Well, the League Organizer wound up working late so we just played a "skirmish" League match... So, 1850 but not for flags on the campaign map... I wound up playing Joe L's Chaos Marines... Mission was Kill Points. From memory he fielded:
Chaos Lord (jump pack, Daemon Weapon of some sort, MoK)
Jump troops, ~10 with a few Melta Guns
3 Squads of Khorne Marines, Champion in each, Power Sword, Plasma, Melta? 2 in Rhinos
Heldrake
Daemon Allies:
Blood Thirster
10 Blood Letters w/ icon
I brought:
Belial (SB/Sword)
Deathwing (10, CML, H Flamer, 4 TH/SS)
Deathwing (10, 2 CML, 4 TH/SS)
Tac Squad (ML w/ Flak)
LRC
Techmarine w/Power Field
Command Squad w/Banner of Devastation
Ravenwing Squadron w/Attack Bike (MM)
2 Hyperion ML turrets
I got first turn, deployed the LRC w/ Banner front and center, with the TM and Command Squad embarked. The Ravenwing flanked the tank, and Scout moved to cover the front. The Attack Bike moved to my Right flank to deal with the single Rhino full of Khorne hate... Realized the Scout move is 12", so a bit more flexibility... Basically, the Bolters (Hurricane and Bike) opened up on the Jump Troops at 24" range... The Lord survived along with a few of his lads... But most of them disappeared in a fine red mist. The Attack bike zoomed up, got a penetrating hit on the Rhino and following that with a 1 for the Damage result... Did that a lot :-)
His turn one was mostly just killing my Ravenwing... Lord and remaining Jumpers offed my bikers, the Rhino dismounted the passengers who shot the Attack Bike off the board... Not bad, but it left a lot of his Infantry out in the open for my next turn. Speaking of which, Belial deployed with the CML/HF squad and they set themselves down perfectly to split fire. The flamer caught pretty much the whole Berserker squad who dismounted to shoot up my bikes, Storm Bolters went there as well... CML went into the Lord and single remaining Jumper. LRC and Tac Squad shot up the Blood Thirster and my second Deathwing dropped to the middle of the field to throw a few missiles out there, but really just set up a second big, heavy Squad... Basically, the Tac Squad shot their Salvo Bolters at the Thirster, it failed it's Grounding test. Then the LRC and Deathwing unloaded on it... It had one wound remaining at the end of that as the AAA did Jack AND Shit. So, the "Roll lots of dice, looking for 6's" for the Flier...
Turn 3 was fairly brief as his Thirster died to overwatch fire trying to Assault Belial's Squad. Belial and his Lord faced off and the Fleshbane combined with the Preferred Enemy for me was just too good... Helped a LOT that his Lord only had Powered Armor, so the 4++ save was the best he had... And of course, having had to weather a LOT of fire getting there so I think he only had one Wound at that point... But 2 VP on that Challenge as Belial's Warlord Trait actually paid off. His Drake finally showed up, I shot it twice with AAA stripping a Hull Point, and I think in 4 I hit it a few more times, but removed the weapon forcing it to Reserves... Pretty
So, AA did it's job I guess, but it was a LOT more that I had primarily Terminator armor on the field. The fly by attacks are not an issue, he didn't really have an answer for the Raider and the Flamer being AP 3 is not so scary with 2+ everywhere... Have to say the Banner combo is absolutely amazing locally... I may have to bring in a Librarian with an Auspex to remove a bit of cover for the Salvo to hit...
Next week is the 750 point mini game followed by the separate table for the Tunnel game... Not so sure what will happen, but looking at another 11 model army, but Deep Striking in exactly where I want should mean I get there first...
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Painting projects, fliers, campaigns and contests :-)
On contests, I wound up winning the Wolf Scout and Samurai from Muninn's Brush ... Probably not telling my wife :-) She feels that the hobby area of the basement is really too crowded now... But to be fair, my hobbies include ancient weapons, old firearms AND miniatures... Right now restoring several old rifles (1890's Krag-Jorgenson rifle, US issue during the Spanish American war one of them), getting things ready for my "Klingon Wall" in the basement when I get around to finishing it... Thanks for the Scout!
