Sunday, September 30, 2012

Conversions, painting, just catching up...

So, gearing up for the next league.  Been doing a bit of conversion work on my old GK Infantry.  Small numbers, but 250 points and limited FOC means I won't have much to work with in any case.  But in any case I WILL be fielding a fully painted force, probably only half a dozen models...  A Terminator Squad should give me a squad of 5 people who can deal with a LOT of different things.  Not sure what I'll face, but fliers are going to be impossible to deal with, but a SMALL table should make it single turn of dodging...  So, the first 2 weeks are going to be skirmish games, and potentially unbalanced and boring.  But I'll probably bring 1500 to test after the initial 2 games are out of the way...

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Next League...

Well, is looking like an escalation league.  Starting at 250 points.  2 weeks at each level (250, 500, 1000 and 1500 points).  The first month is kind of pointless really.  Hard to put together a coherent force at that level.  Too many weird rules as well, and annoyingly easy to break the game, or at least it was in 5th ed...  I guess we'll see if that continues.  Just really worried about silliness like a Grey Knight army consisting of a Strike Squad for the required "Troop" combined with a Vindicare Assassin.  Add 5 points on an upgrade and you have 250 points.  5 powerful Marines with Storm Bolters and Power Weapons and the single most brokenly powerful figure in the game...  Just off the top of my head, but really seems overpowered...  Especially with so very little that can effectively deal with an Assassin at this level.  Mind that is just the first thing that came to mind, I have no doubt that a lot of folks will be bringing silly things...  So, I'll get in my 2 games/week and bide my time I guess.  Give me time to paint up more of the Grey Knights.

With Chaos releasing in a week or two, I think I will be feeling less guilty fielding what I consider a really powerful Army, bordering on overpowered...  Well, it IS overpowered in some combos, but the Inquisition does not interest me at all, I share that Lupine distrust of them...  And with the Wolves at several points willing to go to war against the Inquisition and the Grey Knights.  They share my deeply ingrained "No One Left Behind, No Matter What" feeling, and to abandon allies who fought beside you is unthinkable and unforgivable.  So, there is THAT part of the background of the Grey Knights I find "distasteful", but keeping myself to the actual Knights for the most part...  Well, now that Chaos will be everywhere...  It's them or my Dark Angels.  I like them both, but the DA are REALLY one dimensional at the moment.  Mind, that dimension kicks much ass, but really I get kind of bored just playing a list that is SO repetitive (Spam I'd say, but I rather like Spam Musubi...)...  Tempted to start stripping and repainting my ancient Wolves...  Mostly out of stubbornness, to prove that I can indeed win with them against the newer and what I consider more powerful codexes....

Back to the league, I have to admit not liking the Apoc and Tournament being held in Danville.  Not a huge deal, but in general feel we should hold the tournaments where we play the games...  But playing in a different place might fun for a change of scenery...  Probably doesn't help my only experience with Danville is an ex-girlfriend :-)  So, I might be looking at it the wrong way, but in general it reminded me of Joliet (I grew up there) in the "not a happy place" kind of vibe I got driving around and visiting... I haven't played Apoc, but I think I just might have enough minis to do so :-)

Sunday, September 23, 2012

League and Tournament debrief...

:-)  Well, my Fleshtearers did quite well over the course of the league and wound up placing 2nd for the Tournament...  Not bad, the Codex is really quite good, and I think that playing a Jump Infantry based force is certainly viable, at least locally.

So, just kind of a rambling unit by unit analysis:

Scouts:  Well, have to say they were probably consistently my weakest unit.  Yes, on a few occasions they DID win me the game by simply sitting on an objective.  OTOH, I think I can count on one hand the number of things they actually killed over the course of the dozen games.  OK, maybe that is a BIT of an exaggeration, but my point being that while they were kind of hard to kill for a lot of folks, it was ~200 points of "eh".  In almost every instance having a 10 man Assault Squad would have server FAR better.  BS 3 for Sniper Rifles just doesn't cut it with the 50% to hit followed by the 50% to wound followed by a likely good armor or cover save...  8 regular Snipers, assuming everything goes exactly by the odds, that gets me 2 wounds.  Just not enough damage output for the cost.  Shame, one of the units I had high hopes for, and one I have been playing for decades...  I'll still play them I think now and again, but overall  I think they drop quite a bit on my "I should take them" list...

