Monday, November 30, 2009

2000 MSU Nob Bikers/BWagoney goodness

Hey, trying something different with my Orkses.

HQ
Warboss-powerklaw, cybork body, kombi-skorcha
Big Mek-kustom force field, bosspole
Elites
15 Lootas
3 Nob Bikers, cyborks, Painboy, 1 powerklaw, 1 bosspole (x2)
Troops
3 Nob Bikers, cyborks, Painboy, 1 powerklaw, 1 bosspole
20 Shootas, 2 big shootas, Nob w/ powerklaw, bosspole
19 Sluggas, Nob w/ powerklaw, bosspole
17 grots, runtherd
Fast Attack
2 Deff Koptaz, rokkits, 1 buzzsaw (x2)
Heavy Support
Battlewagon-armor plates, big shoota, grot riggers, reinforced ram (x2)
Battlewagon-armor plates, big shoota, reinforced ram

Total-2000

So, we've got 3 Battlewagons with a KFF and 3 units of Nob Bikers. The word of the day here is MSU: lots of tiny units that can cause pain in tandem or operate solo to go after softer targets. It's far from optimal, but I'm going by what I own currently. Big Mek goes with the Lootas for a super bunker of dakka death, Boss goes with the sluggas to give me another hitty unit that can be pretty resilient. My anti-tank is limited to Lootas, tl rokkits and lucky PKs, but we'll see if mobility, redundancy and flexibility help me out here.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Lazy day

I'm lazy today and for the foreeable future. I don't know if I'll even be able to roll into the FLGS without falling asleep.

Damn you tryptophan!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Battle Report: BTs vs Orks

Hey, just got back from the shop.

I figured I'd try out my Termies as Black Templars today in an effort to figure out how I want to use them. I pretty much nicked Stelek's list, as here:

Castelan w/ power sword, storm bolter, terminator armor
Command Squad-4 termies, Tank Hunters, 2 assault cannons
Marshal w/ power sword, storm bolter, terminator armor
Command Squad-4 termies, Tank Hunters, 2 assault cannons
Emperor's Champion w/ Accept Any Challenge, No Matter the Odds
3x Sword Brethren Terminators-5 termies, Tank Hunters, 2 assault cannons
3x Crusader Squad-5 Initiates, 4 bp/ccw, lascannon

Total-1849

My opponent, Bill, ran Orks. I have seen him around before but never played him, during our game we chatted and it turns out he's been playing off and on since 2nd edition. We talked a lot about Gorkamorka (most of his models were from 2nd ed, cool stuff!) and Space Hulk and how all the old things are better than new things. Good times.

Warboss w/ powerklaw, 'eavy armor, twin-linked shoota, cybork body
Warp 'Ead
9 Nobs, cyborks, 8 powerklaws, twin-linked shootas, 'eavy armor, Painboy, Trukk w/ reinforced ram, red paint, armor plates
3x 20 Sluggas, 2 rokkits, Nob
8 Warbikes, Nob
3 Rokkit Buggies
3 Kannons
Looted Wagon w/ boomgun, 'ard case
3 Killa Kanz w/ big shootas

We rolled up Annihilation and Spearhead.

I won the roll off and deployed my termies spread out with my heavy weapons as close as possible, with the Initiates on high ground or in cover with good fields of fire. I wanted to nuke that Trukk and the Bikes ASAP so I could gun down the boyz at my leisure.

Bill spread his Bikes in a line to cover his boyz, deploying 2 units on high left flank with the Trukk, Buggies, and Kanz, while another unit went into some cover on his right with the Boomwagon. Kannonz deployed on a hill in the rear.

Turn 1
My termies inched into range and I began shooting. I rolled so many 1's and 2's to hit it was nuts, all I managed was 5 Bikes and they passed their morale test, plus a shaken Boomwagon. Trukk got popped, but he made cover (those damn old Trukks are TINY!)

Bikes ran up, Buggies moved up, boyz on my right moved up, Trukk zoomed around a building, staying behind cover. Wyrdboy rolled 'Ere we go and his unit teleported into a building near my lines, losing about 6 of them to terrain. Shooting was uneventful, everything went into 1 Termie squad and I only lost 1 of them, they ran to the newly arrived unit if boyz.

Turn 2
The previously raging unit was now out of position, so I tried moving back towards my lines. Unfortunately, they were in difficult ground and I rolled a 2, so I decided to abandon caution and go for those boyz in the same ruin. Everything else took a step back. Shooting accouted for the remainder of the Warbikes, 2 Buggies (lol Squadron rules + open-topped), the Trukk and a handful of boyz in the building. The 4 man Termie squad charged in, lost 1 model and murdered the majority of that unit (powerfists re-rolling to hit is redonkulous!), forcing a test and seeing them break at below half strength. Whoo hoo, 2 KP for the Wyrdboy and unit, right?

