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...