Assault Squads:  Not bad...  Jump troops worked out fairly well for me overall.  I REALLY like the mobility they bring, and the Deep Strike option.  Finding the need to be decked out with 2 Special Weapons, and the SGT should have the Power Weapon/Pistol I think...  Not sure what if anything they can do against the 2+ Armor Saves...  Well, other than just shoot them with Melta/Plasma type weapons of course :-)...  Mounted in a Razorback?  "Eh", I think the min squad worked well for me, giving me the Light Tank in a Razorback with the TLAC (Twin Linked Assault Cannon).  Problem being that I cannot assault out of the Vehicle in this edition at all, even if the bloody thing gets destroyed in the other player's turn.  So, short of Land Raiders or Open Topped Vehicles I think that Mech builds are going to be somewhat problematic, at least for armies that intend to ever Assault...  So, probably the go to Troop choice for me...

Baal Predator:  "Eh"...  In one game it won everything for me, and in a few others, having an Assault Cannon appear on a flank was nice...  But overall, it does not score, it does not throw out THAT much firepower, and it does tend to just die.  The TLAC is nice, but short ranged.  Sponsons are not really useful...  The Heavy Bolters throw out 6 "eh" shots, unlikely to be all at full BS with it always moving.  The fact that it does not ignore cover or 3+ Armor usually (unless you bring the Flamer turret) combined with it's short range means it is a niche unit I think.  I'll probably use it on occasion, but to be honest, I think the time of the Baal Predator is mostly behind us.


Devastator Squad:  Surprisingly, they were actually quite good.  I never played them in the "Big Guns Never Tire" mission, so no real reason for the enemy to focus a lot on them...  Well, other than the fact that it is a Heavy Weapons Squad lighting them up from across the field of course...  But with the way I play the army, if they can be focused on, it is because all of the other stuff is dead.

Sanguinary Priests:  Yes.  Only question is 2 or 3.  One riding down in the Drop pod and at least one with the Assault Squads/Dev Squads.  I've converted several for Jump Packs and Weapon Swaps, over the years I have picked up a bunch of Medics, and I made a Terminator suited one for the Tournament.  So, one Elite slot for me is taken pretty much always with FnP being so valuable.  It failed me a LOT the last few games of the League and the Tournament, but there were times when it was annoyingly (well, to the guy on the other side of the table) consistent and kept some units alive a LOT longer than they should have.

Sternguard Squad(s):  Liking them overall.  Definitely keeping them, not sure if there was any particular time they were NOT useful...  Unfortunately, it also delivers my Warlord and 4 kill points to close range with a likely pissed off enemy...  If I go first it almost guarantees "First Blood" though...  That was the difference in a number of games between winning and losing.

Drop Pods:  I have one built and painted...  It worked, but I think 3 would have been the right number for a full Drop type army.  Locator Beacons are HUGE.  With 6" from the Vehicle, and the Pod opening up like it does that leaves a HUGE footprint for follow on things Deep Striking in...  Down side, it is 35 points for the deploy once and probably give up an easy kill point or more...  Redeploying is problematic, so it does determine my battle plan.  But it does make for a quick and decisive battle.

Whirlwind:  Conditional yes...  Locally, there are NO armies that do not have anything that isn't hurt be either the Str 4 AP 5 no cover save or the Str 5 AP 4, both of which being Ordinance...  90 points is fairly steep, paying for the Fast status on the Rhino hull...  Not sure it is worth it overall as it cannot hurt fliers, heavy armor and really struggles against 2+/3+ armor...  So, having one I put together all those years ago and repainting it, I'll probably keep fielding it...  Ord sniping is looking powerful...

CPT Tycho/Gabriel Seth:  Well, if I could modify Seth to give him a Jump Pack I'd use him in an instant... As is, he has 2 special rules, one completely useless in the current edition and his HtH weapon is Str 8 but only Rending, no AP value...  So, great against light Vehicles but almost useless against anything with Armor.  Tycho is all around pretty good...  Not sure he is really worth 175 points, but looking at fully decking out a Vanilla Marine CPT, it goes to that range pretty quickly.  BA CPTs are crap, so no point comparing really.

