New Flyers!!!

Well, isn't this exciting, The "summer of flyers" has finally come! The Grizz is mighty excited about it! From a coolness standpoint, I think GW did a great job, with all of the flyers having a cool and unique look befitting the armies to which they belong. I must say, though, that my Orks got the best deal, getting a 3 flyer kit, and some pretty cool rules to boot! My personal favorite is the dakka jet, moving 12" and firing 9 twin linked S6 shots (18 when you WAAAGH!!!). I have one on order and may grab a second if there is one!

On a somewhat related note, I played in an ATC practice tourney Saturday, going 1-2-0 with a 4 wagon Ghazghkul list. I had some terrible pulls, facing an all night/doom scythe army first and a dual wolf lord/dual twc list 3rd. My list I ran---


Boss Grimgor Skulskragga's Deff Komp'ny

Total Roster Cost: 1997

Ghazghkull Thraka
Nobz . . Cybork Bodies
. . Painboy
. . Nob . . Bosspole, Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Nob . . Waaagh! Banner, Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Nob . . Big Choppa, Slugga
. . Nob . . Big Choppa, Twin Linked Shoota
. . Nob . . Choppa, Slugga
. . Nob . . Ammo Runt, Choppa, Slugga
. . Nob . . Eavy Armour, Choppa, Slugga
. . Nob . . Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Battlewagon . . Armour Plates, Deff Rolla, Grot Rigger, Red Paint Job, Big Shoota x2

Big Mek . . Eavy Armour, Kustom Force Field
18 Shoota Boyz . . Big Shoota x1
. . Boyz Nob . . Bosspole, Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Battlewagon . . Armour Plates, Deff Rolla, Grot Rigger, Red Paint Job, Big Shoota x2

19 Shoota Boyz . . Big Shoota x2
. . Boyz Nob . . Bosspole, Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Battlewagon . . Armour Plates, Deff Rolla, Grot Rigger, Red Paint Job, Big Shoota x2

19 Shoota Boyz . . Big Shoota x2
. . Boyz Nob . . Bosspole, Power Klaw, Slugga
. . Battlewagon . . Armour Plates, Deff Rolla, Grot Rigger, Red Paint Job, Big Shoota x2

10 Gretchin
. . Runtherd

Deffkopta . . Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha, Buzzsaw

Deffkopta . . Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha, Buzzsaw

Deffkopta . . Twin Linked Rokkit Launcha, Buzzsaw

I think this list would perform very well against standard build Wolves, razorspam, and parking lots. Mobile/skimmer/flyer armies, on the other hand, neutralize it pretty easily. The deffkoptas were practically useless, and I found myself hurting for some range. I will be play testing the Dakka jet, and may throw in some lootas for good measure. We'll just have to see how we do!

Well it's good to be back, hope all is well, till next time!

Return From Battle From Supremacy!

Well Pariah Stevo and Myself have returned from Murfreesboro with a bag full of schwag and smiles on our faces. We finished the day with a record of 3W-0L-0T against a field of 23 teams, and came in 2nd overall, with fellow collaborator Wiley The Nord and his partner Necronian getting best painted, so not a bad outing for Da Deff Komp'ny team. There were some great armies on display, with equally great competion behind them. We decided last week to run an Ork/Dark Eldar matchup, relying on multiple scoring units and lots-o-dakka to win the day. Our lists -

ORKS

Big Mek - KFF
11 Shoota Boys
...Big Shoota, Nob w/ Bosspole/Power Klaw
...Trukk - Boarding Planks, Red Paint, Reinforced Ram


12 Shoota Boys
...Big Shoota, Nob w/ Bosspole/Power Klaw
...Trukk - Boarding Planks, Red Paint, Reinforced Ram


12 Shoota Boys
...Big Shoota, Nob w/ Bosspole/Power Klaw
...Trukk - Boarding Planks, Red Paint, Reinforced Ram

2x14 Lootas

DARK ELDAR

Haemonculous
...Liquefier Gun, Mindphase Gauntlet
4x Wracks
Venom - 2x Splinter Cannons

5x Wracks
...Liquefier Gun
Venom - 2x Splinter Cannons


5x Wracks
...Liquefier Gun
Venom - 2x Splinter Cannons

4x Trueborn
...4x Blasts
Venom - 2x Splinter Cannons

5x Scourges
...2x Haywire Blasters

2x Ravagers
...Night Shields, Flicker Fields, Shock Prows
-------------------------------------------------------------

We were pleased with the way the list played, this bad boy pumps out some serious shots. The big Loota squads complement the DE well, and if you need to go punch somethin in the mouth, you can throw 2-3 trukks worth of boys at em. We played against some great opposition, who stretched this list to its limits. This may definitely become a more common list we try to take to team tourneys.

