Fleshtearers starting Monday...

So, looking at taking these lads out...

Gabriel Seth (Will ride in the LR w/ his guards)
Chaplain (Jump Pack, Power Fist)
Death Company  (7, Jump Packs, 2 x Faust)
Death Company DN
Scout Squad (10, 9 Sniper Rifles, SGT w/ Faust, Heavy Bolter)
Sternguard (10, 6 Combi Melta 4 Combi Plasma)
  Drop Pod (Locator Beacon)
Vindicator (Siege Shield)
Honor Guard (Various weapons, Medic)
  Land Raider (Pintle MM)

so, since I can only reserve half of my force, I think I can customize what I drop in on turn 2...  Drop pod on turn 1 with the beacon, maybe it even survives...  Meanwhile the Sternguard can combat squad, and shoot the hell out of something they've dropped on top of...  Mind, it really works best as player 2, and hopefully against someone who brought a small number of high value targets...

Being able to pre-measure now, with the exception of the Scouts and Vindi, I CAN drop the rest of the firce in...  BA can Deep Strike their Land Raiders if I feel like being silly...  Unfortunately, I can only drop in 50%...  So, the Raider is unlikely...  Probably start it behind something, hide the Vindi behind a building, the DC DN behind one of those :-)  Scouts do their thing...  DC will probably drop in, or maybe be my backfield security if I drop the Raider in...

Not sure what to about aircraft really...  And my Psy defense consists of hoping they roll 11+, or I roll lots of 6's :-)

So, Fleshtearers it is...

Got in a bit of painting this evening...  Testing out a slightly different scheme for my new Sternguard...  So, Copper/Bronze helmets...  Now to build a bunch of combi weapons :-)  Oh, and the drop pod...  I'll actually have to finish that project...

Looking like either Gabriel Seth or a Librarian to lead out the lads...  Thinking they ride in a Land Raider with an Honor Guard or maybe an Assault Squad.

Sternguard in Drop Pod with a bunch of Combi Weapons...

Death Company led out by a Chaplain (power fist), jump packs...  A few Power Fists as well...  The mobile hammer...

Death Company DN...

Scout Squad (SGT w/PF and sniper rifle, 8 snipers 1 heavy bolter)

Vindicator w/ siege shield

So, small army...  Hyper aggressive, with the ability to drop right in on top of the enemy.  Fits the fluff I think this fits the desperate situation they find themselves in.  No choice but to hit fast, hard and decisively and win or die quickly...  Not going to hold many objectives :-)  but can kill a LOT of stuff...

Looking at the difficult cases for my armies...

So, locally at least I can look around and see a few things none of my forces at the current time can deal with effectively...  Yes, I COULD roll lots of 6's and hope they roll all 1's, but realistically...

Necrons:  Fliers and Chariots of Doom...  I guess my DA terminators would laugh at the chariot, since it seems to be something they have to be in skimmer mode to use the fly over attacks with...  Fliers, I guess my Aegis line hits the table and hope I roll 6's until I can knock through their shields....  Eldar, FT?  Well...  Frankly I am not sure what I have that will stop fliers...

Dark Eldar:  Fliers and the metric crapton of shots...  Night Fight means that only my shots are at a disadvantage, my Wraithguard, Wraithlords and Artillery are all fighting at a disadvantage until I knock the Venom(s) out...  At least one DE player uses a lot of them, not so sure what the other uses, but I know he has fliers...


