couple of rules questions...

Sitting at doctor office and have a few minutes....

So, here goes...

For the purposes of the Banner of devestation what all counts as a Bolter?  Hurricane Bilters list as "3 twin linked bolters fired as a single weapon", so I would say yes...  Likewise bikes have the tl Bolter, assuming that too...  Combi weapons? Yes?

Do "bubble" effects work from within a Vehicle?  The Sanguinary Priest's does, so I am going with the assumption that it is "yes"...  So the Banner and Power Field inside the Land Raider would have a fairly big "footprint" on the field...

Thinking that I might have to run a Heavy Bolter in one of the Squadrons of Ravenwing that I keep near the LR/Banner...  Just to be able to cause casualties at ranges greater than 24" via the new FAQ...  Potentially 28 TL Bolter shots should do a few wounds on whatever, but I am more concerned about hitting IG Blob/Chaos Cultist squads and only being able to do a few casualties if we end up dancing on the edge of 24" range...

Guessing the biggest thing I am really concerned about is the verdamnten Heldrake...  I just don't have a good answer to that.  Though giving all of my lads huddled around the LR a 4++ might help...  2 ML with the Flak missiles are not I think the answer to deal with AV 12 fliers, and while the Salvo of Bolter fire might work should one present a Rear arc shot...  Unlikely I would say...

1850 DA, This time formatted better...

Yeah, kind of doing a free range ramble on the last post there...  On one hand, really unfocused on the surface...  But thanks GraveMind!  That Power Field suggestion is looking like a really good one...  And amusing with the Techmarine riding in and hopefully repairing the LR...

So:
Azrael
Command Squad w/ Banner of Devastation, Company Champion
Techmarine w/ Servo and Power Field
Deathwing Squad (10, 2 CML, 4 TH/SS)
2 Tactical Squads (10 man each, Flamer, ML w/ Flak)
Ravenwing Squadron (6 Bikes, Attack Bike w/MM, 1-2 Melta guns?)

Getting pretty close to the end there...  I'd LIKE to fit in a Hyperion ML turret or three at 35 points each, but I should have a fair amount of resilient scoring presence on the field with this...  Al LD 10 or Fearless, loads of 4++ saves, some upgraded cover saves hopefully...  Not the same hyper aggressive force I normally play with my Fleshtearers, Wolves or even my Crimson Fists, but I DO think it will work well, assuming the Banner and Power Field both project their bubble around the Land Raider hull...

DA back to 1850...

Back to "normal" games...  Not sure if the weather will permit the motorcycle next week or not, but in any case I tend to have a "set" army list or two that can be easily transported via bike or truck...

So here goes:
Azrael or Belial...  Still deciding here.  Azrael gives me Ld 10 and that's pretty nice...  Deathwing/Ravenwing Troops...  Belial makes the DW Troops...  If I bring them, really feel I need to Deepstrike to get the full advantage.  Belial would not scatter and has the Homer for follow on forces.  Been playing DW Assault wrong, it is only one, they ALL come in at once, no choosing for each unit...  Still, turn one, good odds on the lads coming in on turn 2 to support...  Azrael if I can find some points for a Ravenwing squad I guess for the extra Homers...

2 Squads of PA Troops...  8 Bolters each, Flamer and Missile Launcher w/ Flak rounds.  Probably should mention that I am bringing a Command Squad as well...  They'll have the Banner of Detestation and ride in my Land Raider Crusader.  Now, as I am reading it, the Hurricane Bolters are listed in the Codex as 3 twin linked Bolters that fire as a single weapon...  And the Banner makes the Bolters Salvo 2/4...  Being Vehicle Mounted, they should always fire as if stationary.  So 24 shots/turn, twin linked, and the 2 squads (4 if Combat Squad) of lads on the outside to be a buffer...  LD 10, Stubborn, with the potential for 32 more Bolter shots each...  Yes, I COULD bring more, but I am honestly more concerned with things not easily brought down by Bolters ..

Deathwing Squad, maybe 2...  Or one and one Ravenwing Squadron to give me Homers and a fast moving platform...  Maybe they park in front of the LRC to take advantage of the Banner for the start of the game... :-)  Does sound like a bit of fun...  Bonus they're ALL Troops, can throw down a metric crapton (Yes, the Metric one IS bigger) of fire...

Yeah, posted quicker than I should have...  In the LRC and attached to the Command Squad will be a Techmarine...  Thought it was a bit light...  So, depends a bit on whether the Hurricane Bolters are counted as "Bolters", else I can just bring a standard "Godhammer" class Land Raider for the TL Las Cannons...  Am feeling a bit light on the AAA/AT firepower...  But I may just be paranoid...

Ah, Campaign games...

Yeah, remembering again why I do not like GW's campaign games.  There is almost never any thought given to "balance" or anything of that sort.  The game last night illustrated it very painfully.  And I am most certainly NOT faulting the players for running armies that exploited the poorly written rules for the scenario...  Just that Fliers, which are already "somewhat overpowered" got a bunch of bonuses and Reserves being able to come in anywhere on the Station meant that people bringing in late reserves were able to simply walk on and take Objectives...  Things like "Send in the Next Wave" for the IG were REALLY powerful as the 30 man unit could just keep walking in wherever they wanted, fire their now with Rending las guns, kill a bunch of things and then die to reappear next turn somewhere else...  Yeah, Rending for all attacks EXCEPT against Necrons and Demons...

Just poorly written and unbalanced rules.  Not a major problem if you are doing this as a "beer and pretzels" thing with a group of buddies, and since that appears to be the GW philosophy for most of their stuff, unsurprising.  Problem if you are wanting to inject this into a competitive league where there is money on the table.  Mind, I am not stressing/stressed about this, if I happen to win, great, else as long as I have fun playing then I consider the league fees to be money well spent.  This was not a fun game.  One of the reasons I stopped playing a lot of Privateer Press league stuff, the scenarios were, to put it nicely "poorly written".  Just led to games that were no fun whatever for one or both players.  Kind of easy to burn out on a system when you pay to play, must play with their models (no proxies/3rd party stuff allowed) and then feel like you get thrown into a game you cannot win, no matter what.  NOT the situation in the 40K league, we're all about proxies, 3rd party stuff is fine, etc...  Just that some of these special ones like this just kill off a lot of the "good feelings" we get from playing most of the games.

Anyway, back to 1850 games next week, so I can actually field a regular army...  Looking forward to that.  I might even get to play :-)

750 DA for the "Crusade of Fire" space station game

Well, we're playing the "Space Station" game in the Crusade of Fire campaign tomorrow...