Regardless, we walked out of Grand Adventures with 50 bucks a piece worth of free GW product, which is always a nice thing. Battle For Supremacy was a well run tourney, especially considering the venue was changed due to circumstances beyond their control less than 2 weeks before the event. I will definitely have to put it on my calendar for next year, and you should too!

1000pts In 7 Days, and Other Orkish Ramblings

Hey folks, Grizz here. Wiley, Pariah.Stevo (or should I say Lychguard.Stevo now :D ) and myself are headin to Murfreesboro TN to play in the Battle For Supremacy Team tournament this Saturday. After much discussion between Stevo and myself, we finally decided on our armies and lists two days ago. The awesome part? This will be my first tournament rockin my new orks. The bad part? I have 7 boys painted, and that's it. So, it shall be a busy week for the Grizz. I will be takin pics and updating y'all on my progress!

In other news, I got my first couple games in with my Orks, and got the opportunity to play against the brand new Necrons. Orks may be the funnest army I have ever played. Ever. When you are laughin your butt off while losing, you know you are playing something you enjoy. I played mine/stevo's team lists while he got to try out his new Necron dex using his very first army. Having not even glanced through the codex before, our first game was full of interesting surprises. 

Things I noticed in 2 games against them-

1) The Stormlord is pretty sweet. He was definitely the MVP of Game 1, as his nightfighting rules lasted for 4 turns, completely nerfing my shooting. The Lightning attacks were consistently hitting 2 units/tanks a turn, and doing serious damage. 

2) Tomb Blades are awesome. Jetbikes with S6 blasts? Yeah, they are the bee's knees. There is something to be said about mobile firepower, and boy the Tomb Blades have it in spades.

3) Scarabs are as annoying as the interwebz say they are. They dominate vehicles, and don't die very easily. Adding Tomb Spiders makes them just stupid.

4) Warriors, in my opinion, aren't as bad as people think they are. They are still LD 10, and are rockin Gauss weapons. No, they are not something you wanna just throw at the enemy, but they will make for some great objective holders and HQ hidey squads.

All in all, I think that the new Cron codex has a lot of flavor, and is a very synergistic book, with all components in your army working together in order to prevail. I am eager to see what the Necron people are going to be bringing to the table, and what units they play.

If y'all are free this weekend and wanna get some 40k in, you should call Grand Adventures in Murfreesboro and sign up! Maybe we'll see you there!

Boss Grimgor Skulskraga, Baddest ov da Evil Sunz

So, I finally got my Finecast Ghazghkull Thraka model in, and let me tell ya, this model is EPIC! It's light, goes together like pie, paints like a dream, and looks utterly badass.What more could one ask for? So, needless to say, as soon as I got home I began painting this bad boy. I am pretty pleased with him, and I am very glad that I was able to duplicate the battle damage highlight effect that  I liked so much on my first bike. What do y'all think?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE!!!!

Just coated ol Gromgor in a devlan mud wash, to give him a more dirty look

There he is, Boss Grimgor Skulskraga, ready to lead his Evil Sunz into glorious Battle!! How did The Grizz Do?? Let us know, Down Below!!

The Grizz Goes WAAAGH!!!

A few days ago, Yours Truly was sitting in his man room surveying all of his Warhammer armies. As I looked at each army, I was reminded of all the great games, fun paint schemes, and unique conversions that each army possessed. Then, at the end of the line, were my Tyranids. I looked at the paint scheme, a striking yet difficult pain in the butt job. I then thought of all the fun games I had with them - none. I then began to wonder why I even had this army.


I didn't enjoy painting them, converting them was okay, and playing them was never an enjoyable experience, as I never had a good chance at winning. I didn't enjoy the playstyle, and I would never get them finished painted. So I decided to rid myself of the infestation and switch to a Xenos army a little more of the fungal variety. 


So Friday I picked up Codex: Orks. I have always had a fascination with the Orks. They have some of the best fluff/models/conversion abilities in the game. They play on the table just like they fight in the fluff, which to me is a big bonus. And with my buddy Pariah Stevo living 90 miles away, I don't get to play against them as often as I'd like, so now I have an excuse to indulge my inner ork. So today I began paint testing for Boss Grimgor Skulskragga's Mighty WAAAGH!!! 


I decided on the Evil Sunz Clan, more or less because "da red wuns go Fasta!!!" and I really liked the scheme. So I tested my skills on a warbike. Sorry about the phone pics, but otherwise I am pretty pleased with how it turned out, other than the white, still not completely pleased with it, but anyway without further ado, I give you my first Ork Paintjob.

So, what do we think? Awesome? Suck? Somewhere in between? Let us know in the comments below!

