Not really a post to excite people, but a useful one for me - here is a collection of links for sites that sell modern city scenery for tabletop gaming. I've been looking for some terrain to improve my gaming experience when playing Pulp City and will hopefully be getting some items in the very near future.
Armorcast
Ainsty Castings
JTT Microscale
Fenris Games
Sarissa Precision
Mega Miniatures
TableScape
Foundations of War
WorldWorks
Thursday 5 July 2012
Tuesday 3 July 2012
Big Competition Give Away - TOATS
Hey everyone - just to let you know Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher - a fantastic Blog written by HendyBadger is holding a brilliant competition at the moment. the Prize pool includes
1) 2 Pulp City starter boxes, 2 extra Supremes and a full colour printed PDF rulebook (over £80 worth)
2) 4 Reaper Chronoscope Supers and a Beast
3) 2 Lvl2 and 2 Lvl1 Pulp City Supremes of your choice
4-6) 3 x sets of Pulp City Artwork Postcards
7) 70mm DC Dark Knight Joker
8) 70mm Gandalf - Knight Models again
in order for a chance to win you need to follow the blog, and post an amusing comment saying why you should win
good luck guys!
1) 2 Pulp City starter boxes, 2 extra Supremes and a full colour printed PDF rulebook (over £80 worth)
2) 4 Reaper Chronoscope Supers and a Beast
3) 2 Lvl2 and 2 Lvl1 Pulp City Supremes of your choice
4-6) 3 x sets of Pulp City Artwork Postcards
7) 70mm DC Dark Knight Joker
8) 70mm Gandalf - Knight Models again
in order for a chance to win you need to follow the blog, and post an amusing comment saying why you should win
good luck guys!
Monday 25 June 2012
Project - ON HOLD
I'm sorry to say that my epic aliens project is being shelved for now, this is partly due to a lack of finance (I simply cant afford GW prices for the bits I need) and partly due to the new 6th edition rules regarding allies. I'm pretty excited about being able to run allies with my Grey Knights, and I think I'm going to paint up my existing Guard to fit in with this rather than converting them - I might make a unit or two of marines in the future, but this will have to wait untill I either get tonnes of money or I can find incredibly cheap alternatives.
sorry to those of you who were looking forward to seeing this project come together, but I'll be updating my blog with other more exciting things soon!
sorry to those of you who were looking forward to seeing this project come together, but I'll be updating my blog with other more exciting things soon!
Wednesday 13 June 2012
Exosuit Cargo Loader - WIP
here are the first pics of my custom built cargo loader - i've tried to stick as close as possible to the origianl Aliens build, but without sculpting my own models I think this is as close as i'll get and be happy with:
As you can see I've not quite finished it as I'm missing the parts to complete the left arm (2 Chimera Dozerblade attachments) but hopefully I'll pick these up soon and complete it in full
Cargo Loader
As you can see I've not quite finished it as I'm missing the parts to complete the left arm (2 Chimera Dozerblade attachments) but hopefully I'll pick these up soon and complete it in full
Tuesday 12 June 2012
Colonial Marines Conversions 1 - Private Drake - COMPLETE
The first conversion i'm working on will be my "counts as" Gunnery Sergeant Harker - Private Drake. In Aliens, Drake is armed with the M56 Smart Gun - probably the most iconic weapon from the film, and certainly a fan favourite
M56 Smart Gun
Private Drake in action
As you can see in the above picture, Drake isn't wearing the full Colonial Marine Body Armour, so using pure Cadian parts will not be an option. I've already gathered a few bits from my bits box and this is what i'll be using on this conversion:
I'm using some legs from the Catachan Jungle Fighters box, and a Cadian Shock Trooper Torso. The right arm is a Catachan Lasgun arm, which i will be filing down to remove the rifle butt, and repositioning on the torso using Greenstuff so that it "holds" the Smartgun better. The left arm is from the Catachan Command Squad Srpue, and the Smartgun itself is a pintle mounted Heavy Stubber from the Chimera box. I'm using the end of the Grey Knights Warding stave as the back handle of the gun, and what I think is a vehicle accessory from the Rhino Sprue to add a targeter and spotlight. The head is again from the Catachan Command Sprue. The tip of the lasgun will be cut off and used as a helmet cam, and I might use the magazine and grip from the boltgun to add extra detail to the smartgun if needed.
I've completed making this model now and it's been a really fun process - I think i need to be a bit more delicate with my Greenstuf work in the future, but luckilly I found some spare IG shoulder pads to cover up most of the mess! Here are the pictures of the completed model - they're a little fuzzy as I took them late last night, but they'll do to show the general outline of the model - i'll upload better pics once the squad is complete
Private Drake
My Next Project
As I said in my last post i've had an idea for my next army list, and also my next project now the Monkeys are done and dusted. It began when thinking about what to take to Blog Wars 4 - I wanted to take a cool theme army made up of different films - i.e an Ecto-1 Chimera, a colonial marines squad from Aliens, and A-team squad etc etc. However I couldnt think of enough to fill out the list. I did think of loads I could do with a specific theme force though - namely the Aliens Colonial Marines. Aliens is one of my favourite films of all time and I'm a big fan of the franchise in general. I've wanted to make an Aliens themed force for a while now, so I think this will be my next big project. I'm going to use Imperial Guard as the basis for the army, as they are by far the most obvious choice with the Cadians/Catachans providing an excellent base for converting marines. I've written the following list as the basis for the project:
HQ
Company Command Squad
Company Commander + Boltgun, Power Weapon - Warrant Officer Ripley
Veteran, Heavy Flamer - Captain Dallas
Veteran, Vox Caster - Executive Officer Kane
Veteran, Medi Pack - Engineer ParkerVeteran, Plasma Gun - Engineer Brett
Officer of the Fleet - Carter Burke
Bodyguard - Jones
Bodyguard - Spike
Valkyrie Assault Carrier - Sulaco Dropship
This squad is based on the crew of the Nostromo from Alien - Ripley obviously has to be the commander of this army and I think the original cast are the best choice for her squad. I've also included two bodyguards in the shape of Jones the cat (Alien/Aliens) and Spike the dog (Alien 3) and i'm planning to get cool models to represent them. I've added Burke to this squad as an Officer of the Fleet as I feel Burke needs a place in the army and this is the only way he'd fit - the role represents his links to Weyland Yutani and the rest of the USM fleet. The Dropship will be a customised/converted Valkyrie and I've gven it to this squad as the mobility will help them take control of the battlefield.
I've already found some pretty cool models to represent Ripley/Burke from GrippingBeast
Also I think the Signee from Hasslefree would make an awesome Ripley
Techpriest Engineers
Techpriest Engineer - Bishop
Techpriest Engineer - Ash
It seemed a natural choice to make the two "Artificial Persons" from Alien & Aliens Techpriests. Also The Servo-Arm represents the strenght of the synthetics and fits in quite well thematically. I can't quite decide wether i'm going to model Bishop and Ash undamaged, or wether I'll go for the decapitated / cut in half look.
