Tournaments Pt. I

Warhammer 40,000 is an incredible game. It has a great back story, fantastic miniatures range, and fun rules. The painting and the fluff provide a lot of enjoyment to the gamer, but at its core, 40k is a game, and it is this experience that is the culmination of all of the elements that make it great. Tournaments are a great way to see new things, learn new tricks, and make new friends. They bring people from miles around to one place to share in the enjoyment of their hobby with others of a like mind. 


There are people out there, however, who have sworn off tournaments, who feel that they will never play in one for one reason or another. These gamers are typically classified as "fluff" or "noncompetitive" gamers, players who build armies strictly based off of units they like or adhering to a strict theme. Some look at tournaments as a personal attack on their views and look at the players as people who cares nothing about the experience,  and only build lists to "Win At All Costs". Any gamer can gain from going to a tournament, regardless of their play style.


REASONS YOU SHOULD PLAY IN A TOURNAMENT


1. Meet new People

40k - Requires more social interaction than WoW

Warhammer 40,000 is a game that requires more than just one person to play. You can't do it all by yourself (well you can, but it is not near as much fun, I've tried it). Tournaments provide a place to meet new people and make friends. At a tournament, you have between 8 - 108 other people who all enjoy the same hobby you do. A certain camaraderie can be felt, and you may find new friends with which to play against.


2. See New Things.

The cool thing about our hobby is that everyone looks at things differently. When building lists or modelling units at home, often you do things similar to the way you have always done them. When you go to a tourney, you get to see how other people view the same thing. There may be 7 Space Marine Players there, but each list is different, and each paint scheme unique. You will see people run units you never gave a second glance, and often see the unit in a new light. You will see combinations you never thought of, and see ways to improve your builds.

You mean I shouldn't just throw my
Tau Suits at Ghazghkull? Astounding!

The tactics will also be different. You may find new ways to run your favorite units, or see how to overcome your biggest obstacles. Sometimes other peoples' perspectives are necessary to pull you out of your gaming rut, and allow you to play up to your potential.


The third part of this is the painting/modeling aspect. I have learned so much about painting and converting/modeling from the people at a tournament. 


By walking around and looking at others armies, you can see how others have gotten certain effects, how they were able to model something, or how they represent that character. You can learn from others experiences, as well as mistakes. That one color you couldn't ever get right, that one model that wouldn't ever stay on his base, many people have had the same issues as you, and have come up with creative ways with which to solve them.


3. Play more games.

Even The Dude plays in Tournaments

Think about it. How often do you get the opportunity to play against 3-6 good opponents and fully painted armies on actual tables with good lookin terrain within a 24-48 hour period? Unless you are at a tournament, then I would dare to guess not very often. 


Tournaments are a good way to play more games, and by doing that you become a better player. Now here in the United States of America, we are born with a few country-specific traits. One of them is hating to lose. I don't care who you are, where you came from, how much of a "fluff" or "noncompetitive" gamer you are, no one likes losing every time. Ya gotta win one every now and then. By going to tournaments, you gain the experience to know how things work and what to and what not to do. How does getting your butt kicked every game make you a "fluffy" or "themed" gamer?

Tournaments are a lot of fun, and have something for all gamers to enjoy. Join me for Part 2 of the series where we will discuss the ways to avoid First Tournament blues and fatal rookie mistakes.


So, what have y'all learned/experienced on the tournament circuit? How has tournament play changed the way you game?

Battle for Stones River!

 Battle for Stones River was great this year! I think the final tally was 52 people, great diversity in armies. I also saw a lot of new faces, which is cool because I played that tourney last year and also go to Murfreesboro a couple of times a year to play in tournaments at Grand Adventures.









So here is the list I brought:
1863 Guardians of the Covenant (Codex Dark Angels)
Belial with twin lightning claws
3 Venerable Dreadnoughts with Twin-Linked Lascannons and Heavy Flamer
1 Deathwing Command Squad - all had TH/SS, 1 Cyclone, 1 Apothecary, 1 Standard Bearer
3 Deathwing Squads - 4 TH/SS, 1 Twin Lightning Claws, 1 Cyclone
3 Landspeeder Typhoons with Multi-meltas.

 Some pics I stole from  Just Another Gaming Blog!

