Slight change for next week...

Thinking of bringing a slight change in leadership next week:

CPT Tycho
Sanguinary Priests (2, 1 PW, 1 Jump Pack)
Scout Squad (9 snipers, SGT w/PF, ML or HB)
Assault Squad (10, flamer, Melta, SGT w/PP & PW)
Death Company (jump packs, 5, 2 Power Axes)
Baal Pred (HB sponsons, flamer or TLAC?)
Sternguard Squad (Drop Pod, 5 Combi-Melta, 1 Combi Plasma, 1 H Flamer)
Assault Squad (Razorback w/ TLAC, LasPlas or TLLC, Melta Gun)
Whirlwind

Aegis line with the Quad Gun

So, same basic premise with some un-named CPT from one of the 4 remaining Companies of the Fleshtearers using CPT Tycho's stats...  Still not sure what the AP of "The Dead Man's Hand" is, but I'll play it as AP 3 since it has a few special rules, etc...  I have one of the ancient "Blood Angels" Captains that I have quickly modified the Bolter to be a Combi-Melta, so should be quick and easy to paint up to get him to the tabletop.  Won't be that nice "golden" color, but I am liking the way the brass is looking after the Min-Wax/Matte spray, so probably the way to go as a Fleshtearers CPT.

Still debating with myself about the whole "model to advantage" of the Power Weapons in this edition...  So far it seems that for the normal Assault squad, Swords are the way to go.  The Death Company has the Power Axes already, and the Chaplain is stuck with the Power Maul unless I add the Power Fist...  The Medics (Sanguinary Priests)?  Tried Power Maul for the Str 7 on the Charge, but the Plague Marines Joe fielded simply shrugged it all off with the AP 4 and FnP rolls...  Not sure a Power Axe will be worth it dropping the I to 1, but with CPT Tycho might be the option I wind up going with for something AP 2 in there...  I'm just not seeing enough 2+ armor locally at least so the Swords are appearing to be the best here at least for Marines...  IG are getting Mauls or Axes I think.  Still irked that Logan Grimmar most likely gets hosed with his magic Axe...

Otherwise, the Whirlwind makes it's reappearance...  I think Ordinance Barrage Sniping is going to be JUST that annoying, picking off specific models.  To say nothing of the IG/DE/Necron armies I am seeing all over the place here, AP4 or AP 5 with no cover save is REALLY powerful against them, allowing me to simply erase Command or other important targets.  And with the casualties coming from the center of the blast, I can get Heavy Weapons, SGTs, etc...  90 points in a BA army, so a bit pricey, but I do think it will be worth it.

Second Assault Squad in a Razorback replacing the overpriced Tactical Squad.  Yes, the Razorback will probably be easy to kill, but twin linking the LC or more likely the Assault Cannons on the Fast platform makes for an emergency AA gun since there are a few armies with a lot of fliers locally.  Not entirely sure how they'll be deployed or used, but there are a good number of options here...  And the lads will all be painted, I think that is one of the more exciting things about all this...

First Blood for the win?

Well, I have to say that Secondary Victory Conditions are becoming really important...  Squeaked out a win against a good Chaos list from Joe L...  Really it was his Warlord rolling the "I can Outflank" that allowed him to attach to a Terminator Squad in their Land Raider...  So, they wound up coming in on Turn 2 or 3, but more importantly, they were not on the table when my Sternguard hit the field.  So, my Combi-Meltas of Doom were more or less usless.  We instead dropped in, Heavy Flamer to the fore and hit a Squad of Nurgle Marines that had disembarked their Rhino to shoot up my Scouts...  The SI Ammo is REALLY nice.

