Deathwing Knights vs a Defiler?

Hi everyone,

I got in a quick game of 40k today with a buddy of mine. It was his first game of 6th edition so we worked through things fairly slowly and took our time to make sure we were doing it all correctly.

I brought a plain Deathwing list (Belial, Librarian, 5 Knights, 10 Deathwing terminators, 9 Deathwing terminators, 5 sniper scouts)

My opponent brought Chaos marines (Terminator Lord, terminators, chosen, a Helbrute, noise marines, havocs and a triple lascannon predator).

Neither of us were right on the nose as far as 1500pts goes but it was enough for us to enjoy the game well. The deployment was diagonal and we played an objective game with 5 objectives. As I often do, I placed two objectives close to his deployment zone. Since the Deathwing want to get close to bully people around I figure it works to place objectives where I want to go rather than back in my own deployment zone. One point went nearby to give the scouts something to hold.

The Actual Battle

The Chaos marines popped a few shots early on but didn't do much except killing off some scouts and causing them to run back before rallying. I'd reserved the 10 terminators with Belial and the knights with both coming in on turn 1. The knights scattered a bit further back than intended but got into a fortress position for +1 toughness.

Belial's non-scattering deathstar was, quite frankly, lethal. It dropped in right behind the Helbrute, predator and havocs. They split fire so the assault cannon could take out the walker while the rest of the unit wiped out the havocs with their twin-linked shots. The unit costs nearly 700 points but damn does it hit hard.

After that the game was largely in the bag. When the Chaos terminators and Lord teleported in they had a bad round of shooting against the Deathwing (no plasma or melta in the unit) and then got mobbed by the larger numbers of bone-white walking tanks.

The Deathwing knights finally managed to slog close enough to get into combat with the Defiler. They got their one turn of Strength 10 goodness but didn't kill it off. In the end, the big beasty killed the three knights who'd make it to combat but lost 3 hull points doing so, leaving it open to a final volley from the main Deathwing squads.

In the end, 4 scouts, 5 terminators and Belial fell (the latter to a lascannon) but we managed to kill off the Chaos marines. Now I look at the lists though I feel that my opponent may have been underpointed with his choices. I'm not sure where his second troops choice was. I should also note that my Deathwing were a bit muddled together as I'm short of models to work things out how I would like to.

Deathwing thoughts

Belial - Much nastier in combat against power armour now and deadly when it comes to bringing in the deep strikers. Thumbs up for an Alpha strike HQ choice.

Librarian - Cheap and cheerful. He brings some divination goodness to the field and helps bring down more accurate shooting. Not to be knocked.

Knights - Tough and hard hitting. The fortress of shields is particularly tough and nice to have, though it puts you in prime position for blast weapons. Slow but if you get them into combat they are mean.

Deathwing - Always a solid choice, I feel like the shift has happened now to bringing mostly shooting terminators with a few storm shields to back them up. Their automatic deep striking with twin-linked shooting is a great tool to use. Adding Belial so they don't scatter is just mean.

Scouts - Always a fun unit to bring to the table, due to the first turn havoc shot the scouts did little except draw fire and hold an objective. Still not a bad investment for 70 points.

Eldar Windrider host unboxing.

Hi everyone,

I got a few minutes to drop into the FLGS on the way to a lesson recently and managed to nab the old Apocalypse boxed set that has been hanging around for a while. After getting the 10% discount for being a regular customer and knowing a few people, I took this home for 63 euros (not bad considering the basic retail comes to ~130 euros). 

Here is the box in all its glory ready to be broken open and put together.

Damn, that's a lot of plastic. Basically you get ten sprues with Guardian Jetbike pieces, 2 Vyper jetbike sprues, 2 Eldar heavy weapon sprues, 16 flying bases (for some reason), three clear plastic canopies for the Vypers and some transfers. 

Here are the metal parts for the Autarch model. Body, left arm, right arm options (Fusion gun, power sword, laser lance) and some flags / decorations.