Thinking seriously about my Fleshtearers...  Looking over the Sternguard, I know I can have a few Drop Pods done by the tournament 8 weeks in...  But seeing a lot of people hiding things in or around good cover like the Aegis gun line...  Dropping in and shredding light troops manning the gun might be quite useful, combi meltas could be useful to deal with vehicles or heavy troops...  I have been using Vanguard Vets for a long time, but I think most of my regular opponents have seen me use that trick before :-)  Not to say I wouldn't use them too...  Hyper aggressive Jump Infantry?  Fits the Fleshtearers pretty well I think...  Yes, we are dying out, but we will be taking a whole lot of our enemies with us when by the time the last of us falls... :-)  Reminds me of one of my favorite songs, Riot on Broad Street by the Mighty Might Bosstones

http://youtu.be/lmlvLsJxsac

Not sure I will have a Storm Raven or not, but the option is there.  Air superiority given the potential 4 shots with 2 missiles and 2 real guns for at least the first two turns, assuming it survives of course :-)...  So, Scouts camping the Aegis line with one or more objectives nearby to perform AA duty...  They can combat squad as needed...  Death Company will be jumping around doing their thing...  DC DN and probably  a Furioso... With the FAQ change eliminating all changes to the Librarian DN, I haven't taken one in ages...  Maybe now, I wonder...  But I REALLY doubt it would work out well locally...  At least 3 GK players, and "a few" Storm Ravens...  ANY hit by a mindstrike = a glance with the Perils being automatic, so a cheap kill for the GKs...  Too many things that will likely screw over Psychers, so...

In any case :-)  Looks like my Fleshtearers will be what hits the table for me...

Deathwing this week...

So, getting ready for the 1850 League...  My Deathwing army is tiny, relatively of course...  And because it was the one I intended to bring to Adepticon, etc...  Did bring it to team up with Dave's Wolves over in Bloomington...  In any case, I HAVE the banner, the Medic, etc...  Won't really be WYSIWYG the first week or two, but with the 6th edition changes, regular Terminators seem a pretty decent option...  Fearless, one squad will get FNP, loads of missiles, Melta, etc. from my Ravenwing there...

So, 4-5 Deathwing Squads, 2 Speeders, 1 bike Squadron, Vindicator, maybe a Land Raider or Aegis line and?  Concerned about a flier heavy list, but with a LOT of 2+ saves on Fearless Troops...  Ignore the fliers and just complete the mission?  Horde control is a problem as well and lack of Psy defense...  Maybe bring a cheap Farseer to say "No One Uses Psy Powers But Me" :-)...  Would have to use Pathfinders to be Troops, and they'd run my Aegis line I think...  Might work, if a bit on the fromage grande side...

Drop armies are out...

So, my drop armies are out with the new ruleset...  But I think I can play a hyper aggressive "almost drop" armies...  Dark Angels with an Aegis line, manned by a Tac squad, a Ravenwing Squadron or three for the Scout and Teleport Homers...  I still have the Deathwing Assault rule and so can have half of my DW drop in the first turn, most likely without risk of deviation or "bad things happening"...  Chances are good that on turn 2 most of the rest of my reserves come in...

Always been a fan of General Patton, found this the other day, heard most of them, but not ever all collected:

Gen. George S. Patton's Commandments:

Do everything that you ask of those you command.
Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
Do not fear failure.
Do more than is required of you.
Do not take counsel of your fears.
Always go forward.
Take calculated risks.
Give credit where it is due.
Accept full responsibility for the actions of yourself and your men.

Kind of applies to a lot of the way I play...  Well, to be fair, how I live :-)  I had an excellent Squad Leader when I was off playing Army, and he showed me how to actually be a leader.  Was kind of important with me deploying directly to a combat zone almost right out of Basic...  But back on topic :-)  40K, like a LOT of other war games, rewards aggressive play...  The DW assault combined with the Ravenwing should provide a pretty good Alpha Strike, and camp my Fearless Troops (Terminators) in the enemy DZ and/or on objectives...  Melta and missiles should allow me to claim First Blood regularly...  Locally at least hitting hard and fast has the effect of keeping a lot of the players WAY off their game.  My FT army I think could do something similar, Vanguard Vets assaulting out of Deep Strike, the rest of the army just kind of surging forward...  Not as well mind :-)  and losing the ability to hold my whole army off the field hurts a lot...  Gone are the days of the Ju Jitsu "I'll go second" and counter strike...