Yes, I had Scouts out in front to grab the "relic" objective.  Joe seized initiative, so the lads who infiltrated, scout moved and were ready to grab the objective and flee were instead gunned down in the open...  Well 4/5 of them, the last one DID escape for a turn, moving the ball back to where my Tac Squad would take it and move it back to my lines.  Game ended after turn 6 when the Terminators and Typhus (? big named Nurgle character) killed the last member of the squad in HtH...  But since they needed to pick it up in the movement phase, no one had control of the ball as time expired...  Line Breaker was claimed by both armies as his Terminators and my sole remaining Death Company Power Axe were camped in each other's DZs...  Both of our Warlords lived, and with my Death Company charging and killing the Nurgle Rhino on turn one, my claiming "First Blood" won the game.  Normally, I get it from Sternguard dropping and Melta/Plasma firing something to death, but I'll take it...

So, it seems that paying attention to the VC, especially the Secondaries is the way to get a lot of wins without having to sweep the field :-)...  Not always possible in this game.  Also, I have yet to find any particular disadvantage for "MSU" (multiple small units?  I cannot really remember the acronym) in this edition...  The old one, 1/3 of the missions were Kill Points, so it punished an Army bringing lots of cheap kill points.  Now, really it just means you risk giving First Blood easier, and with Night Fight (assuming people forget Search Lights/don't have them), loads of terrain blocking LOS, etc...  Even that is not a guarantee for stand off armies by any means...

So, next week I'll have at least one, probably 2 actual Drop Pods ready to roll, the Predator will be done and I think all of my Infantry, bar the Tactical Squad, will be fully painted.  Still not sure they are worth it frankly.  Let me re-phrase that, I still think they suck.  The Las Cannon whiffed the whole game, the Plasma fired only once, and the guys just died...  I'd rather have another Assault Squad I think as at least I can re-position them more easily or at least get the cheaper Razorback...  So, thinking I'll have the fully painted army next week, 90% done now...  Decent army all in all, probably won't win any GT's, but fun to play and it WILL give some of the "net lists" a headache...  Others though it will simply die to :-)

This Week, and Flatcon?

Well, looking like I will be fielding something along this line:

Gabriel Seth
Sanguinary Priests (1 Terminator, 1 jump pack)
Scout Squad (9 snipers, Heavy Bolter, Power Fist on SGT)
Assault Squad (Flamer, Melta, SGT has PP/PW)
Death Company (5 Jump Packs, 2 power axes)
DC DN (Flamer, Searchlight)
Baal Predator (Flamer turret, HB Sponsons)
Sternguard (Drop Pod, 4 combi Melta, combi plasma, Heavy Flamer)
Tac Squad (10, Las Cannon, Plasma gun, SGT w/Storm Bolter, Rhino w/searchlight)

Aegid Defense Line w/ Quad gun AAA

10 points left over, so probably just a few more random things here and there...  LOTS of Troops, so I can Combat Squad and hold lots of things, even with the Death Company and Sternguard going off to run a likely suicide attack...  On the plus side, if I go first, "First Blood" is mostly assured...  Minus side, I risk my Warlord a lot the way I play...  But that is pretty much how I play...

Looking at Flatcon doubles tournament in October...  Assuming we can get a team or two together and wander over to Bloomington...  1250 each, further rules here:
http://getevengaming.wordpress.com/central-illinois-doubles-2012/

Sounds like it could be a good one, and my Fleshtearers will be all fully painted and my Drop Pods will be ready...  So I'll be able to field pretty much whatever I'd need to...

Magnets are fun :-)

Well, got one of my ancient Predator hulls magnetized...  More or less :-)...  It works, but somehow I got the polarities reversed on the magnets so the guns only work on one side...  Until I get around to tearing it apart and reversing I guess, but it works for now and moving on to finishing the paint job...  Looking like the Baal Predator will hit the field in support of my Assault elements with the Heavy Bolter sponsons  for the moment.  I was pretty happy how well it did in support of my Sternguard, and I suspect that they will do well enough against a lot of armies locally at least.  Flying circus is the one I do not think I have an answer for at the moment.  Just SO many fliers locally, and I think that is going to be the biggest problem my lists will face...