Playing DA, I do not have much choice...  I more or less need Belial to keep my Deathwing Troops (Yes, I could bring Azrael, but...), so that eats up 190 of it right off the top.  Filling out one DW squad, 440 points and I need the 2 heavy weapons and a number of the Storm Shields...  So that's about it.  I COULD skimp on the squad, bring 2 5 man Squads, or maybe even bring a small Assault Squad.  The special rules for the game include things like movement being like Jump for normal Infantry, if they are Jump, double move...  Minus side, Difficult Terrain test, but potential 24" move for Jump Troops?  Thinking the BA will be WAY too fast for most people to react to in this one.  Jump Terminators might be amusing...  But one of the other rules being a 6 on the "to wound" makes it AP 2...  Just thinking this will suck for me.  And considering that Chaos gets free Demos squads every turn to appear and assault...  Has the makings of a REALLY short game for my lads.  Looking at maybe 11 bodies on the table, and the potential for everything Rending...

Most of the other rules for me are less relevant for me with most of my lads coming in via Deep Strike/Teleport in any case...  Belial does not miss his, and has a Homer in the event I bring 2 Squads and want to keep them together.  Guess we'll see, but my list is more or less fixed...  Have to say these small games are the most difficult for me since I can only being a little...  Just concerned that there will be NO balance in the game as no one can bring effective AAA if fliers are allowed...  And hordes are just going to be silly...

Thoughts on the new DA codex/FAQs...

So, got in a few games with the new book, and overall I am VERY happy with the book and the overall direction GW seems to be taking with the Chaos and DA books...  Assuming they continue this going forward of course...

The book itself has a good number of options, many of which seem viable as Army builds.  My "Subtle, like Sledgehammer" build of the Deathwing Assault is REALLY good now.  Belial and Azrael both open up Deathwing Terminator Squads as Troops, and Azrael also opens up Ravenwing Bikes to match Sammael (Master of the Ravenwing).  Focusing mostly on Belial for me, he went up in cost from 130 to 190, but the new Deathwing Assault (DWA) rules are REALLY good.  I ran him with a DW Command Squad, but I do think he would be better off in a line DW Squad...  His precision assault combined with the twin linked shooting the turn they deep strike in means I can really simply place the DW Squad 1"away from, say, a Scout Squad hiding behind the Aegis Line and fry a bunch of them.  Oh, and Split fire means we can ALSO shoot at something else altogether :-)...The Command Squads is nice, but not scoring and fixed at 5 seems like it is something for larger games...  The Apothecary is nice, the Company Champion is REALLY good (Str 7 AP2 weapon?  Yes, please...  And just +5 points?), but a single Heavy Weapon and just not THAT much weight of firepower means this just might not be the normal route for me.  DW Knights are another interesting one...  Their weapons are modified Power Mauls, so Str +2, AP 4...  Except against their Preferred Enemies, Chaos Marines.  They get -1 AP...  The Flail used by the SGT here IS AP 3 to start, so he could be a Terminator killer if it came to that...  Storm Shields, Hammer of Wrath and +1 T if they are in BtB with 2 others?  Not much more expensive than my "line squads", but no shooting at all and no way to make them Scoring would I think make them an expensive "linebreaker" unit...  I can see using them, and probably running them in a Land Raider Crusader...  If I were playing a stupid expensive list, I might give them the Banner of Devastation turning the Bolters to Salvo 2/4 weapons...  Park it in the middle of 3+ squads of Tac Marines for the sheer number of Bolter shots as I park on an objective.  Dare them to let me charge with the Knights after they make it through the firepower...  Silly, expensive, but might be amusing...

The other thing I am really liking is the ancient Missile Launcher getting Flak...  Yes, you have to pay to upgrade, but silly at this point NOT to.  Seeing a lot of fliers and looking like more are inbound soon.  The FAQ change limiting casualties to only include models in range of at least one weapon also makes inclusion of a Heavy a good idea.  It does not need to hit, just be ABLE to cause a casualty out to 36 or 48" range (AFAIK, I could be wrong, going from memory here), and having the ability to slap down a 5 man squad with AAA in the form of a ML seems like a good thing.  Down side, you might well be giving up "First Blood" playing with a min sized squad and the Chaos Heldrake is now REALLY powerful (no cover on vector strikes and the AP 3 heavy flamer has a 360 arc)...  Conceivable that one simply flying over could wipe out or almost wipe one while the Flamwerfer toasts another.  Since my only other defense against that is "gee, I hope he rolls lots of 1's" or perhaps a Bastion?

Have to admit the Bastion is growing on me.  Yes, it is a death trap if someone brings a Melta or similarly armed unit down specifically to deal with it...  But it is also a good way to get AAA with a quad gun or heavy laser.  And a squad inside could occupy and fire the Heavy Bolters and shoot their own weapons as well.  So Flak missiles and the Las Cannon probably for me...  Dunno :-)  Hobby budget for the month blown getting the DW Command box and book...  But given measurements I HAVE a full shop downstairs...  Hmmm...

Oh, and have to say that the DW Command box set is one that is certainly well worth it.  Especially if, like me, you have an existing DW Army, and maybe more than a few Terminators around to modify.  3 full sprues, options to make the Knights, Command Squad and normal Deathwing...  Including ALL of the possible options like Heavy Flamer, Assault Cannon, Cyclone Missile and the new Heavy Plasma...  Neat, and I am betting that I will use every piece in the box converting a large number of my existing DW models as well as piecing together the 5 that come in the box...  This one I do think is well worth the $60 price tag, I can't say the same for the new speeder variants or fliers...  Maybe it is just my bias of not really liking the model in the case of the Speeder or the completely underwhelming game stats in the case of the flier.

Free ranging ranting, moving from the cost of the Fliers to their in game use...  I think the recent fliers, in general, are costed out pretty well.  Not too horribly overpowered and relatively easy to deal with.  Exception being the Chaos Dragon...  Playing normal Marines, I do not really have a good way to deal with it as my Crimson Fists found...  Deathwing are less vulnerable, but I dread bringing my Grey Hunters out of hibernation.  Conversely, my IG probably worry the least about the Drakon...  Losing d3+1 models to flyby and then a single flamer?  "Eh", they take worse casualties hitting the mess hall...  The issue I have is with the older ones that got "Flier" tagged onto them and some of the Forgeworld ones.  Vendetta/Valkyrie is VASTLY undercosted for the new rule set...  It was too cheap in 5th before becoming a Flier, now looking around at the competitive armies it is unsurprising how many are included.  Have to admit that sort of stalled out my drive to make my Steampunk "Airship" versions.  Really not wanting to just be one of the crowd there...  So, still building them, just pushed back a bit on the workbench...  The Forgeworld stuff is going to be problematic I think.  AV 13 fliers with twin linked 5" template Melta weapons?  Maybe a bit too much, being completely immune to a lot of ground fire...  And the dirt cheap weapon platforms in the Aero book...  No one using them locally yet, but I have to admit they are becoming a major temptation for me...  Hyperios ADA Btty and the Contemptor DN's are both thing I would use in an instant...  I'd ALMOST feel bad using some things like the Land Raider immune to Lance and Melta, so those are likely out...  But the ADA Btty would be something CHEAP points wise I could throw together myself...  35 points/platform for the Str 8, AP 3 Skyfire, Interceptor missile?  Btty of 1-4, and potentially split fire?  Hmm, let's think it through...  No, really no need, it is really almost too good in and of itself with Interceptor being able to fire at things arriving from Reserve, so Drop pod troops, flankers, etc...  Almost never going to be a useless investment...  Thinking I can put my Whirlwind missile packs on a platform for use as this...  So, will have to get the ruling about "homemade" Forgeworld rules units... (edited for spelling, slipped back to Scottish I guess for a bit...)

