A Merry Christmas To You All!

Just a quick post to wish all our long-suffering readers a very merry Christmas (or other non-denominational mid-winter festival of your choice) and happy new year. 

I hope the fella in red (Santa that is, rather than Khârn) brought you all sorts of plastic, resin and metal goodies, ready to hit the tables in 2016. For me, Santa delivered a Dark Angels Nephilim which will be converted into a Lightning Strike Fighter for my 30k VI Legion Astartes, and a whole pile of awesome MDF laser-cut scenery ready for Duncs' next onslaughts against my armies. 

So, best wishes to all, and look out for more random, sporadic posts in 2016! 

2-Year Hobby Challenge

It's been a while since I talked about the projects I'll be working on in the near future, so here is my plan: to publicly share my intentions, and to log my progress on each project as I work on them!

UNIFICATION WARS VI LEGION VETERANS

My first task is to complete the 30k army I am working on. It is a 2,500pt Space Wolves force which makes full use of the Orbital Assault rite of war. The army consists of five drop-pods, two tactical squads, three tactical support squads and a large deepstriking Terminator squad, along with HQ characters and a couple of Apothecaries. 

The infantry models are being converted from fantasy Chaos Warrior models, while the drop-pods are actually Ranshackle Games' boring machines, which will represent boarding torpedoes for my veteran army. 

I have actually progresses quite far with this army, so look out for another blog post soon with pics of these models. 

EPIC VEHICLES FOR 40K/30K SQUATS

Once the 30k Space Wolves are finished off, my next plan is to build some 30k/40k '28mm' vehicles for my ongoing Squat army. 

First, I have a Land Train to build, made by the ever-excellent Ramshackle Games. This model doesn't need too much conversion so I'm hoping for a quick, simple build. One thing I do need to do is to decide on exactly what rules and units from the 40k Imperial Guard and 30k Cults & Militia codexes. Suggestions please! 

Next, I have three Valkyries which will be converted into Squat 'Iron Eagle' gyrocopters. The main hulls are already perfect, so all I really need to do is to make the circular propeller housings and modify the wings to accept them. 

Finally, I will attempt to build a Leviathan super-heavy! I was lucky enough to acquire a Baneblade hull for less than £20, so I will break it apart and begin the process of rebuilding the main structure of the Leviathan using plasticard. This may well turn into a labour of love, but I am looking forward to getting started on this model once the others are completed. 

LATE-HERESY ERA WORLD EATERS & DAEMONS

This last one represents another whole new army for me, and one I've always wanted to do. It is an assault-themed Heresy era 30k World Eaters army with a strong Khorne Daemon contingent. 

My plan is to use the Khorne Daemonkin book for the Daemons, choosing a Bloodthirster to lead the army, a Daemon Prince from the heavy support slot which I would model as Daemonic Angron, and then some cheap Bloodletters and Flesh-Hounds to screen the Astartes force. The World Eaters allies would be led by a Praetor, tooled-up for combat, and utilising the Pride of the Legion rite. The rest of the army consists of two squads of eight Veterans, each with five power weapons and Sergeants with power fists and plasma pistols. These two squads push forward in a pair of Land Raider Proteus'. The Praetor and veterans would all be modelled using plastic Berzerkers. 

The force probably isn't 'competitive' in the slightest, but that isn't the point! I think it perfectly fits the feel of a late-Heresy World Eaters force, combining traditional Astartes warriors and the Daemonic horde accompanying them. 

Tonight: Two Knights

Fellow Claws & Fists blogger Duncs is running an Ad Mech army at Blog Wars tomorrow. Here is a sneak peak of them! 

One Week til Blog Wars 10

In the last few months, life has been pretty busy (our second baby arrived a few weeks ago) so I've had little time for wargaming. However, I am going to take tart in Blog Wars 10 next weekend, so without further ado, here is my list! 

