Yeah, a bit annoyed in general... Guess I'm just not really finding I am enjoying 40K as much as I think I should be. More or less cycled through my older armies, though I have not fielded my Praetorians or Eldar much... Opposite problems there, the Eldar are at the moment hopelessly outclassed by the modern stuff and the IG are more powerful than ever I think. Now, one of the locals who is actually a really good player argues that the Valkyrie/Vendetta (though honestly, who has ever seen them fielded as anything other than a Vendetta for the 3 x TLLC?) is actually not overpowered, in fact severely overrated... Me, I come down on the other side of that argument as the Ven can do a LOT for it's 130 or so points, remain virtually immune to counterfire and be taken in such numbers as to just be silly... SO much cheaper than the modern DA/Marine fliers and while it does only have BS 2, the main weapons are twin linked and freaking Las Cannons! So, the AV 11 that is fairly standard on most modern fliers is just tissue paper really, and the Ven should down one enemy flier/turn on average rolls... Yes, it might well have issues taking down a wall of AV 14 tanks, but why bother? They do not score, just kill every Chimera then start shooting the smaller squads of Infantry that survive the explosions... The Transport capability, while neat, I think is really not necessary to the current environment... Saying that though, I can easily put the Platoon Command Squad with 4 flamers in there as a Scoring unit that I can air drop in if needed... A bit risky, or I can just hover the flier for the late game objective grab or toast up something that is packed in behind say, an Aegis line...
And, yes, I HAVE a Vendetta... Well, I magnetized the weapon load out, so could easily have either... It just feels "unfun" to play that, especially the way I'd play my IG "Light Rifles" company... Not really "light" or "rifles" :-) but... The Artillery in the form of a Basilisk and Colossus (IIRC, the Str 6, AP 3 no cover save one) as separate units... Probably a LR Vanquisher as a third Heavy. Having faced them, screened and screening my Artillery, I think it would be a terrifying thing... One Company Command squad with the Artillery officer at least, PCS to fly around... At least one big Platoon to mob up and screen the Arty. Heavy Weapons teams to set up and take pot shots and keep the Enemy honest... SO many shots outbound... Even at BS 3, should be quite good... Like I said, probably too good...
That's just it... Barring severely bad luck, it is a REALLY powerful army. Not unbeatable by any means, but at such a severe advantage against all but the over the top Necron flying circus... And even that I think has to be VERY careful...
Though, there are some interesting Kickstarters out there: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/649754189/28mm-steampunk-inspired-heavy-weapons-and-carriage?ref=users Looks neat, and VERY much in line with the Praetorians I have... I'll be keeping an eye on this, but with the motorcycle being picked up tomorrow... Money is a bit tighter until I sell the old bike...
So, getting a 1996 Honda Magna... 750cc engine, V4... So a bit more powerful than the Silverwing...
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Ever have one of those games?
:-) Where EVERYTHING that could go wrong did? Played partnered up with a DA player who brought a Ravenwing force... Seemed a fairly decent one, I'm still unconvinced that the Black Knights are at all worth it, but on paper they look neat... So, I had my Scouts behind enemy lines and my big Grey Hunter squad flanked with a Wolf Guard in Termi Armor and the Wolf Priest (who I had upgraded to Runic Armor)... They both arrived on Turn 2, catching the enemy in their DZ lining up for some REALLY good rear arc shots... Scouts missed with everything but the Plasma Pistol, which failed to penetrate the 11 Armor. Next turn they were wiped out by a single weapon... The Grey Hunters, despite a LOT of Preferred Enemy shooting, several Meltas, Plasma, etc... Hit a Tau skimmer with a 4+ cover save... All told with insane rolling on his part, a single HP got through (a Bolter glance). Next turn the squad dropped to 2 Grey Hunters and the Priest... Who split off and charged a separate unit as the Jaegers got shot out of existence on overwatch fire... Oh, and after their lone flier came in to wipe out 1 squad/turn for both turns it was there my sole remaining model, a Razorback decided to suicide by doing 2 HP to ITSELF... Twin linked Plasma Gun missed twice, snake eyes on re-roll followed by 2 fails on the "Gets Hot"... Yea. Perfect ending for that game though :-) If you are going to fail, do so in an epic fashion...