Reclusiarch:  Decent, a cheap(ish) HQ option coming more or less fully decked out, can lead the DC REALLY well, but otherwise "eh"...

Death Company/Vanguard Vets: Yes, the way I play...  DC are solid under the new rules, a crapton (metric) of attacks.  I was fielding them deployed and have them Jump to support the Drop Pod Assault...  Vanguard Vets assault out of Deep Strike and hit almost as hard...  Since they support the Sternguard, there is a Sanguinary nearby for Furious Charge...  So, either works well :-)

Dreadnoughts: Both the Furioso and Death Company versions are quite good.  Definite keepers there.  Have to admit, I missed the DC DN's Fleet ability when I fielded the Fury during the Tournament.  AV 13 was great, and it rolled through a bunch of stuff without fear of retaliation as people have stopped taking Power Fists in every squad...  Still have to deliver it there, and Melta is everywhere...  Still, fairly cheap, and a good "linebacker" unit at the least...

:-)  So, a bit of time on my hands as I decide what army I play next...  Looking like an escalation league.  The last league had some loopholes that kind of killed it, but good thing about the locals, easy to fix it and not a problem to do so...

Friday, September 21, 2012

Tournament tomorrow...

So, last minute list changes...  Running either *Both have Aegis lines w/ Quad Guns):

CPT Tycho
Death Company (6 Jump packers, 2 w/ Power Axe)
Scout Squad (10, 9 snipers, 1 Heavy Bolter)
Assault Squad (10, Jump, Melta, Flamer, SGT w/ hand flamer/PW)
Sanguinary Priests (2,1  Terminator)
Sternguard (7, H Flamer, 6 Combi Melta, Drop Pod w/ beacon)
Death Company DN (flamer)
Baal Predator (HB sponsons, TLAC)
Whirlwind
Devastator Squad (2 HB, 2 Missile)

OR

CPT Tycho
Vanguard Vets (5 Jump packers, 1 PF, 4 PW, SGT w/ melta bombs)
Scout Squad (10, 9 snipers, 1 Heavy Bolter)
Assault Squad (10, Jump, Melta, Flamer, SGT w/ hand flamer/PW)
Sanguinary Priests (2,1  Terminator, one Jump Pack)
Sternguard (7, H Flamer, 6 Combi Melta, Drop Pod w/ beacon)
Furioso DN (flamer)
Assault Squad (5, melta, Razorback w/ TLAC)
Whirlwind
Devastator Squad (2 HB, 2 Missile)

So, with the second option I play the Death Company as Vanguard Vets.  The Furioso replacing the DC DN.  A bit more brutal, but not quite as close to the "fluff"...  Depends a bit I think who shows up to play :-)

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Medic of Doom...

Well, finished my Medic conversion...  Base coated, magnetized and looking like a Medic...




I find it amusing and ironic that the Medic has the best armor on the field... Shame he doesn't have a gun, but I can swap out the Power Weapon between Sword, Maul, and maybe Axe...  Sword for now I think, with Tycho ignoring ALL armor saves, that gives the Sternguard a decent HtH punch...  But the Maul for Str 7 on the Charge?  Maybe, I've run it that way once or twice to good effect against Guard, Necrons or DE...  Problem being against Marines? Well, I lose the Power Weapon effect....

Have to admit, the thought of running Allies in the form of Dark Angels is tempting...  CPT Belial and a squad of Deathwing for the HQ/Troop requirement, might make for an amusing defensive line...  But other than that, not sure what the DA would bring me...  Would likely replace my Death Company in terms of "what goes" to pay for it...  Eh, too many random thoughts while exhausted I think, tempted to change the Fleshtearers list a bit, but then I am thinking that might well be a mistake...  OTOH, dropping a Fearless, FnP Terminator unit right next to my Sternguard (Locator Beacon)...  A real Rock unit to park on an objective...  Dunno :-)

Conversions, just a few more things for the Tournament

Well, threw together a quick Terminator suit Medic (Sanguinary Priest) and got some color on it...  "Eh", I'm not actually a sculptor so the Green Stuff doesn't look as nice as it should, but I think it will be obvious what it is.  Well, that and the fact that it will be the ONLY Terminator suit on my side :-), so that will help I think.  I'll get the basecoat finished tomorrow and dip it...  Should look OK with the rest of the lads I think...

