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!

The Times They Are A Changin...

Is this the new face of 40k?

Sorry for the long delay, but now we are back on track. I finally got some games in, and actually have some 40k stuff to talk about. Anyway, on to the good stuff!


Over the last couple of days, and the last few games, The Grizz may have come to a realization. There may have been a fundamental change in the game of Warhammer 40,000. Maybe its the new area, new lists, new players, or maybe its just a shift in the overall meta game, I don't know. Something, however, is different. 

Go Me

What is different, you ask? Lists that work. I played in a tournament Saturday and brought my usual Blood Angel tournament list. Out of the 8 people that participated, Yours Truly came in dead last. Thats right, dead effin last. First round I played against a 3 long fang/razor-heavy Space Wolf list. Second was a rhino heavy hestan list. Finally I played against Wiley the Nord's 5 venom flyer heavy Dark Eldar army.


In all of these games, my DoA army had shooting issues. Now, I am very aware that my Blood Angel army is not the shootiest army in existence, but I have always had just enough, and have been able to rely on my assault abilities. With all the transports, all the shooting, is it possible to play a foot based list any more? With the release of Dark Eldar and Grey Knights, can you run a list with minimal transports and still win consistently? I am starting to think you can't. Armies like Tyranids don't have a chance. If I take my Nid army to a tournament and face one, just one Grey Knight player with a half a brain, I may as well just go ahead and put a check in the L column. 

Typed Venom Spam into Google,
This was the first result.

Without transports, there is no way to hide from the poisoned shots and the S5 storm bolter shots. And with my specific DoA list, if 1 or 2 shots miss, then I have serious issues, as then I am having to pop transports in assault, leaving me open to my opponents' shooting phase. I don't know what they are makin rhinos out of these days, but they aren't as easy to bust as they used to be, and there is a whole lot more of them. The weirdest thing is, is that for me at least, it happened overnight. I feel like my competitive list went from good to uncompetitive in less than a month.


Like I said before, maybe its due to the change in the meta game from where I used to play to where I play now, though it feels like something more fundamental, something deeper. Now I am not saying this is a bad thing, and maybe everyone else is already aware of this and I am just behind the ball on this deal, I dunno. I do know, however, that in order to compete, My lists, my game, my style will have to change.


So, is The Grizz  off base? Is he late to the party? Or has there been a shift recently in the overall way that the game was played?

Updates

Well, today has been quite successful. Thanks to my buddy Shane at Dicehead Games and Comics, i was able to sell off all my fantasy stuff, and walked out of his store today with - 


Carnifex Kit - Tervigon conversion
Hormagant box


Space Wolves Grey Hunter Box
Devastator Box
Canis Wolfborn - on order - Finecast
Logan Grimnar - On Order - Finecast
5 bricks of Chessex Dice


Stormraven


So, needless to say, I have plenty to work with. I am currently tryin to get my Blood Angels completely painted for a tournament next weekend, somethin that should have been done a long time ago. I had a thought to paint up one of my Assault squads as a successor chapter, then make both of my other RAS from different companies, just to give the army some flavor. We will see, however.


What I plan on runnin next week


Librarian
---Jump Pack, Shield of Sang., Sang. Sword
Sang. Guard
---Jump Pack
3x10 RAS
---Melta, Flamer, Fisty Sarge


Furioso Dread
---Frag Cannon, HF, Drop Pod


Lemmiwinks
3x7 Death Co.
3x bp/ccw, 3x bp/pw, 1x PF
DC Dread
---Blood Talons
Stormraven
---Multi Melta, Ass. Cannon, Extra Armor


Stormraven
---Lascannon, Cyc. ML, EA


Wantin to try out Lemmiwinks, as he can be such a beast, as well as I7 on the charge, and getting to reroll the hits and wounds. I have been wanting to try the 2 Raven list, as the mobility and the firepower can be devastating. I don't know whether or not to drop the jp's off of a RAS and stick them in there, making it a mobile scoring unit, that remains to be seen. 


Well thats all for now, hopefully once things get settled, I will get back into playin some games and start makin posts with a lil more substance, till then peace out!

Back On Track

Ok guys, thanks for bearing with me, Finals are over, College is in the books, and I am now just another unemployed graduate lookin for work! over the course of Finals week, I was able to get in a couple games of 40k with Pariah.Stevo of Tainted By Xenos fame. He brought his Grey Knights and Dark Eldar and I brought the Nids. The first game was Capt. And Control, vs GK. 