To Thunderwolf Or Not To Thunderwolf

Well, between the moving, packing, and cleaning, I somehow found time to finally get my first game in with my Space Wolves. My good friend Pariah.Stevo from over at Tainted By Xenos (which is back up and running BTW) came over to help me move and while waiting for the Storage unit we squeezed a game in. I took a very different list than i normally take, as it was a shooty list with no deathstar, as I wanted to see how certain things work. I took -


Wolf Lord
---Runic armor, Frost Axe, SS, Wolftooth Necklace


4x Wolf Guard
---Combimeltas & PFs


4x Grey Hunters Squads, 3x9, 1x8
---Plasma, Rhino w/ Hunter Killer Missile


2x Rune Priests
---Liv. Light./Jaws
---Liv. Light./Jaws, Melta Bombs


2x Long Fang Squads
---3x MLs, 2x LCs
---Razorback w/ LC/TLPG, HK Missile


Vindicator
---HK Missile


Steve took his tournament Ork list, which entails - Ed. Steve, if this is wrong correct me


Ghazghkull
Mek w/ KFF & Power Klaw
A squad of Nobz with Cybork bodies, WAAAGH Banner, Bosspole
Battlewagon w/ Deffrolla, Red Paint


17 Shoota Boys
Nob w/ Boss pole, Power klaw
Battlewagon w/ deffrolla


16 Shoota Boys

Nob w/ Boss pole, Power klaw

Battlewagon w/ deffrolla

2x15 Lootas

2x Deffcoptas w/ buzzsaws

Babysitting grot squad

What Should've Happened

Ok, so basically Murphy and his law came in and beat the ever livin crap out of me from turn one. We rolled Dawn of War, so Ghazghkull started halfway across the board and night fighting caused me to do absolutely zilch for damage. The next turn sees 6 lascannons (2 at side armor),2 Missile Launchers, 2 HK missiles (at side armor) and a Demolisher Cannon (side armor) give me one immobilized result and a Crew Shaken result on Ghazzy's wagon. Awesome. Ghazghkull then proceeds to charge me from across the board.

What Did Happen

From then till the end of turn four when we called it I watched 9 shoota shots kill 7 grey hunters in one roll, 2 lascannons bounce off AV 12, a Wolf Lord kill a whopping 2 Ork nobs (over 4 rounds of assault), a grey hunter squad shoot and charge a shoota boy squad and cause a grand total of 3 wounds, then watched Steve roll three 6s, pretty much my dice hated me. With a vengeance. over the course of the day I failed 7 of 9 vehicle 4+ covers. Not my day.

God do I love a good Beatstick...

Now, although I deployed wrong, my dice completely failed me, and Steve's were on fire, and after such a game it is a terrible idea to immediately redo your army list, I have begun to think about new units. Now, if you haven't figured this out about me by now, i like a good beatstick. I carry a .45, I hunt with a 7mm Rem. Mag., I drive a V8. I like em big and powerful. Looking back at all my armies, every build I have ever liked has a deathstar in it. My old Ultras had Hestan and TH/SS Termies in a LRR. Blood Angels have the Chappie/DC/DC Dread/Stormraven combo, Chaos has either Abaddon/Plagues/LR or 2x MoN DPs and a GD,  my Nids have the Trygons. I like beatsticks.

Which brings me to my current dilemma. How do I run an effective, shooty SW army and still have a good beatstick in there to help with the Vects and Ghazghkulls out there? I then began to read the Thunderwolf Cavalry entry. Dear. God. These dudes mean business, with a true T5 and 4 base attacks. And a not so terrible price tag. This unit could fill in that little deathstar sized hole in my heart. So I revamped the list, and came up with this - 

Wolf Lord

---Frost Axe, SS, Runic Armor, WT Necklace, Thunderwolf Mount, Saga of the Bear

5x Thunderwolf Cavalry

---BP/CCW

---BP/SS

---Plasma Pistol/CCW

---BP/CCW, Melta Bombs

---BP/TH

4x Wolf Guard

---Combi Melta, PF

4x9 Grey Hunters

---Plasma Gun, Rhino

2x Long Fang Packs

---3x ML/2x LC

Vindicator

1999pts.

That way, I am runnin a similar army that is shooty, but still has a beatstick. Now, I'll just have to proxy some TWC and see how I like em before I drop the dough for em. Still haven't found a company who's TWC I really love, but maybe y'all can help me with that :)

So what do we think? Are TWC the way to go? Is The Grizz's new plan absolute crap? Are there good lookin TWC models out there? Let us know below!