Troops
Veteran Squad
Gunnery Sergeant Harker - Private Drake
Veteran, Heavy Flamer, Voxcaster - Sergeant AponeVeteran, Flamer - Corporal Dietrich
Veteran, Heavy Flamer, Voxcaster - Sergeant AponeVeteran, Flamer - Corporal Dietrich
Veteran, Flamer - Private Wierzbowski
Veteran, Autocannon - PFC Vasquez
Veteran, Autocannon - Private Crowe
Veteran, Shotgun - Corporal Hicks
Veteran, Autocannon - PFC Vasquez
Veteran, Autocannon - Private Crowe
Veteran, Shotgun - Corporal Hicks
Veteran, Lasgun - PFC Hudson
Veteran, Lasgun - Private Frost
Veteran, Lasgun - Lieutenant Gorman
Veteran, Lasgun - Private Frost
Veteran, Lasgun - Lieutenant Gorman
Chimera - APC
Obviously this squad is based on the kick ass United States Colonial Marines from Aliens. I've tried to arm them as close to the film as possible, and will be converting/painting the models up to be as close as possible to the actual characters. I'm using Gunnery Sergeant Harker, as I feel his relentless Heavy Bolter is a perfect match to Drake's Smartgun - for similar reasons i've paired Vasquez up with Crowe to form a heavy weapons team so I can give a Smargun to her. I'll be adding quite a lot of details to this squad, such as helmet cameras, and ammo bag for Frost and motion scanners for Hudson and Hicks, and am looking forward to spending time finding the right parts for the conversions. The only issue I might have is finding the right models to represent Dietrich and Vasquez as femal marines are quite hard to come by. I'm also looking forward to customising a chimera to make it look like the iconic APC. Instead of Lasguns, I'll be getting the Pulse Rifles from Hassleferee to make the marines look just like the film
Veteran Squad
Sergeant Bastonne - Johner
Veteran, Heavy Flamer - Elgyn
Veteran, Grenade Launcher - Hillard
Veteran, Plasma gun - Distephano
Veteran, Shotgun - Vriess
Veteran, Lasgun - Christie
Veteran, Lasgun - Call
Veteran, Lasgun - Purvis
Veteran, Lasgun - General Perez
Veteran, Lasgun - Dr. Wrenn
This squad represents the characters from Alien Ressurection. Again I'll be modelling these as close to the film as possible, including trying to find a Rasta model to represent Christie - possibly Gideon from Foundry Miniatures "Doc Fridays Yardies"
I'm also going to try and build a wheelchair for Vriess, usign the chair from the Sentinel kit and some wheels from...somewhere lol and again custom convert a Valkyrie to represent the Betty - maybe using some Tau Devilfish parts as those modles look a bit more futuristic. Bastonne as Johner felt like a good choice to represent the no-nonsense tough guy from the film.
Penal Legion
Penal Custodian - Andrews
Penal Legionnaire - Clemens
Penal Legionnaire - Clemens
Penal Legionnaire - Aaron
Penal Legionnaire - Dillon
Penal Legionnaire - Golic
Penal Legionnaire - Boggs
Penal Legionnaire - Rains
Penal Legionnaire - David
Penal Legionnaire - Murphy
Penal Legionnaire - Morse
Obviously this squad is perfect to represent the inmates from the Fiorina 'Fury' 161, foundry facility from Alien 3. There are some awesome penal legion conversion parts from VictoriaLamb which i'm hoping to use to help me customise these models.
Conscripts
20x Conscripts - Colonists of LV-426
Although not really named in the film, the colonists of LV-426 seem like a really fun conversion/modelling project and I like the idea of finding all sorts of sci-fi civillian miniatures. Obvioulsy this unit will include Newt, Timmy and their parents, some miners and staff of the colony and maybe a converted "mary" (the woman who the marines find cocooned in the processing station) again GrippingBeast and Hasslefree have some cool miniatures I'd like to use for this unit:
Newt (Billie Hasslefree):
The Jorden family (Civilians Gripping Beast):
Elites
Stormtrooper Squad
Stormtrooper Sergeant + Hotshot Lasgun - Weyland Yutani Commando
Stormtrooper + Plasma gun - Weyland Yutani Commando
Stormtrooper + Plasmagun - Weyland Yutani Commando
6x Stormtroopers _ Hotshot Lasguns - Weyland Yutani Commando
Stormtrooper + Plasma gun - Weyland Yutani Commando
Stormtrooper + Plasmagun - Weyland Yutani Commando
6x Stormtroopers _ Hotshot Lasguns - Weyland Yutani Commando
This unit is based on the Weyland Yutani Commandos from the end of Alien 3
I think the GW Karskin models will do a pretty good job to represent these soldiers, so i'll be happy to use the models "out of the box" either them or the Forge World Cadian Hostile Envirionment troops
Karskin Squad:
Fast Attack
Armoured Sentinel Squadron
3x Armoured Sentinels, Searchlight, Lascannon - Exosuit Cargo Loaders
You couldn't have an Aliens themed army without a couple of Cargo Loaders! I'm going to have to scrath build these as nothing available even closely resembles this awesome machine. I've had a go at building one already, as close to this as possible, and I'm pretty happy with the results - my custom cargo loader is currently a WIP but i'll upload pics as soon as I can so you can see what I've done. I'm using the majority of parts from the Sentinel kit, but also bits from the Dreadknight kit, plastic tubing and some Chimera Dozerblades.
Heavy Support
Deathstrike Missile Launcher
"I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure" - Ellen Ripley, Aliens
In honour of this classic quote, I've added in the Imperial Guard equivalent of a Nuke from orbit - the Deathstrike Missile Launcher. This bad boy fits in perfectly thematically and I love the look of the Games Workshop model. Also I think the rules are pretty sweet and am looking forward to putting my opponent on the clock :P
So thats the list, and my project outline - hopefully I'll have this all ready by Blog Wars 4, but if not I think it'll still be a really fun project to complete and i'll be very happy to try it out when it is eventually finished.
Please feel free to comment, as any improvements or changes or conversion ideas would be welcome!
Sunday 10 June 2012
Blog Wars 3 - The Results
Blog Wars 3 is over and now the dust has settled it's time for me to write up how it went and how the monkeys fared against the tinmen and gribblies of the tournament.
Well I'm sorry to say the monkeys were pretty underwhelming overall leaving me with a 1-2 record, with the win being a very narrow victory. I still had a fantastic time, and although I lost the second game horrendously and only narrowly took the first I think they were two of the most fun games of 40k i've ever played. Also the tournament was very useful due to the fact i learnt about a few rules I'd either overlooked or misinterpreted i.e Chimeras have 5 fire points not 6, Psycannons are Rending even when fired as Assault Weapons and a unit of Jokaeros only rolls once on the customisation table, not once for each Jokaero.