Wrong. He rolled 'Ere We Go again and they teleported over to an empty part of my side of the board, giving them a good 6 turns to reach the edge. The Warboss and Nobs moved into the building previously occupied by the Wyrdboy's unit, looking to charge the victorious unit. Boyz moved up, Buggy ran behind cover, Looted Wagon and Kannons did a fat lot of nothing. He popped his Waagh! and the Nobs made it into my Termies, slaying them all and losing 1 (made a ton of invuls!).

Turn 3
Interesting development. Everything moves back again and I commence shooting. The Wyrdboy's unit is reduced to him and the Nob, Buggy laughs off 2 lascannons (damn cover), Nobs get reduced to 7 plus Warboss, Boyz in the open cut down to about 12. Boomwagon goes boom.

Nobs break cover, hoping for another Waagh!, Boyz head up, Kanz move up, staying in cover. Wyrdboy fails his psychic test, Kannons bring down a Termie, Nobs bring down 1 from the Marshal's unit, forcing them to get into stupid range. They get charged, EC manages to bring the Boss down to 1 wound, Marshal connects with every attack and nails a Nob and a half. EC gets killed off, all 4 Termies get killed, and 4 Nobs get pasted. I win combat miraculously and the Nobs bail.

Turn 4
Nobs are on the run, press the attack! 2 units move up to support the Marshal, 1 heads right to go finish off the Wyrdboy's unit. Buggy continues to defy me, other lascannon goes wide of the Wyrdboy. Killa Kanz get obliterated by 1 unit of shooting (Tank Hunting Assault Cannons ftw), Nobs lose another friend, more boyz get dragged down. Marshal and 5 Termies jump into assault, whiff spectacularly and we're left with the Warboss, 2 Nobs and a Painboy vs 1 Termie and the Marshal.

Boyz move up, Wyrdboy continues to fall back. Fails his psychic test again, shooting proves uneventful. Nobs and the Termie do nothing to each other, yawn.

Turn 5
My only unhurt Termie squad moves into the fray. Shooting from my Castellan's unit kills off more boyz from the hurt unit and they move in for the kill. Buggy continues to defy me, Wyrdboy'z Nob buddy is slain. In assault, the Marshal slays the Warboss (every hit connected and wounded, good job!) and the Nobs are wiped at the cost of the sole survivor of a unit of Terminators. Consolidating to the right, looking for a fight. The Castellan's unit charges in, gets unceremoniously cut down (1 left), but thanks to the Castellan I still win combat and the Boyz flee.

Buggy zips around cover, Boyz on the far left finally move, keeping the Wyrdboy safe inside. Shooting nails the Castellan's friend and leave him on his own, he takes 2 rokkits and 3 kannon rounds to the face and stands defiant. We roll up another turn, yayz.

Turn 6
Marshal joins the last unit of Termies and heads left to catch up with the Castellan. That DAMN FUCKING BUGGY lives. The Castellan heads after the fleeing Boyz. Shooting accounts for some boyz. The Castellan runs down the fleeing boyz.

The Orks desparately try to gun down the Castellan in the open, but the Emperor smiles upon him and he takes everything on the chin.

So we end it. He killed the Emperor's Champion and 4(!) units of Termies for 5 KP while I accounted the Warboss, Nobs, Trukk, 2 units of Boyz, Kanz, and Warbikes for 7 KP. Victory for the Black Templars.

I didn't do as well as I wanted. Righteous Zeal is both a blessing and a curse and my opponent exploited that to good advantage. I need to take that into account later. My biggest problems was rolling and positioning, like always. My lascannons were always firing, but at that damn buggy that passed every fucking cover save! It got kinda crowded with 25 Termies running around too, getting them up on hills helped a great deal. My opponent's list was pretty poor too, but he ran it well as one can.

Good game.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Speed Racer

I watched it again last night when I was supposed to be doing homework (it got done, just early this morning right before class :P). It didn't get a lot of love from many people when it came out and I have no idea why.

It was fucking awesome! There were lights and colors WOOSH PHEWWWW and cars with buzzsaws GRRRRNK and springs that karate kicked other cars HIYAA into other cars and made big explosions BOOM WOOSH and they had vikings and soldiers and hookers and vaguely british people and japanese dicks who actually turned out to be japanese good guys and super hot chicks and there was a man on fire and I killed a guy with a trident.