CODEX: Astra Militarum

Tank Commander [30] + Pask [40] = 70

• Leman Russ Punisher [140] + lascannon + sponson multi-meltas [20] = 170

• Leman Russ Punisher + lascannon [10] = 150

Tank Commander = 30

• Leman Russ Vanquisher + lascannon [10] = 145

• Leman Russ Battle Tank + lascannon [10] = 160

1 Primaris Psyker = 50

Veteran Squad + Grenadiers [15] + 3× plasma gun [45] = 120

• Chimera = 65

Veteran Squad + Grenadiers [15] + 2 x Plasma Gun [30] = 105

• Chimera= 65

Veteran Squad + Grenadiers [15] = 75

Militarum Tempestus Scions+ 2× meltagun [20] = 90

Militarum Tempestus Scions+ 2× meltagun [20] = 90

1 Hellhound= 125

1 Vendetta Gunship= 170

1 Vendetta Gunship= 170

1,850 points

Global Heresy Campaign Background

As I mentioned in my last post, I have recently joined the Aus30k Global Heresy worldwide campaign, along with my regular gaming opponent (and good mate!) Duncs. He and I always have fun games, as we often try out homebrew missions and we tend to link our games together into thematic narrative campaigns. Our first campaign was focussed on a Tyranid splinter-fleet invasion of a Space Wolves garrison moon in the Fenris system; our next campaign is a Horus Heresy era campaign based around the defence of the mining world of Kug'Arkal. Our games are actually part of the wider Global Heresy campaign, so the results of our battles affect the overall outcome of the whole campaign!

 

THE WORLD OF KUG-ARKAL

 

The overall premise is that Kug'Arkal is a mining world, with obvious strategic benefits to the victor in terms of it's lucrative and valuable mineral deposits. More on the world's background can be found HERE.

 

THE COMBATANTS

 

Im our games, Duncs will be using his new Skitarii and Mechanicus miniatures as Dark Mechanicum, representing the sinister forces of the traitorous Warmaster. I will be representing the altogether more heroic(!) Loyalists with my Squat Guard. The early campaigns are limited to around 1,000pts, thus giving us time to slowly build up our forces. For Duncs, this means starting a whole new army! I actually already have around 4,000pts of Squats, though I will be adding some more converted vehicles to it over the coming months (more on that at a later date...). You can see a fluff description of the Squat Guard HERE.

 

THE BACKGROUND TO OUR GAMES

 

The story is that Duncs' Dark Mechanicum have taken over part of Dogon Station, which is an orbital docking complex high above Kug'Arkal's surface. The loyalist Squat Guard have answered a call for assistance, but on arrival into Dogon Station, their ship mysteriously loses control and crashlands. Game one played out the scattered forces of the Squat Guard and the Dark Mechanicum's first skirmishing encounter (you'll find a write-up of our first game HERE on the Aus30k website), resulting in a comprehensive victory to Duncs and the Dark Mechanicum! At the end of that first game, the Squat Guard have been pushed back into their deployment zone, representing the Loyalists attempting to regroup and then rally their beleaguered forces. Game two (to be played this  Friday night) will see the Squat Guard attempting to break out of the docking zone to establish a defensible beach-head on Dogon Station while they await reinforcements from their orbiting fleet.

 

Global Heresy! 30k Worldwide Campaign

 

Dono over at the Aus30k site has just released the new Global Heresy campaign for Horus Heresy. It is a worldwide campaign system based in the 30k / Horus Heresy universe, whereby any game you play locally (with your mates, at a clubnight or even at a campaign weekend or tournament) counts toward the worldwide result. I really like it as it gives your games a greater meaning than just the pleasure of smashing your opponent (if only...!).

SETTING UP AN ACCOUNT ON AUS30K

The way it all works is that firstly, you sign up for an account on the Aus30k site by clicking 'Create Account' in the top-right corner. This only takes a couple of minutes, although it does take a day or so for Dono to approve your account and send you a password - he is running the whole worldwide campaign and doing everything himself, so there can sometimes (understandably) be a delay!

LOGGING YOUR ARMY ON AUS30K

Once you have your account created and have received a password, you can log your 30k army (or armies!) on the site. To do this, you go to the top of the homepage HERE and then click on the picture of the army you want to create. On clicking the Astartes Legion of your choice (or Mechanicum icon or Solar Auxilia icon) , you are taken to that army's page. In the box on the righthand side is a button saying 'CREATE A LEGIO ARMY' Click here - but do NOT change the text in the box just above it, as this is your army's unique reference, which you'll need later when you're creating Battle Reports.

Here's where it gets a bit tricky - especially if you're a techno-luddite like me. The army creation page is quick tricky to use, as it has to be entered in a very particular and peculiar way! However, there is a guide HERE. I found it easiest to select the whole lot of text in the template, copy it all and paste it into Word or Notepad for editing.

The bits you need to fill in are listed below:

- ARMY NAME This is the formal name of your army.  

- CATEGORY: Uncompleted Army (while you are creating your army page); change to Completed Army once you have added all of your information.

- CATEGORY: Template (remove this line altogether - it's not needed).

- FORCE IMAGE: Here you can upload your own army badge, icon or image - or use one of the pre-existing Legio images which have already been uploaded (i.e Legio III.png). 

- CAPTION: This is a short motto or description of your army badge/icon.

- COGNOMEN: this is a less formal nickname for your army.

- ALLEGIANCE: choose either Loyalist or Traitor!

- HISTORY: This is where you write your army's background fluff.

