+165)
Add Hydra (+75)

Special Operations Killzone Blitz 10/10/10 - Ten Team Ideas

So today is the big Killzone Blitz, having some fun with the 10/10/10 date.  I wish that I had some great new, custom-made converted teams to show off, but I don't.  Check around some of the other blogs today, I'm sure there will be some great stuff!  Unfortunately I won't be here to see it for a few days.  Curses!

If you aren't in the Killzone loop yet, check out the other posts using the Killzone label at the bottom of this post, check out Big Jim's Galaxy in Flames blog for the rules downloads, and then come join us at the Killzone Forums to give us feedback about the rules, talk about the game and show off your work.

So I don't have cool models or spiffy tables to show off today.  What I do have are some ideas that someone might find useful or spark some ideas of their own.  In keeping with the 10/10/10 theme, I present ten team ideas:

Ten Killzone Team ideas:

1. Eldar Corsair pirate crew
2. AdMech Explorator team
3. Ordo Xenos Deathwatch Kill Team
4. Superteam of choice (like Thor with jump pack and thunderhammer, Captain America with storm shield and bike, Hawkeye sternguard with variable arrows instead of bolter rounds, etc.)
5. Bounty Hunters.  No disintegrations.
6. Witch Hunter penitent squad.  Not all Repentia, but various SoB seeking to atone Dirty Dozen style for some transgressions.
7. Ork Mek and underlings/creations.
8. Spec Ops Group Robinson - group isolated from the rest of their force - shipwreck, errant drop pods or mycetic spores, wrong turn in the webway, etc.  Thrown together, they're doing their best to get back to the main force and do some damage on the way.
9. Arbites quick response team.
10. Hive Gang

Capture and Control - Auto Tie? Or is it?

Who's that playing that nasty mission?

Capture and Control -Two objectives, one in each player's deployment zone.  Often berated as the "auto tie" mission from the basic book.  But does it really deserve this reputation?




To win you have to control one objective, and keep the enemy from controlling the other.  There are a number of ways to handle that second objective - control it yourself, contest it, or kill the enemy's troops so that he can't control any objectives. 





Sounds simple enough, and people apparently manage to handle Seize Ground, with 3-5 objectives, half of which might be a hair over 12" from the other guy's table edge, so why is Capture and Control seen as so difficult?

I think that a good part of it comes down to mindset, and difficulties in allocating forces. 

With only two objectives, players naturally consider them precious.  They have one right in their deployment zone, where they can have their entire army protect it, while the other one looks so far away, with the entire enemy army available to protect it.  It's natural to focus on holding your own objective - it's right there - and throw a little bit at the enemy in order to try to sneak in a contest at the end.  Both players wind up throwing token forces forward, where they bounce off of the mass of the enemy.  In effect both players are playing for the draw, not the win, so that's what they'll probably wind up with. 

But are there better ways to go about it?  Can you play for the win?  I think so.

Instead of focusing on controlling your own objective and making a stab at the other one, focus on getting the other objective and denying him yours.  Rather than concentrating on denial, send your army/firepower at his objective, and either have some small holding force, sufficiently mobile elements who will be able to loop back later in the game, or some Reserves to walk on and squat.  Bonus if these can also be Troops, to give you a backup.

If your opponent goes into typical 20/80 attack/defense mode, your 90/10 attack can sweep aside his attack force and then deal with his defenders.  If he goes full defense, try to find ways to turn his static stance against him - multi-assaults, blast/ord blast weapons, forcing morale checks on units stuck so close to the board edge, etc.  You don't have to kill his whole army, you just have to keep them from being within 3" of a certain point while hopefully getting something of yours into that area.  If your opponent also goes into full attack and you meet in the midfield focus on slowing them down - immobilize vehicles, take out jump troops/bikes, etc.,  reassess which objective you want to control and then get there "firstest with the mostest."

While the full on attack naturally makes one think of assault armies, firepower armies can do it as well.  The key for them is setting up in such a way that they can fire upon the area around the enemy objective, focusing on blowing the enemy off of it so that their own Troops can roll up onto it.  Consider setting up your own objective far away, but in range and LOS of your firepower base. 

Remember that you're positioning for turns 5-7.  The first four turns are prep work - taking out enemy troops and mobility, crossing the table.  If an enemy unit pops onto your objective turn 2, don't sweat it, just be sure you can get it off by the end of turn 5, or if it is only contesting, that you can control the other objective by the end of turn 5.

Next time you roll up Capture and Control, instead of groaning about an auto-tie, go all out and try to win!

40K Basics: How to be a good pick up game opponent

Apparently this is an album Chris from the Raz File might like.

When I manage to get down to the local store to try for some pick up games, I try to be prepared.  For most folks, the time they have to actually go down to the store and devote to the game is much more limited than the potential time they have to prep for it, but I still see a lot of people that just aren't prepared.  It's not that hard, and it really helps give both you and your opponents the most bang for your available game-time buck.

First of all, there's the really basic things, like don't be a jerk.  You don't want this pick up game to be your last!



Aside from the human side of things, there are some simple, strictly organizational things that can make things run more smoothly.

Lists

This is one of the biggies, and it surprises me how often people show up, want to play, but have no idea of how they're going to put their armies together until after they've arranged a game.  