 I walked around before the tournament to see what kind of armies where there. As you would expect, there were several Space Wolves, Blood Angels, and IG armies. However I expected many more Dark Eldar armies, there where only 4 out of 52. My biggest surprise was the number of Terminator armies, I think there were 2 deathwing armies and 3 Wolf Guard Terminator Armies, and several SM armies had big units of termies!

On to Scenarios and Matchups. I didn't take any pictures, sorry, but I will run down each scenario and my opponents army list as best I can.
 -----------------------------------------------------
Round 1: Phillip using CSM

Slaanesh Daemon Prince with wings and Lash of Submission
Chaos Sorceror in Terminator armor, combi-plasma, Lash of Submission
7 Glory marked Terminators, 6 combi-plasmas, 1 chainfist, 1 Reaper autocannon
2 Noisemarine squads, each with 6 NM with sonic blasters, 1 champion with doom siren, Rhino with pintle mounted combi-melta
1 Chaos Space marine squad, 2 melta guns, champion with power fist, Rhino with pintle mounted combi-melta
3 X 2 Obliterators

Guh, my army is all foot sloggers and have 2+ saves, his army punishes foot sloggers, and has tons of AP 2...great first draw...

Mission was secret objectives, each player had to write down which piece of terrain in the enemies deployment zone was their secret objective, and then reveal it in the 3rd turn. Primary was holding your objective, Secondary was holding the bridge with a troop choice, Tertiary was kps. Our game was bloody as hell. I got first turn, setup my army holding Belial and his Deathwing command in reserve to deepstrike towards my secret objective. Then Phillip seized the initiative, wretched bastard! That really made things tough for me, as if the first turn would have stayed with me I could have wrecked all 3 rhinos and probably killed the daemon prince easily...instead my first round of shooting did nothing, and belial and his squad was forced to land in a maelstrom of shit...right infront of all of phillip's combi-plasma termies....

Second turn saw phillip shooting the piss out of belials squad, 7 combi-plasmas, 1 reaper autocannon, and 2 twinlinked plasma guns from oblits later...I have lost 1 terminator! Wow! I felt sorry for the guy, my entire unit should have been gone! He forded his CSM squad and a Noisemarine squad over the river towards his secret objective and obilts shot at some termies to little effect. His termies, sorc and the 2 oblits then charge into my terminators with belial....after the dust settles I have won by 6! He rolls his morale for the termies (oblits got pulverized by THs) and fails, but that Mark of Chaos Glory wins the day as he re-rolls and makes his morale!

Third turn was bad for me in many ways. First he positioned his CSM to make a break towards his objective and tried to block my shooting/assaulting with a smoked rhino, positioned his Noisemarines to be able to fire tons of shots at my termies closing on the CSM and jumped his other NM out to rally towards the bridge. My turn saw my venerable dread charge into the CSM and die to a pf...my shooting fail to kill the Deamon Prince (who only had 2 wounds left, and I shot 3 speeders and 1 termie squad at...), at least I killed the sorc and termies with my TH right? The damn Sorc only got hit one time and he passed his invul....ouch!


Turn 4 saw him move his CSM closer to his secret objective, do a ton of shooting, he assaulted my termies that lived thru the hail of NM shots with the NM and the daemonprince, who was wiped out as expected. His 2 rhinos blew up my speeders, those combi-meltas had scopes! My turn saw Belial and his squad rush over and squat in the objective terrain, a ven dread move towards the bridge and the other Ven dread moving towards his secret objective. My Deathwing squad that is near his objective spreads out to see if the bridge is more important or the objective is.

Turn 5 the daemon prince decides to tempt fate and fly over the river to assault my ven dread near the bridge. his CSM squeeze between 2 rhinos right beside the objective, his NM abandon the hill near the bridge to move towards belial, his other NM  move towards the bridge. The only shooting that matters is him blowing up my venerable dread with 2 long range melta shots thru terrain...ouch. The Prince cries as he assaults the other venerable dreadnought and gets his face caved in. He consolidates towards the bridge. My turn belial continues to be a squatter, termies move over to assault the CSM squad (only 2 termies left) and the venerable dreadnought moves up the bridge to halt the NM from getting more points for him. I assault the CSM, he causes 1 cyclone termie death (which was the one inside the terrain contesting) and the last TH/SS termie stands strong, smacking 2 CSMs)

Phillip Rolls and the game goes on, he moves NM over to shoot belial, moves the other squad towards the bridge, and we fight assault....My TH/SS termie lives on! He kills no one though. My turn belial considers leaving the confines of the cover to fight the NM, but notices that the NM champ has a power sword, and since he forgot his SS today, he decides to just squat some more. Ven assaults NM on bridge. CSM fights the TH/SS termie...and he lives! He fights back and does nothing!

