Leagues, Expansions and just random "waiting for responses" time killing rants...

So, with the League looking like it will be a start...  Eventually :-)...  Whatever, it is creating some good chatter and looking like it might bring out a fair number of the players.  Guessing again, but I am kind of looking forward to playing my Legion lists against the modern things.  There are some things I am fairly certain that will be difficult to handle but overall I have a fairly strong list.  Strong but I think certainly not overpowered.  Still no fliers of my own, and AV 14 really isn't THAT hard to take down for most forces especially when you realize it is really just 3 Land Raiders, more or less...  But I DO field a LOT of standard Marines or Siege Breachers in the Legion lists I play, and FnP and good Cover/crap Invulnerable saves all around make for a difficult Squad to pull off the table quickly.  Nothing at all subtle, playing the VI Legion the way I used to play my wolves in the ancient times...  Roll straight at them, kill as many as you can and hold what you have taken.  So, pretty much just like I play every army I normally play, FT, Wolves, Eldar, etc...  Except maybe my Praetorian IG...  They are more of a "Hold the Line, Shoot them off the table" sort of Army, not a lot of mobility.

Barring my Legion list?  Well, I have a strong Marine army and my Eldar would be brutally overpowered.  I HAVE the flier now, albeit a paper model a buddy of mine built for me.  I can field a force that can easily take down the annoying Tau lists with either of those I am sure...  Eldar with the WS mounted force are just too good I think but if that's the way the local group wants to go I can...  And with a lot of the forces I am seeing out there it will be at least a fight.  Still, I'd RATHER go with the Legion force and play just for fun. 

My Marine list is a Crimson Fist one so using the Imperial Fist chapter tactics.  Centurion Devastators backed by Hunter AA tank and/or a Thunderfire Cannon for the "base" unit.  Scouts for scoring Troops, maybe Sternguard and Pedro...  Been liking the Storm Raven for a dogfighter/air superiority fighter.  200 points though...  Still, it works really well keeping me at least even with enemy fliers and can also do quite a number on tanks or heavy Infantry it catches in the open.  If I really want to cheese it up I can call it a "3rd Company" list and use the expansion to take the Centurions as Elite instead of Heavy.  Get a slightly different "Bolter Drill" as well....  Frankly I prefer the one in the expansion's drill, but either works well enough for me. 

So, that brings me to the expansions...  As of now, there are six?  It is looking more like the expansions are becoming the norm for the uber competitive forces...  The simple ability to"ally" with your base list and break the FOC is a problem for me.  The extra HQ slot is no big deal, it really seems that the Heavy slot is the problem.  So a legal list with four Riptides is the new rage...  Honestly haven't looked much at the Inquisition or Iron Hands ones...  Not armies I have any interest in playing.  But it appears that the Inquisition book is just a cut and paste rush job.  One of the bigger issues I have with the move to digital is that the local game store sees nothing from these books.  Yes, a few months later they might print limited numbers of physical books that they can jump through the appropriate hoops to buy to maybe sell...  But with the pace of the releases?  Why bother buying the physical book six months late when the next big thing in the power cycle is out?  So, other than the potential extra miniature sales as the latest uber net list hits the tables, nothing for anyone but GW...  And not much of that I'd think frankly...  Not sure what the margins are for a cut and paste PDF, but would think it would be good given the ownership of the original material and the fact that an intern could throw this together in an afternoon...  That and they are REALLY a PITA for tournament play as not everyone would have access to the full rules, so they have to take their opponent at their word as to the interpretation of the few new rules and FOC modifications in each book...  Or the TO has to know them all and keep a watchful eye out for "mistakes" being made.  Might well be honest ones, but when there is money on the table...  Well, have to say I am less enthused about the potential Adepticon trip, and likely will not bother trying to play in that mess.  Looking like at least one more REAL Codex will be out by then, likely 2 and some unknown number of digital supplements to all have the potential of further throwing the game's balance out of whack...  Think I'll just sit back and see what happens.  

So, the unofficial announcement has hit about the fortifications and escalation expansions...  Another wait and see I guess.  Really hoping that the Skyshield is fixed and the rules are cleared up...  But of course, if they are not freely available to everyone, this is a huge problem for me at least...  Having to pay a LOT for broken rules and then having to pay even more to get the fixes?  How very Apple of them.  I know that they will be available via "alternate" methods, and so will VERY likely be dissimulated locally at least (at least the relevant "you need to know the actual rules sections")...  I dunno, thinking of picking up some X-Wing and maybe Malifoux (sp?)...  Just concerned about getting into another "Confrontation" situation where I have huge armies of amazing miniatures for a game system that is dead and gone.  Been burned a few times too many in the past...  Perhaps Warmachine?  Hell, I already HAVE a Cygnar and Circle army from the 1st edition, so a trivial investment...  Maybe :-)...

League coming up, Superheavies and a few pics...

So, looking like a League is starting back up in the Champaign area again…  And with Bill stepping in to run it I do not have to J… Crazy schedule and of course that whole “real life” thing getting in the way…  He is making mention of a painting contest to get things started.  Mkay, repainting my ancient Wolves and I have another squad of the Cataphractii Terminators unassembled to go with the Siege Breachers…  So, nothing is going to be winning any sort of painting competition, but I have a bunch of “painted to tabletop standard” stuff almost ready to go.  Depending on the size of the game I may already have my heavy vehicles assembled…  OK, not the new Spartan…  That will be one thing that I order if there is the money after getting that whole Christmas thing dealt with for Maggie and the girls.  Unless of course someone wants to pick up say, an ancient Lugar or the like cheap(ish)…  And of course there are the issues of whether the locals will allow the use of 30K/Heresy Era lists and whether GW will be pushing out the rumored expansion with “Lords of War” or superheavies.  For the first, we’ve had no problem with them overall, and as I have been “play testing” the exact lists I will be playing in the League (more or less) to good effect overall I think that part will not be an issue. 

Superheavies on the field, and I honestly count the Spartans as an “almost” superheavies, are things that could potentially be a problem for some armies.  With immunity to Melta and 5 Hull Points, the Spartan can be almost impossible for some armies to deal with.  OTOH, it is just a big, expensive dead box for other armies who do not care about AV 14 or the like…  Tau specifically I think will have a horribly difficult time without Eldar allies if they build a…  Let’s call it “tightly focused” army to kill off Marines are going to have almost nothing capable of realistically threatening ANY AV 14, much less the Ceremite plated AV 14 I field…  To be fair though, the AV 14 of the Land Raider has never been all that difficult to get through for the last few editions a least, so most people are simply not bringing them these days.  I however have 2 MK I Land raiders done up as original Spartans to become either Proteus or Phobos Land Raiders.  Depends I guess how I end up going with my Wolves.  But in any case, I can see the addition of big nasties as something that should seriously shake up things from a “meta” build perspective.  Might not, who knows.  Really is a rumor at this point in any case, so nothing solid known.  But with plastic kits to sell for things like IG Baneblades, Ork Stompas, Chaos Khorne blood Zambonis or whatever it is called…  It would be unsurprising to find the game expanding to allow their use and incidentally the increased sales that this would presumably bring.  So, just thinking that the Superheavies are coming, might be a good thing to be ready…  The TL LC is what passes for AA support for my lists at the moment, so having the 4 shots/turn is nice…

So, here's the Cataphractii I have been working on, but having just gotten back from Vegas with Maggie for out Anniversary, not a lot of painting this week...

So, that's what my VI Legion color scheme will be...

Long ramble about the current balance and the local 40K scene...

Ok, got to thinking about some of the more difficult balance issues...  Reading the excellent post on the Jawaballs site (http://warhammer40kbloodangels.blogspot.com/2013/11/mechanicon-2013.html), it kind of crystallized some of how I have been feeling with respect to a lot of the balance issues.  There are some armies that I have that are simply unplayable at the moment.  Well, to be entirely honest, I could PLAY the army, but barring some crazy luck actually winning with the army is nigh impossible.  These days you only hear about people fielding the Wolves as an ally because they still have the 5th edition rules for psychic defenses and some silly over the top powers.  They cannot stand on their own without major support.  Lacking antiaircraft or any Fliers of their own unless you play with Forgeworld as "40K legal" (like we do) they are still a mid 5th ed army that has been passed by... My Fleshtearers are not AS bad in some ways but they were written when the game was very different.  They DO have a single good flyer that can at least dogfight to contest air superiority...  But their HQ elements are now overpriced and the Troops are mediocre at best, despite the large number of potential choices...  Some cannot score, so are useless to win games, others are just expensive Marines who cannot survive the modern environment with Heldrakes, Tau and Eldar out there in force.  The standard Marine was once the measure by which you could compare everything else against, but now I would not bother making that comparison. By and large, all of the 3+ save Codices prior to the current Marine one are vastly overshadowed by the Eldar and Tau.  The current Marine book can at least fight against some of the "net lists" on somewhat even or better footing, but that means tailoring your army to be one element of the Rock-Paper-Scissors...  And therefore just expensive and boring to play.  Or play against.  The game is difficult to justify as a competitive one these days, thus the exodus in many places or the rise in popularity for 30K "Heresy Era" games that we are seeing locally.  Saying that, there were  5-6 games at the Gopher Monday for "40K night"...  So, chances are that locally at least the game is doing well enough after a bit of a lull.  I simply do not have the spare time to run a League well at the moment, and the other guys who in the past ran them have likewise been buried in a similar fashion...