And Now Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Program

I know, I know, I haven't updated, and for that I apologize, some real life happened this week, and lots of stuff that I thought would never happen. It is official, The Grizz has been......Tainted By Xenos!!!! I know, please take a moment to pick your jaws off the floor and wipe away those tears of disbelief. It took me a little while to come to grips with it myself. 


After 13 years of wargaming and 40k, I have never owned a non power armored army save my IG, but that was still humans/imperium. I have never even thought about it till the last week or so. I sold all my stuff on eBay, bought what I needed for my Chaos/Blood Angels, and had a little extra left over. So I began lookin at the possibility of starting a new army and started goin down the list.


CSM - Already have
Chaos Daemons - too expensive, not consistent enough
Blood Angels - Already Have
Vanilla Marines - Already have
Grey Knights - Just sold them
Witch Hunters - Used to have and sold
Space Wolves - love rules, hate model range/fluff
Black Templar - too similar to BA/Vanilla
IG - too broke to do what i want to do - Death Korps of Krieg
Dark Angels - .......no.

Sounds like Dark Angels

I Then came to the realization that if I wanted to play a new army, it would have to be...dare I say it...Xenos. So then I broke down the Xenos Races. I wanted something completely different to the armies i currently play, yet at the same time having a familiar feel. I couldn't play Orks, as that is Pariah.Stevo's army, and I play against them too much to want to play them myself.

There can be only one...

 Necrons were marked off the list, with Eldar/DE/Tau never even making the list. Much like Highlander, at the end, there was only one - Tyranids. They were a horde, low armor, high tougness bugs, completely different to my current armies. Yet they felt strangely familiar, being assault based and short range. I began lookin at the model range and became as excited as a little boy who just discovered his first.....well, lets just say I was excited.


Every army I have ever owned I had some idea of how they worked. Oh ok that squad has bolters and power armor, lets put em in a transport and move em around. Not so with this new purchase. As I read through the codex, I became so lost, not knowing what any unit did or how to run them. I felt like I was starting 40k all over again. It scared the piss out of me, but at the same time, it excited me. I feel like I am looking at the game in a whole new way now. I received my first box of Gaunts yesterday, and got my first paint test done today. Tuesday, i should have sitting on my door step -


-2x Battleforces
-2x Trygons
-1x Carnifex


That gives me a pretty sizable chunk of stuff, and a lot to work on. So here comes the big question - Do you guys care about the Nids? I started this blog to talk about power armor, showcase my armies, and so on and so forth. Of course I never planned on havin a xenos army either. So, what I am asking you, the humble follower -

Do you want to see Tyranid Stuff on here, or keep it strictly SM/CSM stuff? Should I chronicle my rocky journey with this new army on IIWPA... or keep it straight Power Armor?

The Grizz Hates Ghazghkull...

just looking at him brings so many words to mind, not one of them child friendly

Played a 2500pt game against Pariah.Stevo Saturday, both of us trying to get ready for the big tournament at the Barn in mid March. I took the list I posted last week, Stevo took-

Thrakka   

 Big Mek -Kustom Force field, Power Klaw, Cybork Body 

   ELITES   

 15 Lootas

   

 15 Lootas   

 10 Nobs - Waaagh!! Banner, Painboy, Power Klaw ,Stikkbombz 

Battlewagon - deffrolla ,Red Paint ,2 X Big Shoota, Amour Plates 

TROOPS 

7 Nobs Bikers - Cybork Bodies, 4 Power Klaws,  2 Big Choppas ,Painboy 2, Combi-Skorchas,  2 bosspoles,  Waaagh!!! Banner   

18 orks nob Pk Bosspole   

18 orks nob Pk Bosspole   

11 grots   

FAST ATTACK  

2 Deffkoptas-  2 TL Rokkit Launcha, 2 Buzzsaws   

HEAVY SUPPORT   

BattleWagon- Deffrolla, 2 Big Shootas, Red Paint  

BattleWagon- Deffrolla, 2 Big Shootas, Red Paint     

Total-2499

we played 5 obj's Pitched Battle. The game was very interesting, cause for the 1st 3 turns, we kinda danced around each other, both waiting for the other to move so we could gain the charge, waiting for that one misstep to put a unit in charge range. The game had a lot of suck come my way. First, the one new unit that I wanted to try (assembled and painted on friday so I could use them Saturday), the Vanguard Vets, Deep Sruck in on turn 3, scattered into dangerous terrain, and out of charge range. They subsequently took 30 loota shots to the face. 350pts that never saw combat. Next would definitely be the straw that broke the camel's back. He drove 2 battlewagons across the board and dumped Ghazzy, Naked Nobs, and 19 boys on me. 

I guess this counts for their armor save rolls too...