4 Wounds?

Wow, I feel silly...  Gabriel Seth has 4 Wounds...  I never realized it, and I KNOW I have pulled him off the field several times after losing his "third and final" wound...  Was playing with my ancient Armybuilder trying to compare him with CPT Tycho, and saw that...  Thought it must be a mistake, but no...  Still, the complete lack of AP on his (defined as) Str 8 HtH attacks make him not quite so good as someone with a Power Weapon I think, but...  Yes, Rending...  But counting on 6's coming up is not the way to go I think...  Besides, he spent almost an entire game kicking a small unit of Necron Warriors into scrap only to have them keep coming back...  He has also bounced against a LOT of Marine types...  Kills light vehicles nicely and is scary to a lot of folks who don't really understand his weakness...  With AP 5 or dare I saw 4 on the giant 2 handed chain-sword he has, he would be Hell on wheels against hordes of light troops at least...  Eh...

Conversion work continuing, more Troop types painted and fully WYSIWYG (Melta armed Jump Trooper, etc...)...  So, other than the Drop Pod, everything is coming together nicely.  I cut the ribs for one out of some 5mm thick wood, and need to attach it to a base to get the bulk of the frame at least in place for that... So, Pods at last I guess...

Storm Raven is a possibility, but with the price increase this year from the $50-60 range to the $90 range for a vehicle I really don't like the look of that much...  Dunno.  Maybe eventually...

Fleshtearers are a FAST army...

:-)  Playing the way I do at least...  Not fast like a lot of folks seem to think, "We'll be in contact by turn 3-4"...  I'm playing it that I drop on top of them on turn one, turn 2 I am usually in Assault either by dropping Vanguard Vets right in or my DC/Jump Troopers have made it to contact.  The 12" move and up to 12" Assault move mean that if you are OK taking risks, you can move REALLY fast...

The trouble is supporting the fast movers.  I have found the Baal Predator, especially with the Flamethrower turret and HB sponsons to be a good way to throw down a fast tank that can help root out even 3+ armor hiding in cover (Str 6, AP 3 template)...  The flame sponsons are still fairly worthless I think, still can fire 2 going fast I guess, but that means you ALWAYS have a weapon you do not fire if you move at all, no snap fire option for the templates...  Now to finish painting my ancient model and getting it fully WYSIWYG...

Debating changing out the leader of the force...  Dropping a Librarian in won't likely work as they cannot cast powers (well, the ones I want them to) coming in from Deep Strike...  Tycho looks amusing for a stand in Captain, but the "general" FAQ seems a bit short here as his attacks in HtH which "ignore armor" are now AP what?  There is no defined weapon really to say "It is a Power Sword that also grants 'armor bane'"...  Which is how I'll likely play it, and hope I don't run across anyone who really wants to argue it out :-)  Seems the most reasonable, but...  Mephiston is still a possibility, but at 250 points?  That is a LOT of my army in a single model that has no Inv save...  Yes, T6, 4 Wounds, so hard to kill, but 250 points is a Land Raider or a squadron of Land Speeders easily...

Did forget to mention I will be looking to put them in with a Sternguard drop pod :-)...  The Medic in Terminator Armor (Sanguinary Priest, but "Medic" just sounds better to an old timer like me) dropped in with a short squad and CPT Tycho would seem like a pretty formidable little package hitting the table with Meltas blazing, a few 2+  saves and FnP for the lot of them...  Gives me a few Power Weapons in the squad as well, and I have been REALLY liking the Heavy Flamer option for one of the Sternguard (converting a weapon now, waiting for the Green Stuff to cure) as a quick couple of hits and the discouragement of a risky charge in... Still a LOT of points that would be wasted against a cheap horde force, or anything without one or more big targets...

Seth and the boys drop in...

Well, I ran the army with Gabriel Seth and 2 Sternguard Squads...  And I have to say that the setup with the second squad was REALLY good...  But I am not sure that the single squad dropping in would work.  In any case, the Heavy Flamer was really quite good, and I think will be one thing I convert ASAP...  Still need to finish up the Drop Pod, but the Medic (Sanguinary Priest) in Terminator armor was HUGE there.  Fearless, Power Weapon, FnP saves for the group...  I don't think Seth was needed frankly, but having some sort of HtH beatstick would be a very good thing...  Perhaps not really necessary, but still...  Someone has to keep them alive until my Cav can get there :-)  So, one Sternguard squad for now, And the Assault squad and Death Company to jump along a flank to rush in to support them.  Hard assault, and casualties will be heavy because we will START at point blank with the enemy, and the Jump Troops will be moving at top speed to make contact with the enemy...

