The Scythiak Usurpation arrives! Collected army pics and cultist recruitment drive!

Here's the army so far all in one post.  If you've been following this from the beginning you'll have seen most of this already, but there will be a few new things.  For many of these, check out earlier posts for more pics.
Why am I putting all these up in one place?  One, I think it's nice to see everything at once.  Two, I need your help, and seeing them all will make it easier for you to do so.  Please see the end for how you can help...

Astrakenor and his retinue, company command squad with Straken upgrade, two flamers.  The acolyte with the speaker counts as a standard, amplifying and rebroadcasting Astrakenor's exhortations.  The priest with the chainsword had an =I= icon in his right hand which had to go.  Rather than just replacing it with a laspistol, I decided to turn the hand itself into a weapon.  Various =I= symbols on the henchmen filed off.

Psyker battle squad, bunch of Chaos sorcerers.  First five. 

 

Second five.  The one with the torch and book will be the Overseer.

For times when I want to run a Primaris Psyker, if I'm not running a PBS or just a smaller PBS, I may just use one of them as a Primaris.  Otherwise I'll break this guy out, a Heartbreaker Miniatures wizard.

He's not necessarily the most impressive guy, but I like him.  I saw this fig like a decade ago and always wanted one, but didn't know who made it or what it was called.  Over time I figured out that he was probably a Heartbreaker fig but couldn't find a pic anywhere, but recently found him on ebay.  Woot!  The long search has given him extra sentimental value to me.

Cultist platoon command squad.  Officer is a Dark Age Nathaniel fig.  I was originally going to use a PF, but decided to leave the sword, especially as it comes in a nice swinging pose.  Two flamers and two CCW cultists back him up.

 Cultist platoon infantry squads.  Meltagun, sgt with PW.

Oops, now I remember I still need to add a lasgun to one of those Eschers. Easy fix.

Cultist missile launcher teams.

Techno-barbarian heavy-bolter tough guys

.

Vets, 3 meltas and powerfist.

Mortars.

Lascannons.

Spawn Riders (Sentinels).

Rough Riders.  See prior posts for more detailed pics.

Group A

Group B (incl a sgt w/double-bladed axe)

Group C (incl a sgt on left with pistol/chainsword)

Group D

Techno-barbarian platoon CO.  Powerfist, two flamers, two CCW.

Techno-barbarian platoon infantry squads.  Grenade launcher, power weapon sgt.

Squad 1, first half.  Sgt is guy with spiky mace.

Second half.










Squad 2, first half.  Sgt is guy with skull helmet.

Second half. 


















The Man with the Plan; Khonan.  Counts-as Marbo.

And last but not least, the Ogryn squad.

Group 1

Group 2


















Group 3

















And the squad leader.























Now, the building phase isn't quite complete yet, but all the infantry and such are done for what I planned on for the initial lists, unless I've forgotten something!  I still have to do the vehicles - a Hydra-equivalent, five Chimera equivalents, and a Russ-equivalent.  Then stuff will start getting painted!

I have plans for further expansions down the road, but will get this massive first batch painted first.  Some stormtroopers, more tanks and artillery pieces, maybe a valkyrie, corrupted PDF platoon, commissars, some Repentia as priests, maybe some other things as I think of them.

But now as I finish the building stage and gear up for painting, we come to the second part of this monster post, and part of the reason I went ahead and included so many pics above.  In short...

CHAOS WANTS YOU!

 

I want to give these guys names, and would like to incorporate you guys who've followed their progress and kept me motivated as an "audience".  So join up!  Join the Scythiak Usurpation!

What's involved?

As a follower of the blog, put a comment in this post or email me through my Profile here, and let me know who you want named after you, and what you want them named.  Could be your real name, your online handle, your favorite D&D character, whatever resonates with you.  

I do reserve the right to refuse particular names - I don't want to paint "Buttmunch" or something on my bases.  I don't think this will be an issue, but want to set some basic boundaries just in case.  If you get your pick in before I get the fig painted, I'll also try to accommodate things like skin tone and hair color if you specify and want them to look more like you.