The best parts by far were
-A car with 2 giant flails dangling off the back
-A car with a catapult that fired a beehive
-more like nonja
-The entirety of the Grand Prix

I had an eyegasm like every 5 minutes.

Fucking sweet movie.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I'm a nice guy, you assholes

Sometimes people say I go too far, I'm too mean, or sarcastic, or saucy (but never too sexy). Well, maybe I can address that.

I am the way I am because I feel that sometimes we get a little too "serious business" about our hobby. It's toy soldiers guys (and gal, I didn't forget you). When people get so invested in themselves, their egos take over and we get all sorts of high school drama bullshit that plagues the interbutts. I don't like that very much, so I like to shake things up and show those manbabies that they're going nuts over dollies.

Is it trolling? Maybe a little, but it's not intended to just piss people off. If you get mad about somebody saying something snarky (woo, alliteration!) about your dissertation on the finer points of going pew pew with your army men, maybe you need to step back and remember why we do this: to go pew pew with our army men.

I love this hobby and everyone in it. Sure we disagree on some things, but we're all here because we enjoy the same stuff (the aforementioned pew pewing). Getting entrenched in one particular "camp" and lashing out at anybody who dares oppose you is a quick way to divide the player base and start more stupid internet drama bullshit. Where's the love, man?

You know how we all have that metaphorical devil and angel on our shoulders. Think of me as the crazy 3rd guy with the helmet and pads living in your ankle because I can't afford rent anywhere else thanks to my shitty credit caused by my ex buying all sorts of ridiculous shit with my card and never paying for it. Whore. Umm, anyway, I'm not afraid to call anybody out on saying something stupid or to just shake things up so people can get a different perspective, but I do it because I love the hobby and want everyone to have a better experience. If it takes me acting like a clown over the intertubes so be it, it's fun for me anyway.

So, I guess my rambling can be distilled into a couple main points:
1) Why so serious?
2) Let's put a smile on that face.
3) Introduce a little anarchy.
4) The Dark Knight is a totally awesome movie.
5) Brush your teeth twice a day.

Eshin

This army list was too sneaky, I wrote it up a couple days ago but it mysteriously vanished O_o

Lords/Heroes (725)
Eshin Sorceror (Warlock Engineer)-level 1, Dispel Scroll, Warpmusket, Warlock Optics (125)
Snikch (270)
Assassin-Infernal Bomb, Smoke Bombs (160)
Assassin-Warpstone Stars (170)

Core (767)
Stormvermin-19, shields, full command, Storm Banner, Poisoned Wind Mortar (292)
Night Runners-25, Warp Grinder (235)
3x Night Runners-10, slings (80)

Special (756)
Gutter Runners-9, Black Skaven w/ Weeping Blade, Warp Grinder (210)
Gutter Runners-9, poison, slings, Warp Grinder (222)
2x Gutter Runners-9, poison, slings (162)

Total-2248

A bunch of worthless rats running around. 3 tunnel teams, 1 of which is a big ranked up unit to hit somebody's rear and cause a ruckus. The real stars of the show are the 3 Assassins, a Triad for anybody who played the Storm of Chaos Eshin list (why the devil wasn't that made into a Rare choice in the new book?). Warpstone Stars kill monsters, Bomb and Smoke Bombs can do all sorts of amusing things, and Snikch isn't called the Deathmaster for nothing.

The Stormvermin are there to protect the general and give my a Storm Banner, also a Poisoned wind Mortar will help bring down armor targets, a constant problem for Eshin armies.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Moulder

Roll on for Moulder! Woo woo!

Lords/Heroes (676)
Throt the Unclean (225)
Warlock Engin-err, Moulder Sorceror-level 1, Skavenbrew (115)
Moulder Sorceror-level 1, 2 Dispel Scrolls (115)
Chieftain-BSB, Storm Banner, tail weapon, poisoned attacks, shield, great weapon, additional hand weapon (he has a lot of arms, 151)

Core (722)
2x Rat Ogres-2, 1 packmasters (88)
Giant Rats-30, 5 packmasters, Skweel (230)
Giant Rats-28, 5 packmasters (124)
Giant Rats-10, 2 packmasters (46)
2x Rat Swarms-2 (50)

Special (352)
4x Rat Ogres-2, 1 packmaster (88)

Rare (500)
Hellpit Abomination-Warpstone Spikes (250)
Hellpit Abomination-Warpstone Spikes (250)

Total-2250

Death by papercuts. 2 big blocks of rats that either have good static CR and 2 mean characters, or a regen/poison/double attack nightmare. 6 units of ROgres serve as pseduo weapon teams, running into flanks or smashing fast cav/skirmishers. Frenzy is trick, so we've got 2 smallish units of rats and Swarms to force them the right way. 4 dispel dice and 2 scrolls are adequate magic defense and the Storm Banner does mean things to shooting armies. Also A-bombs murder pretty much anything.

