Tuesday 29 November 2011

Blog Wars 2 - This S**t is getting real!

it's only 5 days away and I must say I'm getting quite excited. Although I'm not expecting to win anything, I think the opportunity to play a few games against likeminded individuals (read fellow geeks) will be awesome. Thankfully, unlike some people I know (Nudge Nudge the 6th degree) I finished painting my army and modelling my objectives weeks ago, and can enjoy a nice relaxing week without panic-painting!. Although most of my army is pretty bog-standard (Boltgun metal, Shining Gold, Ice Blue - DONE!) I've had fun modelling a "Counts-as" Vindicare Assassin from an old Imperial Guard Sniper model (It's Scope from the Last Chancers for all you old school players!)
Here it is:


Although the Paintwork on the model itself is only fairly basic, I think the scenic basing and addition of the static grass, makes it look pretty sweet! I love how the model blends into the trees, and how it looks like it's been camping for days looking for the perfect opportunity to strike!
I'll post some more pics of my completed army when I get a chance, including my (pretty badly) converted Draigo!

Blog Wars 2 Test Game - Knights v Nids

So a few weeks back the 6th degree and I had a test game ahead of Blog Wars 2 (the complete write up is posted on Weemen here)

Needless to say it was a massacre! I was completely overwhelmed by the gribbly horde and ended up conceding defeat on the 5th turn. My list just wasn't competitive enough, and combined with a few lucky rolls by the nids (popping my dred' on turn 1, and rolling for 50+ Tervi-gaunts) I was on the back foot pretty much from the get go.
However it wasn't a total bust - it did help me realise potential changes i need to make to make my trip to Mansfield slightly less of an embarrassment.
Things I realised after this game:

1 - NEED MORE DAKKA - I just didn't have enough firepower to either completely wipe out a unit of gaunts, or take down one of the HUGE Monstrous Creatures populating this list. I spread myself out across the board and each unit individually just didn’t have the oomph to make a dent in his army. Which brings me to my next point:

2 - Castle = GOOD - The strength of my knights lies in their devastating 24" firepower, however one unit alone won’t make a big enough impact. I need to deploy in chunks to ensure i have enough covering fire to make anything approaching my knights into go squish!

3 – Paladins are the SEX -  I need to more aggressive with my Paladins – I’ve been playing rather conservatively with these guys, thinking that if they die I’ve lost a massive part of my army. However what recent games have taught me is that they Don’t die! Well, not to most things anyway. I can virtually ignore small arms fire and CC with standard troops (I still have to be pretty wary of assault termies and melta guns though)


So with that in mind, I’ve written up my *final* list for the tournament and here it is:


Blog Wars 2
Tournament Army List

HQ

275
Lord Kaldor Draigo


Troops

205
Grey Knight Strike Squad – Extremis
3x Grey Knights + Halberd, Storm Bolter,
1x  Grey Knight + Psycannon
1x  Justicar + Daemon Hammer, Storm Bolter
Psybolt Ammo
Dedicated Transport – Razorback + TL Heavy Bolter, Psybolt Ammo

205
Grey Knight Strike Squad – Infernus
3x Grey Knights + Halberd, Storm Bolter,
1x  Grey Knight + Psycannon
1x  Justicar + Daemon Hammer, Storm Bolter
Psybolt Ammo
Dedicated Transport – Razorback + TL Heavy Bolter, Psybolt Ammo


Elites

650
Paladin Squad – Victrix
2x Paladins + Halberd, Storm Bolter
2x Paladins + Halberd, Psycannon
2x Paladins + Force Sword, Storm Bolter
2x Paladins + Force Sword, Psycannon
2x Paladins + Daemon Hammer, Storm Bolter
Psybolt Ammo

145
Vindicare Assassin


Heavy Support

135
Dreadnought
2x TL Autocannons
Psybolt Ammo

135
Dreadnought
2x TL Autocannons
Psybolt Ammo

Total = 1750


I'm hoping this list is balanced enough to give me a fighting chance in the tournament. It's not changed a lot from the list i previously used (Dropping the Storm Raven to include a 2nd Dred and a Vindicare) but I think form the lessons I have learnt I can possibly use it much better.



Monday 7 November 2011

Blog Wars 2 - Possible Army List

Ok, Blog Wars is only a few weeks away and I'm still not 100% certain about how I'm going to construct my army.
So far, the list I’m planning on taking looks like this:
HQ
Lord Kaldor Draigo

Troops
5 x Grey Knights
Psycannon, 3 Halberds and a Daemon Hammer
Psybolt Ammo
Razorback with TL Lascannon

5x Grey Knights
Psycannon, 3 Halberds and a Daemon Hammer
Psybolt Ammo
Razorback, Heavy Bolter + Psybolt Ammo

Elites
10 x Paladins
4x Psycannons 2x Daemon Hammers + a mix of halberds and swords
Psybolt ammo
(This unit will be combat-squadded if needed)

Fast Attack
Stormraven Gunship - TL Lascannon + Typhoon Missile Launcher

Heavy Support
Dreadnaught + TL Lascannon


I think this list has a lot of flexibility and a fair amount of long-range punching power. The plan is to use the knights in the transports to zip around as needed, offering fire support and contesting objectives. The Lascannon obviously coming in handy popping enemy transports or dreads, while the heavy bolter harrasses hordes of nids or Orks. The Paladins will probably be combat squaded with a 5 man team + Draigo in the raven, and the rest coming via deep-strike when I need them (using Draigos roll modifier to make sure they come in when i want!) They'll be the main strike force of my army - taking out any major threats my opponents might field. The dread will be used as a firebase, sitting in the backfield taking pop-shots at terminators or tanks as necessary.
The only worry I have is that the army plays a bit like a glass hammer - The Paladins are very weak against lightning claws or Thunderhammers and a lot of melta/AP1 weapons can really hurt!! I think target priority is a must in this army - i need to virtually ignore all "Basic" weapons until the heavy weapons are destroyed. Hopefully this can be accomplished and I'll win the tournament (as if!)

I'll be testing this list against fellow blogger the 6thdegree who will be using his monster Tyranind army – hopefully this will give me an idea of any changes/tweaks that might need to be made

Friday 12 August 2011

Hello

This is my first post in my new blog! I've created this in the run up to blogwars - to record my gaming and painting exploits and to generally keep a record of my daily "hobbying"

Hope you enjoy reading it!