I've already named Astrakenor and Khonan, and plan to name the backup Primaris guy because he's sentimental for me.  I'm reserving the minotaur for Col. Killgore, mainly because "Killgore" is just a perfect name for a minotaur.  But everyone else should be up for grabs. Get a piece of the army for yourself, and follow your exploits in my future battle reports, for good or ill!

So what'll it be?  A cultist?  A techno-barbarian?  Rough-rider or Ogryn?  A sorcerer?  Or do you want something related to one of the tanks, or reserve a commissar-equivalent?  The choice is (mostly) yours!

"Damnation's just another word for nothing left to lose."

Chaos Guard - more Ogryn and other gribblies

After working out with the first few how the arms positioned and how to make the guns the rest of the Ogryn fell together pretty easily.






Bear trap and shoota on the guy on the left.  I don't think you want these guys catching you, but if the trap closes over your head you probably won't have to worry anyways.  Big honking sword on the middle one - ever since the Ironguts first came out, I wanted one with the big honking sword and chainmail veil, so here he is!  Hasan chop! I may add a gun to his base, or just assume it's already run out of ammo and has been discarded.  Simple sword and gun on the one on the right.



Last group of three.  Another simple sword and gun, big choppa and gun, and gun with buzzsaw arm.  The saw is a nob arm attached with a greenstuff shoulder.  Ever since I saw that in the nob kit I knew I wanted it on an Ogryn.

Side view.

4 o'clock view.  Guy on the right has a whip from the Gretchin kit.  Whether he uses it to motivate prisoners or drag them into the buzzsaw is anybody's guess.  My guess is that dragging one into the buzzsaw would do a good job of motivating the rest.






I made the weapon change to the Minotaur, and was pretty happy with the new one.  Not entirely satisfied with the pose though, so I pried the hand off and repositioned the buzzy monstrosity to a more dynamic angle, and also added an extra meathook to the front for just a little bit of extra ickiness and to cover a bit of boring flat space.







So that's the Ogryn squad complete, barring any fiddling or extra bits I may slap on if inspiration strikes.




I also knocked out turning a couple of shotguns into pump-action flamers for the cultist platoon command squad.  Originally I planned on more gargoyle heads, but they looked too wide for the shotguns, and the Cadian flamers also have two barrels that lined up nicely with the shotguns.  A round bit of sprue serves as a fuel cannister.

Chaos Guard - First 3 Ogryn

Here are the first three Ogryn, with weapons and some stuff added.  This guy has one of those Ogre cesti and a Chaos heavy bolter as ripper gun. 

View from other side, with marauder shield on the back.

Next up is one of the guys with a defiler mask and blob head.  Ripper gun is an Ork shoota.  I originally was going to use guns more like big shootas or heavy stubbers, but they ended up looking too long.  A regular shoota looked too small, so I added the gargoyle head on the end and a little extra "stock" on the back to make it a little bigger.

Other view, with backup weapon/scalping knife on the back from the berzerker sprues and a maruader horsemen shield.

Drum-fed shoota, and big choppa.  Again, shoota has had some extra treatment to make it a little bigger.

Other views, showing side view of sawaxe and grenades on the back.  Hands are from the nobz too.

I have a feeling that these guys are going to draw a lot of fire.

  

Chaos Guard - Bullish about the Grim Future Redux

 I wasn't entirely happy with the axe the minotaur (which will be the squad leader for my Chaos Ogyrn) had, so I did some chopping and fiddling.

Here's what he had originally:

And here he is now:

Bottom taken from an Ork Nob, top from a Killa Kan.  Maybe directly, this guy looks like he might be tough enough to do it!

Another view:

You'll see more examples in future posts (and indeed have already seen many examples in this army) but this demonstrates one of the advantages of building multiple armies - extensive bits and bobs left over.  While a number of the things I bought directly for this army (like the Mino and the Ogres themselves), a lot of the extra parts come from stuff I already had.  I know not everyone has the capacity to do it directly, but see what you can do when you combine with other local gamers - trade that Ork player those extra bolters and jump packs for him to make some fancy shootas and storm boyz, and get his extra choppas and leftover dread parts for those Chaos marines you've been planning. 