As is usually the case I was far too wrapped up in playing the games to properly remember how each of them played out but i'll try and give a rough account of how things happened
Luke aka Lighningslayer from Buckaroo Mathhammer
Star Wars Imperial Guard + Yarrick
Pitched Battle - Kill Points
So the first game was a pretty cool draw - two themed armies facing off against each other - monkeys vs the Rebel Alliance. Luke's army was really cool with each model in his units having different themed names from Battlestar Galactica, Transformers, Star Trek etc - my favourite unit being a squad of Penal Legion named "Wesley Crusher and the Crushettes" lol the X-wings were fantastic conversions and I loved his themed special Character Commisar Yarrick as Luke Skywalker (they've both lost a hand!)
The Guard were all employed in reserve, ready to outflank and attack after a couple of turns so I had the table to myself at the start. I shot everything at the one Chimera starting on the table and managed to wreck it first turn, and spread my forces out ready to intercept the guard when they arrived. When the Guard did turn up pretty much everything arrived in the same turn and shot my army to pieces - i lost both Chimeras and a squad of monkeys to outflanking guard and the X-Wing Vendettas tore me to pieces. After the hammer blow of the surprise attack I used my Dreds and Purifiers to start taking the fight back to the guard and began devastating several units - unfortunately I was really struggling to finish squads off, leaving 2 or three guardsmen each time, who then proceeded to rally thanks to the "Get back in the fight" orders. The game was very tight and in the balance, with a lot of my army left on the right flank and the Guard camped on the left we pretty much destroyed what was around us and then tried to claim any easy Kill points left. Coteaz did manage to put a Hammer through Yarrick's skull, only for the blighter to get back up again and cut the intrepid inquisitor in half!! by the end of turn 5 the score was definitely in favour of the Guard, but as the game managed to go on for a couple of extra turns I had enough time to finish of the remains of a few units and claim enough kill points for the win. The final score was 11 - 9 in my favour with 1057vp to me and 991vp to my opponent - very close but a win nevertheless!
Game 2
Matt - friend of Fromthefang
Grey Knights + Coteaz
Spear Head - Table Quarters
The second game saw me playing Matt and his Greyknights - Matt came 3rd at Blog Wars 2 so I knew this was going to be a very tough game. His list consisted of 2 Dreadknights, 3 Dreds, 2 Purifier Squads in Rhinos and 4 acolyte squads in Razorbacks Matt won the role to go first and as the set up was Spear Head, chose to push his forces to the centre of the table ready to maximise his shooting and assault range the first turn. I set up castled in the corner, knowing as soon as he got close to me I was toast - and with the deployment I was pretty much doomed to fail from the start. First turn, Matt shunted his DK's up close and personal and he pretty much incinerated my command squad - meaning most of my lascannons taken out of the game already!! He also popped a razorback and a Dread and pushed towards my lines. I responded by shaking and stunning a couple of his dreads (nicely ignored the next turn thanks to fortitude!!) and failed to do much else - the monkeys BS of 3 and the fact my penetrating damage rolls were never more than 2/3 was really starting to hurt. I did take out one of his DK's with combined shooting from my purifiers and engaged the other in combat. in Matt's 2nd turn he popped another of my Dreds, my other Razorback and lost his other DK in combat to my Purifier squad. Again I responded (with what little I had left) popping a Dred and Immobilizing one of the Rhinos. Turn 3 Matt engaged Coteaz and the last remaining purifier in combat with his squad of 9 Purifiers, and shot what was left of my army off the table - leaving me with one lonely looking monkey squad hiding in the corner. I thought Coteaz was doomed, but thanks to a combination of Sanctuary, Cleansing flame and some VERY impressive dice rolling I managed to kill 5 Purifiers and win the combat!!!! needless to say by turn 4 normal order was resumed, Coteaz was destroyed and the table was empty of monkeys - totally wiped out by the start of my turn 4 - an absolute annihilation!! despite the result Matt was a fantastic opponent and very helpful, discussing potential tactics and ways to help improve my game. The final result was 0-4, with 942vp to me and 1750 to Matt
Game 3
Jamie aka Jimbo from Index Astartes
Iron Hands + Chaplain Cassius
Dawn of War - Objectives
In my final game I played Jamie and his beautifully painted Iron Hand Space Marines - so good in fact he was the winner of the best painted army award (he got my vote!) his army was pretty well put together too, with a couple of tactical marine squads a bike squadron landraider, Whirlwind and Predator. Initially I felt I'd have a fairly competitive game, I got the first turn and so I had the first chance to fire after the Dawn of War cleared. Also against this Mech list it was really my monkeys time to shine! However things didn't go very well right from the start - my dice rolling was atrocious and despite pretty much consistently penetrating the Landraider/Predator I never managed to do any damage until I finally wrecked the Raider at the end of the 4th turn. One of My dreds got stuck in combat with a Biker for 3 turns and the rest of my army failed to do much - the only good thing that came my way was Jamie's complete lack of ability in rolling to hit with his scatter dice - i think he landed 1 of 10/12 attempts all game! Overall this game was a bit of a grind but my opponent was a lovely bloke so it wasn't half as bad as it could have been. I ended up losing the game I think 4-1 which I think fairly represented how bad my game went.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed the tournament, and once again Alex did a fantastic job of organising a fun and competitive event. Despite coming a lowly 22/26 (worse than last year!!) I was happy as I'd never intended to take a competitive list. I really enjoyed building/paining and converting my monkeys an I think gaming, in this case, was just a nice added bonus. I was slightly disappointed about not winning the best themed army prize - as I put a lot of effort into Chimpeaz and his companions - in fact I think my force was probably better than any other in tying the Special Character to the army in a very fluffy way. That being said however, the winner - Ian aka Ginge from Need More Tanks did have a phenomenal Star Wars themed army with some amazing conversions and details added - it was great fun looking through the ranks of his guard spotting characters from the films, including severl Ewoks, Admiral Akbar and the special Character Bobba Fett! Also the scratch built AT-AT and Han Solo frozen in carbonate as objective markers really made the army a worthy winner - well done!
I'm really excited about Blog Wars 4, and have already written my army list (6th edition dependent) I'm planning to take another themed force but more on that to come later!
Well I'm sorry to say the monkeys were pretty underwhelming overall leaving me with a 1-2 record, with the win being a very narrow victory. I still had a fantastic time, and although I lost the second game horrendously and only narrowly took the first I think they were two of the most fun games of 40k i've ever played. Also the tournament was very useful due to the fact i learnt about a few rules I'd either overlooked or misinterpreted i.e Chimeras have 5 fire points not 6, Psycannons are Rending even when fired as Assault Weapons and a unit of Jokaeros only rolls once on the customisation table, not once for each Jokaero.