As I am currently building a Heresy-era Space Wolves army, I will show my examples for each stage:

- ARMY NAME 12th Great Company.

- CATEGORY: Uncompleted Army (while you are creating your army page; change to Completed Army once you have added all of your information).

- CATEGORY: Template (remove this line all together - it's not needed).

- FORCE IMAGE: Here I would choose a suitably 'wolfy' icon! 

- CAPTION: "Tear Hard and True at your Enemies' Throat!"

- COGNOMEN: The Great Company of Jarl Edric Vaettassen

- ALLEGIANCE: Loyalist

- HISTORY: This is where I will write all my fluff for this army

Once completed, you can press save. When your army entry is fully complete, don't foget to change the Category to 'Completed Army'. This will alow you to use this army in Battle Reports, etc.

PLAYING GAMES AND FILING A BATTLE REPORT

 

There are three worlds to fight over in the Harkarialis System in the current Global Heresy campaign. Each belongs to one of the three Horus Heresy / 30k podcasts, which you'll find HERE:

Ark'alask Septimus belongs to the Age of Darkness podcast

Kaska'Irilis belongs to the Imperial Truth podcast

Kug'Arkal belongs to the Eye of Horus podcast

In each case, there is a page dedicated to each planet, describing the world's geography, population etc as well as a suggestion on the style of games which could be played there. I have chosen the world belonging to the Eye of Horus guys, as I find that podcast very, very enjobable!

To log a battle report, you click into the planet you have fought your game on, and then click on the heading 'Battle Reports' which will take you to a page where you can add the details of your game, as follows:

- REALDATE: the date you played your game on, in the following format: 1 January 2014

- SUBSECTOR/SYSTEM/PLANET: These list the solar system and planet which you are fighting in. These should already be filled in if you open the Battle Report via the Planet you are playing on!

- FORCES: Enter the army codes for the armies involved, in either the Loyalist (yay!) or Traitor (boo!) sections. 

- Battle Summary: This is where you add the main 'fluff' of your battle report.

- Battle Gallery: add pictures of your game here

At the end of this process, click 'save' and your report is added to the overall campaign. At the very minimum the report should include Date of Battle, Sub-Sector/System/Planet, Loyalist/Traitor, and a summary of the game.

30k Heresy Era Death Guard - WIP

 

In under two weeks' time I will be heading to the North West Gaming Centre in Stockport (UK) for a 30k Horus Heresy campaign weekend. A campaign weekend is sort of the opposite of a tournament - gamers are encouraged to be fluffy, and it's definitely a fun game you are aiming to create for your opponent, not a crushing defeat of your opponent!

 

As I am very poor, I have decided to build my Death Guard force for the smallest cost possible! I have previously bought about 100 'Space Crusade' Marines for about a tenner(!), so of course they have become the core of this army. I also won a decent amount of second hand Chaos Marines (40 CSM's and 4 Dreadnoughts) for about £30, so the Death Guard veterans will use CSM models, as I figure the veterans would be more likely to convert to Nurgle before the rank and file might do.  

Here are the models I have painted so far:

Death Guard infantry

Death Guard command (from left: Librarian, Chaplain and Forge Lord)

 To transport the army, I am scratch building three Storm Eagles (see previous posts). These are made, but still need painting. Hopefully by the end of the week, these will be ready too, so look out for another post showing off the completeed army!

Scratch Built Storm Eagles

In order to prepare for an upcoming Horus Heresy campaign weekend, I need three Storm Eagles. As real life prohibits me from venturing anywhere near Forge World's crazy prices, I have instead built my own!

 

The models are made entirely from 5mm foamboard, and will be detailed with spare bitz (hatches, smoke launchers, etc) from several Chimera sprues I have left over from my Mech Squat Guard army.

 

Here they are:

 

 

The next steps are to detail the models with bitz, and then to get them painted. I will be undercoating them with Halfords' matt black primer, and then airbushing them green to suit the pre-Heresy Death Guard colours. I will then hand-paint on the ivory-white colour and details.

 

Here is what my Death Guard are looking like so far:

 

 

 

Tyranids vs Space Wolves Campaign - Game 7

GAME 7 - MATRICIDE

 

The nerve centre of the Tyranid invasion force has been breached! The Norn Queen calls her children to defend her inner sanctum, as the fate of the Hive Nest is decided in the cold darkness of her subterranean lair…

SET-UP:

The Tyranid player places D3+2 pieces of terrain in each 2’ x 4’ section of the board.

The Imperial player then chooses board edge and deployment type.

After board edge and deployment type have been decided but before deployment itself begins, the Tyranid player should place a suitably grotesque and sizeable model to represent the Norn Queen in open ground (replacing a piece of terrain if necessary). The Norn Queen model may be placed anywhere on the table, outside of the Imperial player’s deployment zone.  