The nobs killed the DC, Ghazz whomped the DC Dread, and the boys were tied in assault with an assault squad. Next turn I was going to kill Ghazghkull, I had already decided . He had WAAAGHed last turn, so his 2++ was in effect, so I knew it would take a lot of dice to lay him low. So I shot and charged him with Sanguinor, A Librarian w/ Sanguine Sword, and 20 assault marines w/ the Blessed sergeant. That is a total of 88 attacks, with Sanguinor rerolling to hit and wound. Now, Mathhammer says that just the assault squads should have caused 5 and change unsaved wounds, not counting PF's,Sang. Sword, and Sanguinor. Stevo never rolled a 1. Not one. Ghazghkull was unwounded. 


This was the beginning of the end for me, as I got charged by the nobs next turn and pretty much got chomped to little bits. We called it on turn 5, as he had 2 objectives and I had 2 models. It was one of those games where one or two events decide the entire outcome. I think I played well, just didnt have the dice go my way.


I am gonna keep trying the VVs, see if they are worth their hefty price tag or too big of a gamble. Look forward to the next one, we'll see if Ghazghkull's luck has run out...

Why you NEED Ghazghkull

Boss Redtoof, cuz ReD Thraka's go FaStA!!!

Your competitive ork list needs Thraka. "Not wants", "or would be better by", but needs. Here is why:

6' waaagh move : once you get used to having this, without it, you feel like you went to war without yer choppas. With Ghazghkull, your waaagh is no longer a random prayer to Gork(or possibly Mork). Your Waaagh! Move becomes a usable, devistating tool.

 ON Demand: One thing I feel that should be mentioned seperately, but effects all of Ghazghkull's abilities, is that Ghazghkull waaagh can be call at ANYtime. That's right any time. Most people miss this at first glance. I know I did, till a very good player pointed it out to me.  This is the true source of his abilities. In fact, many of the best times to call the Waaagh is during your opponent's turn. And since it lasts for two player turns, you always get your 6" move.

Fearless army, ON Demand:  Orks use the mob rule in order to fight their low leadership, however many of our most expensive, effective units are rarely taken in squads above ten. I'm off course talking about Nobs, despite their bosspole, and Lootas, who really have no way of fighting their low leadership, save taking full squads of 15. Just a few casualties or a lost combat can see Lootas run off the board, or Nobs overrun. If you are called upon to make such a test, especially one that the game depends on, simply call the Waaagh!!! This will ensure you boys will remain 'stuck in' and Lootas firing. Don't forget though, that you will take fearless wounds in assault, so don't try this trick with anything that isn't well armored.

Big Shoota!!: Just kidding. Moving on...

He can beat anything! (almost): During the Waaagh, Ghazghkull has a 2+ invul. So 2+ Invul. Sv.: ON Demand!. He also has T5 , 7 X S10 Attacks on the charge and eternal warrior. This simply mean he can go toe-to-toe with anything( besides a C'tan ) and come out on top. Which, leads me to my next point.....

It's a nasty universe out there: I'm sure after playing a few Space Wolfs, Blood Angels, or Tyranids a beginning Ork player has asked themselves, " I thought orks liked assault? Why do I keep getting my butt handed to me then." The truth is there are many things in the 40k universe, that no ork( save Thrakka ) wants any part of in Hand to hand. To prove my point, here's a short list of them:

                                         Abbaddon

                                         Skarbrand

                                         Blood Letters

                                         Grey Night Termies

                                         C'tan

                                         Ghazghkull

                                         Shrike

                                         Lightning Claw Termies

                                         Well-tooled Vanguard squad.

                                         Calgar

                                         Lysander

                                         Ragnar

                                         Thunderwolf Cav

                                         Swarmlord

                                         Deathstar Hive Tyrant squad.

#1 Reason, CUZ IT"S ORKY!!!: The simple fact is that you didn't start playing orks so that you could dance around the field, avoiding loses, and minimizing damage done by the above mentioned units, picking your targets, and striking when the moment is right.  You started playing orks, cuz you wanted to run greenskins around like a biligerent mob of angry drunk dudes who's momma just got insulted. You wanted to see them grit and grunt, and be fairly certain that they were gonna krump some skulls. You can't play them like that if your opponent has a unit that can mow through any unit in your army, and your trying to avoid them the entire game. Running Ghazghkull into your opponent's nastiness allows the rest of your army the freedom to stomp around and destroy everything else. Ghazghkull gives you the freedom to play orks the way they was meant to be play: GOOD N' PROPA'!!!

The New GW

Sorry for the slight delay in updates, had a busy weekend (by busy I mean Monster Truck Rally) So lets get into it, shall we?