The Baal Predator was awesome, and did exactly what I hoped it would, wiping squads of Powered Armor lads hiding in cover, getting in shots on things with the Heavy Bolters while zooming about...  Definitely need to finish up the painting on that one...  Think it has become a standard option for me now...

The DC DN was a big fear thing, but I rolled an improbable series of 1's and 2's to hit and wound with the thing...  Wound up killing a Rhino, then tearing into the Tac Squad equivalent (Templar) only to kill 1 every round despite the number of Str 10 no armor save attacks...  Was disappointing, and lucky that they were the only Marine squad still in existence WITHOUT Krak grenades...  Still, 135 points of "You'd best not ignore this" that takes a lot of pressure off of the Jump Troops it escorts...

Still, the painting is coming along really well, I should have most of it done by next week with my 30 or so Infantry figs set, and with only a few vehicles, the only glaring thing missing is the Drop Pod at this point...

This week, 1 month til the Tournament...

Well, knocking out more of my Fleshtearers...  I think the Scouts are 99% done with the Minwax and matte sealant...  Looking pretty good, just need to pus some debris on the bases to get them to 100%.  Getting a bunch of my Assault Marines knocked out as well and the Sternguard done...  Well, one squad at least...

Looking at bringing 2 squads of them in one of my variant armies.  My first army will be:

Mephiston
Chaplain (jump pack)
Sanguinary Priest w/Jump pack
Death Company (5, JP, 2 power axes)
DC DN
Scout Squad (9 Snipers, 1 HB, SGT w/ Faust)
Assault Squad (10, Melta gun, plasma or flamer pistol, SGT w/ PW and PP or Flame pistol)
Sternguard (10, Pod, 6 combi melta, 4 combi plasma)
DN (TLAC x 2)
Baal Predator (HB sponsons, flame turret probably, maybe the TLAC...)

So, uber Psycher, drop army, etc...  Move fast, hit hard...  With Mephiston being a rank 3 Psyker he can get a decent selection of powers, and Telepathy looks amusing...  Divination works pretty well as well...

Second variant:
Gabriel Seth
Sanguinary Priests (2, 1 Jump pack, 1 Terminator Armor)
Scout Squad (as above)
Assault Squad (As above)
Death Company (As above)
DC DN
Sternguard Squad 1 (as above)
Sternguard Squad 2 (Drop Pod, 7 troopers, heavy flamer, 4 combi melta, 2 combi plasma)
Baal Predator (As above)

So, an extremely aggressive army with Seth and the Terminator Medic dropping with the Sternguard Squad 2...  Scouts sit back and camp, Assault squad w/Medic backed by the DC and the DC DN are a roving reserve or Cavalry to go forth and rescue/support the Sternguard and Seth.  With the second Sternguard squad, the Heavy Flamer is really just there to discourage charges and fry things behind Aegis lines or in buildings...  With FnP, Fearless, Flamer and of course Seth there it should at least make people think seriously about charging...  Now, I do not have the second squad converted, but this may be the way I run the lads later on if this works out....

Now, you'll probably notice the armies are remarkably similar...  Since I am riding the ancient motorcycle, the army has to fit into the saddlebags and trunk :-)...  So, "limited space" is an understatement I think...

"Dipping" minis :-)

Finishing up my Scouts (Sniper, camo cloaks) and I have to say that the Min Wax treatment is certainly looking pretty good...  So, the lads are drying now, just need to finish the Heavy Bolter and put some foliage and rocks and the like for them then seal them with a matte I think...   Starting to hit the Assault Troopers as well, and I think the Sternguard are about ready to get hit as well.  Just detail work remaining like painting the combi weapons, packs, etc...  