Finishing up my Consecrators (Dark Angels)... Not a lot changed for me, NOT a complete repaint, so just the few new pieces to be painted and touched up... Basically I need to piece together the few new pieces like a banner bearer/command squad. As it happens, I have 40 or so ancient Powered Armor Marines that haven't seen the field for 3 editions in that army :-)... Now, they're not too bad overall just have one major problem...
The Chaos Heldrake... Purpose built to kill PA troopers, so being out in the open or even in cover means nothing at all... Looking like I will be fielding some Rhinos for the AA missiles to get launched out of for a bit at least... Need to break out some more of the hulls from deep storage and paint them up I guess... Until then, more Terminator suits hit the field for me given the sheer number of these bloody things prowling locally at least... It's clearly viewed by many as being under costed as I regularly see 2 of them across the table, usually with a third flier in a Vendetta. While I like the Ally rules in general, this is where it gets a bit tiresome... Seeing the exact same cookie cutter "ally groups" for a lot of folks. It's a bit boring seeing the exact same under costed things all over the place. Oh look, another IG ally with cheap Vets for the BS 4 and cheap Special Weapons fired out of the Chimera and/or a blob led by a Marine for ATSKNF/Stubborn/Fearless... How original. And a Vendetta or three AND Rambo? Yeah, didn't see that coming :-)... Not sure how I am feeling about the upcoming Flier book. On one hand I am hoping they actually bring up the points for the 5th ed fliers that are clearly not costed on the same paradigm as the current ones. I mean comparing the DA "dog-fighter" in the Nephilim to the IG Vendetta... Yes, the DA does have a special rule that might in some circumstances actually bring down enemy fighters... With it's ONE TL Las Cannon. Or the IG can just shoot it down with it's THREE TL Las Cannons. Oh, and the DA flier that is inferior in almost every respect costs 50+ points more... So, not sure why people would field that if they can just do the safe alternative in fielding a small IG Kampfgruppe with the clearly superior Vendetta... But like I said, it gets a bit boring seeing the same things over and over...
But back to the painting :-) Yes, my Wolves are moving closer to the fore... Praetorian IG are MUCH closer to complete. Liking the Minwax for the quick and really pretty nice coating it puts on the minis. So, I'll actually have a BUNCH of stuff fully painted ready to go. Sadly, my Wolves are not one of them. Being my first 40K army, I do think it is time for me to bring them up to a more modern and well painted standard... Just not so sure they are really playable in the current environment. :-) Kind of bringing me full circle, I got back into the game mid 5th edition using the "unusable" 3rd ed Codex and did really well. Think I will enjoy the challenge for a bit at least using the 5th ed Codex in the current environment... A bit at least, at this point I am not so sure they will be able to survive the Heldrakes... Guess we'll see what happens with the Flier expansion...
Finishing up my Consecrators (Dark Angels)... Not a lot changed for me, NOT a complete repaint, so just the few new pieces to be painted and touched up... Basically I need to piece together the few new pieces like a banner bearer/command squad. As it happens, I have 40 or so ancient Powered Armor Marines that haven't seen the field for 3 editions in that army :-)... Now, they're not too bad overall just have one major problem...
The Chaos Heldrake... Purpose built to kill PA troopers, so being out in the open or even in cover means nothing at all... Looking like I will be fielding some Rhinos for the AA missiles to get launched out of for a bit at least... Need to break out some more of the hulls from deep storage and paint them up I guess... Until then, more Terminator suits hit the field for me given the sheer number of these bloody things prowling locally at least... It's clearly viewed by many as being under costed as I regularly see 2 of them across the table, usually with a third flier in a Vendetta. While I like the Ally rules in general, this is where it gets a bit tiresome... Seeing the exact same cookie cutter "ally groups" for a lot of folks. It's a bit boring seeing the exact same under costed things all over the place. Oh look, another IG ally with cheap Vets for the BS 4 and cheap Special Weapons fired out of the Chimera and/or a blob led by a Marine for ATSKNF/Stubborn/Fearless... How original. And a Vendetta or three AND Rambo? Yeah, didn't see that coming :-)... Not sure how I am feeling about the upcoming Flier book. On one hand I am hoping they actually bring up the points for the 5th ed fliers that are clearly not costed on the same paradigm as the current ones. I mean comparing the DA "dog-fighter" in the Nephilim to the IG Vendetta... Yes, the DA does have a special rule that might in some circumstances actually bring down enemy fighters... With it's ONE TL Las Cannon. Or the IG can just shoot it down with it's THREE TL Las Cannons. Oh, and the DA flier that is inferior in almost every respect costs 50+ points more... So, not sure why people would field that if they can just do the safe alternative in fielding a small IG Kampfgruppe with the clearly superior Vendetta... But like I said, it gets a bit boring seeing the same things over and over...