Next up for me is to bother my friend and see if I can borrow his plastic clippers to remove everything from the sprue much faster than if I use a hobby knife. Then I'll look at assembling the bikes (probably minus the canopy sheet), adding a few dark eldar bits to mix up the models and do my conversions prior to getting into the painting side of things.

All the best

Pete

Sniper scouts finished. Quick and easy :-)

Hi everyone,

Here are my sniper scouts. I picked up a box a few weeks ago and they were quick to build, quick to paint and should be fun to play with. Only 70 points for five with camo cloaks, hiding in cover and plinking off a few shots.

I based them using green stuff to add a bit of texture and also give me a place to add some details. Two of them get skulls from the boxed set, the kneeling guy has a pouch of cartridges, one stands over a broken Deathwing sword and the final one has a sculpted flower/plant on his base.

I went for a simple look with the camo cloaks. They are something like the elven cloaks in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I decided to keep them simple and had fun painting them up.

Here are the scouts all finished and ready to take the field, under the watchful eye of a Deathwing Librarian. Good fun all in all to paint and I'm looking forward to adding them as a cheap unit on the field.

All the best

Pete

Will speed kill in 6th Edition?

Hi everyone,

While I love some Deathwing walking armour goodness in my 40k gaming, I think I need a change of pace and playing style. I enjoy shrugging off shots as I slog / teleport into close range and then crushing with force, but I also want to try something totally different.

Hence a themed army based around mobility.

I've included the picture at the top of the page because it's the old Windrider host Apocalypse boxed set. The FLGS here still has a box sitting on the shelf for, quite frankly, a killer price compared to normal GW sets. My idea is to take this box and use it as the starter set for a themed army of Eldar and their dark cousins.

Here are the criteria I've set myself:

• Everything must be mobile. I don't want a footslogging army here.
• Everything must be fast (easy with the armies I've chosen).
• No Raiders as they are too fiddly to transport in cases.
• Not too many models because I'm not as fast at painting as I'd like to be.

With those in mind, here is the army list, unit breakdown to follow.

Eldar Primary detachment
 - Autarch on bike (maybe with a fusion gun)
 - Farseer on bike
 - 2 x 4 Guardian Jetbikes (including warlock)
 - 2 Vypers

Dark Eldar allies
 - Archon
 - 4 blaster trueborn in Venom
 - 5 warriors in Venom
 - 10 Scourges
 - Void Raven bomber

My thoughts behind them...

- Autarch on jetbike with fusion gun and power sword.
Accurate and fast tank hunter with the chance to attack and hopefully beat small support squads in combat. He also boosts reserve rolls, bringing on that nasty Dark Eldar flyer that much sooner.

 - Farseer on Jetbike with some psychic powers.
This guy will bring the buffing power of Eldar to the table. I'm not sure exactly which powers to take from the Eldar codex or whether to pick ones from the main rulebook but perhaps some divination shooting boosts?

 - 2x Guardian jetbikes with shuriken cannons and warlocks.
The bikes will be my speedy troops choices who don't engage very often but dance around the edge of the field until the enemy has been weakened enough for a quick strike. The Warlocks add some nasty psychic powers to give a bit more punch and can carry singing spears for tank hunting. 

- 2 Vypers with some guns...not sure which ones.
The Vypers are definitely a weaker spot in the list as I don't feel they really have a solid role in the army, especially when compared to the Dark Eldar Venom. I could bring double shuriken cannons for some dakka, eldar missile launchers for versatility or starcannons to add some much needed low AP weaponry. Not sure at the moment but they are in the box so hey, I'll make them work :-)

- Archon with blaster, venom blade and shadow field
A good shooting leader who can hop off a Venom and into combat with a good chance of hurting people.

- 4 Trueborn with blasters in a Venom with splinter cannons and nightshields.
Not much to say here. Add the Archon and you have lots of tank-killing goodness in a shooty but easily killed transport.