New Dark Angels...

So, picked up the codex today at the Gopher :-)  Looking good so far.  I was using Belial, or the Consecrator's equivalent to make Deathwing Troops.  The 5 man squads were pretty darn good so was pretty hopeful they would at least NOT mess that up...  Nope.  The Terminator squads are a bit more expensive, but I can get 10/Squad, they are Twin linked on the turn they Deep Strike in, can still mix in TH/SS and LC with the shooters... Oh, and they can split fire as well...  And the first actual NEW Terminator weapon since the RT era...  We can get a Plasma Cannon :-)...  Not really all that great an option I think overall as you cannot snap fire or shoot at Fliers...  But I'll be modeling at least one to give it a shot as it were...  Might work well given the "foot" heavy focus that this edition seems to be having at least locally...  Belial himself has gone up in points from 130 to 190, but there are a LOT of new rules for him...  His squad does not deviate on Deep Strike, he gets precision shot on a 5+ rather than 6+, he has a Teleport Homer, 4++ save and his sword is fleshbane (wounds on 2+ like the Eldar Witch Blades)...

Azrael makes the Ravenwing and Deathwing Troops...  Gives his squad a 4++, gets to choose his Warlord trait from the DA specific ones...  Pretty powerful, and coming in at 215 points he is NOT bad at all...  Longer term, I will definitely play that force...  Maybe the 1-2 punch, but that is 400 points for my army...  Doubt I could go for that...But still, one or the other I think and I will have a pretty darn good force to lead out my lads.  I am also thinking that a Bastion will probably be used :-)...  Park the objective there, a squad of Deathwing with him for the 2+/4++, FnP, Fearless, Split fire?  Good luck getting them off the Objective...

So, more to read, and a bunch more to paint I guess...

The next batch...

Well, here's the next batch of the lads on the way to get the Minwax/Matte coating...  Oh, and one of these things is not like the others :-)

Random ancient High Elf in there to test paint scheme...  Guess I will be painting up one of the ancient Elf armies I have around, I had High and Wood Elf armies in the ancient times...  Not thinking that Warhammer will start up any time soon, but these things have been around here bloody forever and something to break up the monotony of painting the Redcoats...

I also threw together one of my ancient "Assault Marines"/Grey Hunters with my new paint scheme for my old Wolves...

No REAL plans on redoing the Wolves in the short term, but I am pretty happy how this one came out so I think I have my basics set for them.

Also gathering up my Consecrators (Dark Angels)...  I had almost forgotten about the ancient "beakies" I have for the Consecrators as they probably haven't hit the table since 2nd Edition...  But another 50 or so "Basic Marines" to go along with my 60 or so Terminators.  So, really no matter what the new book has in it, I am set for "basic troops"...  Curious what the vehicles and Aircraft are going to do, but seeing the price tag, well...  Not likely I'll be picking up a lot of them...

Redcoats everywhere...

Well, getting over the plague again...  I didn't get hit nearly so badly as my wife and kids, but that did kill a lot of my "hobby" time...  So, just got back to painting a bit last night and I got the main hull cut out of press-board for the Airship...

Another random "concept" shot:

Oh, got a new phone last week too, and it does take some amazing pictures...

The lads are coming along, still not COMPLETELY bored and burned out...  Still have yet to actually play the army in this edition though...  Played against it a fair number of times, and I think this codex is certainly still among the more powerful ones.  Getting the vehicles repainted in the "Brown Violet" (what I used to call OD Green, Vallejo Flames of War paints), coming along slowly as I am focusing mostly on the "Light Rifles" for the moment.  I do not have any particular doubt that the Armored Division approach is still insanely powerful, at least in our local scene...  So filling the ancient Armory/Chessex figure case with repainted and sealed minis...  And realizing that I'll be filling 2 cases for my Infantry alone...

All of this is just in time for the DA codex to be released...  I'll be dropping by the Gopher later to pre-order/pay for one...  So, looking like one of my 2 4th edition Codices  will be updated...  I'll be in my "Wait and See" mode for this as well.  I HAVE a giant Deathwing based force already, if the Terminators are viable still as rumored, might be breaking out my Consecrators for a bit while the Praetorians get redone...  Will likely be fabricating weapon swaps and doing more magnets as I see what I can actually field in the new era...  Guessing my old standard 5 man unit of 3 TH/SS, 2 LC with one having the CML will not be allowed...  I am kind of hoping (though really doubt) they go back to the 2 HW/5 man Squad on the Terminators and that the Assault Cannon drops a LOT in price...  :-)  I still have a bunch of them, and for nostalgia reasons I still fielded them in "fun" games...  Counting on "roll lots of 6's" to do much of anything against modern armies just doesn't cut it in a more competitive force though... Just my opinion of course, I'm just an Engineer, what would I know :-)  I guess we'll know for sure in a few weeks...  This stealth product drop just HAS to drive retailers nuts...  To announce it officially less than 2 weeks before it ships?  Seems "less than well thought out", but again, Engineer, not business or marketing, so these things are likely beyond my poor comprehension :-)...

Air Assets and Bases...

Well, beginning to get the Airships built...  Stealing the idea/inspiration from

http://22ndpraetorian.blogspot.com/2010/08/air-mobile-building-air-assault-platoon.html

but going slightly different in a few respects...  I am basing mine on:

HMS Aphid Class, HMS Wasp

Though the HMS Dauntless might be an interesting one as well...  Have to see what I feel like doing...  Space 1889 for the pictures of course, thought that particular style fit the Praetorian IG.

I have a bit of free time in the shop with no one else around :-)  So, being given free reign over the scrap wood there and all the tools to knock out a mess of 60mm bases and a few decks at the least...  Press-board seems like it will be light enough and certainly sturdy enough to base the model on.  I have balso scraps to build the deck house and make planks I think for the deck...

But first things first, realizing I need another dozen or so bases for my mass o Heavy Weapon crews...  Guess I never really considered just how MANY of them I really could field...  Plus side, with the drill press I can knock them out really quickly once I get it all set up...  Thanks again to Eric for the attachment for thet!

Well, hobbies stalled for the moment...

Well, Maggie has Pneumonia and both of the little girls are ill...  Flu for them I think...  And I am feeling like crap too.  Way behind on Christmas preparations and  family coming in tomorrow...  Yea...

Kind of stalled out on the hobby stuff this week.  Got my Heavy Bolters with barrels extended and now they are "Auto Cannon MK II" :-)...  So, guessing I will have a big blob squad with 3-5 Auto Cannons and Grenade Launchers.  Ad Hoc AA fire with "Bring It Down" to twin link the shots, and I should be able to throw down a GIANT footprint to keep my last army off of my tanks.  Having played the Air Assault force I know quite a bit about how to defend against the Meltas dropping out of the sky...