Too many of the current "top tier" armies have a large number of special cases or things which ignore or worse break basic rules of the game.  For instance, the Necron book made an amazing transition to sixth edition with the extremely poorly ported rules for "chariots" and the en masse translation of all of their transports to Fliers from fast skimmers...  Suddenly the perhaps slightly overpriced transport is now a massively under priced monstrosity.  Flying around, deploying Troops precisely on the Field with no risk of deviation, loaded out with pretty decent firepower on their own and with massive defensive bonuses.  And for this ONE Flier, getting shot down has no real ill effect for the embarked Troops, they simply come in on your table edge from Reserves as if nothing happened.  No possibility of casualties (5/6 chance for everyone else), no Pin check, no deploying at a potentially "bad" location to be assaulted immediately...  Just the minor inconvenience of having to walk on to the field.  

The rules for firing at fliers are badly written...  Just my opinion of course, but saying a genetically engineered superhuman with centuries of experience firing advanced weaponry can hit a flier no better than a mindless Ork or untrained conscript with let's call them "less advanced weapons"?  Insane, and clearly not balanced in any way.  As more Codices come out, overall the Fliers are balanced against each other with the glaring exceptions of the Heldrake and the ones "grandfathered in".  The IG Vendetta/Valkyrie and the Necron Croissant of Doom being the big ones.  Ironically, the Marine fliers were massively overpriced before and so seem fairly balanced in the case of the Storm Raven or still overpriced in the case of the Storm Talon.  But saying that, if that's what you have, use it.  I have used both to decent effect as straight out "Air Superiority fighters".  Nothing great, but they at least left me feeling not totally outclassed by what the other player could field, and that is pretty much all I am asking for.

Saying that, the rules, such as they are, for Fortifications are the game breaker for me.  This alone is the main reason I have almost zero interest in trying to get a team together for Adepticon.  Really, the current RAW interpretation for the Skyshield Landing Pad being that it does grant a 3+ cover save as a Fortification in addition to the 4++ save for everything on it against all shooting attacks.  Coupled with a strict RAW interpretation of "Ignores cover" (RAW: Wounds taken, so no effect vs. Vehicles), Eldar Wave Serpents sitting on one covering a Wraith Knight to give 25% cover to it?  Well, the WS has a 2+ cover save that cannot be ignored even if it does not move.  The WK gets a 2+ or 3+ depending and a 4++...  Oh, and nothing can get up there physically to engage in HtH because the whole surface is full.  So, they have a fire base that can pour out SO MUCH fire that most other forces simply melt away...  The only thing I thought of was to drop in a Sternguard Squad or the like and simply target the Building.  But I haven't seen a good ruling for what happens if the Building is "degraded" or destroyed...  Does the fortification lose that status and the ++ save generated by it?  Should, I would think but that is not necessarily the case of course...

So, I have at least one army I feel bad playing...  Eldar.  Simply TOO good these days.  Playing against a mirror force or against the legal but silly ally with yourself things like Tau/Tau or Marine/Marine just does not interest me at all.  Yes, I can build a proxy army using ancient Planetstorm Fantasian Armor, and build the specific Rock to that Scissors, but that REALLY does not interest me at all.  And the actual figures in question...  Sorry, I REALLY do not like them at all.  So, no "GW Official" Tournaments for me it would seem with my Centurion Devastator proxies, despite being WYSIWYG and painted the correct colors :-)  No big deal for me really, I'd be shocked if GW came back to the big tournament scene...  

And saying I have one army too powerful to play, I have 2 that are unplayable in the other direction.  Fleshtearers are a lost cause currently.  Fun to surprise some folks with on a rare occasion, but against all but the silliest and most unbalanced lists they are just bad.  Wolves are being repainted and I am fielding the VI Legion as a Heresy Era force.  They are doing fairly well there, and I am having fun playing that...  Shame that FW can bring out balanced and fun forces while GW fails miserably...  The figures are amazing, but really pricey...  But saying that, the amazing Forgeworld minis are at about the same price point as the new GW Plastics/crap resin stuff.  Maybe FW will be sold through GW's distribution channels and we can get it at the local stores some day, but for now it is mostly beyond my reach...

Veteran Squads out and more Legion "stuff"

Ok, so I’ve tried the Veteran Tactical Squad as Troops a few times…  Have to say I’m not liking it overall.  Yes, occasionally it does some neat things like placing a number of Wounds on say, a Spirit Seer or maybe even rends to get a Glance on a Wave Serpent…  But the Squad cost 270 points + 65 for the Medic for what was essentially a Tactical Squad with 2 Heavy Bolters.  Hiding in a Ruin and lacking real Transport meant that in this case we were pretty much SOL…  I SHOULD have flanked them and had them cause havoc in the Eldar backfield like my 40K Wolves…  Then at least they might have dealt with a few Guardian Squads before they died…  But still, 335 points for 11 Marines is a bit much.  2 of them have Artificer Armor and they have FnP until I lose the Medic, but for that cost I can get 10 Terminator suits onto the field.  And in 30K lists, Terminators ARE scoring units, Troops or no.  So 2+/4++ saves and Power Weapons for everyone seems like a better buy overall.  Fortunate that I happen to HAVE 5 Cataphractii assembled now and another 5 getting ready…  The 10 man Squad with the Spartan as a Dedicated Transport would be an insanely expensive thing, but Scoring Terminators joined by either a Centurion or the Praetor?  Nothing subtle, just rolling across the table to smash things.

But, overall?  I have to say I am liking the Armored Spearhead concept…  Just having a harder time actually fitting in all that I want into the 1850 lists J…  Running multiple Land Raiders is fun, and sometimes even works J…  It IS a surprise for a lot of folks who have not seen them used in a very long time due to the Melta overload in the last edition…  But having a bunch of them immune to Melta rolling across the table?  Not bad I think…  Still need a better way to deal with fliers, but the TL Las Cannons are actually not doing badly for me at the moment.

Guessing I will look at the Siege Breaker again at some point as I am thinking that Artillery might be nice and granting Tank Hunter to a Squad all armed with say, Missile Launchers or the like might be amusing…  And to upgrade the “whole Squad” to Flak missiles is 50 points…  Tank Hunting Flak missiles might be a good “Sky Sweeper” option for me.  340 points for 10 ML seems a bit high, but Interceptor against Deep Strikers means that the Sternguard suicide squad really just does not work well…  I do not know though, this seems a LOT of points given I will likely have to hide them in a Ruin/Bastion or buy them a Rhino.  Might look at the smaller squad in a Bastion?  And/or do I field the Mortis class DN?  The Mortis with the TL Las Cannon the other DA player locally fields seems like it does well, and the Interceptor NOT being limited means that at the least it can put two Las Cannon shots into a lot of things just showing up on the field.  And I have been looking at fielding a Whirlwind Scorpius as Heavy Support…  If the Wolves or any 40K Marine force has access to it, it will likely be one of the longer term purchases for my lads…  Str 8 AP 3 Barrage blast, and if I stand still it is 1 + d3 shots…  THAT could be devastating against parking lots or massed blobs of Heavy Infantry…  Well, NOT Terminator armor, but who plays massed Terminators.  Well, besides me J…

REALLY liking the Siege Breachers Infantry I am putting together...  Will need to trade for more of the "Night Hunter" Wolves decals...  They come something like 10 on the "Wolves" sheet, so I'll have plenty of other ones to give away...

"Pride of the Legion" for this week...

Trying Legion again…  Sticking with my Wolves as VI Legion, and using “Pride of the Legion”…  The disadvantages of “No Allies” and “Lose and extra point if you lose ALL of your Vet/Terminator Squads”…  Eh, if I have lost all of my Troops, I have likely lost big in any case, so nothing for me to be concerned about.  No Allies?  Mkay, I have none in any case in a 30K Environment until I get a specific Legion list and that is a few books down the road.  So, I get to count my Terminators which are scoring in any case but to count them as Troops…  The Veteran Squad getting Sniper is pretty darn cool.  The Heavy Bolter with the suspensor web is another neat thing…  Yes, counting on Rending sucks, but the fact that I can start placing shots onto specific models and every shot is potentially rending…  Not entirely convinced that this is a winning Squad, but it is fun to play.  EXPENSIVE to field, but they should do a fair amount of damage on the table.