Dilema

First off, I'm 18 yayz!!!

More to my point I have a somewhat critical decision to make. Dwarfs or Beast of Chaos? These where the two armies I tried out when I first started playing Fantasy. Shortly after however I decided that I don't like Fantasy and left them both collecting dust in my basement. However Chum tells me that Fantasy is going to have a new edition coming out, apparently the current one is not great, and I've decided to give Fantasy another try when this new edition comes out, hoping that it's not glorified checkers like the current edition. So I need to know which army I should choose my Dwarfs or my Beasts.(keep in mind I have no substantial numbers of either army.) Some of you might ask why should I pick only one, why not try both out with the new edition? The answer to that question is me and Chum and doing some spring cleaning soon, by which I mean purging our armies of all things unnecessary. So any feed back would be great, thanks.

Skryre

Hey, where did we go? I dunno, must have been cool though; too cool to tell you about.

So here's my take on a pure Skryre army. Makes Dwarfs cry.

Lords/Heroes (855)
Ikit Claw (395)
Warlock Engineer-level 2, Warp Energy Condenser, Doom Rocket (150)
Warlock Engineer-level 2, Warpmusket, Warlock Optics, Dispel Scroll (160)
Warlock Engineer-level 2, Skavenbrew (150)

Core (749)
2x Clanrats-24, shields, full command, Doom Flayer (183)
Clanrats-24, shields, full command, Poisoned Wind Mortar (199)
Slaves-31, musician (64)
2x Slaves-20, slings, musician (52)

Special (465)
2x 6 Jezzails (120)
6 Poisoned Wind Globadiers, Bombardier, 1 Poisoned Wind Mortar (130)
9 Poisoned Wind Globadiers, Bombardier (95)

Rare (180)
2x WLC

Total-2249

So, we've got shooting out the ass. 12 Jezzails, 15 PWG, 2 Mortars, 2 WLC, slings, and a musket for laughs. Magic like it's crazy, with 11 powerdice plus Ikit's bound spell and 7 dispel dice plus a scroll. Skavenbrew buffs up the big slave unit and they go run at somebody, combine with Death Frenzy and you get lols. The sniper goes with the big unit of PWG and they chill in the woods sniping and watching their flank. Ikit and the Doom rocketeer go with clanrats and zzap zzap things while mortars lob death and Doomflayers + slaves guard against assaulters.

I picked Slaves because Giant Rats don't fit fluff (I wish I would have taken some of them, Skavenbrew makes them nasty) and I can fit into assaults with Slaves. I think I might be safer running a BSB instead of the sniperlock to keep my lines in check, but losing out on zappy magic makes me a sad panda. Anything that can run that gauntlet deserves to eat me :P

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Metallica

Saw them last night in Buffalo, it was great.

Never been a big Metallica fan, but I was extremely impressed. They put on a great show, were a class act, and they had PyRoTeChNiCs!!!!one!!e!!1

Yes, fire shot out of the stage while they played, lasers too. It was fucking awesome.

I gave James Hetfield a high five, we were so close to the stage.

Sweet

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Pestilens

Updated to be legal and totally awesome.

More Skaven! This is the first in a series of themed concept lists I though I'd throw out. I don't think I'll be chomping at the bit to pick up huge quantities of rats, I've still got to paint the hundreds I have lying around!

Lords/Heroes (1047)
Lord Skrolk (395)
Plague Priest-level 2, plague censer, plague furnace, Warp Scroll (326)
Plague Priest-level 2, plague censer, plague furnace, Dispel Scroll (326)

Core (842)
Plague Monks-21, champion, standard bearer, Storm Banner (217)
Plague Monks-21, champion, standard bearer, Banner of the Under-Empire (192)
Plague Monks-24, full command, Shroud of Dripping Death (223)
Slaves-20 (40)
Slaves-20 (40)
Giant Rats-13, 2 packmasters (55)
Giant Rats-13, 2 packmasters (55)
Rat Swarms-2 (50)

Special (359)
Plague Censer Bearers-7, chanter (125)
Plague Censer Bearers-7, chanter (125)
Plague Censer Bearers-6, chanter (109)

Total-2248

Skrolk + Dripping Banner, Furnaces + the rest. Slaves and Giant Rats get poisoney and annoying, PCBs are stubborn murder machines.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Seeking a list critique BT 1k and 1500

Hi Chumbalaya,

I've been something of a fan of yours since your comments on the Leafblower batreps on BoLS.