This was the way we used to react to new codexes

Having played 40k since 1998, I have become very accustomed to the way that they do things. I remember getting the 2nd C:SM for 3rd Ed and just comparing it to the previous codex, the only difference being less models and more points per. The 4th Ed Guard Codex only had 3 heavy support choices. Then came the 4th Ed. Chaos Space Marine Codex......blech. GW's greatest blunder came in the form of a 2 part article in White Dwarf that they tried to pass off as a new Blood Angel Codex. The move to cookie cutter, boring, crappy codexes had finally reached its lowest. This was the GW that I knew, the one i was accustomed to. Then came the 4th Ed Orks codex, bringing with it a glimmer of hope, followed shortly by the great 5th. edition. 


If memory serves me correctly, next was our own dear C:SM, with new units, new models, and special characters that we can actually use! The nice thing was, this wasn't a passing fad, this was their new direction. They targeted the armies that need it most (excluding necrons) with the Blood Angels and Space Wolves, and now with the Grey Knights. Armies that were unusable and the butt of jokes are now on the top tables an the tourney scene. Armies are getting new codexes and complete new ranges (Dark Eldar anyone??). This is unheard of from the GW I knew. 

What has sparked this rambling you ask? I guess it must be the new Grey Knights coming out. From all the rumors over at BOLS, they are looking to be the epitome of elite, low model count forces. The new rules are looking different, flavorful, and most of all, fun. It's just nice to know that armies/codexes are being written with fun and theme in mind, and with sweet model ranges to match. As much as we moan about GW, in my opinion, they have come a long way from the boring vehicleless gunlines of 3rd/4th.


So, what do you think of the new Codexes that have come out, or about 5th in general?

Tournament Results: A learning experience

                            I love going down to Dicehead Games for two reasons. One, the players there are really cool guys. Second, the caliber of gamers that you play is top notch. When I loose a game down there, I see what I did wrong in a big way. I can see what I did and learn to change how I play. So, as I tell you how  me and The Griz did in the tournament, The main theme will be "What I did wrong," and "What I should have done..."

Note: I am assuming if your reading this, that you read my previous post with our army lists in them. I suggest you read if before you continue on.

GAME 1: Orks and Blood Angels vs. Orks and Chaos Marines
            The first game was a pretty easy win for us. The guys were new to the game. I think they said they both had been playing for about six months. They were great guys and it was a very enjoyable game. The mission was Seize ground, Dawn of War. Like most new Ork/ Chaos players, they assume the best thing you can possibly do is get as close to the enemy as possible. They went first and  put a approx 30 man boyz squad and 10 Bezerkers with a Khorne Termy Lord in it on the middle of the field. We had everything come in on Turn 1. They ran every thing up. We assaulted there stuff on turn one. At the end of the day we were able to get the charge on every assault, which for ork and blood angels usually equals a win.

GAME 2: Orks and Blood Angels vs. Dark Eldar and Tyranids
               Our opponent luck ran out after the first game. The next two games were against two of the best teams at the tournament. This was a really well built list. basically there were 3 or 4  Large Genestealer squads all with Broodlords, and the Dark Eldar vehicles had the grenade launchers on them. The point was to get all this cumulative -1 Leadership stuff up in your grill, then drop in the Doom of Malantia and just wreak havoc. The Mission was Modified Kill Points, Pitched Battle. I seriously think we would have had a chance here, if it wasn't for bad rolls. The Griz loves to put his storm raven in reserve. It allows him to move flat out when it moves on, giving him the 4+ save and preventing it from getting shot down in his deployment zone. Sadly though, when you put a Stormraven, 10 Death company, a Master Reclusiarch, and a Death company dread on a single reserve roll, It was bound to happen eventually, and this game it did. He failed every. single. roll and it automatically came in on turn 5. Needless to say my orks were 'stealer chow by this point.
             "What we did wrong...." letting The Griz roll his own reserves. My Grots came in on turn 3. Just sayin'
              "What we should have done..." Hindsight's 20-20. And if the Raven would have come in we would be having an entirely different conversation. But it is safe to say, that against this opponent, getting shot down in our deployment zone wouldn't have been so bad if we could have kept the lootas alive to shoot down raiders. I guess in a KP mission mobility is not as much as an issue if you have fire power. It would have been best.

GAME 3: Orks and Blood Angels vs. Black Templar and Dark Eldar.
               We played our third game against two gamers we are very familiar with. I don't like using people names on blogs without their permission so we will  will refer to them as Sea and Youyou.  Sea and Youyou have given me more whoopin's than my momma has. The Griz and I played them second round in the last team tourney we went to. On turn 3 when the painting judge got to our table, he had to ask us what armies we were playing, cuz they weren't on the board anymore! Last singles tournament at The Barn, I and Sea played on the "final table" and he beat me to win the tourney...with Necrons!
                   Anyhow, I am happy to report that we have improved. At the end of the game we had a single Ork Loota on the board!!! YEAH IMPROVEMENT!!