So, looking to field:

1850 Legion 11850 Pts  -   ~ Horus Heresy (THH1) Army

1 Legion Praetor (HQ) @ 155 Pts

     Independent Character; Legiones Astartes; Master of the Legion; Rite of

     War: Pride of the Legion; #Cataphractii TDA; Combi-Bolter; Paragon Blade;

     Warlord

1 Forge Lord (Legion Centurion) (HQ) @ 105 Pts

     Independent Character; Legiones Astartes; Consul; Battlesmith; #Frag

     Grenades; #Krak Grenades; #Artificer Armour; Rad Grenades; Bolt Pistol

     (x1); Charnabal Sabre; Servo-arm

4 Legion Terminator Squad (Troops) @ 485 Pts

     Legiones Astartes; Implacable Advance; Prototype Weaponry; #Cataphractii

     TDA; Chainfist (x1); Lightning Claws (x2) (x1); Power Weapon (x2);

     Combi-Bolter (x2); Reaper Autocannon (x1)

     1 Legion Terminator Sergeant @ [55] Pts

          #Cataphractii TDA; Combi-Bolter; Power Weapon (x1)

     1 Legion Phobos @ [270] Pts

          Vehicle (Tank); Capacity: 10; Access Points: 3; Assault Vehicle;

          #Searchlight; #Smoke Launchers; #Machine Spirit; Armoured Ceremite;

          TL Lascannon Sponsons (x2)

9 Legion Veteran Tactical Squad (Troops) @ 270 Pts

     Legiones Astartes; Veteran Tactics; Power Armour; Chainsword (x8); Bolt

     Pistol (x9); Bolter (x7); Heavy Bolter w/Suspensor Web (x2); Power Weapon

     (x1); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades

     1 Legion Veteran Sergeant @ [85] Pts

          (character); Artificer Armour; Bolt Pistol; Power Weapon (x1); Bolter

19 Legion Breacher Siege Squad (Troops) @ 395 Pts

     Legiones Astartes; Hardened Armour; #Boarding Shield; Power Armour; Bolt

     Pistol (x19); Bolter (x15); Flamer (x2); Graviton Gun (x2); Frag Grenades;

     Krak Grenades

     1 Legion Sergeant @ [155] Pts

          (character); #Boarding Shield; Artificer Armour; Bolter; Power Weapon

          (x1)

1 Legion Apothecary (Elites) @ 125 Pts

     (character); Legiones Astartes; #Narthecium; Augury Scanner; Artificer

     Armour; Bolt Pistol; Power Sword; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades

     1 Legion Apothecary #1 @ [55] Pts

          (character); Legiones Astartes; #Narthecium; Artificer Armour;

          Chainsword; Bolt Pistol; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades

1 Legion Spartan Assault Tank (Heavy Support) @ 315 Pts

     Vehicle (Tank); Capacity: 25; Access Points: 3; Assault Vehicle; #Machine

     Spirit; #Extra Armour; #Searchlight; #Smoke Launchers; Armoured Ceremite;

     TL Heavy Bolters; Quad Lascannon Sponsons (x2)

Models in Army: 41

Total Army Cost: 1850

So, another REALLY simple force…  Essentially, the Spartan loaded up with the Breachers, the Praetor, the Forge Lord and a Medic to give them all FnP.  Immune to Melta, roll forward and hopefully take an objective.  The second Raider runs as “security” or as a “wingman” to the primary force…  Break off if needed, but looking at the Tau/Eldar MC builds.  6 TL Las Cannon to fire each turn, the Vets with Sniper sitting back and camping an Objective.  With the FAQ allowing Cataphractii Terminator armor NOT preventing a squad from funning down someone beaten in HtH…  Yes, the Breachers are REALLY unlikely to ever do this with the complete lack of HtH ability and -1” on the attempt….  But still J…  Initiative 5 with the Praetor/Forge Lord and the number of CC monsters “hidden” in the giant Squad makes for a very real threat…  Loads of weird special rules like Rad Grenades, Defensive Grenades, etc…  But in general, we roll up and shoot…  A LOT.  Hope for the best and hope that you simply outlast the other side… 

Plasma Everywhere? And the 30K/40K interactions...

So, started the post on my tablet running the mobile Blogger app....  Have to say that was a failure.  No automatic saving of what you are typing, and flipping between apps on the device apparently does at some random point simply erase everything you have typed...  Lesson learned.  Blogging from the mobile device is emergency only, and the web site itself does not work on Chrome , so...  Woo Hoo!  Guess Google is behind on their own standards :-)  ah well...

So, after playing a fair number of games with the Heresy era Legion...  The one thing I am looking at changing is to bring a Tactical Support Squad loaded out with Plasma guns.  Yes, a 15 point upgrade per Trooper, but...  It is a Plasma Gun, so Str 7, AP 2 and likely 2 shots each at 12" range?  Yes, I will take some casualties from my own weapons, but the Medic (Apothecary) for the FnP roll should help...  And provide another 2+ save body to help for the inevitable HtH...

Thus far, I have been running EVERY SGT...  OK, EVERY body I can get into Artificer Armor in that armor.  The big squads with 2-4 of them in the Squad make for an annoyingly difficult thing to take off the table.  Power Weapons where I can as well.  Finding that there is a LOT more HtH when everyone is fielding Marines and thus not a lot of weapons that efficiently deal with 3+ armor.  Challenges, massed attacks, etc. are all pretty important, but the simple ability to deny an Armor save is the thing that is winning more combats for my lads in the 6th...

Which leads to another sort of observation...  The Legions are REALLY well focused on dealing with Xenos.  Well, 5+ armor and to a great extent 4+ and worse really...  Things like the Volkite weapons are BRUTAL against IG, Tyranid or Eldar swarm type armies, but mostly an afterthought against 3+ bodies.  Yes, eventually they cause a few casualties, but so often I have a 10 man Tactical Support Squad (TSS) open up on a group of Marines in the open and...  Do effectively nothing, maybe get 1-3 casualties out of the massed Volkite fire.  One reason I am looking at swapping for Plasma.  At least with the Plasma I get some casualties and take out a big chunk of most squads that are trying to assault my position.  And I can overload with things like the Havoc Launchers for a lot of Str 5 AP 5 blast markers...  Yes, I intend to build a few to put on my Rhino Hulls (magnetized)...  Something about having 30+ Rhino Hulls, repainting a bunch of them in the old Wolves Legion colors is not going to have ANY impact on my other Marine armies.  But again, AP 5, so unlikely to actually DO much against my primary Heresy Era enemies...

Think that is probably the biggest issue I have with the Legion lists.  Everything is so focused, nothing is really a generalist or "Swiss Army Knife".  Tactical Squads are just Bolters, no Heavy/Special weapons at all.  The Heavy and Support Squads are all armed with the same weapons, so all Volkite Calvers, Plasma Guns, Missile Launchers or whatever...  On one level, that makes it simple and if you KNOW what you are facing, you can build a specific counter.  But I MUCH prefer a more generalist approach.  My Grey Hunter squads in 40K have a little of everything.  Rifle, Pistol, Sword, a Flamer or Melta in the Squad, likely a Power Weapon and/or a hidden Werewolf to multiply their HtH presence and riding in a Razorback for Heavy Weapon support.  So, the small squad has the ability to move independently, support others like themselves and actually DO a fair amount of damage on the field...  Yes, far less resilient than the giant 20 man squads, but standing off and firing the Las Cannon/Plasma into them, the new Wolves will cause a few casualties without any possibility of taking any until the Legion gets into Assault range or has something else deal with the Razorback.  Having said all of that, I still believe that the 40K Tactical Squad is mostly useless except for it's ability to camp Objectives, and armies with other Scoring options are almost always doing better overall without the "tax" required to actually try to win some games based on the Missions themselves.  One reason I bring Scouts in my Crimson Fist lists, frankly they are simply cheaper scoring bodies that I can try to flank or otherwise hide to keep alive.  3+ armor is simply NOT enough these days to try and stay alive when other armies like the Eldar and Tau have so many weapons on their basic, common units that simply ignore your Armor and in a lot of cases any potential Cover saves you might have had....

And so, back to Rock-Paper-Scissors I guess...  Marines (40K) deal well enough with the 4 Tau Riptide if they build specifically for it, as do the Eldar with the same caveat.  Tau/Eldar are pretty much dominating the competitive scene otherwise...  And ironically, the 30K Heresy era things seem fairly well balanced against all of the above...  For the moment, with the breakneck speed of releases in 6th Edition these days, who knows what will happen when the Tyranids hit the field with a new book or the IG, or...  :-)  Whatever comes next frankly...

30K and 40K so far...

So...  Got in a fair number of 30k games now, and I have to say it is a refreshing change.  Balanced, fun and so far nothing too over the top.  Well, there are a few things that are close :-) ....  Spartan decked out is close, but mid 300 point range?  Neat, but almost never gets back its points on its own....  Transporting a giant unit of whatever across the table....  THAT wins games. 