Mostly a lot of bad dice on our side and really good dice on theirs... Am thinking the Tau are going to be a powerful force though... A LOT of twin linking, and the ability to "cover" each other with a metric crapload of overwatch fire makes charging with small units a difficult thing... I think it will matter much less against a large force or one with really good defenses, etc...
Still having NO defenses against a flier for my Wolves really I think hurt almost as much as the failed end run... With complete impunity the IG flier was able to just roll in, destroy one small squad/turn and there was nothing at all I could realistically do to prevent it... Wonder if I will have to run a Land Raider or a Bastion to sit my AAA in... Might wind up running the Raider just to see...
Mostly a lot of bad dice on our side and really good dice on theirs... Am thinking the Tau are going to be a powerful force though... A LOT of twin linking, and the ability to "cover" each other with a metric crapload of overwatch fire makes charging with small units a difficult thing... I think it will matter much less against a large force or one with really good defenses, etc...
Still having NO defenses against a flier for my Wolves really I think hurt almost as much as the failed end run... With complete impunity the IG flier was able to just roll in, destroy one small squad/turn and there was nothing at all I could realistically do to prevent it... Wonder if I will have to run a Land Raider or a Bastion to sit my AAA in... Might wind up running the Raider just to see...
Monday, April 8, 2013
This week's 1k list... Wolves again...
So, looking at bringing the following:
Wolf Priest (Saga of the Hunter, has the 4++, Power Mace)
Grey Hunters (10, Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon, Flamer, Melta, MotW, Banner)
Grey Hunters (5, Razorback w/LC TLPG, Flamer, MotW)
Grey Hunters (5, Razorback w/ TLAC, Flamer, MotW)
Long Fangs (5, 3 ML, HB, SGT)
Wolf Guard (3, Combi Melta, PW?)
Wolf Scouts (Melta)
So, for 1000 points, a lot of bodies and even 2 light tank/transports... Counting on Flank/Behind Enemy Lines to deliver a lot of the lads where they need to go and frankly NOT be on the table getting shot up from the beginning... I'm not really liking the "light" Wolf Scouts, I'd like to throw some more points in there for things like MotW, a few Melta Bombs and Plasma Pistols, but the low points is REALLY a limiting factor here. Guessing they'll be a "line breaker" unit and something to try for a tank/camping unit kill... Still, just 5 guys in 4+ armor, so not something I'd be banking on. I'm much more confident in the 10 man Grey Hunter squad with attached Wolf Guard and Wolf Priest Outflanking. With the now mostly useless "senses", they'll likely come in on the side I want, and 12 guys fully kitted out in actual Powered Armor along with a few Characters to take challenges as needed... Well, guessing it will work out at least once before folks start putting their stuff in the center of the field to avoid my lads... Screens will work too, but really not so sure how often I'll be seeing them here locally for now... Gone are the days of IG "blobs" simply lining the DZ to keep out flankers. More realistic concern is that I may run into an IG (or other) tank parking lot and be unable to get to the important things, perhaps just hitting a Rhino/Chimera before getting shot out of existence... So, like I said, this thing I think has a limited number of uses before the locals at least react and have very solid plans to deal with my one trick Army...
Still, ~20 points left over... I can get Runic Armor for the Priest, I guess 2+ would be nice for him, just not so sure how often really... Another HB Long Fang would fit nicely, or perhaps a Plasma Pistol and Melta Bomb for the Scouts? Leaning toward more offensive firepower (Plasma Pistol/Melta), but the 2+/4++ might just give the Jaegers the staying power to win me some games... Doing the math however, I look better putting the Terminator Armor on the Wolf Guard as it comes to the same bloody point cost as I had them originally... +5 points to change the SB to Combi Weapon... So, that and Plasma Pistol in the Scouts I guess...