Finishing up the last few bases and getting the last parts painted, still have to decide whether to bring the Devastators or the Assault Squad...  Played the Dev + Attack Bike over the Assault Squad + Razorback last game...  The Devs have the range, and the Attack Bike is really powerful for the 50 points.  The Assault Squad are always scoring. t ttack bike win out...  Just SO much firepower, and parking them in cover gives me a good fire base to compliment the Scouts.  Think the Medic running with the Assault Squad (Jump) loses the jump pack to hold back with the Scouts and Devs...  Saves me 25 points, and allows me to fill out a few things I want to be sure I have like a Locator Beacon on the Drop Pod...  6" from the pod is a HUGE are when the pod is fully extended, so the lads Deep Striking have a big area to drop in without deviation...  Liking that, missing my old Vanguard Vets though :-)...  I do think that were I playing a truly cut-throat version I would find a way to put in a 5 man squad to be a second wave to rescue the CPT and his lads.  They'd likely be within 6" of the Medic granting Furious Charge...  A bit much though I think for the local scene though...

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Tournament Prep... List choices...

Well, I finally played the Necrons with their 3 fliers..  Damn, that was a tough one :-)  Good fight, and I made it a LOT closer than it should have been by just being stubborn and staying on target.  I also made a few HUGE mistakes.  Was the first time I played the "kill point" mission in 6th, and I stupidly combat squadded my Scouts and Assault Squad, giving up 2 additional kill points.  Also, having the CPT get hit by 4 bolters (equivalent, whatever the Cron weapon is), fail 3 2+ saves and make only one FnP to just barely live...

The small Assault squad I had parked doing AA duty got killed by Necron Lords on their super chariots...  Need to protect them better, or at least have 2 bloody squads there.  He wound up killing my gun later before I could re-man it.  So, keeping that in mind for the future...  The strategy of deploying the Aegis line and the other terrain...  Must keep the AAA near the center or I give up a big portion of the board letting the fliers on...  Balancing act, and still getting the hang of it.  The TLAC on a Razorback is "eh", it actually damaged 2 fliers before being destroyed, claiming a weapon and a few hull points...  But I do not think this will be sufficient AA coverage for my army.  Doing the Wehrmacht thing, and closing with the enemy, avoiding fliers as best I can, but a patient opponent will understand what I am doing and flow away from me...  Well, if they can :-)  I like my Jump Troops...

What I fielded last night:


CPT Sariel (Tycho)
Death Company (5, Jump Packs, 2 Power Axes)
Scout Squad (10, 9 Snipers, 1 Heavy Bolter)
Sanguinary Priests (2, 1 Terminator, 1 Jump Pack)
Assault Squad (10, Melta, Flamer, SGT w/ Power Weapon)
Sternguard (7, Heavy Flamer, 6 Combi Melta, Drop Pod)
Baal Predator  (HB Sponsons, TLAC or Flamer?)
Dev Squad (3 Heavy Bolters, Missile Launcher?)
Whirlwind
Land Speeder or Attack Bike?

Aegis Line w/ Quad gun...

And it is more or less I think what I will field for Saturday.  The Attack bike with MM was what I ended up using, the Dev Squad with 2 Heavy Bolters and 2 ML...  Was "eh", but facing a fully meched up Necron force with AV 13 or in the fliers?  Not sure anything would have been better.  Though putting them near/in the Aegis line might be better...  So, a few things I NEED to finish painting for Saturday, but overall, I have a large, Infantry based Fleshtearers army ready.  Oh, yeah, I have to actually build a WYSIWYG Terminator Medic...  I have all the pieces around I think with my Deathwing force I inherited a few years ago...  So, a project to finish before Saturday...