I'm looking for some input on my Black Templars. I started BT because I wanted a mechanized assault army and so my list building so far has attempted to emphasize that. I'm finding my 1k list is a little hit and miss. My 1500 list has been fairly effective so far, but I'd still love to hear your thoughts on it.

1000 Points

HQ:
Emperor's Champion w/ Accept Any Challenge = 140
Marshall w/ Power Weapon + Bolt Pistol & Frags = 97

Troops:
8 Initiates (bp + ccw) w/ Melta & Powerfist in Rhino w/ extra armor & smoke = 211
8 Initiates (bp + ccw) w/ Melta & Powerfist in Rhino w/ extra armor & smoke = 211
8 Initiates (bp + ccw) w/ Melta & Powerfist in Rhino w/ extra armor & smoke = 211

Heavy Support:
Predator w/ Autocannon turret + lascannon sponsons, smoke = 128

Total = 998

I have the marshall mainly for the Ld10 army wide, i consider that pretty important when I'll be making morale checks every time i'm shot.

My 1500 list:

HQ:
Emperor's Champion w/ AAC = 140
Marshall w/ twin lightning claws + iron halo = 135

Troops:

9 Initiates (bp + ccw) w/ Melta & Powerfirst in LRC w/ extra armor, smoke, dozerblades = 442
9 Initiates (bp + ccw) w/ Melta & Powerfirst in LRC w/ extra armor, smoke, dozerblades = 442
8 Initiates (bp + ccw) w/ Melta & Powerfist in Rhino w/ extra armor + smoke = 211

Heavy Support:
Predator w/ Autocannon turret + lascannon sponsons, smoke = 128

Total = 1498

While this 1500 list has been fairly effective so far, I have been concerned that I'm pretty light on bodies and fairly dependent on the resiliency of the LRCs. However, in the games I've played with this list I have found that the LRCs do strongly tend to survive long enough to get my units with the attached ICs into combat more often than not so I've been hesitant to change that.

Thanks for any comments your willing to share,

Digitalist

Reply:
Hey thanks, it's always nice to hear people appreciate my ramblings.

I'll be perfectly honest with you, I don't play BTs, never have, and haven't gone up against them often either. I've got a copy of the book and I've flipped through a couple times, but that's it :P I'll see what I can do, but I'll be going from a generalist/vanilla SM standpoint. Stelek would probably be better for giving you BT specific help.

At a glance, the BTs don't really seem to suit themselves to the mechanized style beyond spamming LRCs. Generally, vanilla are going to do mech better by virtue of their cheaper vehicles, troops, and the availability of heavy weapons. BT can do the foot horde quite well thanks to their Righteous Zeal.

At 1000 points, another Predator would probably help more than a 3rd Crusader Squad. With a mech army you generally want to shoot lots while your Troops stay nice and safe in your ride until it's time to hold objectives, BTs would be able to do all that plus when they pop out they can actually reach out and smack you upside the head.

Perhaps something like this:
Emperor's Champion-Accept Any Challenge
Marshall w/ power weapon, bolt pistol
5 Initiates, meltagun, powerfist, 3 Neophytes, Rhino w/ extra armor, smoke launchers
5 Initiates, meltagun, powerfist, 3 Neophytes, Rhino w/ extra armor, smoke launchers
Land Speeder w/ multi-melta, heavy flamer
Land Speeder w/ multi-melta, heavy flamer
Predator Destructor w/ Heavy Bolter sponsons, smoke launchers
Predator Destructor w/ Heavy Bolter sponsons, smoke launchers

998.

You only have 2 Troops, but you have a lot more mobile firepower elsewhere to remove threats to them. If the Rhinos get popped, you've got a bunch of frothing maniacs running at people, and 4 armored vehicles to contend with. It's kinda like vanilla marines, only their Troops can hand you your face in assault.

For 1500, the LRCs give you some much needed durability and give your assault units a good chance to get stuck in before they get shot up, so that's nice. What you need beyond those are the means to nail armor, namely knocking out transports so your Crusaders have a nice tasty snack to munch on. Dakka Preds and MM/HF Speeders are your best bets. Tank hunting Sword Brethren Termies can work, but they're just too pricey considering you have 2 LRCs. It's very much a rock army, relying heavily on a super unit or two so much that it actually takes away from the rest of your army.

Emperor's Champion w/ Accept Any Challenge
Reclusiarch
2x 6 Initiates, melta, powerfist, 3 Neophytes, LRC w/ extra armor, smoke
2x 5 Initiates, lascannon
2x Pred-AC, HB, smoke

1499.