With enough more points of course, the Wolf Guard would have 5 members and one would be kitted out with Terminator Armor and a CML to get himself attached to the Long Fangs... Would likely also have the Flankers joined by a WG in Terminator Armor for the Combi Weapon and Power Weapon... They are prohibited from joining the Scouts in Terminator Armor, but nothing prevents Grey Hunters as far as I can see... Seems a bit silly, bulky Terminator Armor being snuck around to hit a flank, but no more silly than the Legion that used to be "Planetary Assault Specialists" now fearing teleporters and Jump Packs... So, at least I have the framework for 1500-1850 point games... We mostly play 1850 locally, so most of what I do is with that level in mind... Guessing my Heavies get the Vindicator and maybe a Predator? 2 Long Fang squads is neat, but with so bloody many of the Heldrakes locally, they simply cannot do heir jobs anymore... Elite might well get a DN... The TLAC mount is pretty stable, and will almost always put 3 Str 7 hits on target... May well never actually kill anything with AP 4, but light vehicles and maybe even light fliers may well be worried... I've never really been a fan of Lone Wolves, and ALWAYS bring Wolf Guard, so my Elites are pretty well set. Fast Attack? Eh... While I liked fielding my Rackham/Confrontation Wolfen as "Thunderwolf Cavalry, I see way too much locally that will just shoot them off the board. I can only make so many 3+/3++ saves... Speeders I have, and if I really feel like resurrecting one or three... "Eh" again. So fragile. I always joked they were my "guided missiles", and the new edition has really solidified that opinion for me... Bike squad? Maybe... Still not liking the silly shooting restriction, BS/WS 3 and higher cost overall... The Attack bike is cheap, but you get what you pay for. Worse than IG crew... Eh. The Land Raider as either a dedicated transport for the Wolf Guard or just a Heavy on it's own might be amusing... If I didn't regularly see 2-3 LR Vanquishers in several of the IG lists locally, the "Death Ray" weren't so bloody good, or there was some realistic defense against someone just dropping Melta on top of my position I could see bringing the 250+ point vehicle. I like them, I really do... Just that even with 4 HP, they mostly just die to Melta appearing before they really get rolling or do much of anything. Yes, I did the DA LR of silliness with the (for them ) IC Techmarine giving the 4++ save and repairs from inside the vehicle... DAMN expensive and while it usually worked for what it was, there were several instances of if simply being killed by say, a Necron Chariot fly by... Lacking however the IC status on my bloody Iron Priest and the 4++ save? Not yet... Maybe in a big enough game where I can realistically protect the tank...
OK, enough random long term planning, back to the game at hand... Still not a lot of heavy anti tank, nor do I really have an answer for the fliers other than trying to outlast them... I do think with the limits in the league I WILL have enough AT firepower, it is mostly the AAA that I am concerned about... Though I guess I can hope they bring an Aegis line and just walk on to steal the gun... Or that time runs out...
Wolf Priest (Saga of the Hunter, has the 4++, Power Mace)
Grey Hunters (10, Plasma Pistol, Power Weapon, Flamer, Melta, MotW, Banner)
Grey Hunters (5, Razorback w/LC TLPG, Flamer, MotW)
Grey Hunters (5, Razorback w/ TLAC, Flamer, MotW)
Long Fangs (5, 3 ML, HB, SGT)
Wolf Guard (3, Combi Melta, PW?)
Wolf Scouts (Melta)
So, for 1000 points, a lot of bodies and even 2 light tank/transports... Counting on Flank/Behind Enemy Lines to deliver a lot of the lads where they need to go and frankly NOT be on the table getting shot up from the beginning... I'm not really liking the "light" Wolf Scouts, I'd like to throw some more points in there for things like MotW, a few Melta Bombs and Plasma Pistols, but the low points is REALLY a limiting factor here. Guessing they'll be a "line breaker" unit and something to try for a tank/camping unit kill... Still, just 5 guys in 4+ armor, so not something I'd be banking on. I'm much more confident in the 10 man Grey Hunter squad with attached Wolf Guard and Wolf Priest Outflanking. With the now mostly useless "senses", they'll likely come in on the side I want, and 12 guys fully kitted out in actual Powered Armor along with a few Characters to take challenges as needed... Well, guessing it will work out at least once before folks start putting their stuff in the center of the field to avoid my lads... Screens will work too, but really not so sure how often I'll be seeing them here locally for now... Gone are the days of IG "blobs" simply lining the DZ to keep out flankers. More realistic concern is that I may run into an IG (or other) tank parking lot and be unable to get to the important things, perhaps just hitting a Rhino/Chimera before getting shot out of existence... So, like I said, this thing I think has a limited number of uses before the locals at least react and have very solid plans to deal with my one trick Army...