As is usually the case I was far too wrapped up in playing the games to properly remember how each of them played out but i'll try and give a rough account of how things happened
"The Apes of Wrath"
Game 1 Luke aka Lighningslayer from Buckaroo Mathhammer
Star Wars Imperial Guard + Yarrick
Pitched Battle - Kill Points
So the first game was a pretty cool draw - two themed armies facing off against each other - monkeys vs the Rebel Alliance. Luke's army was really cool with each model in his units having different themed names from Battlestar Galactica, Transformers, Star Trek etc - my favourite unit being a squad of Penal Legion named "Wesley Crusher and the Crushettes" lol the X-wings were fantastic conversions and I loved his themed special Character Commisar Yarrick as Luke Skywalker (they've both lost a hand!)
The Guard were all employed in reserve, ready to outflank and attack after a couple of turns so I had the table to myself at the start. I shot everything at the one Chimera starting on the table and managed to wreck it first turn, and spread my forces out ready to intercept the guard when they arrived. When the Guard did turn up pretty much everything arrived in the same turn and shot my army to pieces - i lost both Chimeras and a squad of monkeys to outflanking guard and the X-Wing Vendettas tore me to pieces. After the hammer blow of the surprise attack I used my Dreds and Purifiers to start taking the fight back to the guard and began devastating several units - unfortunately I was really struggling to finish squads off, leaving 2 or three guardsmen each time, who then proceeded to rally thanks to the "Get back in the fight" orders. The game was very tight and in the balance, with a lot of my army left on the right flank and the Guard camped on the left we pretty much destroyed what was around us and then tried to claim any easy Kill points left. Coteaz did manage to put a Hammer through Yarrick's skull, only for the blighter to get back up again and cut the intrepid inquisitor in half!! by the end of turn 5 the score was definitely in favour of the Guard, but as the game managed to go on for a couple of extra turns I had enough time to finish of the remains of a few units and claim enough kill points for the win. The final score was 11 - 9 in my favour with 1057vp to me and 991vp to my opponent - very close but a win nevertheless!
Check out the X-Wings
Han Solo Frozen in Carbonite
Game 2
Matt - friend of Fromthefang
Grey Knights + Coteaz
Spear Head - Table Quarters
The second game saw me playing Matt and his Greyknights - Matt came 3rd at Blog Wars 2 so I knew this was going to be a very tough game. His list consisted of 2 Dreadknights, 3 Dreds, 2 Purifier Squads in Rhinos and 4 acolyte squads in Razorbacks Matt won the role to go first and as the set up was Spear Head, chose to push his forces to the centre of the table ready to maximise his shooting and assault range the first turn. I set up castled in the corner, knowing as soon as he got close to me I was toast - and with the deployment I was pretty much doomed to fail from the start. First turn, Matt shunted his DK's up close and personal and he pretty much incinerated my command squad - meaning most of my lascannons taken out of the game already!! He also popped a razorback and a Dread and pushed towards my lines. I responded by shaking and stunning a couple of his dreads (nicely ignored the next turn thanks to fortitude!!) and failed to do much else - the monkeys BS of 3 and the fact my penetrating damage rolls were never more than 2/3 was really starting to hurt. I did take out one of his DK's with combined shooting from my purifiers and engaged the other in combat. in Matt's 2nd turn he popped another of my Dreds, my other Razorback and lost his other DK in combat to my Purifier squad. Again I responded (with what little I had left) popping a Dred and Immobilizing one of the Rhinos. Turn 3 Matt engaged Coteaz and the last remaining purifier in combat with his squad of 9 Purifiers, and shot what was left of my army off the table - leaving me with one lonely looking monkey squad hiding in the corner. I thought Coteaz was doomed, but thanks to a combination of Sanctuary, Cleansing flame and some VERY impressive dice rolling I managed to kill 5 Purifiers and win the combat!!!! needless to say by turn 4 normal order was resumed, Coteaz was destroyed and the table was empty of monkeys - totally wiped out by the start of my turn 4 - an absolute annihilation!! despite the result Matt was a fantastic opponent and very helpful, discussing potential tactics and ways to help improve my game. The final result was 0-4, with 942vp to me and 1750 to Matt
Game 3
Jamie aka Jimbo from Index Astartes
Iron Hands + Chaplain Cassius
Dawn of War - Objectives
In my final game I played Jamie and his beautifully painted Iron Hand Space Marines - so good in fact he was the winner of the best painted army award (he got my vote!) his army was pretty well put together too, with a couple of tactical marine squads a bike squadron landraider, Whirlwind and Predator. Initially I felt I'd have a fairly competitive game, I got the first turn and so I had the first chance to fire after the Dawn of War cleared. Also against this Mech list it was really my monkeys time to shine! However things didn't go very well right from the start - my dice rolling was atrocious and despite pretty much consistently penetrating the Landraider/Predator I never managed to do any damage until I finally wrecked the Raider at the end of the 4th turn. One of My dreds got stuck in combat with a Biker for 3 turns and the rest of my army failed to do much - the only good thing that came my way was Jamie's complete lack of ability in rolling to hit with his scatter dice - i think he landed 1 of 10/12 attempts all game! Overall this game was a bit of a grind but my opponent was a lovely bloke so it wasn't half as bad as it could have been. I ended up losing the game I think 4-1 which I think fairly represented how bad my game went.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed the tournament, and once again Alex did a fantastic job of organising a fun and competitive event. Despite coming a lowly 22/26 (worse than last year!!) I was happy as I'd never intended to take a competitive list. I really enjoyed building/paining and converting my monkeys an I think gaming, in this case, was just a nice added bonus. I was slightly disappointed about not winning the best themed army prize - as I put a lot of effort into Chimpeaz and his companions - in fact I think my force was probably better than any other in tying the Special Character to the army in a very fluffy way. That being said however, the winner - Ian aka Ginge from Need More Tanks did have a phenomenal Star Wars themed army with some amazing conversions and details added - it was great fun looking through the ranks of his guard spotting characters from the films, including severl Ewoks, Admiral Akbar and the special Character Bobba Fett! Also the scratch built AT-AT and Han Solo frozen in carbonate as objective markers really made the army a worthy winner - well done!
The Imperial Force
C3PO and R2D2
I'm really excited about Blog Wars 4, and have already written my army list (6th edition dependent) I'm planning to take another themed force but more on that to come later!
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Look at My Monkeys!
Blog Wars 3 is nearly upon us (only 4 days to go!!) and I must say it's very nice being in the position of having everything painted and based well in advance of the deadline. Unusually I've really enjoyed painting for the tournament, and although i've only really painted to a very basic standard I'm really proud of how the army looks on the tabletop. Also, I've enjoyed modelling the display board and my fantastic centre piece scenery. As I've had a few people ask about them, I thought it would be only fair to put up some pics for people to check out the Monkey Magic:
3 Dreadnaughts with Twin-Linked Autocannons are pretty much an auto include in any Grey Knights list - They're just so damn good!! Against medium armour, and standard infantry these guys kick ass, and I'm really happy with the models i'm using to represent them. The scenic bases came out really well, and the jungle trees come to the same height as a normal Dred so there should be no issues with line of sight etc.