Now, I just have to get the bloody army reassembled and painted...  20 fully painted, and several times that number "mostly"...  I have a dozen or so of the 60mm bases my old friend Eric made for me, and I have borrowed the tool with which to make more...  A project for next week.  Along with the hull for my Airship...  Not sure what I'll name the first of the series, but I suspect I'll be making at least 3...  Maybe as many as 9 if I REALLY feel like being a jackass :-)...

"Am I Stupid?" Apparently :-)

The repaint of the Praetorians continues apace...  20 fully painted, another 80 or so in various stages of painting.  All of them have paint on them, stripping complete, kind of glad I never really finished any of this before with the watercolors coming off in the industrial strength de-greaser.

Now I just need to come up with an army to play :-)  Oh, and decide if I am fielding the "Hydra", building the Airship as a Valkyrie/Vendetta, tanks, etc...  Ogres are pretty much out I think unless we go to sill high point levels.  They don't die easily, just no sure they DO enough to justify their cost.  Artillery, yes...  But how much I guess and will that be my focus?  Powerful, but I think boring.  I snagged a 1/32 scale WWII M-16 to use as a stand in Hydra.  Looks OK, and with my repainting the vehicles in WWII American colors, it fits...  The M-2's (.50 Machine guns, M-2 Brownings, the track had 4 of them in a turret, set up for AA support of the Armored columns) are a bit small for "40K scale" so will swap them out in the long run.  The 4 M-2's will become "Heavy Stubbers" on other vehicles.

Airship project is getting revived too...  I'll have access to the shop over break so will be cutting the pattern for the hull out of a this press-board or the like.  Going to be a bit different than the other versions out there as I am basing it on a Wasp class flier rather than the Aphid I think...  A bit longer I think, but it should look OK when I get her done.

Sadly, I also repainted one of my RT Era Assault Marines as a Grey Hunter...  Looks pretty good, and I think they'll get the same treatment once this project is done or I just move on :-)...

Heavy Bolters, is there a point?

Quiet day here as finals begin for the University...  And it is a "No Change" period for IT, so more or less just sit tight and hope nothing major breaks...

Got me thinking about Heavy Bolters though...  Mind, I've been using them since RT, and in the ancient times they were certainly weapons to fear or at least respect.  150 points bought you the Imperial Army's 10 man Squad with 5 Heavy Bolters, I can't remember what the Squat Thunderers were, but I think they were sub 100 points for the 5 Squat Squad of all Heavy Bolters...  The change went from "keep firing until you miss or fail to wound" to 1 die for the rate of fire...  "Special" d6, jam on 1 face 2x1, 2x2 1x3, so 1-3 hits averaging in the 1.5-2 hits...  Oh, and it was Str 5 -3 save modifier, so the vaunted 3+ save Powered Armor (with flak in the old rules) went to a 6+ save...  Not so good if you were a Marine really...  Now it is Heavy 3, so three shots at least.  Not horrible, but then the 3+ to wound most things followed by the 3+ save or the 3-4++  cover save and in some cases then the FnP save...  I just do not see them killing enough really to justify a large points investment.

Yes, the new rules DO allow me to move and snap fire, and I can keep specific models not moving so Heavy Weapons overall are a bit better...  And on the odd chance they snap fire into something Charging me, that might be nice too, but...  Nothing to count on I think...

The Marine Scout one IS cheap(ish) and has the optional fire mode where they throw out a small blast template, wounding on a 2+...  So at least against a lot of things I CAN throw out a wound or so...  'course, most of the really nasty things like that also have good saves and multiple wounds and I get one HB/Squad there...  NOT so effective, might get me a snip kill combined with Sniper Rifles, but even then...  "Eh", in almost all cases the Missile Launcher is at least as good, mostly better.  So, "Neat", but still I'd consider it a failure...  I happen to HAVE a half dozen of the damn things, so likely continue to field them in my CF army, but...

For the IG the situation is similar, but...  In a HW Squad 5 points buys me either a Heavy Bolter or an Auto Cannon.  Heavy 3 vs Heavy 2, 36" range vs 48" and Str 5 vs Str 7...  I hate saying it is a no brainer, but the Auto Cannon just seems better all around.  Higher range, better Str so CAN actually pose a threat to vehicles heavier than AV 10-11...  Really only loses RoF, and that is I think OK given the extra 12" range and STR.

Sponson mounts I can see just to add weight of fire.  But, really?  15 points in some cases for a weapon that has to be fired at the same target as the main guns?  Eh might be an overstatement except for the Valkyrie/Vendetta with the Flier rules allowing 4 weapons to be fired as normal...  I guess if I have points to spare and need an anti horde option...

Otherwise, Marine Dev Squads?  Anyone actually field these?  I certainly wouldn't...  Long Fangs are not bad and I bring one or two HBs to allow them to split fire and take down Infantry targets and to be frankly "red shirts" for the rest of the Pack...  These are the first losses, nothing personal :-)...  On my Attack Bikes? Maybe, if points are short for the Armies it makes a difference, but frankly with the Multi Melta being an option, again why bother asking?

Got to say, the Heavy Bolter was one thing I was hoping would get changed with the new edition, but it remains more in the "why bother" bin.  Anyone else have anything I am missing here?

Rambling and caffeinated...

OTOH, LOVING the Google Nexus 7 tablet...  Easy to carry around and does almost everything I need to so on a mobile platform...

The repainting project continues...

Well, it looks like I get through about 15-16 things before I get tired of it :-)....  Well, 30 pairs of boots last night.  And the irony of that many boots being done by someone who spent 8 years playing Army and successfully avoiding shining boots...  Being in a line combat unit, this was NOT important at all.

I had also forgotten that each Platoon could have 5 Heavy Weapon Squads...  And realizing just how many Heavy Weapons I actually have...  Could be completely useless, but planning on bringing at least one Mortar Squad, one Heavy Bolter Squad and one Las Cannon Squad to go with my standard Missile Launchers  Mortars I figure will just sit on a back edge and be annoying.  Heavy Bolters will just throw out the 9 shots/turn, figure they will be a low priority target for a lot of the people I play against...  Well, at least until I get around to converting them to Autocannons...  Guessing the AC will be far better than the Heavy Bolters. But then I only have 3 of them I think, and they're in the line Platoon...

Still need a way around the low LD for them to get orders, so the Lord Commissar might be making an appearance should we go over 1500 points...

Finally a few pictures...

Stole the wife's phone for a bit :-)  Thinking this month is the time to upgrade my POS phone, and the one she has is nice...  Though have to admit I am spoiled by my Nexus 7's ease of use and inter-operability with my computers...  But in any case a few of the "work in progress" shots...