I roll, praying that the game ends, it goes on! Phillip moves closer to my objective, but didn't manage to get close enough to ensure a good run making it into the terrain. NM on bridge throw a melta bomb and knock imobilze, csm fight the TH/SS termie....and he lives! He kills 2 this time, Phillip rolls, and fails his morale! But damn that Glory, he gets to re-roll and sticks around. My turn I pray the ven dread doesn't die, and he doesn't, the TH/SS termie fights on, lives and doesn't kill anyone.

Points tally, we both hold our objective, tied kps, no one owns the bridge, 11 pts a piece and a helluva game!
-----------------------------------------------------
Round 2:  David DuBois using Codex: Eldar
Autarch on Jetbike, mandiblasters, laser lance
7 Guardian Jetbikes
2x6 Fire Dragons with exarch in Wave Serpents (scatter lasers)
2x10 Dire Avengers with exarch in Wave Serpents (scatter lasers)
8 Harlequins, 1 Shadowseer, 8 kisses
3 Vyper Jet Bikes, Scatter lasers
3 War Walkers, 2 Scatter Lasers a piece

Str 6 spam, but not a scary one. I've never played against str 6 spam Eldar without 6 Wave Serpents, so I figure I've got this from the get go. I don't remember the mission, it involved catching an objective that was floating down the river, killing your opponents most expensive unit, and probably getting stuff across the river. Its not worth me going into detail, he won first turn, deferred to me. At the end of turn 5 I held the objective, had most of my army across the river, killed his most expensive squad and all he had left was like 5 dire avengers. Poor guy. He can thank Phillip, lol. 20 points to me.
 -----------------------------------------------------

 Round 3: Keith Hoffman using Codex: IG

Company Command squad in chimera with random wargear, astropath, fleet officer
DH inquisitor lord, psychic hood, tarot, 2 mystics
Infantry platoon
>PCS in chimera 3 plasma guns, 1 plasma pistol, medic
>2 infantry squads in chimeras, melta, lascannon
Veteran squad in chimera with 3 melta, harker
2 Scout Sentinels with autocannons and hks
Banewolf
Leman Russ Demolisher
2 Manticores

I've played Keith before, last time we played I was 3 models and 1 immobilized chimera from tabling him. He has blocked it from his memory, understandably. Mission was hidden objectives, 5 objectives go out on the table face down, when a unit contacts they flip up with a number, 1-3 on it, thats how many objective points it is worth, secondary is get more units accross the river, teriary is hold the bridge. We roll, Keith gets first turn and deferrs to me. He holds the Chimera vets in reserve to outflank.

My first turn sees Belial drop in, scatter 11 inches and mishap, thankfully going back into reserve, a lot of shaken and stunned vehicles and 1 destroyed Manticore. He fires back and destroys a landspeeder (that was in cover) and blows the missiles off another one.

My second turn belial and company make it back in, even with the fleet officer. This time they land on the other side far away from any units. I advance up to contact 2 objectives (2 on the left side of the board, 3 on the right side) and move 2 dreads towards the bridge, I made a fatal error here, I should have kept 1 dread close to the left hand objective....live and learn. My shooting sees some immobilzed, some shaken and another blown up manticore. Keith's turn sees another weapon blown off the landspeeder and a multilaser wrecking my MVP landspeeder on the right (he killed both manticores!) and he crucially puts enough wounds on my middle termie squad for me to have to take a wound on the cyclone, and he was the only one to die. He also imobilized 1 of my dreadnoughts on the left side of the board.