Still, ~20 points left over... I can get Runic Armor for the Priest, I guess 2+ would be nice for him, just not so sure how often really... Another HB Long Fang would fit nicely, or perhaps a Plasma Pistol and Melta Bomb for the Scouts? Leaning toward more offensive firepower (Plasma Pistol/Melta), but the 2+/4++ might just give the Jaegers the staying power to win me some games... Doing the math however, I look better putting the Terminator Armor on the Wolf Guard as it comes to the same bloody point cost as I had them originally... +5 points to change the SB to Combi Weapon... So, that and Plasma Pistol in the Scouts I guess...
With enough more points of course, the Wolf Guard would have 5 members and one would be kitted out with Terminator Armor and a CML to get himself attached to the Long Fangs... Would likely also have the Flankers joined by a WG in Terminator Armor for the Combi Weapon and Power Weapon... They are prohibited from joining the Scouts in Terminator Armor, but nothing prevents Grey Hunters as far as I can see... Seems a bit silly, bulky Terminator Armor being snuck around to hit a flank, but no more silly than the Legion that used to be "Planetary Assault Specialists" now fearing teleporters and Jump Packs... So, at least I have the framework for 1500-1850 point games... We mostly play 1850 locally, so most of what I do is with that level in mind... Guessing my Heavies get the Vindicator and maybe a Predator? 2 Long Fang squads is neat, but with so bloody many of the Heldrakes locally, they simply cannot do heir jobs anymore... Elite might well get a DN... The TLAC mount is pretty stable, and will almost always put 3 Str 7 hits on target... May well never actually kill anything with AP 4, but light vehicles and maybe even light fliers may well be worried... I've never really been a fan of Lone Wolves, and ALWAYS bring Wolf Guard, so my Elites are pretty well set. Fast Attack? Eh... While I liked fielding my Rackham/Confrontation Wolfen as "Thunderwolf Cavalry, I see way too much locally that will just shoot them off the board. I can only make so many 3+/3++ saves... Speeders I have, and if I really feel like resurrecting one or three... "Eh" again. So fragile. I always joked they were my "guided missiles", and the new edition has really solidified that opinion for me... Bike squad? Maybe... Still not liking the silly shooting restriction, BS/WS 3 and higher cost overall... The Attack bike is cheap, but you get what you pay for. Worse than IG crew... Eh. The Land Raider as either a dedicated transport for the Wolf Guard or just a Heavy on it's own might be amusing... If I didn't regularly see 2-3 LR Vanquishers in several of the IG lists locally, the "Death Ray" weren't so bloody good, or there was some realistic defense against someone just dropping Melta on top of my position I could see bringing the 250+ point vehicle. I like them, I really do... Just that even with 4 HP, they mostly just die to Melta appearing before they really get rolling or do much of anything. Yes, I did the DA LR of silliness with the (for them ) IC Techmarine giving the 4++ save and repairs from inside the vehicle... DAMN expensive and while it usually worked for what it was, there were several instances of if simply being killed by say, a Necron Chariot fly by... Lacking however the IC status on my bloody Iron Priest and the 4++ save? Not yet... Maybe in a big enough game where I can realistically protect the tank...
OK, enough random long term planning, back to the game at hand... Still not a lot of heavy anti tank, nor do I really have an answer for the fliers other than trying to outlast them... I do think with the limits in the league I WILL have enough AT firepower, it is mostly the AAA that I am concerned about... Though I guess I can hope they bring an Aegis line and just walk on to steal the gun... Or that time runs out...
Friday, April 5, 2013
Claws = Crap for Wolves?
:-) Yeah, trying hard to rebuild my ancient Wolves army... Finding the running theme of Claw = Crap though.