Not great pictures, and I'll have to get some with the zoom to see if I can capture some actual detail.  The SGT with the light green base is one I base coated a year or so back the last time I cycled through my "Zulu" phase.  Have to say, after the basecoat, the Minwax and Matte spray really changes it from a "eh" paint job to something that at least looks good on the table.  So, just another 80+ to go :-)

Oh, and repainting almost all of my Vehicles...  From the ancient RT era "Death Chicken" class Sentinels to the various AFVs...  Ogres as well probably.  I know they are not popular in various internet blogs, but locally, having a good, solid "Linebacker" unit is really nice to have...  But once I get all of my Heavy Weapon Squads painted up (yes, I still have blisters of them), might drop them for a straight "we just shoot things" army...

Repainting Praetorians...

Keep forgetting to take a camera or my phone downstairs...  Stripped and repainting the lads.  My first squad is done with the base coat and going with the "dipped" method.  Kind of like the Army Painter stuff, but using the Minwax and a Matte spray...  Saying that, growing up in the 80's, the Matte spray is hair spray of course :-)

Have to say the lads are turning out pretty darn nicely, certainly compared to their original "hey, it has 3 colors" paint for RTT's back in the 3rd edition era...  I know I had 2 Leman Russ tanks at one point, but have only found one so far...  Looking at snagging a 1/32 scale Lee/Grant to see how close it is...  Might end up modifying them if they are close.  Also looking at getting one of the Airships I was working on a while back made with some of the wood and the shop in Psych...  Might work out, at least be a VERY different Valkyrie/Vendetta...  Going with a WWII American paint scheme for the vehicles I think...

Praetorians next?

Back to painting something different for a while I think...  Back to one of my ancient armies.  Might even get a bunch of them FULLY painted as the "base coat" has taken 15 years :-)...

:-)  So, back to some of my ancient IG...See how long before I get absolutely sick of painting the same figure over and over...  But the Light Rifle Company concept I think will be a fairly powerful one in this edition, provided I support it well.  And the IG codex is insanely customizable and VERY powerful if you feel like going in a specific direction.  Me, I was always a fan of heavy weapons and Artillery.  Never did server in the Artillery, but I did a fair amount of the "Call For Fire" as an NCO in a line combat company...  So, unsurprisingly I have a fair idea HOW to use Artillery, Tank support and combined arms tactics...

Got in on the Kickstarter for the Stormtroopers (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dreamforge-games/something-wicked-this-way-comes-crusader-plastic-m) here, so I have some what I hope are good "stand in" models for my Veterans and Storm-troopers...  So at the very least I will have something completely different to paint, when they arrive at least :-)...

Looking at repainting the vehicles I have from the "sand" scheme I have for most of them to something different...  Might have to go for something "brown-violet" and make them look like WWII American vehicles...  We'll see I guess...

Wow, Crimson Fists for the Win...

Wound up on table one against Mark's really annoyingly tough IG army to determine first/second for the Tournament...  Have to admit I was a bit surprised, I somehow skirted my "bad" matchups and by playing hyper aggressive I think I surprised the Danville players.  They really didn't expect the Drop Pods full of scoring Sternguard dropping right on top of them, and the Thunderfire Cannons are just REALLY effective against Infantry based Armies...

Game one I played against Noah's IG force, but it was at the 500 point level...  Sternguard dropped in, got "First Blood" by offing his Platoon Command Squad before dying...  Was the game winner for me.

Game 2 I wound up against a Tyranid force @ 1000 points with a Swarmlord, Flying Tyrant, Tyrvagon (?  Spawns more termigaunts), a few other things...  Had 2 full Scouts Squads (one sniper, one HtH/Shotgun), Thunderfire and the 2 Sternguard Squads (5 man each) with Pedro Kantor.  I think had the Tyranid player played it a bit more aggressively, I would have been wiped out.  My reserves waited until turn 4 to arrive, so it was a hard fight...  Surprisingly I did a LOT of damage with what I had though, so when the second wave hit, they claimed an objective and killed the Swarmlord getting me to a draw with a LOT of things killed...  Well, dead Tyranids at least.  I had surprisingly few casualties given the army I was facing.  Thinking back more on it, I REALLY think that had he moved up to engage early, I would have been wiped out before my reserves arrived.  But the Draw was enough to advance me, keeping me without a loss, and raking in a LOT of tiebreaker points.

Game 3 was a bad matchup for the kid I faced.  He ran a BA/Necron list with a big Fortress setting him back 250-280 points...  So, he was starting down points, and he was REALLY not ready for an army as aggressive as mine.  Having said that, the ORD missile swarm was REALLY powerful.  Not sure it is worth THAT much, but I think I could have used it a lot better...  He also had Mephiston and some big named Necron character, so 3 things that were REALLY expensive and hard to protect.  Drop Pod hit, Heavy Flamer alone almost wiped the min size Necron Troop squad, and took the Cron Lord to a single wound.  Second Sternguard Squad was what killed off Mephiston.  SO many Plasma and Melta shots, and no INV save or Cover save for him...  Unfortunately, I shot off all of my Meltas against Meph and to kill the Las Cannon/Dev Squad...  Building explosion is BRUTAL...  The Dev Squad ate something like 15 STR 6 hits when I melta'd the building they were in...

So, on to the final game on table one...  Mark's IG force ran the field against some of the armies that I could not have dealt easily with in Necron and GK mostly...  OTOH, I could almost guarantee killing a lot of KP if this was what it ended up being or at the least killing off the things he had to hold objectives...  I think this was probably the thing that lost it for him.  Sternguard dropping in with Heavy Flamers meant that the Infantry screen melted.  First Blood, Warlord death  and going up in KP almost immediately meant I more or less needed to be wiped off the field for him to win.  Sniper Scouts had no targets, but they hid and preserved their KP...  Thunderfire Cannon were useless after Turn one, but the Techmarines were huge....  Flamer, TL Plasma Pistol, dual Power Fists?  Works really well...  BUT having said that, I think that this is the last time I field 2 of them...

Got to say, I'm kind of burned out a bit.  Going to take a week or three to see what happens I guess.

Tournament this weekend...

Going to be a strange one...  1500 point list, but the first round is 500 points from this list, next round at 1000 points then third and fourth at 1500 points...  So running my Crimson Fists, the 500 is going to suck in so many ways...  1000 and 1500 at least I have an army I can field a coherent force, the major things I simply cannot deal with are things like heavy flier armies...

Hordes might present a slight challenge, but the dual Thunderfire cannons are insanely powerful against them...  Especially with my ability to target specific things like command squads, specific models...  Dark Eldar are also going to be hard, but I don't think Mike will be there with his vehicle swarm and insane number of saves...

Bringing:

Pedro Kantor
Sternguard Squad (10, HF, 7 Combi Melta, 2 Combi Plasma, SGT w/LC, Drop Pod w/beacon)
Sternguard Squad (10, HF, 6 Combi Melta, 3 Combi Plasma, Drop Pod)
Scout Squad (10, Cloaks, HB, 9 Sniper Rifles)
Scout Squad (10, CCW, Shotguns maybe?)
Thunderfire Cannon
Thunderfire Cannon
Aegis Line w/ Quad Gun

Comes in at 1500 points, might swap the quad for the Las Cannon...  Just the raw killing power might be nice, total lack of long ranged AT firepower.  Also missing the FT's ability to just MOVE.  Jump Troops, Drop Pods, Fast Vehicles, I could move across the field so very quickly, and that was hard for a lot of people to deal with.  This army shoots.  Shoots a LOT, and fairly well...  And has a potential for 8 Scoring squads, not including the Heavies in that one mission...  Stubborn too, so more or less you have to kill them all to get them off of an objective.  Really liking the army so far, just worried about fliers as I have no real answer yet...