You have the 2 doom units, plus 2 cheap scoring units and some good firepower at range. AV14 may cause you problems, especially considering your melta is concentrated in your big bullseye units. We've got the Reclusiarch over the Marshall because we don't want your weapons batteries rushing headlong into the enemy, that tends to get them dead. Between them and the Preds you can nail light armor, plus you have the ACs and melta from your rock units.

So, those are my thoughts. Like I said I'm not too experienced with BT so take it with a pinch of salt. Generally though, when constructing your army you want to keep in mind some major things:
1) Dealing with infantry
2) Dealing with armor (light and heavy)
3) Protecting your troops/ensuring you can win the mission
4) Reducing the impact crazy luck can have through redundant unit selections, re-rolls, and the like

Hope that helps.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Tentative Tourney list

More Skaven! Fuck you, Skaven are awesome!

Local man-things want fight-fight at 1800 points. Odd-funny army size, but Skaven will kill-kill.

Heroes
Plague Priest-level 2, Plague Furnace, Plague Censer, Warp Scroll, Rival Hide Talisman
Warlock Engineer-level 2, Warp Energy Condenser, Dispel Scroll
Warlock Engineer-level 2, Doom Rocket

Core
2x Clanrats-24, shields, full command, Ratling Gun
2x 20 Slaves
2 Rat Swarms
11 Night Runners w/ Warp Grinder

Special
Plague Monks-20, full command, Banner of the Under Empire
2x 5 Jezzails

Rare
Doomwheel

Total-1799

The Furnace and Monks are my deathstar. Unbreakable, MR2, 35 model equivalent, smoke belching death machine. Anything hitting full on will die from the fumes and plague censer. Anything hitting the flanks will have to deal with 2 Engineers, Ratlings, the Warp Scroll, and the Banner dishing out a crap load of hits. Doomwhell runs up a flank and amuses me. Night Runners take the place of Gutter Runners and go after war machines or mess around in the rear. Jezzails do their thing. Rat Swarms act as blinders for the Monks, keeping them from doing anything stupid.

The whole idea is to force everything to funnel into my death unit. Whatever doesn't run directly at them gets blasted with firepower or magic and whatever ends up hitting them dies a horribly agonizing death from smoke or massed hits.

Will it work?

Update:
The Furnace doesn't come out until a week after the tourney, bummer. So I'm stuck using my old Screaming Bell as a stand-in, and 26 isn't too good for my Monks' unit size. I would need to incorporate 4 more to get them up to a good size (6x5). Dropping the Nighties altogether frees up enough points for the extra monks, slings for my slaves (lol) and a big pack of Giant Rats (22, 3 packmasters). But then I have virtually no skirmishers and would be pretty much at the mercy of war machines. I could consolidate the Jezzails into 1 unit and throw in Gutter Runners, but I'm unsure how just 1 unit of them would fare. I do have the Doomwheel, magic, and Ratlings as some extra firepower and I won't run across many dragons or flying monsters, so 1 unit may be all I need. And what about Poisoned Wind Mortars?

So, updated list

Heroes
Plague Priest-level 2, plague censer, Warp Scroll, Rival Hide Talisman, plague furnace
Engineer-level 2, Warp Energy Condenser, Dispel
Engineer-level 2, Doom Rocket

Core
Clanrats-24, shields, full command, Poisoned Wind Mortar
Clanrats-24, shields, full command, Poisoned Wind Mortar
Slaves-20, slings
Slaves-20, slings
Giant Rats-22, 3 packmasters
Rat Swarms-2

Special
Plague Monks-24, full command, Banner of the Under Empire
Jezzails-6
Gutter Runners-8

Rare
Doomwheel

Total-1796

A little different here. Less torrent, more template. I swapped the nerfling guns for mortars, relying on my magic and mobile units to protect me from any skirmishers. Gutter Runners > Night Runners, though I have a sweet idea for converting a Warp Grinder (Ork grot prod, woot!) I've got some IG Mortars and spare Plague Monks lying around, it's conversion time!

Which do y'all think would work better?

Doom army

Fun times with new Skaven. Considering how many units and items have the "Doom" moniker, I figured an army featuring them heavily would be high-larious. The result is a surprisingly assaulty Skaven army, painting up in silver and green like everyone's favorite Latverian ruler.