Keeping a few odd things like one of the Sternguard has a Tac Squad marking on his shoulder pad...  I really want to keep the fluff of a dying Chapter, and the lads getting promoted REALLY quickly and with results mattering way more than the uniforms, etc...  Not sure many people not familiar with the Fleshtearers would understand it, but I like it :-)....  Getting closer to actually having a Drop pod as well...

Looking at what to play next week...  Mephiston may make an appearance (thanks to http://40kgiveaway.blogspot.com/ again!) along with:

Scouts (full squad, snipers, heavy bolter, SGT w/ PF)

Assault Squad (full squad, Melta Gun, Plasma Pistol, SGT w/PP and PW of some sort)

Death Company (5, jump packs, 2 Power Axes)

DC DN (Flamer, grapple maybe?)

Sternguard (full squad, drop pod, 6  combi meltas, 4 plasma)

Sanguinary Priest (jump pack, ?)

Then it gets to the "maybe":

DN with either 2 TLAC or the TLAC/Assault Cannon

Baal Predator with HB sponsons and maybe the flame turret...  Seeing a LOT of 3+ armor lads camping in the backfield, so flanking...

So, a bit more long range firepower, but overall a REALLY fast army to go camp on the other side of the table...  Should be fun to play at the least...  Not sure what o do for AAA, so that is a bit of a concern depending on opponent...  Meph has access to 3 powers if I go with the book ones, and Telepathy might work...  Hallucination or Puppet Master could be REALLY awesome against certain armies, and Invisibility could well be what gets a assaul unit across the table... Divination is another one that could be really nice...  We'll see what I end up facing...

A Fully Painted Army? Wow....

I'm getting close to a fully painted 40K army for the first time since I threw the minimum "3 color" standard on my 3rd ed Fleshtearers force to have the "We're just here to kill things" army list to take to the tournaments...  It did really well on the field, looked pretty bad, but it WAS technically fully painted...  This time though, I've got a more or less completely different army, have stripped and repainted a number of things....

10 man Sniper Scout Squad, check, needs a bit  touch-up, shading and "bits" to go on the bases

10 man Sternguard Vet Squad, check, as above, but weapons all fully WYSIWYG converted

Death Company, Check.  Various weapons, Jump Packs, Chaplains, etc...  Could use some base work, but...

Assault Marines, check...  How many?  "More" as Taleni Pahulu would have put it (4 numbers, 0, 1, 2, 3 and more)...  Enough to field at least 2 full squads, one of which I have magnetized the Jump Packs for to allow them to enter "Fromage Grande" mode and get the discounted transports which are better for no apparent reason :-)...  Razorbacks are still good, Land Raiders are "eh", Melta will still everywhere and kill them easily...

What else now?  Well, I cut the patterns to make a simple Drop Ship with a wooden frame...  Foamboard is a possibility, and will probably also work, and since I have to make a few of them...  Otherwise I have some vehicles to finish up, and I have to decide what characters I'll be playing...  Mephiston, Gabriel Seth, Chaplains...  There are a few possibilities here and there.  I like the BA Librarians as well, but lacking any sort of Psychic defense...  Well, it is a bit difficult :-)...  Have to paint up my Aegis line I guess...

So, very close, just a bunch of small details...

Modeling for advantage?

Not sure how best to put this...  What are the general feelings out there regarding the rules for Power Weapons?  I had heard the term "Modelling for Advantage" somewhere, and saw it for the first time tonight...  Now, Power Lances were never a Marine weapon AFAIK, but since there are no real limits, if you build/model it, then it is... So, looking at putting Power Axes on a few of the Death Company at least in place of my traditional Power Fists...  15 points instead of the 25, and both AP 2.  The Power Axe on the Charge gives me 5 attacks at Str 6 compared with the 4 attacks at Str 9.  No real difference between 8 and 9, so the furious Charge is "eh" for this, but the Axe is 10 points cheaper...  Not sure if I will end up doing this for my other Power Weapons, but it is looking like an option for mixing in stuff...