Chaos Guard - WIP Chaos Ogryn

 A WIP shot of the Chaos Ogryn, who will be led by the minotaur seen earlier.  Three have Irongut heads, the other six have Defiler masks.  The masks are appropriately sized, but at least for me didn't fit over the regular Ogre heads even with some trimming, so I just went with some globs of greenstuff instead. 

The Riddle of Comedy Gold

Thanks to Tower of Heroes for finding this YouTube gem. 

Conan the Musical


The same guy apparently has more, checking them out now...

The Scouring of Beati Prime part 2 - Missions

Part 2 of what I'd come up with as an outline for a prospective 40K campaign. Part 1 with the mission tree can be found in the previous post. 

The Scouring of Beati Prime

Aided by an uprising of local cults, the hordes of Chaos have descended upon Beati Prime, taking key strategic positions and routing the local PDF and Arbites. Their position is not yet secure however, and a nearby contingent of Adeptus Astartes is re-routed to deal with the heretics…

Note: Where there is no Draw option specified in the mission, use Kill Points as tiebreaker if it is an objective mission, and Victory Points as tiebreaker for KP missions or if second tiebreaker is needed. If even VP are tied, play mission again.

Mission 1

Descent of Angels – The night sky lit up with the meteoric descent of drop pods and the flare of Thunderhawk engines as the heretics scrambled into position.

“Surprise Attack” from Battle Missions (p68) with the addition of Night Fight for the entire battle. Marine player is the attacker. Use of drop pods and other deepstriking units encouraged, to represent the Marine’s initial assault on the Chaos forces. City Terrain.

Chaos Victory – proceed to 2A
Imperial Victory – proceed to 2B

Mission 2A

Storm the Barricades – The initial assault did not break the back of the heretics, and the Marines find themselves surrounded. The traitors will find the Astartes a tough nut to crack however…

“Trench Warfare” from Battle Missions (p46). The Chaos player takes the “Imperial Guard” role. City Terrain.

Chaos Victory – proceed to 3A
Imperial Victory – proceed to 3C

Mission 2B

Breakout – Their initial landings secured, the Space Marines strike out.

“Vanguard” from Battle Missions (p.66). City Terrain.


Chaos Victory – proceed to 3C
Imperial Victory – proceed to 3B


Mission 3A

Exfiltration – Their battle lines compromised, the Astartes attempt to slip through the encircling forces in order to regroup at another location.

Kill Team basic rules, with the following changes: no Specialists, and use 400pts instead of 200. Instead of table quarters, Chaos player sets up on one half of the table, then marine player enters turn 1 from the opposite table edge. Marine goal is to exit the far table edge. City Terrain.

Once all marine units have exited or are killed, total up the VP value of the models that exited.

Exited:
251-400 – Imperial Victory, proceed to 3C
150-250 – Draw, proceed to 4C
0-149 – Chaos Victory, proceed to 4A

Mission 3B

Combat Sweep – With the traitor line opened, the Imperials move to shatter their strength, striking at concentrations in the wastelands.

“Annihilation” mission from Rule Book, Dawn of War deployment. Marine player may choose to setup first/go first or setup second/go second. Desert/wasteland terrain.

Chaos Victory – proceed to 3C
Draw – proceed to 4D
Imperial Victory – proceed to 4B

Mission 3C

Street Fight – Both sides jockey for advantage as the gutters run red with blood.

“Seize Ground” mission from Rule Book, Pitched Battle Deployment. Use the full five objectives. City Terrain.

Chaos controls 3-5 more objectives – major victory, proceed to 3A
Chaos controls 1-2 more objectives – minor victory, proceed to 4C
Draw – refight 3C again.
Imperial controls 1-2 more objectives – minor victory, proceed to 4D
Imperial controls 3-5 more objectives – major victory, proceed to 3B


Mission 4A

Closing the Ring – With the Astartes contained, the Chaos forces bring up the big guns.

“Prepared Assault” from Battle Missions (p42). Chaos player in Imperial Guard role. City Terrain.