But back to the painting :-) Yes, my Wolves are moving closer to the fore... Praetorian IG are MUCH closer to complete. Liking the Minwax for the quick and really pretty nice coating it puts on the minis. So, I'll actually have a BUNCH of stuff fully painted ready to go. Sadly, my Wolves are not one of them. Being my first 40K army, I do think it is time for me to bring them up to a more modern and well painted standard... Just not so sure they are really playable in the current environment. :-) Kind of bringing me full circle, I got back into the game mid 5th edition using the "unusable" 3rd ed Codex and did really well. Think I will enjoy the challenge for a bit at least using the 5th ed Codex in the current environment... A bit at least, at this point I am not so sure they will be able to survive the Heldrakes... Guess we'll see what happens with the Flier expansion...
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
1850 DA, next week...
So, reflecting on last weeks game I think that while making Deathwing and Ravenwing "Troops" is really nice, the 215 points Azrael costs was just way too much to not hit the table. Yes, I probably played wrong, so I am not totally discounting the usefulness of the Commander... But having Belial hit the table on turn 1/2 exactly where I want him to be? And then fighting for the bulk of the game, or at least until he dies :-) makes more sense to me. Still not 100% sure it is something that will be able to beat things like the Necron Air circus, or the local IG hordes... More specifically, the AV 14 tanks that are becoming popular locally... Drop in, get a side shot maybe, hope for Melta/Multi Melta to survive long enough to matter... Having Terminator armor is nice, but roll enough dice and 1's WILL come up. Looking at fewer than 30 bodies total for the army at 1850, so those will all hurt.
Looking at:
Belial
Deathwing Squad (10, 2 CML, several TH/SS, probably at least 4)
Deathwing Squad (5, Heavy Flamer, a few TH/SS)
Deathwing Command Squad (Banner of Devastation, Champion, Heavy Flamer)
LRC (NOT a dedicated Transport, but maybe?, Melta, dozer)
Techmarine (Servo, Power Field)
Tactical Squad (5, ML w/Flak)
Ravenwing Squadron (Attack Bike, MM, Melta in Squadron)
I'm NOT sold on using the DW Command Squad over just a regular one, or even dropping that particular aspect altogether. I'd probably swap out the LRC for a regular LR and hope to roll 6's when shooting at fliers I guess...
I am also kind of building it with the Campaign in mind. I am facing off against several Chaos forces, including my primary enemy. I forget my overall Warlord Trait, but in essence, I am hunting him... Good bonuses for holding territories next to his, and better ones for actually defeating him in a game... Since I just took a Hive City from him last turn, I'm set up fairly well for that. And I have a number of "Bastion" spots, giving me free Bastions in games there... Thinking my small Tac Squad foes there and fires Flak missiles, Heavy Bolters and Quad Gun/Las Cannon at fliers/reserves... Seeing Rambo, I mean "Marbo" a lot these days in IG forces, so having something to potentially shoot him out of existence is a REALLY nice thing for me... Getting out of paying the "Aegis Tax" for not bringing fliers... And since I have yet to actually declare an attack in the Campaign, seems likely someone will try to come and take one of my good spots from me. Plus side, no Planetstorm silliness attacking my Hive City as it incorporates a Shield Generator... I could I guess bring extra Heavies or the like, but really not all that impressed with my choices there.