Inquisitor Chimpeaz
My HQ choice has really been the inspiration for the whole army. The fact that I can field a tonne of Jokaeros, and how much I love monkeys in general meant the theme for my army was a no-brainer. Chimpeaz himself is no pushover, and mixed in a unit of Jokaeros and Servitors his "I've been expecting you" special rule should be the nuts!
Simian Strikeforce Alpha/Beta
The Simian Strikeforce units are the main damage dealers in my army - their 8 Lascannon shots will be really useful to pop any enemy anti-tank or anti transport units which will be very deadly for me. I'm really happy with how the camouflage on the Chimp-mera's turned out, although slightly disappointed that the recent sunshine has bleached the foliage so its slightly less jungle green than I would have wanted. I'm also quite happy with how my tank commanders turned out - I got a bit inventive with painting so that one is using an Apple Mac and one is using another fruit based technology company - Bannacom!
The Gibbon Guards / Baboon Fury
These units are my "counts-as" Purifiers. I'd initially written the list with these units being another 6 Jokaeros, however although I loved the idea from a thematic fluff side of things, the list was just too much of a glass hammer. With a full Jokaero force I had no units capable of even making a dent in combat, and too many units prone to run off the board! Hopefully these Monk-rines will add a bit of stability and help me to contest objectives and claim table quarters slightly easier.
The Gorilla Warfare Division
Scenic Centrepiece
"Oh my God. I'm back. I'm home. All the time, it was... We finally really did it.
You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell! "
There's no way I could use an all Monkey army without a nod to the classic that is Planet of the Apes. I really enjoyed making this centrepiece and I think it looks fantastic surrounded by armed chimps lolSo there you go, that's my army! hopefully Blog Wars the Third will be as good as Blog Wars 2 and my chimps will kick ass on the battlefield and maybe win the best themed force - fingers crossed!
There's no way I could use an all Monkey army without a nod to the classic that is Planet of the Apes. I really enjoyed making this centrepiece and I think it looks fantastic surrounded by armed chimps lolSo there you go, that's my army! hopefully Blog Wars the Third will be as good as Blog Wars 2 and my chimps will kick ass on the battlefield and maybe win the best themed force - fingers crossed!
Monday 21 May 2012
Blog Wars 3 Final Army List
So here it is, after a lot of head scratching, test games and points calculations i've finally written my list for Blog Wars 3 - I must admit it's changed from my initial plan, although still being monkey-centric I have included 2 units of non-Jokaero in the form of Purifiers (I know I promised not too!). The reason for this addition, is purely because I've put a lot of effort into painting and modelling my army (for me anyway) and I don't want to see my beautiful chimps and chimpets blown off the board before my opponent has had chance to appreciate them! I'm still running a full counts-as force, with every model in the army represented by a monkey (even the Dreds) and I've made a rather nice Jungle themed board to display them for the tournament. Hopefully this list should be good fun to play, and I think 14 Jokaero is still a lot of lascannon wielding monkies to contend with! so anyway here's the list
HQ
Inquisitor Chimpeaz
(Inquisitor Coteaz)
Inquisitor Apearella
(Ordo Xenos Inquisitor)
Troops
Squad 1 - Simian Strikeforce Alpha
4 Jokaero Weaponsmiths
3 Warrior Acolytes + Stormbolters
Chimp-mera + Multilaser
Squad 2 - Simian Strikeforce Beta
4 Jokaero Weaponsmiths
3 Warrior Acolytes + Stormbolters
Chimp-mera + Multilaser
Squad 3 - The Apes of Wrath
6 Jokaero Weaponsmiths
4 Servitors + Heavy Bolters
Elites
Squad 1 - The Funky Gibbons
6 Purifiers
2 Psycannons
Psybolt Ammo
Squad 2 - Baboon Fury
6 Purifiers
2 Psycannons
Psybolt Ammo
Heavy Support
The Gorilla Warfare Division
Dreadnought + 2x TL Autocannons + Psybolt Ammo
Dreadnought + 2x TL Autocannons + Psybolt Ammo
Dreadnought + 2x TL Autocannons + Psybolt Ammo
I've pretty much finished painting the army - to a very basic standard but one i'm happy with as i'm not much of a painter, and will post some pictures of the units in my next update!
HQ
Inquisitor Chimpeaz
(Inquisitor Coteaz)
Inquisitor Apearella
(Ordo Xenos Inquisitor)
Troops
Squad 1 - Simian Strikeforce Alpha
4 Jokaero Weaponsmiths
3 Warrior Acolytes + Stormbolters
Chimp-mera + Multilaser
Squad 2 - Simian Strikeforce Beta
4 Jokaero Weaponsmiths
3 Warrior Acolytes + Stormbolters
Chimp-mera + Multilaser
Squad 3 - The Apes of Wrath
6 Jokaero Weaponsmiths
4 Servitors + Heavy Bolters
Elites
Squad 1 - The Funky Gibbons
6 Purifiers
2 Psycannons
Psybolt Ammo
Squad 2 - Baboon Fury
6 Purifiers
2 Psycannons
Psybolt Ammo
Heavy Support
The Gorilla Warfare Division
Dreadnought + 2x TL Autocannons + Psybolt Ammo
Dreadnought + 2x TL Autocannons + Psybolt Ammo
Dreadnought + 2x TL Autocannons + Psybolt Ammo
I've pretty much finished painting the army - to a very basic standard but one i'm happy with as i'm not much of a painter, and will post some pictures of the units in my next update!
Thursday 26 April 2012
BLog Wars 3!
Wow has it been that long?? Blog Wars 3 is on the horizon and i'm getting
back into 40k preparing for the event. This year I’m taking a completely
different approach to the tournament, instead of writing a competitive list, or
at least trying to write a competitive list, I’m just going for the funsies. My
army will be very strange, and I can't wait to see the look on my opponents
face when i start deploying for the first game.
You see, my army won’t have Draigo, Purifiers or Paladins neither will it have Land raiders or Plasma/Melta Acolytes it’s going to be full of....MONKIES! approx. 24 Jokaero Weaponsmiths, with support from Dreds and Coteaz. The best thing about it though, is that it's a complete "counts as" army with EVERY model being represented by a Monkey miniature from Eureak Miniatures (linky) I think it's going to be a lot of fun playing with monkeys lol and my opponents won’t know how approach the games.
I'm also going to be making a nice display board to hopefully go for the best themed army spot.
I'll post an army list and some pics of my monkeys so far when I get chance - but needless to say I’m very excited about monkeying around at Blog Wars
You see, my army won’t have Draigo, Purifiers or Paladins neither will it have Land raiders or Plasma/Melta Acolytes it’s going to be full of....MONKIES! approx. 24 Jokaero Weaponsmiths, with support from Dreds and Coteaz. The best thing about it though, is that it's a complete "counts as" army with EVERY model being represented by a Monkey miniature from Eureak Miniatures (linky) I think it's going to be a lot of fun playing with monkeys lol and my opponents won’t know how approach the games.