So, Blood Claws, I can have up to 15 crappy Marines. Iff I have 15, I can get a second Special Weapon, but I shoot WORSE than IG. At least around here, Vet Squads hit the field a lot... I can get a single Power Weapon... Yea? Oh, and unless I have them on leashes the give up their shooting attacks and try to charge. I can get a special character... But wait, the rules for Loki or Lukas do not actually work until he is alone or in a Challenge. They didn't work in 5th either, which led me to question whether the designers actually play the game... To create a unit with so many special rules and a really nice miniature only to find out that it is massively overpriced (in game, $ wise I was fine with the figure) and confusing as the special rules were things that will NEVER actually occur in the course of a normal game... In the edition the book was written in at least. Now, well, he is a Character and so can Challenge/Accept Challenges... So on the off chance you field them, AND he survives long enough to actually get into HtH, etc... Eh. Guessing I'll never see it actually fielded...
Sky Claws are overpriced Jump Infantry, and Swift Claws are overpriced Bikers... Guess the bikes at least suck less. Irks me as I still have the Jump Troops from 2nd edition, and I REALLY like Jump Troops... Just that they have the Blood Claw disadvantages... In one FAQ I WAS able to give a Wolf Guard a Jump Pack and assign him to the squad... Then it got erased a few days later... So, I can have wild berserkers on their own OR I could spend a bunch of points on an actual Character to kind of keep them in line until they get killed off.. Eh at best...
Wolf Claws? So re-rolling either the to hit or to Wound... I think I can honestly say I almost never use them as anything other than "Lightning Claws" for the re-roll on to wound, but... Not horrible, but I'm having a hard time seeing it as worth it :-)... A shame, I really like the weapon, just seldom use them, especially as they are AP 3 and by and large preclude shooting which the Wolves actually do quite well... NOT as well as my Grey Knights, whose "claws" do not in fact prevent the shooting...
:-) Painting coming along... Grey Hunters are actually looking "tabletop good"... Fur actually looks like fur, and fully painted army is looking possible... The vehicles on the other hand... Well, I have a LONG way to go on that...
So, Blood Claws, I can have up to 15 crappy Marines. Iff I have 15, I can get a second Special Weapon, but I shoot WORSE than IG. At least around here, Vet Squads hit the field a lot... I can get a single Power Weapon... Yea? Oh, and unless I have them on leashes the give up their shooting attacks and try to charge. I can get a special character... But wait, the rules for Loki or Lukas do not actually work until he is alone or in a Challenge. They didn't work in 5th either, which led me to question whether the designers actually play the game... To create a unit with so many special rules and a really nice miniature only to find out that it is massively overpriced (in game, $ wise I was fine with the figure) and confusing as the special rules were things that will NEVER actually occur in the course of a normal game... In the edition the book was written in at least. Now, well, he is a Character and so can Challenge/Accept Challenges... So on the off chance you field them, AND he survives long enough to actually get into HtH, etc... Eh. Guessing I'll never see it actually fielded...
Sky Claws are overpriced Jump Infantry, and Swift Claws are overpriced Bikers... Guess the bikes at least suck less. Irks me as I still have the Jump Troops from 2nd edition, and I REALLY like Jump Troops... Just that they have the Blood Claw disadvantages... In one FAQ I WAS able to give a Wolf Guard a Jump Pack and assign him to the squad... Then it got erased a few days later... So, I can have wild berserkers on their own OR I could spend a bunch of points on an actual Character to kind of keep them in line until they get killed off.. Eh at best...
Wolf Claws? So re-rolling either the to hit or to Wound... I think I can honestly say I almost never use them as anything other than "Lightning Claws" for the re-roll on to wound, but... Not horrible, but I'm having a hard time seeing it as worth it :-)... A shame, I really like the weapon, just seldom use them, especially as they are AP 3 and by and large preclude shooting which the Wolves actually do quite well... NOT as well as my Grey Knights, whose "claws" do not in fact prevent the shooting...
:-) Painting coming along... Grey Hunters are actually looking "tabletop good"... Fur actually looks like fur, and fully painted army is looking possible... The vehicles on the other hand... Well, I have a LONG way to go on that...
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Wolves again, maybe it will work again...
Well, Bran Redmaw worked well in his own way... OK suspect that it would be far better at higher point levels though. 210 for one figure in a 1000 point game is a LOT... So, replacing him with a Wolf Priest who has "Saga of the Hunter" is 110 points. This gives me preferred enemy against one "type" and frankly the Chaplain types are all fairly well equipped for whatever they face... The WGBL could come close and likely be better if slightly more expensive... But the loss of Fearless and Preferred Enemy for the Grey Hunter squad makes it far less likely for me... So, I tool out a full squad of Jaegers... Bring a Wolf Guard and the Priest for the 12 man squad with a mess of special weapons and rules to hit a flank...