Guess we'll see how it turns out, need to finish up some detail work and the like, but pretty ready to go...

A Draw @ 1500 points :-)

Well, played against Mike and his Dark Eldar...  We played 1500 points, I brought my list with the 2 Scout squads (1 Sniper, 1 CCW/Pistol) and 2 Sternguard Squads in Drop Pods backed by 2 Thunderfire Cannons and a Whirlwind...  He brought a fully Mechanized force with Warriors/Zombies/whatever the basic guys are with the Homunculus  in Venoms (3-4?) and 2-3 of the Elite squads in Raiders with 4 Blasters/squad and 2 of the Heavys with the 1 DL/2 Disintegrators...  Oh, and a Void Bomber...

He got first turn, killed my 2 Cannon and stunned my WW...  But Techmarines survived denying him "First Blood"...  My Sternguard dropped in, DID kill one of his 2 heavy "Screw you Marines" tanks, but failed to off the second with a series of amazing 5++ saves :-)...  Running theme for me this game, my Melta simply bounced a lot...  So, First Blood to me, and that was what got me the Draw.  Game ended on Turn 6 with my single surviving Scout SGT holding one Objective, one of his Warrior Squads holding one, and a bunch of dead bodies piled around the 3rd...  Both lost Warlords, and he killed the sole surviving Sternguard in his own DZ to deny me Linebreaker...  Of course my Whirlwind failed to kill his 2 troops in the open to deny that to him :-)...  So, a VERY bloody draw.  Good game though...

Crimson Fists at 1500 points...

So, the league is finally up to 1500 points...

Been painting a bit, and testing the camera, such as it is on the Nexus 7, so here are a few of the lads:

So, fielding:

Pedro Kantor
Scout Squad (9 Snipers, 1 HB)
Scout Squad (9 CCW/Pistol, 1 HB)
Sternguard Squad (Drop Pod, HF, 9 Combi Weapons, SGT w/ LC)
Sternguard Squad (Drop Pod, HF, 9 Combi Weapons, SGT w/ Melta Bomb)
Thunderfire Cannon

And either Storm Talon Gunship and Attack Bike or...

A second Thunderfire Cannon and  Whirlwind maybe....  Just the sheer amount of shooting for the Heavy option could be bad for an Infantry based Army...  The Flier?  Maybe, have it escort one of the Scouts who flank, hope to catch enemy fliers in the flank...  So, depends on who I end up facing I guess...  2 Ruins that give me 3+ cover saves could be annoyingly powerful :-)  Guess I'll bring them both...

Stand-in for a Storm Talon

Well, I guess I will give the Escort Fighter a shot this week...  Found an old Naboo Fighter from the Star Wars series...  Might be "close enough" to be used as a Storm Talon with the spare flight base I have.  Not ideal, I think I'll find a different fighter...

But in any case, I do think I'll fly it up against the other fliers...  With the Skyhammer missiles, I'm looking at BS 4 and TL AC for the almost guaranteed 4 hits at Str 6 Rending and 3 Str 7 shots.  Hoping to go second of course so I can roll in and catch their aircraft in the air.  I will probably flank a Scout squad to give it a decent shot at catching something in the side.  Still, 155 points for a "Maybe it will get lucky and take down a flier"?  Comparing it to my IG fliers, I have to say it looks bad on paper.  But if the other side does not bring AAA or a flier, it might have a chance to actually throw a bunch of wounds out there...

So the 1500 point force is:
Pedro Kantor
Sternguard Squad (10, HF, 9 Combi Weapons, Drop Pod)
Sternguard Squad (10, HF, 9 Combi Weapons, Drop Pod)
Scouts (Camo Cloaks, Snipers, HB)
Scouts (CCW/BP, a few Shotguns, HB)
Thunderfire Cannon
Storm Talon

And 40 more points...  I do have a Lightning Claw on one of the SG squads SGT for a bit more kick with the Squad escorting the Chapter Master, could drop that I guess and...  Well, likely an attack bike to fill out the points...  But plays as a classic Hammer and Anvil with me holding a fortified ruin and bringing down 20 Sternguard to hammer whatever gets in the way.  Not much lives through THAT many Meltas dropping right on top of them...  So, guess we'll see if I can deal with fliers and hordes.  Guess my "horde" plan is really to use the "No cover Save" weapons I have and just selectively target the leaders...  2-3 IG hordes, and taking their Platoon and Company leadership tends to deal a crushing blow to them.  After the leaders are dead, mostly just cleanup.  :-)  If things go well that is...  Against other things?  Well, shoot lots, hope for the best...

Moving to 1500 points with my Crimson Fists

I think I have my 1000 point list done, looking ahead to 1500 points.  Picked up the "Imperial Blue" from Vallejo at the Gopher since my last one finally ran out...  Making more Combi Weapons for my Sternguard, and converting more of the lads over...  NEED to get off my ass and finish up my second Drop Pod.  So 2 Sternguard Squads, and 2 Scout Squads and I am liking the Tech-marine with Thunderfire Cannon...  Last game it was probably the MVP, 4 blasts at Str 6 every turn?  Can opt for the No Cover Save shots should I face one of the IG hordes...  And Scouts with the 2+ cover save?  Yes, that will work...

Need to decide if I will Proxy in a "Storm Talon"...  I am thinking it will be dealing with a few fliers...  That or I bring out a DN and ?  Or a Librarian I guess...  Irking looking at the Storm Talon and comparing it to the Valkyrie/Vendetta or the Necron Fliers...  'Course, at least they HAVE a bloody flier unlike my Wolves/DA, etc...  Thinking I will run one of my Scout Squads as a Flanker and have the Talon escort them...  Play the Air Superiority fighter to cover for my lads...  REALLY concerned about the Helldrake of the Chaos Marines.  I simply have no real defense against that monster.  Shoot at it lots and hope for 6's is NOT going to work.  So, guess I need to bring something to engage it directly in the air...  Would rather have the Vendetta with the 3 TL Las Cannon of course :-)  But, better I think than the Aegis line with Quad Gun...  Concerned that people will have figured out how to deal with that, then I am SOL...