ARMY CONSTRUCTION & RESTRICTIONS:

The Norn Queen costs 200pts (and must be taken by the Tyranid player!). She has the following profile:

WS: 4   BS: 4    S: 6      T: 8       W: 8     I: 1        A: 4      Ld: 10   Sv. 2+ / 3++

Special Rules:

Psychic Shield: The Norn Queen has a 3+ invulnerable save and has the shrouded special rule.

Immobile Creature: The Norn Queen cannot move, run, charge, consolidate or make sweeping advances (or otherwise move, or be moved, for any reason!).

Psyker (mastery level 3). Powers are drawn from the Tyranid powers.

Shadow in the Warp. 

Synapse Creature (24”). 

Wargear:

Scything Talons. 

OBJECTIVES & VICTORY CONDITIONS:

Primary Objective (20pts):

The Imperial player wins the campaign by killing the Norn Queen.

The Tyranid player wins the campaign by preventing this from happening.

Tyranids vs Space Wolves Campaign - Game 6

GAME 6 – THE INNER SANCTUM

Having neutralised the alien breeding ground, the scouts of the Imperial forces discover the location of the Tyranid Norn Queen, deep underground, far below the surface of the tortured planet. Following the Scouts’ beacon, the main Imperial force thrusts a spear-tip forward through the Tyranid masses that defend the tunnel entrances to the Queen’s subterranean inner sanctum…

SET-UP:

The Tyranid player places D3+2 pieces of terrain per 2’x4’ section of the board.  

The Imperial player then chooses deployment type and board edge.

After board edge and deployment type have been decided but before deployment itself begins, the Tyranid player should place a 3” x 3” tunnel marker representing the entrance to the Norn Queen’s underground lair. This tunnel marker should be placed in open ground (replace a piece of terrain if necessary). 

OBJECTIVES & VICTORY CONDITIONS:

Primary Objective (10pts):

The Imperial Player wins by exiting at least 25% of his starting forces via the tunnel entrance. Units may exit the board by getting every model in the unit into base-to-base contact with, or onto the top of, the tunnel marker.

The Tyranid player wins by preventing this.

Secondary Objective (7pts):

‘Modified’ Maelstrom Cards (see Caledonian Uprising 2015 rules pack – thanks, Tim King!)

Tertiary Objectives:

First Strike (1pt)
Slay the Warlord (1pt)
Line Breaker (1pt) 

(NOTE: Tabling your opponent automatically gives the winner a 20-0 victory!).

OUTCOMES & BONUSES:

If the Imperial player wins, he may choose up to three units in the next game to receive the infiltrate or scout special rules.

If the Tyranid player wins, he gains an optional +2 to the roll to determine who gets first turn in the next game, and may re-roll the dice to seize the initiative (if he so chooses).  

Tyranids vs Space Wolves Campaign - Game 5

GAME 5 - EXTERMINATION

The alien breeding ground has been discovered! During the scouring of the Tyranid back lines, a macabre grotto of alien eggs has been uncovered. If this source of new Tyranid bio-forms can be neutralised, the invasion will be dealt a killer blow. The Imperial forces push all their resources into exterminating this foul nest of xenos beasts….

SET UP: 

Place 6 large alien eggs in the middle 2’ x 4’ of the table. No other terrain is placed in this section.

The Tyranid player then places D3+2 pieces of terrain in the other two 2’ x 4’ sections.

Hammer & anvil deployment.

ARMY CONSTRUCTION & RESTRICTIONS:

None

OBJECTIVES & VICTORY CONDITIONS:

Primary Objective (10pts):

The Imperial player wins if he can destroy Four or more eggs.

The Tyranid player wins if he prevents this. 

Each egg is Toughness 8, has 4 wounds and a 2+ armour save.

Secondary Objective (7pts):

‘Modified’ Maelstrom Cards

Tertiary Objectives:

First Strike (1pt)
Slay the Warlord (1pt)
Line Breaker (1pt)

(NOTE: Tabling your opponent automatically gives the winner a 20-0 victory!).

OUTCOMES & BONUSES:

If the Tyranid player wins, he may 'recycle' one Troops unit in the next game. In that game, if a unit of Troops (but not a Tervigon!) is completely destroyed, the Tyranid player may, if he chooses, choose to place an identical unit (including any wargear or other options) at the start of the next game, as though they had arrived from ongoing reserves. 

If the Space Wolves player wins, he may choose one Tyranid unit in the next game. The Space Wolf player can choose to force this unit to start in reserve. Further, this unit arrives on a reserves roll of a 4+, rather than the usual 3+ (modifiers can still be applied, as normal).