Lost badly this evening, but I think it highlighted a major problem with my list...  The Drop Pod for the DN is I think a failure.  And since it goes out unsupported, I have nothing really to deal with the big nasty characters...  Or even really powerful HtH units...  The Las Cannon on the Aegis line is pretty good, well worth the 35 points, but I think I had a lack of long ranged AT weaponry...  So things like the Predator have to come out to play.  The Vindicator was "eh", and I know I jumped it out too quickly, but barring it coming in from reserve, it wouldn't have lived in any case...  It killed a Rhino and 2 Wolf Cav, so it almost paid for itself...  But that is just running in place really, trading chess pieces and not really winning me any battles.

Something to think about for later in the week or next week :-)

Heavy Support for the Fleshtearers...

So, debating on the Heavy Support slot...

Not really a fan of the Dev squads, even with the ability to move and snap fire most of their weapons this edition.  So, Predator or Vindicator I guess...  With the Vindicator, I can ignore terrain, have the AV 13 on the front...  Oh, and the most powerful gun in the game on a Fast platform.  So 12" move, 24" shot, coming from behind a building is a pretty devastating thing...  But it is a one shot thing, the Vindicator comes out and gets a shot off, then dies to the inevitable counter shots.  There is the danger that I come up against an army like Noah's IG with really NO high value targets for the "cruise missile" to hit...  Predator allows me to do a bit of hit and run from a MUCH greater range.  The weapon mix here is another one.  TLLC turret is expensive, but would almost always put the Str 9 AP 2 hit on target.  In general I use the AC turret though, 2 shots is almost always better...  Unless of course I run into AV 13+...  The Las Cannon Sponsen is a solid choice, but the Heavy Bolters would allow a LOT of shots....

Storm raven, well I do not currently have one, frankly looking more like an eventual purchase though...  Do wish more than BA and GK got to use it though.  Frankly that was one of the main reasons I did not get one before...  Perhaps we will see an expansion in this area though,was kind of disappointed that the 6th Ed book did not do this...  We'll see I guess...

Background for the League...

Running my Fleshtearers, and one of the requirements is having a background justification for the list...  So, here goes:

"War is delightful to those who have had no experience of it." ~ Desiderius Erasmus 

The Fleshtearers, answering the General Recall to Baal are moving quickly.  But we need to more so quickly that even our normal tactics of “Hit them fast and hard, kill them all and move on” are not sufficient.  Speed is far more important than casualties.  General tactics will be Scouts heading out to identify high value targets and call in the Assault troops.  The Schwerpunkt will involve an extremely rapid assault via Drop Pod (DN or Sternguard Vets) or Vanguard Vets assaulting out of Deep Strike.  The remaining forces will follow up the initial assault.  Holding our own objectives will be difficult, but we will take theirs instead or die trying.  An unfortunate reality of our situation is the Death Company.  As we lose more Marines to the Black Rage, we will direct them toward the enemy and let the Chaplain lead them to cause the most damage on their way out.

As we move back to Baal, we will on occasion fight with our allies.  For the current assault, our Scouts have made contact with elements of Bran Redmaw’s Great Company.  They are currently holding an Aegis Defense Line, and we will move to support them.  We cannot stop, but we will render aid to our Brothers, and by doing so may relieve some of the pressure on Baal. 

So, first draft of this one, the list I am looking at is:

 Reclusiarch (Jump Pack)
Death Company (Jump packs, 5 normal, 2 PF/Bolter)
DC DN (Drop Pod, beacon, H Flamer)
Scout Squad (9 Snipers, Heavy Bolter, SGT with P Fist)
Sternguard (6 Combi Melta, 4 Combi Plasma, Drop Pod w/ Beacon)
Vindicator (Siege Shield)

Allies:
Rune Priest
Grey Hunters (Razorback w/ TLAC, Flamer)
Long Fang Pack (3 Missile, 2 Heavy Bolter)

Aegis Line w/Laser Cannon

Thinking that the Laser Cannon will be interesting for anything but the IG horde out there...  We'll see how the lads do though...

So, on to the next week...