What Stevo Opened up on me with his GK's

I basically watched a Grand Master w/ rad grenades and a purifier squad walk through 2 Trygons and storm bolter fire annihilate all my gaunts, with my Tyrant/guard/Prime never getting into assault. Sad day for Hive Fleet Cerberus. So I changed up my list a lil bit for the next game, Kill points vs. Dark Eldar. I ran;


2 Tervigons
3x 16 strong Hormagants
2x 3 strong Hive Guard
2x Trygon Primes
3x Venomthropes


Game was a close one, coming down to 12-10 kps, Stevo pullin it out. Hormagants w/ Feel No Pain via the  tervigons are nigh unkillable, and Trygons pumpin out 12 St. 5 shots a piece were downin skimmers left and right. I think that i am hangin up the Tyrant Deathstar unit for a while, a crap ton of points for very little gain thus far. 2 Tervigons = awesomesauce. I fell in love with this list, as there are more hooves on the ground and it is overall more effective. 3 units of Toxin Sac/Adrenal Gland Hormagants are a bear to take out, especially when they have FnP. 

Playing against two extremely shooty armies made me realize something. None of my armies are balanced. All of them are killer assaulty, with minimal firepower. It would be nice to have an army that can shoot as well as it assaults. I then started gettin the new army itch (again) and started lookin for my balanced answer. As I was cleaning up my hobby room, I began to find all of my Space Marine stuff that I don't use that I have had since before my BA, all the stuff that was gonna be Salamanders. Well, no offense to anyone, but I hate the SM codex. It is a very viable dex, i just don't care for any of the builds out of it. Then my eyes fell on the Space Wolves.

Codex: Space Wolves is like the perfect blend of what I was looking for. Great Troop Choices, like my Chaos, without the heavy price tag points wise, yet good in assault, like my BA. And they cant shoot the lights out. Then I realized that with all the SM crap I have, i am only about 40 Grey Hunters away from a new army. So, I get a new army, more balanced, for next to nothing comparatively? Yes Please! 


So that brings the army total to 4
---Chaos
---Blood Angels
---Tyranids
---Space Wolves


All very different armies, and all very flavorful. I have thrown a list together, an idea of kinda where I want to head.


Wolf Lord in Terminator Armor
---Storm Shield, Frost Weapon, Wolf tail Talisman, Saga of the Bear
2x Wolf Guard in Terminator Armor
---Storm Shield, Frost Weapon
2x Wolf Guard in Terminator Armor
---Storm shield, Thunder Hammer
Drop Pod

4x Wolf Guard in Power Armor
---Combi Meltas, PF's

4x Grey Hunters Packs
---9x Strong, 1x Flamer, Rhino

2x Long Fang Packs
---6x Strong, 2x LCs, 3x ML's
2x Rune Priests
---JotWW& Living Lightning
---Murderous Hurricane & Tempests Wrath

Vindicator

1999pts



Well, thats all I got for now, feels good to be back!


So, what do we think of The Grizz's new army decisions? Will he be able to juggle all four armies? How will he fare with his new Wolves?

A Great Time to Start Tyranids...

Just my luck. So, I have started my Tyranids, as all of you know. One thing you may not know is how much of the range is blisters. Venomthropes, Zoanthropes, Tyrant Guard, Hive Guard, Hive Tyrants, Lictors, Piovores, Broodlords, all these things are pewter, with all but the Tyrant coming in blister packs. Now the thing about Nids is, if its good enough to have 1 of them, its good enough to have 3 of them. Problem is, each blister is between 20-25 bucks. You know that 3x Brood of Venomthropes you need? Yup, $60. Now, this I can accept, as this is an expensive hobby, but now bigger problems loom over the horizon. 

As many of you also know, metal is on its way out, with currently no plan to replace it. Awesome. So yeah, those 6 hive guard I need? Not only is it gonna run 120 bones, its also gonna be a wild goose chase to find. Sometimes I just look at GW and go, WTF? As a 5th year Business major, graduating next weekend, sometimes i just have to shake my head at GW's business model. I don't know if it is a cultural thing or what, but man those Brits do things very different than we do. I mean, who cancels such a large part of their sales/production and has no secondary plan in place?

God Bless the 80's

The sad part is, there are armies that are worse off than Nids. The Eldar will have zilch when it comes to HQ's, Aspect Warriors and the like. And what will new Tau players do without any broadsides? Maybe I am being a little over the top, but it just irks me. I have no problem with them dropping the metal and going to a cheaper material, but to stop production without first having that material ready to go and take pewter's place? To quote the great Charlie Daniels, "I ain't nothin' but a simple man, They call me a redneck I reckon that I am. But there's things going on that make me mad down to the core."


On a different note, got one of my Trygon Primes painted, thought I might show him off a lil bit

So what do y'all think about the pewter switch? Good, Bad, Indifferent? And how did the Prime turn out?

Back To Bugs

You can thank Pariah.Stevo for this pic

Ok, after a couple tourneys with the Chaos/BA, The Grizz is turnin his attention back toward the Tyranids. Just came up with a new list we are gonna be tryin out, hopefully I can learn these bad boys pretty quickly, as I would like to get them out on the tourney scene within the next month or two. Anyways, on to the list.