Kind of riffing off of that, my choices of Fliers is extremely limited overall. Yes, I do have 1+ (the + is the extras I am building as Airships) for the Praetorians, I have a converted Valkyrie to stand in as a Storm Raven for my GK/BA forces... But, honestly feeling that my IG/GK forces would be overpowered and over represented in our local environment. My Fleshtearers are brutal. Not a lot of local players are REALLY prepared for the way I play them. Adding in a Raven to transport my DC DN and probably an Assault Squad? Not sure I'd play it if I were not playing a "I'm making a point" Army and just going out to be a complete dick and destroy the opposition as quickly as possible... So, no, not going to play that force I think... And the DA fliers just look craptastic on paper. NOT saying they needed to be "OMG BROKEN" level to have people play them, but really, 180 points for a very lackluster dog-fighter or 160 for a "ground attack" aircraft that is inferior in every way to the IG Valkyrie/Vendetta? Yes, the IG flier is TOO good, and I don't think they need to make all of them too good, but playing now, I do not often see an army across the table without one of them as an "ally"... Not the only reason to ally with IG of course, but I can erase blobs, even fearless ones easily enough, the filers are just a PITA... The current crop of fliers is overall "Eh"... The Chaos Heldrake is a bit over the top against Powered Armor armies not bringing Transports, but that can be dealt with I think... The DA/Marine fliers are just a bit confusing to me. Overpriced garbage. And limited in which flavor of Marine gets the bloody things? Not the strategy I would have taken as a business trying to sell more models, but...
Speaking of odd business decisions, rumor has a direct only "flier compendium" coming out in a few weeks. Now, I am no longer involved in a game store, but I REALLY would much prefer to purchase through my local store as that is where I play, and the owners are friends. Even without knowing them, the "buy where you play" thing is big for me. some other stores over the years where there was either no or limited play space or where some/all of our game group were "no longer welcome"... Well, then buying online was the way I'd go. If the rumors are correct, barring Dave getting a bunch of orders together and being able to get them in bulk from GW, does not seem that we CAN order through him. That does not even get me started on the whole releasing broken, silly rules and selling expensive "patches" later on like the liquid Green Stuff and "Finecast"... Once upon a time, they released updated online as freely downloadable PDF's... Wouldn't think that would have cost much at all, and would retain a fair number of customers. To say nothing of the ability to release say, an Eldar tank kit with the rules online so they do not have to wait for the next iteration of the Codex... :-) Not that this will happen again... But kind of frustrating as a player not having "legal" access to the rules for things like the last wave of fliers (Marine/Ork ones) without hunting down a back issue of their advertisement/magazine... :-) I guess I am missing the "good old days" a bit, maybe it will all work out...
Looking at:
Belial
Deathwing Squad (10, 2 CML, several TH/SS, probably at least 4)
Deathwing Squad (5, Heavy Flamer, a few TH/SS)
Deathwing Command Squad (Banner of Devastation, Champion, Heavy Flamer)
LRC (NOT a dedicated Transport, but maybe?, Melta, dozer)
Techmarine (Servo, Power Field)
Tactical Squad (5, ML w/Flak)
Ravenwing Squadron (Attack Bike, MM, Melta in Squadron)
I'm NOT sold on using the DW Command Squad over just a regular one, or even dropping that particular aspect altogether. I'd probably swap out the LRC for a regular LR and hope to roll 6's when shooting at fliers I guess...
I am also kind of building it with the Campaign in mind. I am facing off against several Chaos forces, including my primary enemy. I forget my overall Warlord Trait, but in essence, I am hunting him... Good bonuses for holding territories next to his, and better ones for actually defeating him in a game... Since I just took a Hive City from him last turn, I'm set up fairly well for that. And I have a number of "Bastion" spots, giving me free Bastions in games there... Thinking my small Tac Squad foes there and fires Flak missiles, Heavy Bolters and Quad Gun/Las Cannon at fliers/reserves... Seeing Rambo, I mean "Marbo" a lot these days in IG forces, so having something to potentially shoot him out of existence is a REALLY nice thing for me... Getting out of paying the "Aegis Tax" for not bringing fliers... And since I have yet to actually declare an attack in the Campaign, seems likely someone will try to come and take one of my good spots from me. Plus side, no Planetstorm silliness attacking my Hive City as it incorporates a Shield Generator... I could I guess bring extra Heavies or the like, but really not all that impressed with my choices there.