1000 points, Crimson Fists

So, a small army moving to 1000 points.  Will be playing:

Chapter Master Pedro Kantor
Sternguard (10, 1 HF, 4 combi plasma, 5 Combi Melta, drop pod)
Sternguard (5, 3 Combi Melta, 2 Combi Plasma, Drop Pod)
Scout Squad (5, 4 Snipers 1 HB)
Scout Squad (HB, 4 CCW/Pistol)
Thunderfire Cannon w/ Tech Marine

So a REALLY small Infantry based army, and I'll be using my Fleshtearers as the big SG squad and one of the Drop Pods...  Tactically I am not sure if I will always be using the Drop Pods, I have the option to castle up with the Techmarine, cannon and the 3+ cover save from reinforced ruin.  Looking around, it does appear that you will be getting cover saves against Vector Strikes, and the Scouts with cloaks get the 2+ cover save...  Everyone (except Pedro) will get +1 HtH attack, and we are all scoring and stubborn...  I do think I can get 2-3 Objectives with my lads clumped up a bit even without throwing my Sternguard out there to perform the suicide assault...  Though that is always an option :-), and a terrifying one for the folks who play against me...  Only a few armies that do not have a high value target there for me to

Since the Sternguard score and the army is all Stubborn, I do think this is a good army for me.  Will need more drop pods...  So working a trade or two I guess, been on Bartertown since the 90's when it was hosted out of U Kansas :-)...  Ordered some more Vallejo "Imperial Blue" and a Pedro Kantor mini from the Gopher, and repainting a bunch of ancient Tac Marines I had already stripped...  Making the combi weapons out of Green Stuff, so the process will be a while, but I think it will be ready for the 1500 rounds, or the Tournament on the outside...

Crimson Fists :-) It begins...

So, started my Crimson Fists army...  Looking like I'll field something like this:

Pedro Kantor
Sternguard Squad (10, combi weapons, etc., drop pod)
Sternguard Squad (5, weapons, drop pod)
Scout Squad (Sniper rifles, Heavy Bolter, 5)
Scout Squad (CCE/Pistol, Heavy Bolter, 5)

Then either a Librarian or Tech Marine with Thunderfire cannon...  Leaning toward the cannon :-)  Scouts with 2+ cover saves?  Yes, please...  Every Squad Scores?  Mkay, that works for me...  Light on bodies, still no real AAA, but at 1000 points I do not think I'll see too many fliers...  Yes, Joe's Hell Drake will absolutely destroy this army so spread out and hope for the best...  But played him twice so unlikely to play him again this week...  Drop pods go in either as suicide squads or empty if needed if I need to hunker down and hold something...

Painting coming along well.  Scouts base coated, starting to convert more Sternguard...  Still need to assemble a second drop pod...  We'll see if I get this done in time...

Chaos Fliers... Mkay, need to deal with that...

Well, faced the new Chaos flier last night...  All I can say is "Wow".  So, it is a Flier and hard to hit with normal units.  I had army wide "Preferred Enemy", so could re-roll 1's on the to hit...  Not sure it ever really mattered in 2 games, though I DID bring it down in one game.  'course, we both forgot the "Daemon" rule about the 5+ INV save, so I might not really have.  First game I risked a Deep Strike with a Terminator squad and hit the mishap, and naturally rolled the 1.  So, that was a really short game for me.  AP 3 flamer on the Flier made short work of my Power Armored Knights...  Str 6, so "not 1's" to wound, no armor or cover saves...  That and the Vector Strike...  Str 7 AP 3, d3 hits?  And no worries about missing or being hit back...  Mkay, so the AAA tax I think will be a standard part of my larger armies.  At 500 points, not really possible.  1000 is also going to be tough, but I have more options...

Not sure if I'll bring Vanilla Marines as Crimson Fists, Fleshtearers or stick with the Grey Knights.  For the Knights, I have my Dread Knight ready, and with the FAQ it is a real monster...  Str 10, re-roll to hit and wound/armor penetrations, uber flamer and a Heavy 12 shooting attack?  Oh, and a jump pack/teleporter... Yeah, it gets REALLY expensive, but damn...  My Fists, well that means I bring Sternguard, and they are scoring units like Troops...  Alpha Strike from hell, and I really like the Sternguard.  The Fleshtearers are similar for me...  SG, Jump Infantry and well...  It's a quick game one way or the other.  Not many locally are really prepared for this...  The GK?  Eh, lots of shooting, decent HtH, and pretty much all around decent...  Have to admit I am getting a bit tired of playing GK though...  They are good, probably still too good, but boring for me I think...  Yes, I like the Terminators as Troops, and EVERYONE has a Power Weapon of some sort to go with their Storm Bolters or Psycannons...  Just not a lot of variety....  Guess that is what bores me more than anything else...

So, Crimson Fists?

Thinking it is time to strip and repaint my ancient Wolves...  And while I am at it, I think I will rebuild my basic Marines.  I have a number of Fists shoulder pads, the first 40K rulebook I had was the RT one with the lads on the cover, so I've always had them as an option for my "basic" Marines.  The image of the handful of them fighting off the horde of Orks really is a powerful one, and that whole "desperate defense" thing being something I've gotten quite good at over the years...  So, I'll restart the Fists I started all those years ago.  Probably helps that the Sternguard are REALLY good in this edition, and playing them in my Fleshtearers army, I think I have their uses and such down...  Pedro Kantor makes ALL Sternguard in my army scoring, so as an Ally to start perhaps since I am looking at playing the whole fully painted forces :-)  But it will allow me to field 2+ Sternguard squads all as scoring, my Scouts can become Crimson Fists, remaining scoring, and I can field a Techmarine with the Thudd gun, I mean "Thunderfire Cannon" :-) Mine will be a Thudd gun of course.. .Just annoyed that NONE of the "Marine" armies I play get the bloody thing...  So, longer term project I think, but...

Strange Odyssey

Mkay, just got back from Michigan....  A funeral is a strange thing in normal circumstances,  it with a huge family like my wife has...  The politics are interesting for someone mostly on the outside of the situation.  Seems that half of her family is highly educated, mostly in the health care industry.  The other half is 'not'..  Looking like they are coming from the trailer park or the back woods...  Heavy smokers, etc...  Just a feeling I get, so I could easily be wrong...  But I doubt that.  Now, the five children get to deal the estate...  Me, I am not looking forward to this...  Watching the family at the funeral, there was a definite division between the sides, and I am not thinking that this will end well, or happily.  A real shame as Franz (Maggie's father) was one of the nicest people, and would be offended by the fighting over this I think...  But, he has passed and this will play out how it will...

Back to the gaming stuff, looking like some more chaos stuff in the upcoming white dwarf/releases...  And I am needing to get my GK Fully painted...  close now...  but shading and matte coating still to be done on most of them...

Off at a funeral...

So, up in Michigan for my father in law's funeral...  Will be missing one week of the league, but can make up the games...  so, lots of 500 point games in a short time, but the games are fast...

Looking like just two squads, so I am thinking it better than 250 for this...  Strike Squad, Terminator Squad both with upgraded ammunition and the like...  Plus side, easy to fit in the saddlebags...

 Really looking forward to the 1000+ point games...

Air Defense, at least locally...