Major downside of the 30k stuff I have seen is that everyone is a Marine.  So 3+ saves all over the place.  Things that ignore 3+ armor are rare and expensive.  Weight of fire works, but you have to be aware that sometimes you get 20 wounds on a squad and they do not lose a single model...  FnP all over the place, Artificer Armor for the 2+ in almost every squad for the SGTs...

Biggest down side to 40k locally at least is the broken FOC that the supplements and allies get you.  Playing one Army is actually a DISADVANTAGE now that it is legal to field armies allied with themselves for the extra slots...  4 Riptides or 4 Heldrakes is just silly.  Legal, and playable of course but...  So, I have to have my Centurion Devastator squads ready as the hard counter I think...  For the Riptides or Eldar Wraith Knights...  Just not liking the extreme"rock - paper - scissors" feel the game has devolved into.  I have a good Marine army, just gets kind of boring playing that way.  Fielding my VI Legion Wolves, and having fun...  NOT winning all the time, but I think both players enjoy the game this way.

Not sure how I feel about the "rumored" expansions coming...  Building rules and the ability to field "Lords of War" in 40k games.  So, more expensive books to a) fix rules that they failed to do right in the base game and b) giant, expensive kits that were never intended for this scale of the game...  If the fortification rules are free downloads publicly available that is one thing, but given who we are talking about?  Not holding my breath.  Right now, the Skyshield if played as written is stupidly broken, making the Eldar a no brainer to win most tournaments...  So, it is killing the game from a competitive standpoint...  And that in turn seems to be driving sales lower and attendance at our local store...  I am having a harder time getting the motivation to play in a tournament, or even keep playing 40k frankly.  REALLY like the Forge World models, just wish the Gopher carried them :-)   Picked up a few Cataphractii Terminator suits, amazing models.  Spartan is on the list for eventually pick up, even more if the bigger things hit the table in general.  Slowly getting more, but...  Just hoping the game itself continues...

2000 point Heresy game this week...

Bringing my VI Legion (Wolves) out to play again against Word Bearers I think...  I am fielding the following:

2000 Legion 12000 Pts  -   ~ Horus Heresy (THH1) Army

1 Legion Praetor (HQ) @ 155 Pts
     Independent Character; Legiones Astartes; Master of the Legion; #Artificer
     Armour; #Frag Grenades; #Krak Grenades; Refractor Field; Rite of War:
     Pride of the Legion; Archaeotech Pistol; Paragon Blade; Warlord

1 Forge Lord (Legion Centurion) (HQ) @ 130 Pts
     Independent Character; Legiones Astartes; Consul; Battlesmith; #Frag
     Grenades; #Krak Grenades; #Artificer Armour; Rad Grenades; Refractor
     Field; Bolt Pistol (x1); Charnabal Sabre; Servo-arm; Graviton Gun

19 Legion Breacher Siege Squad (Troops) @ 395 Pts
     Legiones Astartes; Hardened Armour; #Boarding Shield; Power Armour; Bolt
     Pistol (x19); Bolter (x15); Flamer (x2); Graviton Gun (x2); Frag Grenades;
     Krak Grenades

     1 Legion Sergeant @ [155] Pts
          (character); #Boarding Shield; Artificer Armour; Bolter; Power Weapon
          (x1)

9 Legion Veteran Tactical Squad (Troops) @ 275 Pts
     Legiones Astartes; Veteran Tactics; Power Armour; Chainsword (x8); Bolt
     Pistol (x9); Bolter (x7); Heavy Bolter w/Suspensor Web (x1); Missile
     Launcher w/Susp. Web (x1); Power Weapon (x1); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades

     1 Legion Veteran Sergeant @ [85] Pts
          (character); Artificer Armour; Bolt Pistol; Power Weapon (x1); Bolter

1 Legion Apothecary (Elites) @ 210 Pts
     (character); Legiones Astartes; #Narthecium; Augury Scanner; Artificer
     Armour; Bolt Pistol; Power Sword; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades

     1 Legion Apothecary #1 @ [70] Pts
          (character); Legiones Astartes; #Narthecium; Augury Scanner;
          Artificer Armour; Bolt Pistol; Power Sword; Frag Grenades; Krak
          Grenades

     1 Legion Apothecary #2 @ [70] Pts
          (character); Legiones Astartes; #Narthecium; Augury Scanner;
          Artificer Armour; Bolt Pistol; Power Sword; Frag Grenades; Krak
          Grenades

4 Legion Terminator Squad (Troops) @ 460 Pts
     Legiones Astartes; Implacable Advance; Prototype Weaponry; #Cataphractii
     TDA; Power Weapon (x4); Combi-Bolter (x3); Reaper Autocannon (x1)

     1 Legion Terminator Sergeant @ [55] Pts
          #Cataphractii TDA; Combi-Bolter; Power Weapon (x1)

     1 Legion Phobos @ [270] Pts
          Vehicle (Tank); Capacity: 10; Access Points: 3; Assault Vehicle;
          #Searchlight; #Smoke Launchers; #Machine Spirit; Armoured Ceremite;
          TL Lascannon Sponsons (x2)

9 Legion Tactical Support Squad (Troops) @ 235 Pts
     Legiones Astartes; Support Squad; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol (x9); Volkite
     Caliver; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades

     1 Legion Sergeant @ [55] Pts
          (character); Artificer Armour; Augury Scanner; Bolt Pistol;
          Chainsword

1 Legion Artillery Tank Squadron (Legion Basilisk) (Heavy Support) @ 140 Pts
     Vehicle (Tank); #Searchlight; #Smoke Launchers; Earthshaker Cannon; Hull
     Heavy Bolter

Models in Army: 52


Total Army Cost: 2000

So, NOT bringing my Spartan of Doom...  That seems like a simple enough choice, and I know damn good and well that it works.  Let's see what the lads can do like this.  The Siege Squad joined by the Tech and Praetor seems like a pretty tough nut to crack, especially if I plant them in some sort of cover.  Have to admit the Conversion Beam on the Tech is VERY tempting in this setup, and could be easy enough to get if I feel it will work...  Seems one of the good ways to put down a Str 10 AP 1 blast to help deal with the Land Raiders being immune to Melta, or the big MCs...

The Basilisk is there to root out things hiding, and with it being a Str 9 AP 3 large blast Ord weapon...  Well, barring area terrain, I am hoping to see some large squads of Infantry in the open, or bomb them out of cover...  In a pinch I think it also has a decent chance against most Vehicles, even Land Raiders I guess...  Thinking it will be able to drop the template on the folks piling out of a Rhino the Volkites destroy...  You know, if things go the way I'd like them to...  We'll see I guess.  Not 100% sure it will be worth the 140 points for a BS 4 Basilisk, but...

Vets will either be Snipers of Flankers, depending on the setup...  Both Heavy Weapons have suspensors allowing them to fire on the move, and Sniper for the Unit is just brutal...

So, 4 "Troops" choices, 1 Heavy and 2 HQ elements...  A lot of Infantry, hoping that this does not bite me in the ass...  But a LOT of FnP for the lads...  We'll see if that works at all.  Since I know I will not face a Heldrake, I am less concerned...  Thinking that a Bastion and/or Mortis DN will become a standard piece of equipment for me going forward...

VI Legion, Wolves

So, going back to the old Wolves, or more correctly at this point the VI Legion.  I HAVE a bunch of stuff painted up in what was the original paint scheme for the Wolves, some of that fits in quite well with the current Forgeworld Heresy era stuff…  I am liking how the Cataphractii are coming together and the “new” color scheme is looking pretty good so far.  Running a lot of just basic stuff at this point, the VI’s specific rules won’t be out for quite some time.  Still there is a LOT of “basic” stuff to use.

For instance, Veteran Squads have a number of rules they choose at the start of each game:

Fearless, Sniper, Furious Charge, Outflank, Tank Hunter

Choosing one, guessing I’ll be using Sniper or Outflank…  Not enough in the range of AT weapons to make the Bolters really effective.  Sniper gives me the ability to Wound on at worst a 4+ regardless of Toughness, Precision Shots and Rending on all shooting attacks…  Not seeing a downside, especially as this is likely my answer to the big MC type things out there.  Flank of course is just a pretty good thing all around for a bunch of the Lads…  As they’ll likely be Troops in my lists, being able to put them in my enemy’s back field seems like a good thing.

So, like I said the Cataphractii are coming along...

Happy how the test model is coming along...  5 assembled so far, ready for the next 5...  More Troops for the 6th...

Legion review and comparing it to 40K...