Imperial Victory – proceed to 4C
Draw – proceed to 5C
Chaos Victory – proceed to 5A

Mission 4B

Witch Hunt – With the Chaos reinforcements cut off, the Marines pick up warp fluctuations in the jungle and move in to pull the sorcerous teeth from the serpent.

“Annihilation” mission from Rule Book, Pitched Battle deployment. Psyker units on both sides count as 3KP, other units count as 1KP each. Forest/jungle terrain.

The Chaos player must take at least two psyker units (Primaris Psykers and/or Psyker Battle Squads). The Marine player does not have to take any, though they may want the protection a Psychic Hood offers!

The Imperial player may also include Witch Hunter Allies if desired, or may even elect to play an entire Witch Hunter army if desired and available.

Imperial Victory – proceed to 5B
Draw – proceed to 5F
Chaos Victory – proceed to 4D

Mission 4C

Regroup – Reeling from setbacks, the Marines attempt to perform an orderly regrouping to allow for a resumption of the offensive.

“Fighting Withdrawal” from Battle Missions (p78), with the Marines taking on the Tau role. City Terrain.

Chaos Victory – proceed to 5C
Draw – proceed to 5D
Imperial Victory – proceed to 3C


Mission 4D

Burn the Heretic! – Whether the fires were started by Chaos sabotage or Imperial incendiary bombardments, the effect upon the city was the same.

“Annihilation” mission from Rule Book, Spearhead deployment. Use “Slash and Burn” rules from Battle Missions p.14. (Burning) City Terrain.

Imperial Victory – proceed to 5F
Draw – proceed to 5E
Chaos Victory – proceed to 3C

Mission 5A

Last Stand – The planet is lost to the foul traitors. The remaining marines have holed up in the ruined Arbites precincthouse awaiting extraction. The heretics do not wish their guests to leave.

“All-Round Defence” mission from Battle Missions (p.70). Marines as defender. City Terrain.

Chaos Victory – Total Chaos Victory for Campaign
Imperial Victory – Major Chaos Victory for Campaign

Mission 5B

Rat’s Nest – Driven from the city, the heretics hole up in an ancient fortress deep in the jungle. The Marines move in to help with the “housewarming”.

“All-Round Defence” mission from Battle Missions (p.70). Chaos as defender. Jungle terrain with central ruins.

Imperial Victory – Total Imperial Victory for Campaign
Chaos Victory – Major Imperial Victory for Campaign

Mission 5C

Hounds of Hell – Traitor Marines answer the call for aid from the heretics, eager to engage their “brothers” in battle. The loyalists are just as eager and throw all they have into the fray.

“Black Crusade” mission from Battle Missions (p. 12). The Chaos player should use a Chaos Space Marine force. City terrain.

Chaos Victory – Major Chaos Victory for Campaign
Imperial Victory – Minor Chaos Victory for Campaign

Mission 5D

Stop the Ritual – Their mortal forces proving insufficient for a knockout blow, the heretics sought more direct aid from the warp, performing vile rituals deep in the wastelands…

“Stop the Ritual” mission from Codex: Daemon Hunters. Desert/Wasteland terrain.

Chaos Victory – Minor Chaos Victory for Campaign
Imperial Victory – Draw for Campaign

Mission 5E

To the Spaceport! – The Marines proving impossible to dislodge, the heretics sought to flee with whatever forces they could to fight another day. While the spaceport itself was still in traitor hands, it had been surrounded by the Marines. To escape, the heretics must break through a ring of Astartes…

“Ambush” mission from Battle Missions (p.50). Marines take on the Necron role.  Desert/Wastelands terrain. 

Chaos Victory – Draw for Campaign
Imperial Victory – Minor Imperial Victory for Campaign

Mission 5F

Purge the Unclean – In a last push, the Astartes attempt to drive the Chaos forces fully into the wastelands.

“Implacable Advance” mission from Battle Missions (p.54). The Marines play the Necron role. Desert/Wastelands terrain.

Chaos Victory – Minor Imperial Victory for Campaign
Imperial Victory – Major Imperial Victory for Campaign