Kind of riffing off of that, my choices of Fliers is extremely limited overall. Yes, I do have 1+ (the + is the extras I am building as Airships) for the Praetorians, I have a converted Valkyrie to stand in as a Storm Raven for my GK/BA forces... But, honestly feeling that my IG/GK forces would be overpowered and over represented in our local environment. My Fleshtearers are brutal. Not a lot of local players are REALLY prepared for the way I play them. Adding in a Raven to transport my DC DN and probably an Assault Squad? Not sure I'd play it if I were not playing a "I'm making a point" Army and just going out to be a complete dick and destroy the opposition as quickly as possible... So, no, not going to play that force I think... And the DA fliers just look craptastic on paper. NOT saying they needed to be "OMG BROKEN" level to have people play them, but really, 180 points for a very lackluster dog-fighter or 160 for a "ground attack" aircraft that is inferior in every way to the IG Valkyrie/Vendetta? Yes, the IG flier is TOO good, and I don't think they need to make all of them too good, but playing now, I do not often see an army across the table without one of them as an "ally"... Not the only reason to ally with IG of course, but I can erase blobs, even fearless ones easily enough, the filers are just a PITA... The current crop of fliers is overall "Eh"... The Chaos Heldrake is a bit over the top against Powered Armor armies not bringing Transports, but that can be dealt with I think... The DA/Marine fliers are just a bit confusing to me. Overpriced garbage. And limited in which flavor of Marine gets the bloody things? Not the strategy I would have taken as a business trying to sell more models, but...
Speaking of odd business decisions, rumor has a direct only "flier compendium" coming out in a few weeks. Now, I am no longer involved in a game store, but I REALLY would much prefer to purchase through my local store as that is where I play, and the owners are friends. Even without knowing them, the "buy where you play" thing is big for me. some other stores over the years where there was either no or limited play space or where some/all of our game group were "no longer welcome"... Well, then buying online was the way I'd go. If the rumors are correct, barring Dave getting a bunch of orders together and being able to get them in bulk from GW, does not seem that we CAN order through him. That does not even get me started on the whole releasing broken, silly rules and selling expensive "patches" later on like the liquid Green Stuff and "Finecast"... Once upon a time, they released updated online as freely downloadable PDF's... Wouldn't think that would have cost much at all, and would retain a fair number of customers. To say nothing of the ability to release say, an Eldar tank kit with the rules online so they do not have to wait for the next iteration of the Codex... :-) Not that this will happen again... But kind of frustrating as a player not having "legal" access to the rules for things like the last wave of fliers (Marine/Ork ones) without hunting down a back issue of their advertisement/magazine... :-) I guess I am missing the "good old days" a bit, maybe it will all work out...
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
1850 DA AAR
So, played the "We Shoot Things" list last night against a pretty good Chaos force... Just going from memory, but this is approximately what he had:
Chaos Lord (Daemon weapon, Juggernaut, 4++ save of some sort, Mark of Khorne)
Chaos Lord (Daemon weapon/Black Mace?, Juggernaut, 4++ save of some sort, Mark of Khorne)
15 Cultists
15 Cultists
2 Predators (AC, 2x LC)
Vindicator
2 Heldrakes (bale flamers)
IG allies
CCS in Chimera (plasma/meltas)
Vet Squad in Chimera (plasma/2 Melta)
Manticore
Vendetta
So, lots of Fliers...
He had first turn and set up for an alpha strike... I seized. My bikes that had Scout moved up were in position and ended up winning me the game. The Attack bike caught the Manticore in the 12" "sweet spot" for the easy kill netting me "First Blood". The other bikes I had ran as Combat Squadrons so 2 groups of 3. Made my first big mistake when I did not just shoot the first Lord out of existence... I shot each at one Cultist Squad with the LRC pitching in to wipe the closest one off the table. I should have pushed the 48 TL Bolter shots all onto the one squad along with the TLAC/MM/etc... So, killed off all of one and almost all of the other Cultist squads, but I REALLY should have just focused in on the one to kill the Lord.
That brings me to me second big mistake... I rolled the LRC forward, leaving the Tactical Squads in their cover... They did move out some trying to keep up, but... In any case they got strung out and left behind by the uber-tank...