So, need to come up with the actual "fluff"...  But since I am playing Fleashtearers, and playing them as a Berserker drop/Fast assault force, it does seem a pretty good fit...  We are in a hurry, and speed is more important than casualties.  So, dangerous close in drops and direct assaults are the way we will be proceeding.  Scouts hit the field first and find/mark high value targets for the assault elements.  The rest drop or drive quickly to hit them and then fade away before heavier elements can pin my people down

Minus side, I NEED to get off my ass and get a Drop Pod or three built....  Templates, printed on manila folders I cut up...  One at the very least as my Sternguard seem to be a more or less permanent part of this strike force.  2 or even 3 would be better as I can get around the 50% Reserves rule with this a bit.  Scouts are deploying, but with Infiltrate and Scout, they should be able to get to higher ground and survive with Cloaks until the rest of the lads get there.  Pod hits, 1-2 Squads of Sternguard or a DC DN get out...  Furioso?  Maybe, the AV 13 is huge against Str 6...  Melta still just kills me though, and there is SO much of that out there that for the most part I can not count on a Close Assault DN surviving very long at all...  The DC DN is cheap enough and has a scary number of attacks that most people cannot simply ignore the Fleet HtH monster that is dropping into their lines, and since I am playing a "fluffy" FT force, lots of DC in any case...  Not a lot of "Regulars", pretty much the 'cruits go to Scouts, survivors hit the field as Assault Marines or get promoted directly to the Vet units...  The Specialist Ammo for the Sternguard is huge, and I can see why a lot of people really like playing any army that allows them as Troops (1 Marine Special Char IIRC).  But not a lot of long term folks in the Fleshtearers overall...  Dying out to the Black Rage as fast as they can recruit, and with the decision to hit the field early and often, well, the 4 Companies remaining will not last long at all in normal circumstances...  With the general recall to Baal, seems very likely that they will not return.  So, playing as somewhat desperate Berserkers completely unconcerned with casualties seems to fit...

So, Allies for the Fleshtearers?

So far my lads are 2-0...  First Blood being a common secondary VC, and dropping the Sternguard right into a gunline...  Well, not much survives their "special attention".  Since Jake and I killed a LOT of each other's armies, me going first and being hyper aggressive for the first kill points is the only thing that saved me...

So, with the 100 point tax on non flier armies in the form of the Aegis line with the quad gun in my armies now...  1850 league, but I am playing at 1750.  Though the Scouts rocked the gun line, killing the incoming flier and clearing some Thousand Sons off of an objective.

Thinking about bringing Eldar or Wolves as an allied detachment against some of the more Psycher heavy forces...  Jake had 4 Psychers, and the new complete lack of defense was really telling...  Though having a Demon Prince's head explode on box cars was cool, NOT something to count on...

With the Eldar, I can completely deny spells, I mean "Psychic Powers"...  For a time at least.  Thinking that if a GK force decides to off him, I am in trouble.  Pathfinders for the gun line/objective camping...  If they CAN hold objectives that is...

Wolves, being Battle Brothers can mix in a bit better...  Grey Hunters in a Razorback or Rhino, the Rune Priest, maybe a Wolf Priest?  Oh, and Long Fangs maybe :-)...

Something to think about...

Fleshtearers for today...

Well, I'll either be fielding my army that I brought last week or:

Reclusiarch (Jump Pack, PF) 170
Death Company ( Jump Packs, 2 PF/Bolter) 295
DC DN (Fists, Magna Grapple, pod w/ beacon) 185
Scout Squad (10, 8 sniper rifles, HB or ML, SGT w/PF sniper rifle) 175
Assault Squad (hand flamer or PP, SGT w PF/hand flamer) 370
  Land Raider (MM)  (225)
Sternguard (10 in Drop Pod, 6 Melta, 4 plasma combi, pod has beacon)  350
Sang Priests (1 BP/PW to run with Assault Squad, 1 basic to run with Scouts) 115
Whirlwind  90

Aegis line and AAA  100

The Whirlwind is just there because I had 90 points :-)  Could I suppose go for Speeder or a pair of Attack Bikes in the future...  Basically, going to abuse the Aegis and the Scouts with Camo Cloaks to get really good cover saves, the Sang Priest can man the AA gun for the BS 4.  WW can sit behind a building and chuck Ord...  Weak Ord, but Ord, one round that ignores cover saves....  Between that and the Sternguard's rounds that can, thinking that I can pin/destroy important things hidden away on the weaker armies like IG and...  Well, OK, IG :-)  Maybe Tyranids, but...  Sternguard can either suicide in, or set up in cover and shoot special rounds...  Land raider?  Well, mostly just to scare people who think AC/ML are going to work for AT...