"What We did wrong..."  We put everything on the board during deployment. I also did a horrible job ad judging their army. I thought it was gonna be assault oriented just because it had BT in it. What I didn't realize is that due to the new FAQ they can be shooty as hell, not to mention all of the DE 12 poison shots on each of about 5 venoms. So it was a desert table, we were going second, and staring at a incredibly powerful shooting army, and what do I do? Because of the last game, I put every single model on the board. For them, it was like a turkey shoot. Looking back, I really see how I played like a complete and utter noob. After one loss, I completely shut my brain off and didn't play to the level I am capable of .

"What We should have done.." Reserve EVERYTHING!. The game was Capture and control, Spearhead. Reserving everything would have robbed them of 2 rounds of shooting. Then we could have brought everything on the far left of our long board edge, shortening our drive. Instead of try to hold our objective, we would have put the lootas within range of it and let them shoot everything off of it, then making an all or nothing play for theirs.

THE BIG MISTAKE:  DEPLOYMENT:Griz and I have got to learn to read other people's list in order to discover what their play is. We are both very visual people and tend to dismiss our opponents list and assume we will figure it out once it hits the table. In fifth edition, deployment is one of the major tactical aspects of the game, and if you don't deploy correctly, it will loose you games, like it did for us.

CONCLUSION. The guys we played second round went to the "final table" were they won their game but only got 4 battle points. See and Youyou got 16 off of us and hence won the tournament.

Tourney Time in Tennessee!

For no other reason than it makes me laugh every time i see it

Well, the Pariah.Stevo and myself have hurriedly decided as of yesterday that we were gonna go down to Cleveland, TN and participate in a 2400pt team tournament at one of my favorite big tournament venues, Dicehead Games & Comics. This decision came about as we were talkin about how we don't go and play in tourneys like we used to, and how much fun we used to have when we hit the circuit pretty hard. 


Stevo was all like "well lets find us a tourney to go to" and i am like "ok sounds good". So after a few strikeouts, we came across the team tournament, and got all excited about how it would be a great way to kick off the year and how much fun we were gonna have and how we were gonna redeem ourselves from our 0-1-2 finish at the last team tourney we went to and...well crap that was last weekend. We hang our heads in disappointment. 

Well, to make a long story short, i get a phone call yesterday from the Stevo, and did he have some good news there. Apparently, your favorite new blogger, yours truly, and his tournament partner ,the Stevo, are incapable of the basic concept of reading numbers. The tournament was this coming Saturday, and it is game on!


So we have been workin on trying to feverishly throw together 2 1200pt lists that can play together as one list. Last year, Steve and I just took the nastiest stuff we could think of - Warboss on a bike and Nob Bikers and Abaddon and plague marines. after a first round tie, a second round wipe, and a third round drubbing by some high school freshmen, we felt quite worthless. Tired and weak, we left that tourney a little bowlegged, but with some valuable experience. 


So this year, we are trying to build a more "balanced" list. Thus far, this is what we have come up with


Orks
Big Mek
---Kustom Force Field, Cybork Body, Boss Pole, 'eavy armor, Power Klaw


2x squads of 15 Lootas


2x squads - 19 boys, Nob w/ Boss pole & Power Klaw
2x Battlewagons - Red Paint, Extra Armor, Deffrolla, 2 Big shootas


10 Grots


Blood Angels
Librarian - Jump Pack, Shield of Sang., The Sanguine Sword
Sang. Priest - Power Weapon, Jump Pack
2x 10 man RAS - Flamer, Melta, Fisty Sarge


5x Scout Squad - 4x Sniper Rifles, 1x Heavy Bolter


2x Baal Preds - Ass. Cannons, Heavy Bolters


Predator - Autocannon, Lascannons


For a grand total of 2493 pts.


Stevo may trade out the Grots and some equip on the mek for a deff dread, but we will see. Either way, we shall see how everything goes on Saturday! List critiques, comments, or criticisms welcome!

Well there you have it. Will The Grizz and Stevo come back from Cleveland victorious? Or will they walk that familiar Road of Shame in a repeat of last year? Look for updates and a full tourney run down soon!