Brings me to the Drakes. So, they fly "near" something, a wing clipping it maybe, and it's d3+1 Str 7 AP3 hits. Movement phase, so absolutely NOTHING I as the defending player can do about it. Not a HtH attack, no opposed rolling, just automatic hits, take the damage and move on. Then of course there's the 360 degree Torrent Flamer hitting at Str 6 AP 3... Kind of makes Power Armor completely worthless. I was planning on running my Wolves at some point, but to be honest I think they'd just die. FAQ killed the Wolf Scouts completely as the Interceptor Quad Guns are not really as big an issue these days... Not bringing the Wolf Guard with them means just the 4+ Armor on the Scouts can strike behind the lines, and no Assault out of Reserve so "less useful" to "why bother"... Seeing a lot of folks getting more and more frustrated with the game, and the "slightly overpowered" flier armies in general... The now insane prices for the models is not helping, but the rules are really just lagging. Maybe in a few months it will even out, but it is NOT there right now...
With the DA, I am left feeling that it is Terminator Armor or nothing. Bikes are expensive and 3+ Armor, so they are looking like a "bring a Squadron" for the Bolters and Teleport Homers... But do not count on them living with all the things that ignore cover AND the 3+ save... OTOH, they do bring speed and a really good first strike ability to my force...
Far and away the "Death Star" I brought in the form of the LRC with the Command Squad/Banner of silly shooting/TechMarine w/ Power Field was the MVP for me... It DID take 2 hull points of damage over the course of the game, but I made a LOT of 4++ saves, and the TM has the 4+ to repair the vehicle instead of shooting and since he cannot shoot inside the vehicle... Not so sure it will be something I keep running, but to be honest I am pretty happy with it all things considered. 24" range only, so a bit limiting there... Any light Infantry caught by this should really just die though... So many shots hitting that even Heavy Infantry have to be careful... Thinking that next week I run this, maybe back to Belial and Terminators for the most part... Could be a really brutal "rush forward and hope for the best" army... 2 DW Squads, Belial, the LRC of silliness and a bike Squadron... NOT a lot of models, but might work...
Chaos Lord (Daemon weapon, Juggernaut, 4++ save of some sort, Mark of Khorne)
Chaos Lord (Daemon weapon/Black Mace?, Juggernaut, 4++ save of some sort, Mark of Khorne)
15 Cultists
15 Cultists
2 Predators (AC, 2x LC)
Vindicator
2 Heldrakes (bale flamers)
IG allies
CCS in Chimera (plasma/meltas)
Vet Squad in Chimera (plasma/2 Melta)
Manticore
Vendetta
So, lots of Fliers...
He had first turn and set up for an alpha strike... I seized. My bikes that had Scout moved up were in position and ended up winning me the game. The Attack bike caught the Manticore in the 12" "sweet spot" for the easy kill netting me "First Blood". The other bikes I had ran as Combat Squadrons so 2 groups of 3. Made my first big mistake when I did not just shoot the first Lord out of existence... I shot each at one Cultist Squad with the LRC pitching in to wipe the closest one off the table. I should have pushed the 48 TL Bolter shots all onto the one squad along with the TLAC/MM/etc... So, killed off all of one and almost all of the other Cultist squads, but I REALLY should have just focused in on the one to kill the Lord.
That brings me to me second big mistake... I rolled the LRC forward, leaving the Tactical Squads in their cover... They did move out some trying to keep up, but... In any case they got strung out and left behind by the uber-tank...
Brings me to the Drakes. So, they fly "near" something, a wing clipping it maybe, and it's d3+1 Str 7 AP3 hits. Movement phase, so absolutely NOTHING I as the defending player can do about it. Not a HtH attack, no opposed rolling, just automatic hits, take the damage and move on. Then of course there's the 360 degree Torrent Flamer hitting at Str 6 AP 3... Kind of makes Power Armor completely worthless. I was planning on running my Wolves at some point, but to be honest I think they'd just die. FAQ killed the Wolf Scouts completely as the Interceptor Quad Guns are not really as big an issue these days... Not bringing the Wolf Guard with them means just the 4+ Armor on the Scouts can strike behind the lines, and no Assault out of Reserve so "less useful" to "why bother"... Seeing a lot of folks getting more and more frustrated with the game, and the "slightly overpowered" flier armies in general... The now insane prices for the models is not helping, but the rules are really just lagging. Maybe in a few months it will even out, but it is NOT there right now...