Well, played against a 40K Marine force with my Armored Spearhead last evening...  Wound up losing, but it was a fairly close fight.  Made my one critical error when facing a Chapter Master...  Orbital Strike against a tightly packed Breacher Squad meant I lost my Tech and 9 of the line troopers...  Forgot about that, and it cost me dearly.  That Squad SHOULD have cleared out the center.  They DID take down the Terminators, but they should have done so much more against what amounts to just a bunch of Power Armored bodies in Bolter range.  So, the 3 Squad force at 1850 was unsuccessful in an Objective based game.  DID lose one Land Raider and the Terminators it was transporting.  Ironically, the last Cataphract died in the explosion from a Rhino he tore up with his Chain Fist...

Kind of brings up the point of irritation for me...  NOT with his specific army at all.  James' force was a fairly "friendly" force based around Ultramarines using mostly Tactical and Devastator Squads with Salamander Allies.  So, essentially, lots of 3+ save bodies.  Dies horribly to Heldrake spam, but not really an issue locally at least.  More the broader picture.  The fact that Allies allow you to take a modified and likely superior FOC.  And being able to ally with yourself to gain the extra slots just seems inherently unbalanced.  Yes, everyone CAN take Allies.  Just annoying that I feel penalized by taking a basic, traditional force.  This modified FOC I think is a major unbalancing factor in the Tournament scene.  Seeing a lot of the armies bringing 3-4 of the big MC things to win.  Given the limited environment and time constraints, those armies will do well if their Troops are fairly resilient or say, their Transports are.    Some of the armies that the big MC types would I think have a harder time taking down are things like the massed Infantry/Hordes...  Not viable to play those armies in a timed event though.

I don't know.  Looking ahead I have to admit to thinking that I won't bother trying to get a team together to go to Adepticon.  A lot will depend on the FAQ that the TOs there provide.  But right now, the Eldar Wave Serpents spam on the Skyshield seems to be something nigh unbeatable.  Put enough up there and you are unassailable in Assault, have a 3+ cover save that goes to 2+ with the Holo Fields and against the few things that may remove the Cover save?  Oh, yeah a 4++...  Still looking at the RAW, and the rules for no cover save weapons specify "wounds", so strictly speaking it does NOT apply to Vehicles...

So, got the Cataphracts assembled and starting to test out a paint scheme.  Going with the Pre-Heresy Wolves...  Will have to post a pic when I remember to take my phone downstairs...  Have to say I like the way they are coming together...

Next Week's Legion list

So, looking at what I've learned from last week...  Here's what I intend to field next week:

1850 Pts - ~ Horus Heresy (THH1) Army                                       1850 Legion 2

Unit Name                       ##  WS   BS   St   To   Wo   In    At   Ld  Save     Cost

Legion Praetor (HQ)             1    6    5   4/5   4    3    5    4    10 2+/5++     135
                               Independent Character; Legiones Astartes; Master
                               of the Legion; #Artificer Armour; #Frag Grenades;
                               #Krak Grenades; Refractor Field; Rite of War:
                               Armoured Spearhead; Bolt Pistol (x1); Paragon
                               Blade; Warlord

Forge Lord (Legion Centurion)   1    5    5   4/8   4    2   5/1  3/4   9    2+       105
                               Independent Character; Legiones Astartes; Consul;
                               Battlesmith; #Frag Grenades; #Krak Grenades;
                               #Artificer Armour; Rad Grenades; Bolt Pistol
                               (x1); Charnabal Sabre; Servo-arm

Legion Breacher Siege Squad (T  19   4    4    4    4    1    4    1    8  3+/6++     395
                               Legiones Astartes; Hardened Armour; #Boarding
                               Shield; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol (x19); Bolter
                               (x15); Flamer (x3); Graviton Gun (x1); Frag
                               Grenades; Krak Grenades
  Legion Sergeant               1    4    4    4    4    1    4    2    9  2+/6++   [160]
                               (character); #Boarding Shield; Artificer Armour;
                               Bolter; Lightning Claw

Legion Tactical Squad (Troops)  9    4    4    4    4    1    4   1/2   8    3+       390
                               Legiones Astartes; Fury of the Legion; Power
                               Armour; Chainsword; Bolt Pistol (x9); Bolter
                               (x9); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades
  Legion Tactical Sergeant      1    4    4    4    4    1    4   2/3   9    2+      [82]
                               (character); Artificer Armour; Chainsword; Power
                               Weapon (x1); Bolt Pistol
  Legion Proteus                1  BS: 4 Front: 14 Side: 14 Rear: 14 HP: 4          [200]
                               Vehicle (Tank); Capacity: 10; Access Points: 2;
                               #Searchlight; #Smoke Launchers; #Machine Spirit;
                               TL Lascannon Sponsons (x2)

Legion Apothecary (Elites)      1    4    4    4    4    1    4   1/2   8    2+        70
                               (character); Legiones Astartes; #Narthecium;
                               Augury Scanner; Artificer Armour; Bolt Pistol;
                               Power Sword; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades

Legion Spartan Assault Tank (H  1  BS: 4 Front: 14 Side: 14 Rear: 14 HP: 5            315
                               Vehicle (Tank); Capacity: 25; Access Points: 3;
                               Assault Vehicle; #Machine Spirit; #Extra Armour;
                               #Searchlight; #Smoke Launchers; Armoured
                               Ceremite; TL Heavy Bolters; Quad Lascannon
                               Sponsons (x2)

Legion Terminator Squad (Elite  4    4    4    4    4    1    4    2    8  2+/4++     440
                               Legiones Astartes; Implacable Advance; Prototype
                               Weaponry; #Cataphractii TDA; Power Weapon (x4);
                               Combi-Bolter (x3); Reaper Autocannon (x1)
  Legion Terminator Sergeant    1    4    4    4    4    1    4    2    9  2+/4++    [55]
                               #Cataphractii TDA; Combi-Bolter; Power Weapon
                               (x1)
  Legion Phobos                 1  BS: 4 Front: 14 Side: 14 Rear: 14 HP: 4          [250]
                               Vehicle (Tank); Capacity: 10; Access Points: 3;
                               Assault Vehicle; #Searchlight; #Smoke Launchers;
                               #Machine Spirit; TL Lascannon Sponsons (x2)

  Models in Army: 41
 

So, a much smaller force...  One ancient Land Raider for the Tac Squad to go forth and camp.  Did find out that the Proteus Class LR lacks the Assault Vehicle rule, so the lads woll not get out and charge into Assault...  But, not really the plan for them.  The whole army is Scoring, at least all 3 Squads...  And The big Siege Breacher Squad with FnP, Flamers, Defensive Grenades, Invulnerable Saves, Rad Grenades and 2 decent HtH monsters hidden in there?  Should be a PITA to remove from the field once they get out of the Spartan.

So, nothing subtle, just the Spartan flanked by the other 2 Land Raiders rolling up the field.  8 TL Las Cannon shots, each Vehicle with Machine Spirit so the shots can be spread out a bit...  Less concerned about Fliers or big MCs...  Think they will have a hard time removing the Spartan with the Tech riding in it repairing as needed...

First game in with Legion vs Chaos @ 1850

So, got in a game against a Chaos force with m generic Legion army.  I fielded:

Vigilator
Siege Breaker
3 Apothocaries (Artificer, PW)
Breacher Squad (20, 3 Grav 1 flamer)
Tactical Squad (20)
Tactical Support (10, Volkite Calviers)
Mortis DN
Thudd Gun
Spartan (dozer, Ceremite)

Joe brought a Chaos/Black Legion force based on a Rhino Rush strategy:
Chaos Lord (jump pack, Axe of rage, burning blade?, Khorne mark)
Raptors (10, 2 melta, few other upgrades)
3 Rhinos with a Squad each (Melta/Flamer in each Squad, PF/PW champ)
Hel Drake
Chaos Chaplain equivalent (BL)
Chosen Squad (loads of upgrades, in Rhino)

He went first, loaded up his Left flank with 3 Rhinos full and the Jump Squad, leaving a single Rhino on the Right for himself.  I set up in a few ruins, one had the Quad Mortar one the Support Squad and one the Tac Squad from my Left to Center.  I left my Right empty, keeping the Spartan in Reserve with the Breacher Squad in as bait for the Objective there.  Siege Breaker with the Support Squad (my Warlord) and the Vigilator with the Tac Squad to give them better cover and use his Sniper abilities.  This I think is where I made my major mistake.  Had I simply fielded the Spartan ON the Objective and dared them to come and get me I would have been in a far better position late game.  As it was, nothing game breaking, we ended up with a draw as we both killed a lot of the other side and had units locked in Assault when time expired...  I got First Blood from a Rhino kill, he got Line Breaker by being in my DZ for the bulk of the game :-)...  We both found that the big 20 man Squads with FnP and 2-3 2+ Armor guys in them were annoyingly difficult to kill off.  I did not actually lose any of my Squads entirely by the game end, but I also failed to kill off enough of his to keep an Objective clear....