Looking at what I can do with my own armies for Air Defence...  Aside from the AAA tax (Aegis Defense Line, Quad Gun or Icarus Lascannon) of 85-100 points, some of my armies like Wolves and DA are relying on "shoot lots, hope for 6's", which is a very bad plan...  I look at that in the same way I look at people buying lottery tickets as a "retirement plan", REALLY not something to count on I think.  So, against AV 12 fliers, AT missiles fired early and often from Long Fangs in the Wolves army and my Cyclones on the Terminator suits in the DA force...  Without getting lucky, hoping for the Psy power giving me "Guide", or just shooting my whole bloody Army at them, I can try to play Wehrmacht...  Acknowledge I will not be able to contest their Air Superiority, spread out and close with the enemy as quickly as I can, forcing the issue...  Kind of how I play in any case, so nothing major changes for me except I have to deal with taking losses from something I really have nothing to stop it with.  Against an army with a single flier, not a big deal, but against say a Necron Air Force, Dual Ravens or multiple Valkyries/Vendettas...  Well...  Playing a more Infantry heavy style in 6th, so the Lascannons, Multi Meltas and the like are simply not as much of a threat, but even so barring cover, it is a couple of almost guaranteed kills every turn the fliers are on the table...  What to do overall for my?  Looking like I pay the tax :-)...  The Aegis line is nice, will be converting a Lascannon to field I think...  But honestly at this point I do not see a good answer to fliers in any of my armies, at least what I can/will field...

So, looking at my 500 point list...  Probably playing GK, with the ammo upgrades for the crapton of Str 5 shooting combined with the Str 7 Rending shots out of the Psycannons.  Not by any stretch ideal, I believe Stelek brought something similar to Nova...  But IIRC it did not work out so well there, and at 500 points I do not think I have a lot of options...  Yes, I COULD bring a Raven myself if I were to get it put back together (traded for a conversion of a Vendetta, but it is in pieces)...  No, need scoring bodies on the field, so Strike Squad, Terminator Squad being what I have painted up are looking like what hits the field...  Can bring either a full Strike Squad with the 2 Psycannon, a hammer and Str 5 ammo along with the Terminator Squad, 5 lads, one Psycannon and upgraded ammo...  So, assuming I have no casualties, 26 Str 5 shots and potentially 12 Str 7 rending shots...  Should be enough "anti horde", might even allow me to shoot down an AV 10 flier...  Screwed against Land Raiders, but can't cover everything I think...  Yes, Hammerhands and 2 Hammers for the potential Str 10 HtH hits (or 9, I can't remember the order of operations GW used this time...)...  So, bad answers IMO, but I guess I do have something to deal with it...  Oh, and any Chaos forces fielding anything "Daemon" are in trouble with Preferred Enemy across the board for me...

This week, league play...

So, lots of modifying done as I set up the Powered Armor Grey Knights with the correct weapons...  The ancient suits I have only had the Halberd, and the Strike Squad is almost always sword only these days...  So, my 250 point army is:

Strike Squad: Psycannon, Razorback with the TLAC and ammo de fromage for the +1 Str

195 points, leaving me a massive 55 points for...  Well, a Paladin I guess.  I might be overreacting to the game last week when I lost 2 of my Terminators to overwatch fire...  6 to hit, 4+ to wound and them me rolling a 1 on the Armor Save...  Once is bad luck, twice in a single game?  :-)  Well, confirms what I feel about a lot of the ultra elite armies, if you are forced to roll a lot, you might just accidentally lose the game.

So, not a whole lot more this time, but a Vehicle and a 2 wound Terminator...

Thinking I might go back to Fleshtearers at 500 points or maybe just stick with the GK for a while.  Need to get the converted "Storm Raven" re-assembled and painted, and I'll need to come up with a color scheme that will work for BOTH armies I have that CAN field the bloody thing.  Still one of those things that annoys me, and frankly mystifies me about the new fliers and the limits that GW puts on them with respect to who can field the bloody things.  Since the company exists to sell things, bringing out a new and powerful piece it would seem logical to try to sell as many as possible...  NOT to limit is to specific flavors of Marines...  But again, just an Engineer, what would I know :-)

So, new league started, looks like I need a display board and to write a paragraph or so about the justification of the army...  Simple enough with the single squad of Grey Knight Terminators, or the Strike Squad I have mostly done now...  Probably need to get a Razorback ready for the Strike lads as well...  In the low point games the Vehicles are really overpowered...  Next week, GK or maybe my IG lads...  I do miss playing the Praetorians, and 250 is a low enough point value for a quick and hopefully not boring game...

Now something completely different:

The biggest difference between the Apple/Amazon/B&N stores and attendant devices and the Google Play store and the Android devices comes down, at a basic level to a philosophic difference.  As I see it the Google store is more of a "Wild West" or free market system.  Lots of free stuff, no price controls, and no "overseer" watching and taking a piece of the action.  Now, this option is good for people who are comfortable doing things themselves, do not want someone looking out for their "best interests" or who simply do not trust "Big Brother" to control the market.  Having seen/heard about some of the issues with getting Apps out to the iTunes store, especially if it is in competition with one that Apple (or one of their favored partners) have already put out (or plan to put out) there, well...  Not sure exactly why this is allowed/tolerated, but given the regulators are supposed to be Feds, and Apple donates a LOT to one particular party...  Hey, I'm just an Engineer, this math is likely beyond me :-)...  But looking at some of the issues with the Apple and B&N stores (I have no familiarity with the Kindles at the moment), I can say the Google option is the one for me.  I understand the business model that the hardware companies have set up for the "sell at cost/a small loss, lock the users in to your store for future purchases", and it does get some good hardware out here for folks to use.  Just the whole cost of the device should be looked at before purchasing I think, same as for the subsidised phone contracts from the big carriers. Another topic though...  Right now I am trying to muddle through the good reasons why here at the University, going with the Nexus 7 over a Kindle or Nook is the right call.  Kind of a foregone conclusion the iPad is right out with it's price tag and the "OS issues".  Mind, we will be setting up one of the Apple servers and maybe management of these things will be easier than we have found thus far.  Still does not alleviate the huge price tag, nor does it address the iTunes issues I/we have.  So, keeping it to the 7" models my testing with the Nook and the Nexus have shown the Nexus to be far superior for my purposes.  The walled garden of the B&N software store, and vital pieces of the software NOT being in that particular garden mean I would have to root the device, use Alpha or Beta software and hope that people just keep writing the software for free...  The big problem I have always had with Linux as an Enterprise solution.  Fine for a hobby machine or personal one where you have more time than money, but managing hundreds of machines, many with slightly different hardware or software in use?  No thanks.   So far the only one NOT working natively is the Microsoft Lync 2010 stuff, and even if it did work, the University is NOT set up to support this.  So, some time on that for MS to update the software and the University to move to the new version.  Then VoIP phone native on the device.  As it is now, I use the VMWare to run a virtual Win 7 machine and it works through that.  Not perhaps the most elegant solution, but it does work...  :-)  Off the normal topic for here, but what I'm doing at work these days...  Mostly just trying to get all of my thoughts in order, helps I guess...

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...

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 :-)

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...

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 :-)

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...

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...