:-)  Might even work, who knows...  FAST, aggressive, and fits my play style, so I think I can make it work against a fair number of things...

Next week's list....

Well, last week I brought a fairly random list, but playing against a new guy and spending more time teaching the game than worrying about the game...  Guessing this week will be against one of the regulars...

Playing around with the idea of an Infantry horde...

Librarian (jump pack, powers?)
Chaplain (jump pack, power fist?)
Death Company (7, 2 with PF/bolter, jump packs)
DC DN armed with ? The Cuisinart Claws or the DN CCW...
Scouts (10, snipers and a heavy bolter or ML, SGT with PF)
Sternguard (10 combi weapons, Drop pod w/beacon)
 Sanguinary Priests (2, 1 jump pack, 1 storm bolter)
Dev Squad ? (HB, 2 ML)

Aegis line with AA guns...

Might need a few more pods :-)  Think that this would do OK against some of the horde lists....  We'll see I guess...

So, Maggie and the girls are in the Frozen North...

So, I have a bit of time on my hands....  In some ways, kind of sad, but I got a LOT of painting done...  No parties, I don't drink anymore...  But getting a fair amount of painting done :-)

Pics follow:

So, a bit of conversion work getting the Chaplain and Scout SGT WYSIWYG...  Fair number of the assault troops as well, but those I mostly just converted to me own fighting style...  The knife in the left hand rotated and facing out, resting against the forearm to keep the blades out of the way...  Edit:  And, yes, the guy with the hand flamer IS flipping the enemy off :-)  Keeping the lads attitudes about the same as my own...  They are nae kilted, but I understand the whole Berserker thing :-)

But the lads are coming along nicely...  Now to get to work on the vehicles I guess...

More building....

Not a whole lot going on, Maggie and the girls are up North for the week...  I'm getting wild, painting toy soldiers and working on my motorcycle.

So, a little painting, but mostly working on modeling.  Chaplain swapping out a bolter for a power fist and getting ready for the jump pack magnet mount.  Not sure if I NEED to, but guessing that having at least a squads worth of the lads to field as either Jump troops or riding in a Land Raider...

Working a bit on the Death Company DN as well...  Looking like that will remain a part of the army for the 125 points. If it gets its charge off, 6 Str 10 AP 2 goodness?  Yes, thank you...  Yes, the Str 7 Cuisinart mode claws is amusing, and might even be amusing against say, a horde...

Other than that, the Scout SGT got his camo cloak, and some of the other lads got a bit of paint....  Guessing I start making combi weapons and basing...  Oh, and build the bloody Drop Pod :-)

Yes, tired and free form rambling...  Dealing with hordes, not so sure...  Against IG, I have the Sternguard dropping in...  Depending on how well hidden his Command Squads, Heavy Weapon Squads and Artillery are, well that will dictate the target selection....  The Ignore Cover rounds are still AP 5, so they should kill off IG easily, and the Melta shots should deal with vehicles...  Tyranids, I have the Hellfire rounds for the wounding on 2+, Melta, etc...  Still not sure for AAA, so I'll probably bring the Aegis line for my Scounts, or maybe be cheesy and have Gabriel Seth or the Librarian shoot the bloody gun for the BS 5 twin linked Heavy 4 shots...  Not sure I can deal with dual Storm Ravens or squadrons of Valkyries/Vendettas with the Str 7 shots, but thinking the AV 10 DE fighters or AV 11 Marine fliers are in trouble.  But, will deal with that when I have to I guess :-)