So, what I learned:

1. Big Squads are good, especially the Breacher Squad.  The Blast/Template re-rolls and FnP meant that bunching up coming out of the Spartan wasn't a big deal.  Also, ALL of them having a 5++ and FnP in Assault was huge.  This will I think become a standard setup piece for my lists.  Some of the lads are inbound now, guessing I'll be sculpting/casting shields to mod more of my ancient earlier MK armors to be a full Squad...
2. While it was GREAT having Apothecaries in each Squad, I need to tool out the SGT and likely have a more HtH focused IC in each big Squad to actually be a credible threat and actually keep my lads alive when they get hit.
3. Tac Support Squad with the Volkite thing...  It was "eh"...  A minor threat to the Rhinos.  But really?  I think Flamers in a Rhino will be more the norm.  Keep it in Reserve maybe and roll on to flambe a Unit that is threatening my backfield...  Plasma or Melta are options, but 30/Marine is a lot of points...  Not seeing enough Deep Strikers to say that a unit of all Plasma and Intercept would be worth the points.  Might run the Volkite thing one more time, but 3+, even in cover is just not that great anymore...
4. The Siege Breaker and Vigilator were both pretty "eh" at best.  What I REALLY needed was more HtH power, the Sniper stuff just wasn't worth the points, nor was the Tank Hunter ability really.  SB needs to be in a list with more actual Artillery and more folks with the Comm Units to abuse LoS.  Camo cloak and Specialist Ammo was completely worthless in this case.  
5. I brought a few "let's try this" sort of things...  A single Artillery piece that was no real threat to Marines, the single AA DN, etc...  The DN might stay, but even so, that was 135 points wasted I felt.  The Artillery I have to either commit to bringing a LOT in the form of actual Arty or even 3 Mortars or not at all.  Basilisk is an option, and 2 of them with the LoS abuse possible would be brutal.  So more focused list building needed.
6. ATSKNF...  Not having it SUCKS.  I got way too spoiled playing modern Marine armies for so long that I did not realize how often it might well be REALLY important to have.

So, more focused lists...  That was the big thing I learned.  Thinking the Praetor with the Armored Spearhead will be the next list.  Though I AM looking forward to fielding some Cataphractii Terminators...  Just that they do not normally HAVE the Deep Strike option and so need the 250 point Land Raider bringing the 5 man Squad cost to 440.  The Centurion upgrades I brought were also a "that looks neat" thing, but I think they really brought nothing useful to my list as unfocused as it was.  The Praetor will be different I think.  Fewer bodies, but more focus on doing what I think must be done.

All in all though, I think it was a good, fun game...  Looking forward to seeing what else I can bring to the table...

Generic Legion @ 1850 for this week...

So, I couldn't decide between the Vigilator and the Siege Breaker to lead out the Lads, so I brought them both in this list...  Though I may well bring a Librarian in place of the Siege Breaker...  Same point cost.

Vigilator (Artificer Armor, Refractor Field)  115
Siege Breaker  95

Legion Breacher Siege Squad (20, 3 Graviton guns and Flamer, Artificer on SGT)  400
Legion Tactical Squad (20, Artificer and Combi Melta on SGT)  310
Legion Tactical Support Squad (10, Volkite Calviers, Artificer on SGT)  230
Legion Apothecaries (3, Artificer Armor, 1 w/ Augury Scanner) 180

Legion Spartan Assault Tank (Ceremite, Dozer) 320
Mortis DN (TL AC)  135
Rapier Weapon BTTY (Quad Mortar/Thudd Gun)  60


So, basically, the Breacher Squad loads up in the Spartan and rolls forward if needed.  Quad Mortar, Tac Squad and Support Squad castle up with the Vigilator leading out the Tacs for Sniper support.  Siege Breaker leads out the Support Squad to give them Tank Hunter.  Loads of Str 6 shooting, with Interceptor against Deep Strikers...  A bit light on AA, just the Mortis really being dedicated AAA.  I am also a bit concerned about the lack of real Heavy Weapons...

The other option is a Praetor leading out a few Squads of 10 in Proteus Class Land Raiders.  Breachers and Praetor ride in the Spartan.  Smaller numbers, but all in AV 14, loads of TL LC to shoot down something similar...

New Legion rules and potential lists...

So, looking over the new Legion stuff, not at all sure what Legion I will end up fielding, but suspect it will be my ancient Wolves…  Though they really did not have much to do with the Terra portion of the Heresy…  The rules for the Iron Hands are REALLY good, and should our local IH player (Ted) ever get back to playing, I think he will be pretty happy with how they play.  Looking like I just play a generic Legion for the time being.  So, what HQ do I lead them out with?

1.       Legion Praetor:  Essentially a Chapter Master, albeit without some of the current things that say, Pedro gets like the Orbital Bombardment and Honor Guard.  Though they do have the “Master of the Legion” rule which allows you to customize your Legion build through one of several optional “Rites of War”.  One is Armored Spearhead, opening up Land Raiders as Transports for every squad that could take a Rhino.  Another is Pride of the Legion making Terminators and Vet Squads Troops…  There ARE disadvantages to each, for example the Spearhead requires your hole army to be Mechanized, nothing NOT transported.  And additional Secondary VC’s for each if you lose all of what the bonus gives you.  Still, an excellent way I think to build out a force if you start with a vision for it firmly in mind from the beginning.  My test list of one has 3 Land Raiders and a Spartan.  Numerically small, but AV 14, immune to Melta and with 10 TL LC shots each turn to attempt to bring down bigger targets on a mobile platform seems a pretty decent start.  A LOT of armies simply cannot deal with so much AV 14, especially if you take the easy answer of “Melta for the Win” off the table for the most part.  The other Rites I could use to build a “Proto” BA or DA force with ease.  So, an interesting and varied choice which would allow me to tailor my force to whatever I feel like playing…

2.       Centurion upgraded to Consul:  There are a LOT more choices here.  This slot is the one where the Chaplain, Librarian, Master of the Forge, etc. all come from.  And others not seen since the RT era…  The Librarian is a safe choice for players familiar with the old standard Marine Librarian as an Army Leader…  Choosing your own Discipline means that ANY of them are open, I suspect Divination will be the most popular choice for most folks.  Not horribly expensive, but no particular advantages either I think.  Safe and steady.  I am leaning toward the Vigilator or the Siege Breaker myself as I think they fit my personal play style a lot more, and the Consul will essentially be my Avatar on the field based on my own Army experience…  Vigilator gives you a free “Sabotage” to hit an Enemy unit at the start of the game and is a Stealth guy with Sniper and the Sternguard type ammo for his Bolter.  I see him leading out a Tactical or Breacher Squad setting up in Cover and being just that damn stubborn to pull off of an objective.  The Siege Breaker gives/has Tank Hunter…  The obvious choice is to put him with a Tactical Support Squad with Volkite Caliver on each Trooper for the re-rolls against Vehicles.  Should be pretty rough against Light Tanks, etc…  Or with a Heavy Support section with Missile Launchers and Flak Missiles to pull Sky Marshall Duty.  Not seeing THAT many fliers and lacking Scoring status for the most part, hard to justify the cost…

So, those are the basic HQ choices…  I can either take the Land Raider overload or a more basic one to lead out the lads… 

For Troops, I am liking the Breacher Siege Squads more and more.  Expensive, yes, but they all have an Invulnerable save and get to re-roll saves against Templates and Blasts.  Looking at the Iron Hands rules from the Massacre book, these would be my line Squads without question.  Inv save and a 6+ FnP roll on basic Troops, and LR or LR Spartan for Transports?  The Spartan has a carry capacity of 25, so Medics and other IC have room to join the Squad for a stupid huge Squad…  Even without the IH rules, the Breachers with an attached Medic will I think be an annoyingly difficult to remove Squad for shorter games like in a Tournament.  And given that they are a basic Troop choice for one of my 2 minimum required ones…

The Basic Tactical Squad is interesting, but I am not 100% sure I like fielding just a mass of Marines armed only with Bolters.  The lack of the Special/Heavy weapons in the Squad are a major concern for me.  In an Armored Spearhead, they are just Panzer Grenadiers riding in the Proteus Class Raider jumping out at the end of the assault to claim objectives or keep the Tanks from being swarmed I guess…  They are in my initial test armies, but I think my concerns about their viability are valid…  Though, arming them like my old Grey Hunters with the rifle, pistol, and sword means they are at least “kind of” Assault Squads if I need them to be.  A unit of 20 with Apothecary and maybe the Sniper leader would be interesting I think.  Stubborn defense if they start/end up in a Ruin or other Area terrain camping on an Objective.

Speaking of the Apothecaries, I am thinking that every Squad that is on foot or mounted in a LR Spartan will have one…  Points/slots permitting of course.  NOT ICs like the BA ones, but assigned out like Wolf Guard.  So, planning is required, but it just means I have to be more careful during the list building stage of the game.  An additional Character with potentially Artificer Armor and maybe a Power Weapon or Augury Scanner who also grants the 5+ FnP roll?  Yes, please.