The other side of this coin I find the Eldar...  Everyone else seems to play them as a fast, mobile army...  Me, I use them as a slow army based on aggressive Heavy Infantry marching right up the field...  Yes, I have fast flankers, but the basis of the army is the Brick marching up the field.  Pathfinders by and large do not move, Wraithlords and War Walkers move with the Brick, but not really too rapidly honestly...  So, like a river of ice I think...  Slow, flowing with the ebb and tide of the battle, but always moving in the direction they need to...

Guess I'll be testing out a few armies over the next few weeks...  I think I will be trying the "book" Psy powers...  I do suspect that in the long term those will be the ones that the armies get as their books get released....  Best to get used to them I think.

1850 for the next league....

Well, it looks like the next league will be 1850 and more "Hobby" based...  So, points for WYSIWYG, painting, basing, fluff, etc...  So, this leaves me a hard choice, what army do I play?

Dark Angels (Consecrators)...  Terminators are pretty powerful these days, and I am guessing that the less than 900 points for 3 squads of Fearless Terminators with a variety of weapons, including cheap Cyclones... Leaving me around 1000 points for more Terminators, bike squads, Dreadnoughts and...  Well, not sure what else...  Probably need Aegis Defense line with the AA gun, so a min sized Tac squad to man the line I guess...  Being 4th edition I have some decent weapon options for the 5 man squad IIRC, but they would just be there to man the AAA really...

Fleshtearers...  Powerful I guess...  I like my jump troops.  And I suppose I could run a Storm Raven...  The Death Company and DC DN are fun...  Lacking a Storm Raven at the moment though...  I don't know, strong army, and I have a LOT of options...

Eldar...  Interesting army, I think they'll be fairly strong...  Still not sure they will match well against Grey Knights or...  Well a lot.  the Eldar Brick I run is powerful, but slow and easily avoidable...  I do not have the Wave Serpents to do the Mechdar list, so foot it is what I can do...  Not sure what other foot options they have, I know the Avatar might be amusing with his immunity to Melta, etc...  Dunno if it will work or not...

Beyond this, Grey Knights and IG I think are just too powerful for a friendly league and I frankly do not think I will have fun playing them...  And a "vanilla" Marine force would probably just be boring for me...  Leaves Wolves I guess, maybe...  Dunno if they will hold my interest long enough though.  Loganwing was amusing, but his weapon got screwed over by the new rules...  Shame, he was at least amusing...

So, 4 choices I guess...  All at least "mostly" painted, should be easy to get there for the league and tournament at the end...  Have a few weeks to figure it out I guess...  Though, the other major consideration being what fits into the luggage on the motorcycle :-)...

The Eldar Brick still works...

Played a 2000 point game this evening, used the "Eldar Brick" or "Walking Castle"...  Eldar Wraithguard maxed out with a Spirit Seer joined by Eldrad, and backed by War Walkers, Wraithlord oh, and a Wraith Seer...  Using IA rules, this gives me a Fearless Troop block with at the very worst 3 5+ saves against anything...  T 6 as well, so really hard to injure normally and the 3+ armor for a lot of shooting...  REALLY hard to stop, and I just march the block across the table.  Guide cast once or twice along with Fortune along with the casting of FnP...  Heavy weapons, D-weapons, REALLY hard to kill, and impossible to ignore...

Still need to figure out Air cover or some sort of AAA...  Thinking that the Aegis line with the quad gun manned by Pathfinders will be it for the moment...  Tried the Nightwing fighter tonight for 145 points of one turn shooting...  Pretty fragile and ineffective really...  Though the Interceptor rule for the 2 quad guns on the other side of the table  probably kept it from being effective at all...  Not wanting to use Imperial terrain for this, so I'll have to come up with something "Eldar" I guess...  It is looking like there will not be a new Eldar book for a while...