2000 Skaven "Doom" army
Lords/Heroes
Ikit Klaw "Dr. Doom"
Warlock Engineer "Doombot"-level 2, Doom Rocket, Warp Energy Condenser
Warlock Engineer "Doombot"-level 2, Dispel Scroll, Warlock Optics, Warp Musket

Core
3x Doomrats-24, shields, full command, Doom Flayer
2x 20 Doomslaves

Special
2x Gutter Runners-5
2x 6 Jezzails

Rare
2x Doomwheel

Total-1999

Well, we've got 6 units with Doom in their name, plus Dr. Doom himself. Come on, supreme sorceror and inventor with a metal mask, who else is it gonna be? Doom and his clones sit with Clanrats lobbing magic while the Doomwheels and Doomflayers set up to run into people and make them go squish. GRs march block, hunt war machines, or whatever. Jezzails blast things. Slaves die, horribly and hilariously.

I love this book, more as it comes to me.

Skaven!!!

Just got the army book, first impressions to follow.

Die-die man things!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

IG or SM?

So, as I said in an earlier post (albeit in a much emo-er way), I'm going to be consolidating my collection. I'll be selling/trading the stuff I don't use any more (my B-listers) and focusing more on having armies as opposed to collections. I own one of everything of my marines, and my Orks too. That dog don't hunt. My Orks are more or less settled in as a Battlewagon brigade style mekky list, all I need is my buddy's broken up Wave Serpent to convert into my 4th and final Battlewagon.

So, with my Orks sorted, I turn to my Dark Angels. If ever you wanted a good example of a clusterfuck style army, this is it. Some of these guys date back from when I started a good 8 years ago with the 3rd edition starter set. The marines are still kicking around, but the DE are MIA (probably KIA, you'd have to ask Genestealer about those). I have my half company from my days as a fluffy bunny scrub player too. When AoBR dropped I finally got my Deathwing off the ground and thanks to Space Hulk I now have around 35 Terminators.

The way my collection is I would need a significant rework to make them even remotely competitive. Sorry, foot marines in a gunline ain't gonna cut it. I've got a trio of Rhinos (1 is a golden oldie, used to be a Whirlwind), a triple lascannon Predator, 1 HB/AC Speeder, and 3 Dreads. No Land Raiders to speak of, but I do have Sammael on his Speeder. I've got 50 or so Tac Marines, Devastators, 10 Assault Marines, 20 Scouts, 25 robed marines, and a good mix of heavies and specials (no meltas of course, fuck you 4th edition). I also have every character under the sun, Azzie, Zeke, 3 Librarians, a jump Chaplain and about 4 captains. And let's toss in 6 RW Bikes and an Attack Bike for funsies. There's a lot there, just a mess really.

I don't have nearly as much for IG, just 2 Russes, 30 guardsmen, 3 HWT, 2 Sentinels, a Chimera, and a converted Inquisitor plus retinue.

So, I'm trying to decide if I should just scrap them all in favor of IG, or rework them into something passable. The Termies and Bikes are staying, no question since I'm making my DW/RW army out of them anyway (just need 1 more RW Battleforce, 2 more and I can jack Froggage's Bike army).

Why can't I have you both? I love both armies, models, fluff, and play style, but I don't think I can maintain both either in terms of space or money. So a decision must be made. I'm not getting rid of the Orks because they're my favoritest army ever and I'm not getting rid of the Deathwing because they're also my favoritest army ever. Since both of them are somewhat subpar competitively, my IG/SM army needs to be face-smashingly, turnonetablingly, friendswillnevertalktomeagainly, turnituppast11ly competitive. I'm going to be bringing these inglorious basterds to tournies this next year and try my best to stomp on enough balls to encourage our local scene to get with the times and stiffen our competition.

IG and SM have a lot of variety and can be made competitive pretty easily. Making the decision won't be easy. So I'll be doing some analysis of the Codices themselves, unit choices, options, and son, optimal builds and potential contenders, and finally some tactics and strategies that can push them over the edge. I'll also throw in some cost analysis too to see which army ends up being the biggest bang for my buck. At the end I'll hopefully have reached a decision and maybe learned something.

And of course, any suggestions from the peanut gallery would be most appreciated.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Stegadon army

This post at Laubie's is amazing. Read it now or you will die alone.

Inspired by such heroism, I want to make a dinosaur army. But, I want it to be as cheap as possible. We're talking plastic toy dinos from the dollar store. I can see it now. Glorious.

This will be the best slumber party ever.

Dragon Age: Origins

Fucking awesome

Introspection

I wonder, what does all of this accomplish in the long run. Sitting around playing with dolls isn't getting me any closer to a degree, isn't getting me in shape, eats up money I could spend elsewhere, and certainly isn't getting me laid. Would I have a better life if I had never picked it up? Is it a destructive addiction, or a harmless hobby? Something in between? Is it me? Do the people I hang out with really care about me, or do we just play games? Do I care about them? Are we human? Or are we dancers?