Otherwise, I am looking at the second book (“Horus Heresy Book 2 – Massacre”), and finding that if I were to go into the Iron Hands I would be pretty well set…  I think they pretty much work the way I’d like the Legion Marines to work.  Shoot like you are voting in Chicago, early and often.  But I think I will stay with my ancient Space Wolves at least until I see what this iteration of the history is…  As I was familiar with the old Wolves, I am hoping that at the least they do not vary TOO much from the regular Legions.  So far it is just a different unit or two, the Primarch with a few characters and maybe a different Rite of War…  So basically as I start building now, perhaps I will be OK moving it over to Wolves when they finally appear in the books.  Looking at 3-4 new Legions/year it might well be some time before they DO show up.  But the Mortis DN and the Contemptor Mortis are both there for all Legions to use.  135 points for the TL AC version, so 15 points more than a new standard DN with the same armament.  15 points for the Targeting Array giving Intercept and Skyfire during your turn and the opponent’s turn if you do not move.  Um, YES PLEASE!  A reliable AA weapon that can actually do a lot more than AA I think.  AP 4 is kind of annoying, but reliably putting 3-4 Str 7 hits on a target is a solid ability.  ALMOST at the point of putting on 2 x TL Las Cannon just for the ability to put 2 Str 9 AP 2 hits out there.  ROF is a bit low for the 155 points, but the better chance of splashing fliers might well be worth it.  But for now I HAVE several DNs with the TL AC, including one of the Dust walkers that I am repainting for my Crimson Fists…  I could realistically put together another 3-4 DNs with the TL AC if I really felt the need, but not really sure it is worth it…  So, the Mortis comes with my Legion forces like my DA forces…

There IS a Flier in the book in the Fast Attack section.  A Lightning variant.  Not sure, base model is cheap(ish), and there are 4 hard points to add custom weapon loadouts…  Still, a 2 HP AV 11 flier starting at 135 points?  20 points buys you TL AC or TL Multi Laser to supplement the TL Las Cannon, so fully outfitted for Air Superiority missions I’d snag 2-3 (probably 3) more weapons bringing it to 195 points for a very fragile Flier…  The Storm Raven is 200, has Split Fire and some pretty good weapons to go along with its Transport and Assault Vehicle roles…  Depends a lot on who hits the field first, but overall I’d say the Raven will win a lot more dogfights as its weapons have to roll well below average to Glance/Penetrate…  So, certainly NOT something I’ll be rushing out to field I think.  Neat, but…

The other units in the book are all fairly neat, but things like the Drop Pod variants seem very specifically focused.  They DID fix the stupid “Deathwind” one though.  It is expensive, but it is 5 Missile Launchers each with its own Machine Spirit so it can fire at different targets and in addition to other weapons firing, etc…  Expensive, but potentially a problem that cannot be lightly ignored on the other side of the table…  And the new version of the Lucius Class Pod…  Again, “Neat”, but unless I do a Drop Army, not of much use…  Oh, but you CAN go directly into Assault from Deep Strike with it, so potentially something to surprise and scare a lot of armies, especially if you go first… 

But options abound…  Got a game scheduled against the Joe next week assuming I make it through the nuclear stress testing Monday morning…  Getting old apparently, and all the damage from all the stupid things I have done seems to be catching up J…  But, one of the reasons I took the lower pay but stable job here at the University was the excellent Health Insurance, so now that looks like a good choice on my part…

Ancient Comm Mini

Looking over at James Wappel's amazing Imperial Fists Command Group (and a post of his previous to that), I recognized one of my ancient RT era lads as something Forge World has redone.  And MUCH better I might add, though as the old Marines go, this was not really a BAD one...  Just clearly one that I never had much use for as I never even primed it in all the years it has been in the Basement of Doom :-)

So, not bad and as I eventually choose my 30K Legion, something for me to paint up in the correct colors, but still have to say the FW minis they are coming out with are amazing...  :-)  Will probably have to sell off a rifle or three to start buying more of the resin...

Legion Lists for next week

Looking like I'll be breaking out my ancient plastic MK VI Armor lads next week...  Sadly, I DO have enough I think to field a full Legion Army, albeit in the various Camo patterns I used back then when I painted them up in the late 80's...

So far, up in the air with respect to who I will have lead out the army...  Librarians getting to simply choose a discipline?  So Divination perhaps?  The Praetor is awesome as well though...  And Siege Breaker for Tank Hunter?  Just so many things I could go with...  Librarian is a safe choice, and probably where I'll start.  I need to learn how to use them in any case.

Looking at the number of Land Raiders I can field as Transports...  Kind of imposing really.  Especially as I can pay the extra points to make them immune to Melta fire...  The Spartan with the transport capacity of 25 means I can carry either a full Terminator Squad or a stupid large 20 man Tactical Squad or Breacher Squad with attached Medics (Apothecary) and say, a Librarian or the like...  In an Assault Vehicle with a stupid number of Marines rolling out with FnP, shooting attacks, etc...  Yes, REALLY high point cost for the Deathstar, but Scoring, hard to kill and should do a lot of damage...

Thinking that a 3 Land Raider spearhead will be extremely difficult for a lot of folks to deal with locally at least...  Not entirely convinced that I could easily take on a Screamer Star or an overload of MC's, but...  Lots of Twin Linked Las Cannon around, and my Terminators will have their 4++, and the lads will go down fighting so it will I think at the least be fun to play out...

30K Marne Legion armies viable in a modern high powered environment?

I think so.  The more I look over it and the more I piece together what I could actually field myself the more impressed I am with what Forgeworld has come up with here.  Comparing it to all of the current Marine Codices I find a LOT more options.  5 ACTUAL Troop choices AND Terminators are always scoring.  Yes, 3 of the Troops choices are "support" and so cannot be used to fulfill your mandatory Troop sections, but so many options...  And no silly hoops to jump through to unlock options.  Looking at Blood Angels, while they have lots of Troop options, really only 3 are Scoring and so viable.  2 can never Score, and thus are basically Elites, and mostly useless in 6th Edition.  DA and normal Marines CAN unlock other things as Troops, but basically, Tactical and Scout Squads are it...  With the growth of "Ignore Cover", Scouts are a difficult choice from a survivability standpoint...  Tactical Squads are "Eh" at best.  4's across the board for stats and 3+ armor are nothing special these days, and the Bolter is extremely substandard.  Not enough Heavy Weapons in the Troop sections, not hugely mobile and not particularly survivable.

Looking at the Legion, I have options for  things like a Tactical Support Squad with up to 10 guys, 9 armed with Meltas, Plasmas, or Rotor Cannons or a Volkite Calvier.  The Calvier is a 30" range Str 6 Heavy 2 with the potential for extra Wounds...  But basically, 30" range Str 6 shooting :-)...   Troops, and the Augury Scanner is cheap...  Allows the use of Rapid Fire or Heavy Weapons as Interceptors against Deep Strikers...  So, that could be brutal.

Almost every SGT can be upgraded to Artificer Armor, and most line squads can be up to 20 members...  Things like the BA Medics are standard things.  So 20 FnP Marines should be able to hold out a while...  NOT cheap, but again, something that you can see in a more limited and limiting fashion in modern (ish) codices...  And the Spartan Class Raider can carry 25 models, so the FULL Squad along with ICs...

I guess THAT is the frustrating thing about the 30K vs 40K comparisons...  Using just the basic Legion list as a basis for a list as I want to field it, I can actually make just about ANY of the modern Marine based armies.  And better I think.  Honestly, I think I can field a Legion list that can go toe to toe against the Tau/Eldar silliness that is currently dominating the Internet/Tournament scene...  Scoring Terminators, cheaper Land Raiders, which CAN be immune to Melta and can be Dedicated Transports...  So, no new stuff, and perhaps having a difficult time with an overload of Fliers.  OTOH, the Fliers will likely have a hard time dealing with the Land Raiders.

:-)  Guess I'll break out the 3 ancient Land Raiders and see what the Legion can do this week...  Glad the old Army Builder program had the Heresy stuff in it these days...

Considering a 30K Army... Dammit :-)

Been reading more and more of the Horus Heresy Betrayal book and seeing the truly amazing resin minis coming out of Forgeworld...  Looking at my own actual Pre-Heresy stuff and how very primitive those pieces look in comparison?  Yeah, and the rules for the Legions are actually quite good.  Haven't played them yet, but they look balanced and fun to play...  While staying powerful enough to at least have a chance against the current top tier lists I think.  The basic Legion lists alone are ~ 60 pages, and that is just the generic stuff, the specific Legions are more...  But the first book really only has Traitor Legions which I will not play.  Second book has Salamanders and Iron Hands, neither of which are ones I am much interested in for Loyalists...  So, guess I start looking at redoing my ancient Wolves or Imperial Fists perhaps as the Crimson Fists did not exist at that time.