Come prepared with lists for several different game sizes, like 1000 and 1500.  If there are common point values for your store or area, work up lists for that too.

Even if for some reason you don't end up using that specific list (special scenario, trim for weird point level or team game, etc.) having a list will still save you a lot of time as it gives you an excellent starting point for you to trim or add on to as necessary.

If for some reason you refuse to come with a preset list, at the very least come with a listing of the units you have available in their most common configurations.  If you always run your Berzerkers in an eight-strong squad with a Champion with power weapon in a Rhino, write that down with a point cost so you don't have to spend five minutes each time working it out.  Go ahead and work out your 30-boy squads, your 20-boy squads + standard battlewagon costs, your 12-boy squads + trukk costs.  Have a selection of plug&play units that you can patch together quickly and easily to make your list.  This is still slower than having an actual list ready, but it's much faster than working from scratch.

If you absolutely for some reason MUST write up a list from scratch, keep deliberation to a minimum.  This isn't some kind of critical game; you don't have to squeeze every last bit of efficiency out of your army (which also brings us back to that earlier point about not being a jerk).  Slap it together and go.

Stuff

As far as physical prep goes, treat pick up games  the same as you should a tournament.  Bring a copy of the rules, your codex, dice, ruler, templates, etc.  I see plenty of pick up games where for some reason neither player has basic things like rulers, templates or a scatter die.  I'd say that it was pitiful, but it's not worthy of pity.

Bring your army.  Check before you go down to the store that you have what you'll need for the lists you have prepared (you do have prepared lists, right?) and that it's well organized.  If it takes you twenty extra minutes to sort out your figures and puzzle out which squad they're going to be in, that's twenty minutes that should be done before you've agreed to a game.  Before the store, it's your own twenty minutes.  Once you've agreed to a game, that's twenty minutes of yours plus twenty minutes of your opponent's.

Try to keep crazy proxies to a minimum with strangers.  The more you know them, the more leeway you can usually have, but try not to run your Orks as Space Wolves with tupperware razorbacks against someone you don't know well.

The Game

Again, the key thing is not to be a jerk.  If you can manage this one, most other things are pretty secondary.

Try to have at least a basic grasp of the basic rules and your own army's rules.  Of course if you're just learning the game or starting up a new army, you'll have a bigger curve.  But if you've been playing Tau for years and you still have to look up Pulse Rifle stats, something's wrong.

Take a few minutes up front to clarify anything you're aware of that might be contentious and to ask questions about the other guy's army.  Especially if one of you hasn't played much against that type of army, a little pre-game briefing can lead to a better game with much less confusion.  Similarly, run down any conversions/counts-as type things you have to clarify WYSIWYG, and spend a few minutes clarifying terrain.  For more unusual things, it might even be worth jotting it down to cut down on the "I thought that we said..." moments.

Aftermath

Once things are done if you've enjoyed yourself and you think they have too, if this is the first time playing them offer up some contact info.   The goal of the pickup game is not just to get in a single game, but hopefully to find another regular opponent!  Don't ask for their info, just offer yours.  If they're interested, they'll offer theirs up in return, or you'll get it when they contact you.


Any tips you might have?  Pet peeves regarding pickup games?

Efreet and Gnolls

Kept on taking a break from major project work in order to knock out some miscellaneous figures that have been sitting around for a while.  Mind you, the mountain of unpainted stuff is hardly dented, but it's something.

First, a Reaper Efreet (03322: Efreeti Emir).  I wasn't in the mood for anything fancy, and I enjoy painting elemental types, so decided to just do him as though he and everything he had was all made of fire.  Red base, then sloppy "dry" brushing over with orange, then mid range yellow and then a lighter yellow, with a second pass over the armor, face and hair to help it pop more.  Base hit with some black to contrast and maybe give the impression of cinders or something.

Also knocked out some Gnolls that I had gotten as a lot on ebay a while back.  I think that most are Chainmail figures, with one guy in the back being some kind of Chronopia wolf-guy, but close enough to a Gnoll for me.  Very sloppy job, but I think it works out OK for them.  Brown base, goldenrod yellow sloppy brushed on the skin/fur, a little metal brushed over the armor parts, eyes/tongue/teeth done and finished.  The defined muscles and features and all the fur lent itself very well to drybrushing type work, and they went very fast.  The brown/metals give a bit of a rusted/neglected look that I think fits most D&D humanoids.  If I wanted to really polish them off a wash or two or some kind of brushing over the mono-layer brown parts, and maybe add some hyena-like spots, but for occasional RPG use I think they're fine as they are.  Definitely better than just black primer!

Gnolls are probably one of my favorite D&D humanoids.  A bit different from the standard Orcs, Goblins, and Ogres.  Might not feel right for giant armies, but great for raiding parties and more unusual stuff.  Tougher than the average humanoid, cool hyena theme and they even rate their own demon prince, Yeenoghu, who also is linked to Ghouls, one of the cooler undead.  Combined it gives you a good complete package - Gnoll fodder (but tough fodder) led by EHPs (Evil High Priest(ess)) of Yeenoghu with a bunch of Ghouls as backup, with demons on standby for when the PCs get to higher levels.  You could run through a whole campaign just working your way up the Gnoll ladder.