- 5 Kabalite Warriors with a blaster in a Venom with splinter cannons and nightshields.
General mobile shooting and a scoring transport.

- 10 Scourges with splinter cannons.
Anti-infantry wrecking squad that can hop around quickly to kill people. Plus....those models :-)

- Voidraven bomber with a few missiles.
I'll use the Razorwing model but run it as a void raven. Mainly it's the chance to bring powerful lances but also having an 11/11/10 model makes it safe from the more casual snap fire weapons like bolters. It'll still go down to real firepower but the "I'll just snap fire because why not?" will be less common.


Overall I think the army will be a lot of fun to build, paint and play. I see a big weakness in its ability to take a hit, I'm a bit worried that I'm lacking firepower (especially anti-armour) and I only have three small troops choices so it won't be easy to hold objectives. On the other hand, who cares? I get to zoom around the battlefield making jet noises and maybe even can kill some of my opponents too.

Will the speedy death be able to hold its own in 6th Edition?
Will there be too much glass in my glass cannon?
Will I totally overthrow the dominant players in the local area?

I plan to provide the answers to the above just as soon as I find out.

Take care everyone and I hope the spring weather has found you like it has found us in Bratislava.

Pete :-)

Supporting my FLGS

Now that I'm getting settled in Slovakia, I think I can say that I've established myself with a FLGS - MadMaxon. It's a fun place that has a mix of things but a lot of miniature gaming, movie collectables and some clothing.

I've been playing there for several months now and have been feeling a little guilty for not supporting the business much. Until this last weekend I'd invested about 10 euros in the shop for three GW paints/washes. It's difficult for me to go away from the saving mentality of buying online because in the shop I get the sticker shock of seeing GW products at full price rather than with 20-25% off.

The other problem is that I only have a limited number and type of products that I'd be interested in buying. My Deathwing army doesn't need too much added and the ever increasing prices curb the interest somewhat in starting a new army. That said, I've just gone freelance as a teacher and have therefore been able to increase my income as I have more direct clients where the money goes straight to me rather than through a school. One of my newest students is a business owner and talking about the importance of keeping local companies running. He was talking about the government and their policies that he found too bureaucratic but for me it made me realise I should do my bit to help a fun and friendly place where I enjoy meeting friends and gaming.

So what to buy? The stock isn't the biggest but I managed to dig through a find something that would give me a break from painting Deathwing bone armour, wouldn't break the bank and would give me something different on the tabletop.

Say hello to my new little friends. Sniper scouts will be fun to use on the tabletop, are a cheap 60 (or 70 with camo cloaks) point objective holder and harassing unit. I plan to use them to plink away at the enemy units, perhaps taking out the special weapons that can hurt my terminators or just picking off a few of the enemy. Either way it'll be something a little different on the tabletop, something different for the paintbrush and a first step of support for a nice gaming store.

Next on the list when it comes to investment time? Perhaps a few Space marine allied bits or starter sets for Infinity? Perhaps an Ironclad dreadnought, just to be different, or some more sniper scouts so I can shoot up everyone from range.

Painting pics to come soon once I've finished basing them.

Pete

Being cheap - How many terminators?

Part 1

Hi all,

With a couple of the new Deathwing terminator boxes incoming in trade, I've got a decision to make about what to make ;-)

How many terminators from those two boxes?

The kit gives you five bodies but pieces to make many more terminators as far as weapons etc. go. So with two boxes I get 10 terminators or knights, but I can get a few bodies from a bits website and then we have great success :-) The question is about what I should make.

A - Buy 10 bodies from the bits site so I can make a full 20 terminators / knights.
B - Buy only 5 bodies, but also get some magnets so I can mix and match weapons.
C - Buy 10 AND magnets so I can have a horde of bone armour :-)

What do you folks think? I currently have 25 terminators, plus Belial and a terminator librarian. Is it over the top to have 45 terminators? Should I stick to 35-40 but add magnets to get some variety in the game. Will I go insane from painting more bone armour?