So, I guess I start trading for and picking up some of the more interesting "ancient" Armors...  I have a set of "Breacher Siege Squad" lads coming to become a Command Squad with Storm Shields in 40K, but guessing that they will just be the first group...  Breachers are Troops in the 30K lists, but unit starts at 10 men...  Assault Squads are also Troops...  Seems weird to me that Forgeworld can write such amazingly balanced and frankly good Army Books and GW comes out with silliness and stupidity in the form of the $50 DA book that was DoA due to the Heldrakes and massed fliers initially seen in 6th edition...  Damn shame, and I have to admit that this causes me a fair bit of concern for the long term viability of the game.

Crimson Fists vs IG

Mkay, going mostly from memory, I played against Marc last evening, 1850 points he brought his Armored IG, I had my CF, testing some different stuff...

He fielded:

Lord Commissar (2 Plasma Pistols)
Vendetta (3 TL LC, 2 HB)
Vulture (I think, FW flier, TL Punisher Gatling Cannon, HB)
2 Leman Russ w/ Punisher, MM sponsons and LC hull mount
Leman Russ Exterminator (Las Cannon)
Vet Squad (Plasmas, Carapice, in a Chimera)
Vet Squad (Meltas, Plasma?  Rode in Vendetta w/ Commissar)
Bane Wolf (MM, Chem flamer)
Line PLT, 3 squads, Commissar


I fielded:
CPT on bike w/Primarch's bolter
Command Squad on bikes w/melta, 3 Grav guns and a Medic
Bike Squad w/MM, 2 Grav guns full squad
2 Scout Squads, cloaks, bolters, snipers, etc...  2 Speeder Storms, 1 MM, 1 HF
Centurion Devastator Squad w/2 Grav Cannon, missiles and split fire
Hunter
Legion of the Damned
Storm Raven
Rifleman DN
Everything that could combat squad, did.  DN rode in the Raven, Bolter Scouts in Storms flanked

So, he got first turn...  Set up his 2 Punisher tanks on his left flank, Executioner on far right. Line PLT in the center in a building.  I sent my Centurions to my left opposite his Exterminator.  Scouts set up in same building and the far Right flank.  Had to start the Bike Squads behind cover as well.  Reserved the Command Squad and Hunter along with the Legion, Raven and Storms.  First turn was my Scouts weathering a LOT of punisher shooting along the way...  My turn was the Devastators moving up and wrecking the Chimeras (well, one Chimera and the Bane Wolf) for First Blood.

His Warlord Trait was -1 to my Reserve rolls...  So while his fliers came in and helped him collapse my Right flank by killing off the few remaining Scouts there and the bulk of my Centurions, I only had my Hunter come in.  My Bike Squads survived by making lots of cover/Armor saves, but are cut down to only a few members each.  I charge one Bike Squad into his Vets and hope for the best...  The other lasts until next turn, but...  So, lots of things die on both side, but I have more reserves so while the board looks sparse for me...  I have to get my lads to the field and let them go...

Turn 3, I have 2 Sniper Scouts alive hiding in a Ruin.  I think mostly because we both forgot about them.  This turn I get the bulk of my Reserves, all but one Scout Speeder (MM one) arrive and it starts to look good for the Marines.  The Storm Raven drops the Rifleman off on the way in, then proceeds to fire at the Punisher Tanks...  Killed one Tank and damages the other.  The Rifleman opens up on the last Chimera and kills it.  LoD and Scout Speeder damage the Executioner.  Last Biker kills off his Vets and then retreats...  To die next turn, but...

Turn 4, his damaged Vendetta drops out the Commissar's squad...  The kill off a the few remaining Bikers hanging around and I think somewhere along the line my Centurions die to the massed fire...  The Storm Raven and Scout Speeders I think off his now hovering Fliers...  To be fair, I think it would not have really mattered had they been Hovering or Flying as the Raven can target 2 with it's array of Vehicle killing weapons and almost guarantee splashing one and potentially both.  Coming in late left his Fliers exposed to a Riposte from the Claymore that is a Storm Raven.  Was good that his lads deployed from the Transport else when I splash the Vendetta, most of them die.  Pretty sure my LoD and remaining bikes in his DZ are killed, but my Scouts and a few other things shoot in and kill off his PCS.

Turn 5 is mostly cleanup, he moves to cover the objective, I shoot him off of it and consolidate.  He still has a fair number of lads in his Platoon, but Las Guns are not going to slow down my Command Squad set to crash in and deal with them in HtH...  After unloading the rest of my army into them.  I do not control the Objective at my Scouts are either in his DZ or have been forgotten and are camping out with a nice lunch started in the original Ruin.  Raven kills off his last Tank that has just vaporized my Rifleman...  Now, the Raven is completely out of real targets as MM/LC are overkill against IG Grunts, but had we continued, so be it... Over the course of 2 more turns I COULD have gotten the Objective as the one Combat Squad with a Storm woula have been able to Turbo Boost over there and deploy onto it the next turn.  Would have been easier to just kill off the remainder of the Platoon though I think...

So, the stars for his side?  Vulture with the huge number of shots on Strafing...  His Punishers were also quite good, but honestly easier for me to take down.  Their weapons have too short a range to NOT play aggressively and so they tend to move beyond their own Support elements and die.  His PCS was also quite good, though I think 2 more Flamers might have been good there.  They played "Linebacker" and dealt with Deep Strikers coming in.  Heavy Weapons in the Line Platoon would have been huge, as it was I could safely ignore that element and deal with the rest.  But they did last the game...

Stars for me?  Bikes are actually quite deadly now...  Making them Troops and Combat Squads means I can saturate the field in Scoring units...  They did well.  The Raven was amazing.  The Rifleman, not so much, but...  LoD was "Eh" at best I think.  Scouts on LS Storms were really quite good.  Flanking and rolling in with a bunch of Bolters and a Heavy Bolter re-rolling 1's to hit is nice...  And...  Well, the CPT did well, and the Grav weapons on bikes were nice, but highly situational I think.  Hunter paid for itself bringing down the then Skimming Flier, and bringing it in from Reserve will I think be SOP henceforth...   Overall the Army did well, would have been better as a White Scar force, but...

Is Forgeworld the equalizer?

So, looking at the rules for the Heresy stuff and other Forgeworld things…  Seems like therein lies the answer to some of the cheesy silliness.  Sad to say, but without a major FAQ or revision from GW it is looking more and more like FW again is the only way to achieve actual balance in the game.  Not sure if people out there are still using the FW AAA…  We used it a bit here and the Mortis class DN is  a staple for the DA players, but the things like the IG platforms?  Not really at all…  But only a small number of IG players locally, and as the main one is playing an armored force with air cover of his own, I think he is FAR less concerned about enemy fliers… 

Was reading a battle report earlier over on BOLS (http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2013/10/30-40k-batrep-sons-of-horus-vs.html) that pitted a Heresy era force up against an ultra-modern Tau force loaded out with 4 (!!!) Riptides.  So, showing the ease of abuse with the ability to ally with your own army to gain additional HQ/Heavy/Whatever slots…  Something I am thinking is an issue, but what would I know…  In any case, the Chaos player brings a force essentially consisting of 3 specialist Land Raiders…  Well, one Spartan which I guess is no longer a Land Raider (MINE are, both of the bloody things J) and 2 Phobos class Raiders, all of which had Ceremite Plating meaning no Melta.  So, without Melta, that means really only MC coming over to kill them in HtH and risk being dragged down by the CC Terminators inside…  If they don’t just die to the masses Twin Linked Las Cannons that is…  8 of them in this configuration.  Might be overkill for a lot of things, but barring some lucky rolling, should put enough Wounds onto one/turn to at least scare them…  Yes, 4 are going to be a problem, but really unless they play hyper aggressively they can’t deal with the 3 heavily armored Tanks themselves.  The Eldar Wraithknight with the Str 10 D Cannon can probably…  Maybe…  But becoming immune to the Melta effect is HUGE.  Thinking I will be looking at one of the Achilles Class as they have the Quad Mortar/Thunderfire Cannon and are immune to Lance as well as the Melta weapons.  Transport Capacity of 6 though, so it’ll be a Command Squad or Honor Guard…  A fitting ride I think for a Chapter Master or Captain though…

I guess I am really concerned that the only way to make a competitive army without playing one of the 2 uber armies at the moment is to find something equally broken in the Forgeworld area…  Locally we play them I think and most big tourneys seem to allow them.  Just feels wrong.  But I think I have a line on a modern Spartan Class Tank from an old Army buddy of mine…  Apparently I have too many magazines, clips, etc. for some ancient firearms, and so…  J 

Since I have a BUNCH of pre-Heresy stuff, and the FW resin looks amazing, kind of looking forward to putting together a 30K army...