I'm also going to be making a nice display board to hopefully go for the best themed army spot.
I'll post an army list and some pics of my monkeys so far when I get chance - but needless to say I’m very excited about monkeying around at Blog Wars
Thursday 12 January 2012
Blog Wars 2 - Conclusions and Reflections
Wow, what a tournament – 3 games played a loss, a draw and a win! I had a really good time, and met a bunch of brilliant people. Overall I think the custom scenarios worked quite well, and I feel having to include a special character was an interesting bonus.
I only really had one niggling issue and that’s with how the Tournament points were worked out. I don’t know whether it was just the nature of the games I played, but the system seemed a bit wonky to me. My fellow blogger the 6th Degree lost 2 games and won 1, a worse overall record than me. However he ended up 4 places higher in the rankings with a TP total of 8 compared to my 5. I understand that Alex was after rewarding close games, and wanted a way to reward people for playing competitively – however I don’t feel this was successfully achieved. I think that some reward should have been given for winning – not just points awarded for killing your opponents stuff – the focus was more on “tabling” than playing – something incredibly hard for my army to do. TP’s being awarded for having more KP/VP than your opponent seems a bit one-sided, for example If I played a game and scored 1725VP but my opponent scored 1726 – he would walk away with the TP and I would have nothing to show for my efforts. I think this should be addressed so that secondary TP’s are awarded for achieving a set number of VP/KP rather than having more than your opponent. This would also give certain armies a chance in scenarios where they are on the back foot from the start (my army in capture and control for example) This is only a minor issue and not one that detracted from my enjoyment from the day – but it is something I hope can be addressed for Blog Wars 3.
As far as my list is concerned, I certainly learnt a lot about what works and what doesn’t. I LOVED my Dreadnaught’s, and would like to give a huge word of thanks to Chris for his suggestion about taking Psyfledreds. They were awesome for me, and in most games easily made back their points in taking out enemy transports or tanks. The Paladins, unsurprisingly were also awesome! I don’t think I played them as aggressively as I could have done – and this tournament certainly taught me not to be afraid of shoving them down my opponent’s throat. They’re incredibly tough and hard hitting and I think were easily the MVP’s in all three of my games. Draigo was certainly epic – his destruction of the DE Wyches in my first game secured his place in my heart and I don’t think any other GK special character even comes close to him in terms of fluff or on-table prowess. I don’t think the Vindicaire was a good inclusion, I wanted to use my Scope conversion, but I just don’t feel he had enough impact. Although I did get a few results from him – blasting a dark lance and taking out melta-marines – I think the 145 points could easily be better spent. In the future I think I’ll invest those points in an Inquisitor and a henchmen Warband. This gives a more versatile option, and also I can have a Chimera for mobility and contesting TQ’s or Objectives.
I think I’ll run a very similar list if I do end up going to BW3 – I don’t want to play the usual Razorback Spam that every other GK tournament lists consists of. Overall I'm really happy with how it played out, and considering this was my first "proper" competition I'm over the moon to have come 16/22 - not last!!!
I only really had one niggling issue and that’s with how the Tournament points were worked out. I don’t know whether it was just the nature of the games I played, but the system seemed a bit wonky to me. My fellow blogger the 6th Degree lost 2 games and won 1, a worse overall record than me. However he ended up 4 places higher in the rankings with a TP total of 8 compared to my 5. I understand that Alex was after rewarding close games, and wanted a way to reward people for playing competitively – however I don’t feel this was successfully achieved. I think that some reward should have been given for winning – not just points awarded for killing your opponents stuff – the focus was more on “tabling” than playing – something incredibly hard for my army to do. TP’s being awarded for having more KP/VP than your opponent seems a bit one-sided, for example If I played a game and scored 1725VP but my opponent scored 1726 – he would walk away with the TP and I would have nothing to show for my efforts. I think this should be addressed so that secondary TP’s are awarded for achieving a set number of VP/KP rather than having more than your opponent. This would also give certain armies a chance in scenarios where they are on the back foot from the start (my army in capture and control for example) This is only a minor issue and not one that detracted from my enjoyment from the day – but it is something I hope can be addressed for Blog Wars 3.
As far as my list is concerned, I certainly learnt a lot about what works and what doesn’t. I LOVED my Dreadnaught’s, and would like to give a huge word of thanks to Chris for his suggestion about taking Psyfledreds. They were awesome for me, and in most games easily made back their points in taking out enemy transports or tanks. The Paladins, unsurprisingly were also awesome! I don’t think I played them as aggressively as I could have done – and this tournament certainly taught me not to be afraid of shoving them down my opponent’s throat. They’re incredibly tough and hard hitting and I think were easily the MVP’s in all three of my games. Draigo was certainly epic – his destruction of the DE Wyches in my first game secured his place in my heart and I don’t think any other GK special character even comes close to him in terms of fluff or on-table prowess. I don’t think the Vindicaire was a good inclusion, I wanted to use my Scope conversion, but I just don’t feel he had enough impact. Although I did get a few results from him – blasting a dark lance and taking out melta-marines – I think the 145 points could easily be better spent. In the future I think I’ll invest those points in an Inquisitor and a henchmen Warband. This gives a more versatile option, and also I can have a Chimera for mobility and contesting TQ’s or Objectives.
I think I’ll run a very similar list if I do end up going to BW3 – I don’t want to play the usual Razorback Spam that every other GK tournament lists consists of. Overall I'm really happy with how it played out, and considering this was my first "proper" competition I'm over the moon to have come 16/22 - not last!!!
Tuesday 10 January 2012
Blog Wars 2 - Game Three
Game 3: Grey Knights vs Blood Angels + Dante (again) (Dave Crawford - Friend of From the Fang)
Another game, another Blood Angels list! considering the wide array of armies on show in the tournament I was disappointed to be facing more Blood Angels with the same special character - I'd like to have had a go at one of the 'Nids, Guard or Ork lists. However as I set up, I realised this list would play totally differently from the previous list and Dave seemed like a really fun opponent to play. We were both out of contention at this point, so the game was more relaxed and friendly than a typical tournament game and we both just had a laugh.
The third scenario was a custom scenario with 5 objective markers - 2 in the "attackers" deployment area and 3 in the "defenders" - The Special Character counted for 2 points if claiming an objective.
I won the roll-off and decided on being the defender - I played a pretty sneaky game by using Draigo's Grand Strategy to give my two Strike Squads and a Dred Outflanking. With the Paladins deepstriking all that was set up on the board was my assassin and my other Dred! This was quite a risky strategy, as i could easily be taken out, and if i rolled badly for reserves id be left coming in piecemeal while my opponent could concentrate fire. However I think it paid off and the game was probably the best tactical game i played all tournament.