The cost reduction also gives me the ability to field a squad of Scouts... More bodies and "Behind Enemy Lines" with Meltas huge locally with so many tanks... Until people figure out that an Aegis line with Quad Gun kills the Scouts as s they deploy... But for now not seeing many of them...
Another note... I bring all of my Jaegers with MotW and special weapons... Plasma and/or power weapons if I can as well... Yes, fewer bodies overall but the lads are there to fight not just bring the Razorback and be technically scoring... Everyone shows up to fight in my lists... I guess I am also not so averse to bringing Plasma weapons, just that they cost a LOT more than I think they should given the cost of Melta... And since I actually have some of the ancient Wolf Scouts w/ Plasma pistols, guess I field them in place of my old Power Weapons that used to actually be quite good... Just not being able to assault out of Reserve these days means we're kind of stuck for at least a turn... MotW on the other hand... I'm going to have to modify the lone Sniper I have for the lads in some way I think... Spending the 3 points on the SR seems silly at times, but 36" range is nice later in the game or if I just roll REALLY badly on the board edge roll... And it's not like I am actually giving up a HtH attack with the d6+1 attacks for the Werewolf...
The cost reduction also gives me the ability to field a squad of Scouts... More bodies and "Behind Enemy Lines" with Meltas huge locally with so many tanks... Until people figure out that an Aegis line with Quad Gun kills the Scouts as s they deploy... But for now not seeing many of them...
Another note... I bring all of my Jaegers with MotW and special weapons... Plasma and/or power weapons if I can as well... Yes, fewer bodies overall but the lads are there to fight not just bring the Razorback and be technically scoring... Everyone shows up to fight in my lists... I guess I am also not so averse to bringing Plasma weapons, just that they cost a LOT more than I think they should given the cost of Melta... And since I actually have some of the ancient Wolf Scouts w/ Plasma pistols, guess I field them in place of my old Power Weapons that used to actually be quite good... Just not being able to assault out of Reserve these days means we're kind of stuck for at least a turn... MotW on the other hand... I'm going to have to modify the lone Sniper I have for the lads in some way I think... Spending the 3 points on the SR seems silly at times, but 36" range is nice later in the game or if I just roll REALLY badly on the board edge roll... And it's not like I am actually giving up a HtH attack with the d6+1 attacks for the Werewolf...
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
So, Wolves for the win, but...
Well, we won... so good I guess. But just not so sure, I fielded:
Bran Redmaw
10 man Hunter squad with 2 melts, MotW
2 x 5 man Hunter squads w saw, MotW in Razorbacks...
Long fangs w 4 ml
Wolf guard, 3 with combi weapons...
So essentially I have the one squad go behind enemy lines an Bran riding a flank with the second... Kind of counting on slow opponents who cannot take advantage of 2/3 of my points starting off the table... So, can win but still have some doubts... still, getting the lads painted...
Bran Redmaw
10 man Hunter squad with 2 melts, MotW
2 x 5 man Hunter squads w saw, MotW in Razorbacks...
Long fangs w 4 ml
Wolf guard, 3 with combi weapons...
So essentially I have the one squad go behind enemy lines an Bran riding a flank with the second... Kind of counting on slow opponents who cannot take advantage of 2/3 of my points starting off the table... So, can win but still have some doubts... still, getting the lads painted...
Friday, March 29, 2013
Outflank rules question
So, Bran Redmaw has the saga of the hunter... Allows outflank. So, were I to deploy him in say, a Grey Hunter unit in a Razorback... Would the reserved unit be able to flank? I am thinking so, but not sure that declaring the IC to be with the unit makes it "part of" the unit... If so, neat... I just have to keep at or above 50% deployed normally with one Grey Hunter unit getting Wolf Scout deployment rules (behind enemy lines)... So need 3 things at least to deploy...
Liking the Werewolf aspect... Doubt he'll be worth the 210 points, but might be fun...
Liking the Werewolf aspect... Doubt he'll be worth the 210 points, but might be fun...
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