Welcome! and About Me: Extended Edition

                                  Welcome, one and all, to Tainted by Xenos. Tainted by Xenos will be a blog focused on the alien races of the  40k universe, and just generally anything I feel like talking about. First off, I would like to say that I am not a self-proclaimed expert on anything, and as with anything, you should judge my advice, tips, and opinions with your own judgments. Please feel free to post any questions, comments, or criticisms. If you have any ideas or articles you would like to see please let me know.
              Today's post happened by accident. I was writing the "About me" page and got a tad long winded and basically told a history of almost my entire war gaming past. Sadly my long rant will not fit on the "About Me" page. Since I'm not one to throw stuff away, I decided to  post it here. It is a tad long winded and  if you are not interested in such things I suggest you stop reading here and, once again, welcome to Tainted by Xenos. If you are interested please continue.....

As you could guess, My name is Steven, but everyone calls me Stevo. I am 24 years old and live in Tennessee USA. I have been married for 3 1/2 years to my beautiful wife, Kathleen a.k.a "The Wiff" She has always been very supportive of my hobby, though I have never been able to get her hooked on it in the last 6 1/2 years of trying, but hey, there is still hope ;)
I started playing 40k around 3rd edition.I was brought into the hobby as a young kid by my long time friend and fellow blogger, The Griz. His blog address is ifitwearspowerarmor.blogspot.com. Check it out if you get a chance.
      The first army I ever considered playing was Tau, mostly because they were new and that just happened to be the issue of white dwarf I picked up first.  That is, until I visited the website and saw the necrons. I have always liked my Sci-fi a little on the dark side and the necrons were a perfect fit for me. Evil robotic space zombie skeleton warriors with self repair abilites? Yes, please!
    I continued playing necrons for many years, all through 3rd, 4th, and even into 5th ed. My gaming group consisted mostly of me, the Griz, and my now brother-in-law, K-berg.(Yes, I did marry my best friends little sister. Don't judge me! She is hot!) The Griz played Ultramarines and K-berg played Tau. I would also say that I was the one who got our gaming group into the tournament scene. Playing Necrons, I had much success. I thought this warhammer thing was easy. I remember how many people said my army was overpowered. I just shrugged it off as people being sore losers. It wasn't till later in 5th edition I saw how powerful they really were. I guess you don't truly appreciate something until its gone.
      Midway through 4th edition, i caught the green fever and bought my first orks. I didn't buy to much. Just some boyz and a looted bassie. I don't know if ya'll remember how the rumor mill work back then, but about that time ork, DE, and spacewolves were gonna get a codex any month now. I even built trukks out of legos. A year and a half later, im still using this crap, playing speed freeks. I don't know if any of you played speed freeks in 4th ed. so let me explain it to you. Trukk blows up, wounding everything inside on a 4+: the unit deploys just outside the crater it just made, meaning no cover save: the unit is autopinned due to the entangled special rule. Needless to say, K-berg brutally, mercilessly slaughtered my orks, always. It was sad times. But then the new codex came out, and gave me new models, new rules, and more importantly, a chance to win. I was so happy. I was like, "wow now I have two unstoppable armies". Alas it was not so.
      Six months later they came out with 5th ed. I was very happy with it. My orks got even better. A month after its release, there was a big tournament at DiceHead Games in Clevland TN. The orks were not near painted, so I brought the 'crons. Up until that point, I had never phased out in tournament play, and rarely had a losing record. I lost all three games that day, and phased twice, once on turn 3. I had always played a very defensive necron list and that day I learned the hard way what had become of my beloved 'crons.
        Since that day, my orks have been my primary army. It took me roughly 2.5 years to paint and get right, but I finally have my ork army where I am happy with it. I have had lots of success with them, but not near the success I had with my necrons.
      I got married, just before the orks got their new codex. We moved to Cookeville TN to attend TTU. As fate would have it the Griz and K-berg did the same. We found a link on GW's website for a local gaming club. We emailed them and that is how we met up with good ol' Dan. Dan is older guy is his late 30's. Turns out the gaming club met in a shed in his back yard. That shed had one, 8'X4' table in it and got really crammed with it and about 6 guys in it. Dan was a very welcoming, friendly guy, but above all, Dan had a dream. His dream was to build a huge place, with room for plenty of tables and terrain so that many people could come and play 40k and experience the hobby. I thought that was alot of time and financial responsibility for one guy to take on himself, but if he was willing to do it, I was willing to help and so was everyone else in the club. After years of work, Dan finally completed his Dream. Dan completed and opened the Cookeville Battle Barn last summer. Since then, the Barn has hosted many tournaments were people from all over Tennessee have come to play and have fun, as well as been open weekly on Saturdays for open gaming. For more info on the Battle Barn you can visit their website: www.cookevillebattlebarn.com

     The Dark Eldar Codex was release approximately 3 months ago. I have always like the fluff and idea of Dark Eldar, but the models were so butt-ugly I never wanted to play them. With the new models and rules, and with my ork army being complete, I decided it was now time to start my Dark eldar army and solidify myself as "The Xenos Guy"