The first couple of turns I was basically plinking with my assassin and my Dred – I managed to immobilise one of his dreadnaughts and kill a couple of marines. He advanced two squads of assault marines down my left hand flank, with a squad of scouts taking cover on the roof of an abandoned church in the SW corner, next to the objective. Dante Arrived with his retinue in the SouthEast corner, taking out my assassin, and getting in combat with my Dred – luckily the plucky Dred managed to survive and even bashed a marine!
I rolled for reserves and received my two strike squads – the first flanking from the east and the second from the west. The eastern reserves arrived at the very north of the table, in my opponents deployment zone – ready to take the objective there, the western squad arrived to bolster my defences in an attempt to claim the objective being contested by Dante. The two squads of marines by the church split up, with one going to intercept my strike squad in the north, and the other camping on the objective in the South.
Dante continued to struggle in combat with my Drednaught and the strike squad disembarked, while their Rhino moved to claim the objective in the centre of my deployment zone.
My next Reserve roll brought on one squad of Paladins+Draigo and my remaining Dred – leaving only one squad left still to come. The Paladins landed between the combat in my deployment zone and one of my opponents Dred’s – My Dred came on the Eastern Flank near the northernmost objective. After some successful Dred on Dred Shooting (My Dred Popping his!) My Paladins began advancing towards Dante in the hope of clearing him off the objective. In retaliation to my outflanking attack, my opponents remaining Dred preceded to pop my own in equally dramatic fashion lol Dante finally crushed the Dred he was fighting and consolidated towards the Strike squad claiming my objective. The table was divided on turn 4 with me controlling the two northernmost objectives, contesting the SW objective, holding the S Objective and contesting the SE objective.
As we went to turn 5 and my final squad of Paladins arrived I felt fairly confident about taking the match fairly easily – however things are always unpredictable. Draigo landed on the Western Flank and took out the marines contesting the objective – however the Scouts proved a more difficult task, with one pesky scout hiding behind a chimney being impossible to shift. Dante’s squad tore through the squad on my SE objective and as a special character claimed it for 2 points. As Draigo was stranded contesting an objective (stupid scouts) I couldn’t get a 2 point claim and the game ended very close! I think it ended 3-2 to me, with a minor victory in VP’s.
This was probably the most fun game to play, and was very story-like with lots of twists and action throughout. If only I’d have been able to kill the one remaining scout I’d have ended the game 5-2 controlling 4 of 5 objectives.
Another game, another Blood Angels list! considering the wide array of armies on show in the tournament I was disappointed to be facing more Blood Angels with the same special character - I'd like to have had a go at one of the 'Nids, Guard or Ork lists. However as I set up, I realised this list would play totally differently from the previous list and Dave seemed like a really fun opponent to play. We were both out of contention at this point, so the game was more relaxed and friendly than a typical tournament game and we both just had a laugh.
The third scenario was a custom scenario with 5 objective markers - 2 in the "attackers" deployment area and 3 in the "defenders" - The Special Character counted for 2 points if claiming an objective.
I won the roll-off and decided on being the defender - I played a pretty sneaky game by using Draigo's Grand Strategy to give my two Strike Squads and a Dred Outflanking. With the Paladins deepstriking all that was set up on the board was my assassin and my other Dred! This was quite a risky strategy, as i could easily be taken out, and if i rolled badly for reserves id be left coming in piecemeal while my opponent could concentrate fire. However I think it paid off and the game was probably the best tactical game i played all tournament.
The first couple of turns I was basically plinking with my assassin and my Dred – I managed to immobilise one of his dreadnaughts and kill a couple of marines. He advanced two squads of assault marines down my left hand flank, with a squad of scouts taking cover on the roof of an abandoned church in the SW corner, next to the objective. Dante Arrived with his retinue in the SouthEast corner, taking out my assassin, and getting in combat with my Dred – luckily the plucky Dred managed to survive and even bashed a marine!
I rolled for reserves and received my two strike squads – the first flanking from the east and the second from the west. The eastern reserves arrived at the very north of the table, in my opponents deployment zone – ready to take the objective there, the western squad arrived to bolster my defences in an attempt to claim the objective being contested by Dante. The two squads of marines by the church split up, with one going to intercept my strike squad in the north, and the other camping on the objective in the South.
Dante continued to struggle in combat with my Drednaught and the strike squad disembarked, while their Rhino moved to claim the objective in the centre of my deployment zone.
My next Reserve roll brought on one squad of Paladins+Draigo and my remaining Dred – leaving only one squad left still to come. The Paladins landed between the combat in my deployment zone and one of my opponents Dred’s – My Dred came on the Eastern Flank near the northernmost objective. After some successful Dred on Dred Shooting (My Dred Popping his!) My Paladins began advancing towards Dante in the hope of clearing him off the objective. In retaliation to my outflanking attack, my opponents remaining Dred preceded to pop my own in equally dramatic fashion lol Dante finally crushed the Dred he was fighting and consolidated towards the Strike squad claiming my objective. The table was divided on turn 4 with me controlling the two northernmost objectives, contesting the SW objective, holding the S Objective and contesting the SE objective.
As we went to turn 5 and my final squad of Paladins arrived I felt fairly confident about taking the match fairly easily – however things are always unpredictable. Draigo landed on the Western Flank and took out the marines contesting the objective – however the Scouts proved a more difficult task, with one pesky scout hiding behind a chimney being impossible to shift. Dante’s squad tore through the squad on my SE objective and as a special character claimed it for 2 points. As Draigo was stranded contesting an objective (stupid scouts) I couldn’t get a 2 point claim and the game ended very close! I think it ended 3-2 to me, with a minor victory in VP’s.
This was probably the most fun game to play, and was very story-like with lots of twists and action throughout. If only I’d have been able to kill the one remaining scout I’d have ended the game 5-2 controlling 4 of 5 objectives.
Blog Wars 2 - Game Two
Game 2: Grey Knights vs Blood Angels + Dante (list) (Yeti Lover from Faulty Dice)
Blood Angels…..bloody, bloody Blood Angels! I have the most experience playing against Blood Angels, after several hard fought battles against David Cameron (not that one) and I can honestly say I don’t like them! Not one bit! Grey Knights excel in mid-range and although they can deal a lot of damage in combat, they’re not really built for it. Blood Angels on the other hand are custom made fist-to-the-face combat monsters! And can rip through a squad of terminators in a single charge. I wasn’t looking forward to the inevitable close combat phase but I was optimistic that I could shoot enough marines to give myself a chance
The Scenario for this game was capture and control – TP’s being awarded for controlling table quarters and having more VP’s than your opponent.
Blood Angels…..bloody, bloody Blood Angels! I have the most experience playing against Blood Angels, after several hard fought battles against David Cameron (not that one) and I can honestly say I don’t like them! Not one bit! Grey Knights excel in mid-range and although they can deal a lot of damage in combat, they’re not really built for it. Blood Angels on the other hand are custom made fist-to-the-face combat monsters! And can rip through a squad of terminators in a single charge. I wasn’t looking forward to the inevitable close combat phase but I was optimistic that I could shoot enough marines to give myself a chance
The Scenario for this game was capture and control – TP’s being awarded for controlling table quarters and having more VP’s than your opponent.