I just had a big dose of IRL drama dropped on me, it's made me start thinking. Maybe talking about it, even to my keyboard, will help. I don't think I can maintain my current level of involvement in the hobby. I suppose this has been a long time coming, but I need to cut back.

Maybe 2 armies per system, enough to keep me engaged, plenty to paint, and so I won't get bored. Everything else must go. I doubt I can recoup the costs, monetary or otherwise, but I think it's a step in the right direction.

That leaves me with:
Dark Angels/Deathwing/Vanilla Marines
Orks
Skaven
Dark Elves
Sprue Daemons (if I get arsed enough to finish them)

On second thought, I'm not even sure why I posted this. I'll still be here, spinning my spiel, just feeling a little thoughtful and depressed today.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Happy Birthday Genestealer

Enjoy your Blackjack and Hookers!

Returning to the Land of Chill

Hello slaves,

I picked up DE for a bit back when the book first came out. I had some laughs, shed some tears, and generally enjoyed myself. However, Fantasy fell out of favor with me and I quit playing for a while. I sold off my DE, figuring that Skaven would be all the army I'd need, and moved back over to 40k (IG to be specific).

Well, my interest in Fantasy has been peaked again thanks in part to the new Skaven book coming out this week. Reading Stelek's review and checking out his other thoughts on Fantasy helped too. So, I went over to the FLGS to pre-order the Army Book, a Plague Furnace and Doomwheel. After taking care of business, I noticed they were having a sale, clearing out old stock. Everything was half off and I stumbled across the Dark Elf Spearhead. One impulse buy later and I'm off with the Spearhead, Battalion box and Glade Guard box. Go me.

So I'm back to square one with the Dark Elves. I've got a good idea of what I want to build towards, keeping it as cheap and effective as possible. I think they'll make a great counterpart to my Skaven.

Here's what I'm looking at for 2250

Lords/Heroes
Supreme Sorceress-level 4, Sacrificial Dagger, Pearl of Infinite Bleakness, Lifetaker, 1 Null Talisman
Lokhir Fellheart
Sorceress-level 2, Darkstar Cloak, Dispel Scroll

Core
2x 14 Corsairs, musician
18 Warriors, lordling, musician
11 Corsairs, handbows, musician
Assassin-2hw, Rune of Khaine

Special
2x 5 Cold One Knights-musician
2x 5 Shades, great weapons

Rare
2x War Hydra

Total-2249
Power Dice-9 (plus dagger and PoD, so lots)
Dispel Dice-5 plus scroll

Obviously this is based on Stelek's DE army, I wanted a good baseline to work with and this fit what I wanted to do with the army. As I playtest it I'm sure things will be modified accordingly. Most DE armies I've seen are deathstar armies with souped up characters and lots of shooting. I went for a more MSU feel since I don't put much stock in deathstars (plus I've got a Screaming Bell and Plague Furnace in my Skaven army :P).

The army splits down the middle, with 14 Corsairs (7x2 for maximum attacks), Cold One Knights and a Hydra to each flank. Lokhir is fucking awesome. Corsairs do mean things to people, but Lokhir destroys ranked up units. Combine that with a flanking unit of COK andor a Hydra, the Corsairs' nets and Lokhir's slaver rule and you can break, run down, and get DOUBLE VPs for just about anything.
The Shades go after war machines or just annoy people (I would like Harpies, but monies are a problem). The Sorc goes with the handbow Corsairs and provides more magical doom. The SS and her battery deploy somewhere safe and sling magic all game, with the Assassin and handbow Corsairs for protection. Between the Lifetaker, Assassin and handbows I should see off any squishy unit that can make it back there.

I left out unit champions and standards because I don't think DE do well in stand up fights (apart from Warriors and Black Guard), so why bother trying? The 1 extra CR isn't a huge deal since I have ample flankers and everything is disposable, plus since all my units are fairly small I'd be basically handing my opponent VPs. It's all aggressive and if need be I can flee and use the musician to get back in again. Corsairs to the front with flanking COK and/or a Hydra will break most units, and with the Corsairs combined with speedy Knights/Hydras I can run them down quite easily.

So, does that make sense? Anything off base? Any ideas on how to improve it while still keeping it relatively inexpensive $$-wise?

Dark Elves!

I just got the Spearhead at my FLGS for $80.

Is this awesome? Y/N

Sunday, November 1, 2009

eBay is the devil

You know, I could use 5000 points of Tomb Kings.

I really want a Warp Lightning Cannon. 200 model Skaven lot for only $150? Hell yeah!

I'm looking for cheap IG stuff, but it would be nice to start a Dark Eldar army. Who cares if it's just 1 Raider and a crap load of Incubi and Talos, it's cheaper than normal!

I need help.