Part 2 - Saving cash.

The Dark Angels have their funky new flier, which is quite a nice model, but very expensive.

Is this chunky model worth ~60 Euros? What about having something that could really fly and would instead set me back ~10 Euros, coming with glue, a brush and paints as a bonus. Add a flying stand and it's ready for 40k.

This is Revell's 1/144 model of an experimental Russian jet, the Sukhoi su-47. There are some great videos of it flying on youtube. It was never equipped with weapons but I think it can be reasonably assumed to have blacksword missiles and some guns in the fuselage somewhere ;-)


Part 3

Sammael, do I go Finecast...?

Or branch out to Scibor miniatures for something of a similar price but seriously sweet looking?

Ahh, decisions.

Let me know your opinions folks.

All the best.

Pete

My worst loss in Warhammer ever :-)

Hi everyone,

So the title really says it all. I played a game of 40k today and I've never lost as badly as I lost today.

I lost Belial and 25 terminators in 5 turns. 

I dealt one wound to one model on the other side. That's it!

Here are the culprits. My opponent brought a Draigowing army list which was just a massive rock to my scissors. 

I brought (after new codex points shuffling)
 -Belial with sword and storm bolter
 - 5 command terminators with TH/SS, Cyclone and apothecary
 - 2x 10 terminators with 3 TH/SS,  Cyclone, Assault Cannon, storm bolters.

My opponent had.
 - Draigo
 - Coteaz
 - 10? Paladins with 4 psycannons, apothecary, banner, a few halberds, a force stave, two daemon hammers, psybolt ammo.
 - Dreadknight with incinerator, psycannon, sword and jump pack.

Essentially what killed me was rock paper and scissors. 

Through stacking psychic powers and Draigo's abilities my opponent had:


 - Rerolls to hit.
 - Rerolls on wound rolls of 1. Since a number of weapons were wounding on 2+, that was nice.
 - Ignoring cover saves (for the rending psycannon shots).
 - Rerolls to hit in combat.
 - Automatic force weapon activation in combat (from the banner) making the apothecary useless.
 - Instant kill on Belial in a challenge for the above reason.
 - Selective look out sir rolls to make it very hard to kill anything.
 - The magic warding stave wand of success. I delivered six Instant Death thunder hammer attacks and all of them were placed on the warding stave model, who made his 2+ invulnerable saves. 

I know that the game rules are an abstraction and can be used in different ways to fluff any semblance of reality but it was annoying as hell to have Draigo able to effectively jump in front of any bullet from side to side to protect his unit, unless he didn't want to, when another guy would step in to be the bullet shield. Then the Deathwing terminators ran foul of a ninja Grey Knight who danced along the front of the melee and intercepted every single hammer blow heading toward his comrades. 

It may be a cinematic game in this edition, but this time I felt like I was the Agent Smiths going up against Neo in the matrix with support from Harry Potter and his wand ;-)

It was a frustrating game because it felt like every advantage was with my opponent. Every failed dice roll was re-rolled. Every attack of mine was shunted to a model who it wouldn't take.


Rant over ;-)

Now I have to admit that my opponent played well, played to his strengths and did nothing that could be construed as bad in any aspect of play. What we had here was simply a case of a Deathwing army lacking the tools to take on a Draigowing Deathstar army and consequently suffering to this mismatch. 

My problem at the moment is that I do not have the models necessary to change up the list and play with something new so playing against Draigowing just isn't a good game for me now. I'm getting a couple of boxes of the new Deathwing models and with a few bodies etc from a bits website I should be able to field something a bit different. I'm also thinking of getting a proxy for one of the fliers, just to bring something new to the field. More about that in the next post.

All the best folks and avoid those rock and scissor matchups ;-)

Pete