I started this game in the far left corner of my deployment – castling the two Dreadnaughts, the Assassin and the two transports in the hope of laying down suppressing fire on the advancing Blood Angels – I left Draigo and the Paladins in reserve, so that I could deep strike them to contest or claim TQ’s when needed. I managed to inflict a fair few casualties to the assault marine squads and Devastators before Dante and his Sanguinary Guard literally dropped on my doorstep In the third turn! The strike squads took out a few marines; however Dante ripped a hole through my army – One Dred and a Strike Squad + Rhino Down! This did leave a lot of the Blood Angels forces concentrated in the left hand corner, and allowed my surviving rhino to head over to the right side of the board and contest the TQ there. Also, my Dred advanced up the table taking pot-shots at anything that looked scary!
Once the Paladins arrived the game started turning in my favour – with Draigos squad virtually single handily taking out both squads of Sanguinary guard (Dante had a lucky escape thanks to hit and run, otherwise he would have been toast!) However after monstering through most of the Blood Angels force Draigo was taken out by bolter fire!! Two shots, Two Wounds, Two Failed 2+ Invuns – SNAKE EYES!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I was so unhappy Draigo was killed, he’d been awesome all game and didn’t deserve to be torn down by Bolter fire.
After three fairly frantic turns for both sides the game down to a couple of turns of claiming objectives – I think the Blood Angels MVP has to be the “lubed-up Flamer Guy” who, after surviving Combat with Draigo, two rounds of Heavy Bolter Fire and Several shots from Stormbolters – survived, on his own, to claim a TQ for my opponent – I just couldn’t touch him! In the end I think the result was 2-2 on TQ’s (the Scouts in the SW and Flamer guy in the NW vs My Strike Squad SE and 1 squad of Paladins NE) with a minor victory in VP for me.
Once the Paladins arrived the game started turning in my favour – with Draigos squad virtually single handily taking out both squads of Sanguinary guard (Dante had a lucky escape thanks to hit and run, otherwise he would have been toast!) However after monstering through most of the Blood Angels force Draigo was taken out by bolter fire!! Two shots, Two Wounds, Two Failed 2+ Invuns – SNAKE EYES!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I was so unhappy Draigo was killed, he’d been awesome all game and didn’t deserve to be torn down by Bolter fire.
After three fairly frantic turns for both sides the game down to a couple of turns of claiming objectives – I think the Blood Angels MVP has to be the “lubed-up Flamer Guy” who, after surviving Combat with Draigo, two rounds of Heavy Bolter Fire and Several shots from Stormbolters – survived, on his own, to claim a TQ for my opponent – I just couldn’t touch him! In the end I think the result was 2-2 on TQ’s (the Scouts in the SW and Flamer guy in the NW vs My Strike Squad SE and 1 squad of Paladins NE) with a minor victory in VP for me.
Again a really fun game and a totally different experience to the usual Blood Angel list I’ve faced. I think both of us played well, and the game could easily have been a victory for the Blood Angels or the Grey Knights – close call! I think a draw was a deserved result in this matchup
Blog Wars 2 - Game One
Lining up against Kabalite and his Reaver/Ravager heavy Dark Eldar was not the ideal start to the tournament – especially after listening to the 6th degree for the whole drive down to Mansfield complaining about how he was “tabled by Dark Eldar in two turns”
Scenario One was basically Annihilation – with Tournament points awarded for having more Kill Points and more Victory Points than your opponent. A Special Character Kill would net you 2 TP’s
Scenario One was basically Annihilation – with Tournament points awarded for having more Kill Points and more Victory Points than your opponent. A Special Character Kill would net you 2 TP’s
Needless to say I lost, multiple dark lances and melta weapons, combined with the sheer number of shots put out in the shooting phase left my army in pieces. As I said earlier since I’m doing this months after the tournament I can’t give a play by play account but I’ll try and highlight the notable events and turning points of the match:
Early on I sat in my deployment zone and sniped his lines. The dreadnaughts Immobilised one Ravager and popped the Dark Lance off another – WINNING! I left the Paladins in reserve, hoping to Deepstrike close to his lines and pop those papier mache transports with Psycannon fire. In return, I lost both my transports (Ouch!) and one TL Assault cannon from the Dred on my Right flank. I decided to push up the table in my next couple of turns, with the initial plan of getting close to reduce the amount of shots I was taking – BAD IDEA! The Reavers “gangsta drive-by” on my left side strike squad left no survivors with every marine failing their 3+ saves! My right didn’t fair much better, with a Dark Lance finishing off my already damaged Dred and the remaining strike squad torn apart by Venom fire (again no marines passed a save) I was pretty shocked that out of 10 saves of a 3+ not one passed! But that’s the game, sometimes the dice hate your face!
In the 4th turn (I think) my paladin squads turned up and I managed to blow a fairly large hole in Kabalite’s army – the resilience and combined fire of the Paladins proved a rather hard obstacle to shift for the Eldar. I smashed the Duke’s transport and totalled his retinue – leaving the Duke standing alone in wreckage. The Reaver squads were whittled down and I think two squads of witches bit the dust! However, as the Paladins were the only thing left of my army, The Eldar could concentrate their fire and take them down by sheer number of shots. On the DE final turn I had Draigo (reduced to one wound!) within charge distance of a squad of witches, naturally hesitant Kabalite was unsure of whether to go for broke and try and take down Draigo for the bonus 2 TP.
In the end he charged in and the result didn’t exactly go as expected. 5 Wyches on the charge = no wounds!!!! Draigo, the last man standing fought back, killed 3 of the Xeno scum won the combat and caused the Wyches to flee! Although I’d lost the match (fairly close on Kill points but badly on Victory points) this last victory by Draigo made up for the defeat. This game was a lot closer than I expected it to be and a lot of fun!
Long time no blog - Blog Wars 2 aftermath + more!
So it’s been a while! (3rd December last year!) but I’ve finally got back to my blog to give an update (albeit quite a sketchy update – memory has failed somewhat) of my exploits in my first tournament Blog Wars 2
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of the actual matches I just want to congratulate Alex from From the Fang - I had an awesome time at an incredibly fun and well organised event. I think Alex has managed to balance the competitive side of gaming with the more social side in a way that’s quite hard to achieve in a tournament setting.
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of the actual matches I just want to congratulate Alex from From the Fang - I had an awesome time at an incredibly fun and well organised event. I think Alex has managed to balance the competitive side of gaming with the more social side in a way that’s quite hard to achieve in a tournament setting.
Also congrats to my good friend the 6th degree from Weemen who finished higher up the table than me (curses!) but also managed to bag the best painted army award, despite painting in a zombie-like state every night on the run up to the weekend. So here goes with the battle reports:
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