HQs
Tyrant
---LW/BS, TL Devourer, Old Adversary, Leech Essence, Paroxysm
3x Tyrant Guard
---3x LWs
Tyranid Prime
---LW/BS, Deathspitter, Ad. Glands


ELITES
2x Venomthropes
3x Hive Guard
3x Hive Guard


TROOPS
Tervigon
---Cluster Spines, Ad. Glands, Toxin Sacs, Catalyst
10x Termagants
---10x Devourers
16x Hormagants
---Toxin Sacs, Ad. Glands

16x Hormagants

---Toxin Sacs, Adren. Glands

HEAVY SUPPORT

Trygon Prime

---Ad. Glands

Trygon

---Ad. Glands

2000pts on the button. May not be the best, but you gotta start somewhere, and I think this has promise to be a good foundation on which to build from.

On a somewhat related note, made me up some objectives for my Nid army, somethin that matched their paint scheme and my personality.

So what do we think, is the list a hit or miss?

Nid Update

Ok everybody, here is the latest and greatest on Hive Fleet Cerberus. My order from Chapterhouse Studios came in, so I was able to slap lash whips and bone swords on my stuffs. First up is the Tyranid Prime

Most exciting of all was my box from Great Britain finally arrived. Still waitin on my lash whip, but overall I am extremely happy with the choice to go FW over the GW one, a very xenomorph inspired piece

A size comparison. This sucker is huge!

and a pic of everything I have together thus far

 

Well, Hive Fleet Cerberus is truckin right along, what do y'all think thus far?

Post Tourney Recap

Well yesterday, Elthrai, The_Warsmith, and myself all loaded up in the Ford Explorer and made our way down to Dicehead Games in Cleveland, TN for the ATC Practice tournament. It was a 2000pt tournament showcasing the ATC specific mission, which is a blast.


 For those of you who arent familiar, the ATC mission is all of the basic missions smacked into one. there are 3 "Seize Ground" objectives, Capture and Control objectives, and killpoints, with ties decided by victory points. Each Mission also cycles between pitched battle, Dawn of War, and Spearhead deployments. It is a very interesting mission, to say the least. Unbroken made a pretty decent show, with The_Warsmith winning 3 games and coming in 2nd, only 12 vp's behind the winner, and Yours Truly coming in 4th, going 2-1-0, my only loss coming to the new and improved Grey Knights.

Fun was had by all, and the craziest thing ever has happened. Hell must've dropped a few degrees, cause I am playin xenos and..............Pariah.Stevo is rockin Power Armor!!!! The mightiest of the Xenos Filth is now protecting the Imperium from the Threat Without, The Bad Boys from Titan, the newest addition to the GW Lineup, The Grey Knights!!! I picked up his first boxes of Grey Knight glory yesterday while at the store. So, With my Nids, and his GK, there surely must be pigs flying somewhere. Well, that is all for now, we'll see y'all on the flip side. 

It Came from Below, and it smells AWFUL!!!

It is offical! Hivefleet Shitthebed is on it's way from the deep, darkness of the Eastern Fringe!(a.k.a. Crossville, TN) For those of you not privy to the intricacies of 40k lore, 'shitthebed' is a low gothic insult synonomous to excessive facial hair and a smell worse than death. Who is the progenator of this new xenos threat you ask? The answer will probably suprise, nah!, shock you. The creator is none other than The Griz from ifitwearspowerarmor.blogspot.com.
Not only has Griz played almost every 3+ army under the sun, but his first army was Ultramarines so I grew up hearing some pretty powerful bug hate. We have had several conversations about how he could never play bugs....ever!
So what is the lesson for today, class? No matter how hard you try to fight it, the taint will catch up to you. One day you'll look around and you will realize that no matter the color or flavor, razorback spam is still razorback spam and ten marines in rhinos are still the same 10 marines in rhinos you've been playing with since you started playing 40k. You will get a thirst for something new, a way to re-invent the game you love. Thats why I play the armies I play. When I start a new army, I wanna start the whole of 40k fresh. That is why I play xenos, and that is why you will too. When you get that feeling, that is when you know, you've been Tainted by Xenos!
Everyone head over to IIWPA and congratulate The Griz on joining our illustrious brotherhood!!! The Griz has inspired me to write some articles about why it is so great to play Xenos as well as a comparison to help people decide which Xenos army they might play next. What made you pick a Xenos army over Space Marines? Why do you love playing your Xenos army? Is it the style, models, playstyle, or a combination of things?

My first Nid!!

Well, I am still workin on a name for their Hive Fleet, but I have the color scheme down,The beautiful, majestic, and National Championship winning colors Orange and Blue!

Chitin - Used a Necron Abyss for the basecoat, then drybrushed Regal Blue, then PP Trollblood, and finally PP Arccane Blue


Flesh - Valspar Fonda Copper satin spray paint
Then coated the whole thing down in Devlan Mud


---UPDATE---
Just finished a couple more, here are the finished products

So, what do you think? How did it turn out?