With the DA, I am left feeling that it is Terminator Armor or nothing. Bikes are expensive and 3+ Armor, so they are looking like a "bring a Squadron" for the Bolters and Teleport Homers... But do not count on them living with all the things that ignore cover AND the 3+ save... OTOH, they do bring speed and a really good first strike ability to my force...
Far and away the "Death Star" I brought in the form of the LRC with the Command Squad/Banner of silly shooting/TechMarine w/ Power Field was the MVP for me... It DID take 2 hull points of damage over the course of the game, but I made a LOT of 4++ saves, and the TM has the 4+ to repair the vehicle instead of shooting and since he cannot shoot inside the vehicle... Not so sure it will be something I keep running, but to be honest I am pretty happy with it all things considered. 24" range only, so a bit limiting there... Any light Infantry caught by this should really just die though... So many shots hitting that even Heavy Infantry have to be careful... Thinking that next week I run this, maybe back to Belial and Terminators for the most part... Could be a really brutal "rush forward and hope for the best" army... 2 DW Squads, Belial, the LRC of silliness and a bike Squadron... NOT a lot of models, but might work...
Saturday, January 26, 2013
So, next week's Army... 1850 again...
Well, looking like nothing too bad on the rules questions I had... So looking like this will be what I am bringing:
Azrael
Command Squad (Banner of Devastation, Power Weapon maybe?)
Land Raider Crusader (MM)
Techmarine (Servo Harness, Power Field)
Deathwing Squad (10, 2 CML, 4 TH/SS?)
Tac Squad (10, ML w/ Flak, Flamer)
Tac Squad (10, ML w/Flak, Flamer)
Ravenwing Squadron (6 bikes, Attack Bike w/MM, Melta Gun)
Leaves me a few more points, and it is going to be a very "unsubtle" force... Techmarine gives me a 3+ cover save to park some of the lads in... Probably a Flak team, though maybe the Terminators against some forces... Terminators can DW Assault in on one of the many Teleport Homers I have out there, or just hole up and hold an objective. Everyone is a "Troop" selection, so I could potentially have 7 of them... A lot of them a bit weak, but... Plan is to park the Land Raider with Techmarine, Command Squad and probably Azrael in it at the front of my DZ... The Tactical Squads deploy around it, preventing Deep Strikers, and giving more Salvo Bolters... The Bikes Scout to the front to provide coverage there, and gaining the 4++ and making their Bolters Salvo as well...
Essentially, I have a metric crapton of Bolter fire, so it will be pretty deadly against Hordes... Most Marines will have a fairly hard time dealing with the sheer number of shots they can throw out... Fliers are going to be an issue, but can't be helped I think. Just kill off everything else...
Azrael
Command Squad (Banner of Devastation, Power Weapon maybe?)
Land Raider Crusader (MM)
Techmarine (Servo Harness, Power Field)
Deathwing Squad (10, 2 CML, 4 TH/SS?)
Tac Squad (10, ML w/ Flak, Flamer)
Tac Squad (10, ML w/Flak, Flamer)
Ravenwing Squadron (6 bikes, Attack Bike w/MM, Melta Gun)
Leaves me a few more points, and it is going to be a very "unsubtle" force... Techmarine gives me a 3+ cover save to park some of the lads in... Probably a Flak team, though maybe the Terminators against some forces... Terminators can DW Assault in on one of the many Teleport Homers I have out there, or just hole up and hold an objective. Everyone is a "Troop" selection, so I could potentially have 7 of them... A lot of them a bit weak, but... Plan is to park the Land Raider with Techmarine, Command Squad and probably Azrael in it at the front of my DZ... The Tactical Squads deploy around it, preventing Deep Strikers, and giving more Salvo Bolters... The Bikes Scout to the front to provide coverage there, and gaining the 4++ and making their Bolters Salvo as well...
Essentially, I have a metric crapton of Bolter fire, so it will be pretty deadly against Hordes... Most Marines will have a fairly hard time dealing with the sheer number of shots they can throw out... Fliers are going to be an issue, but can't be helped I think. Just kill off everything else...
Thursday, January 24, 2013
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...
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...
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...
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