My turn 3 I have this game well in hand. My middle termie squad moves up to flip another objective, 1, and Belial and his squad start hoofing it towards an objective in the middle of the table. My dread moves up to the river on the right side hoping to lend some fire support to the command squad. My landspeeder on the left with no weapons just keeps flying back and forth to get a cover save. I shoot 4 cyclone missiles and 1 tlinked lascannon at the chimera with the PCS that is 15 inches or so away from belial and do nothing...that will hurt later. I shoot at some chimeras in front of the bridge and don't manage much. This will be my defining turn, though I don't realize it. Keith's Vets arrive and come on the left side of the table, conveniently where he needs them to be since I have an objective worth 2 points back there. His PCS moves over behind a hill so his hatch is fully within 12" of my command squad. His demolisher moves over to start munching on my command squad. His shooting is fabulous, though in hindsight he was using the wrong BS for his PCS, those guys hit on 4s, but he was hitting on 3s, fortunately it probably didn't matter, as they only killed 1 guy with shooting this round. But the demolisher shoots, sticks its large blast and then fires his lascannon...which hits and wounds, so now I have 5 wounds to take on 4 guys....I should have put 2 on belial and let his ass die...but I didn't so I lose belial and 1 guy, if I had taken 2 on belial I may have managed the 3 3+s. His vets chimera shoot at my termies on the objective and whittle 1 more away.

My turn 4 I am still winning big, I hold 5 objective points, have 3 squads accross the table, and have a terminator that can shuffle onto the bridge last turn for that objective, all I need is a decent turn of shooting and this game is mine. I shoot 2 squads at the chimera that just came in....and do nothing, command squad blows up the chimera that has the PCS and kills 3 guys in side, but they do not get pinned...shit! and I shoot some lascannons at the other chimeras hoping to stun or shake them, and manage to immobilize the other one...shit. Keith makes his run for it, he moves his chimera up so that even if it gets blown to shreds, his 5th turn he will be able to claim the 2 objective. He moves his PCS up on the hill to unleash 2 plasma guns and a plasma pistol on me, he shuffles his banewolf closer to my lines to throw a flamer on my objective holders next turn. Mostly this turn was Keith moving his stuff into position to attempt a draw or a coo, though he forgets that the bridge is worth points too. His PCS opens up on my command squad, 5 plasma shots on 2 guys that are hitting on 3s...(should be 4s) but he still just manages to kill 1. I can't remember any other major events from turn 4.

My turn 5 sees me sweating, I can see how this is going and I need some good rolls to live. I move my landspeeder 24" to squad near my 2 objective. I shoot 4 more cyclones at the chimera near my objective, still doing nothing. I shoot some random las cannons at the demolisher and do nothing....shiiiiiiiit. Keith jumps his vets out moving up to within 3 of the objective, moves his banewolf over to flame my termies, moves his PCS up to within 3 of the objective across the river. and gets his CCS out to shoot at my last termie that was standing on his objective in the middle of the river. Keiths banewolf throws its chemcannon on both my termies, it wounds on 2+ but is only ap 3....I roll 2 1s....his sentinels then autocannon the speeder, get one pen thru and blow it up....his PCS unleash however many shots they have left and cause like 2 wounds and I fail 1...and Keith deftyly used up 20 minutes of clock shuffling random stuff around and shooting at things that don't matter to ensure no 6th turn. But it was a good game, and even with a 6th turn I couldn't have won it, at best I could have got a few points from holding the bridge. Overall a good game, but I was upset the next day when I looked at my IG codex and noticed the PCS are BS 3 not 4. I'm just glad that it probably wouldn't have had any effect on the game. Keith 16 me 0
 -----------------------------------------------------
Round 4: Dan Peely using Codex Daemons 
Blood Thirster of Khorne, Blessing
Blood Thirster of Khorne, Blessing
1 Blood Crusher
11 Bloodletters (green)
11 Bloodletters (red)
15 Bloodletters (yellow)
15 Bloodletters (blue)
Nurgle prince, rot, touch
Nurgle prince, rot, touch
Nurgle prince, rot, touch

I have played Dan before in a tournament at grand adventures. I won, but it was a close game, he plays daemons super agressive with no shooting. Bloodletters all have power weapons...this could go bad. I win first turn and defer to him, forcing him to drop where I can shoot him. Mission is table quarters. 1 point for the quarter you start in, 2 for neutral quarters, 3 for your opponents. Primary is who owns most quarter points, secondary is modified kps, teriary is most expensive unit. My unit is command squad, his unit is blue bloodletters.

I deploy castled with Vens up front. He rolls for his preferred wave...doesn't get it, so he has to drop all his bloodletters and the 1 crusher. The bloodletters all land in front of me, crowding to drink the blood of their enemies. The Crusher lands hidden all the way across the board.

My turn 1 I flame, frag, and spit all over as many bloodletters as possible, charging 1 dread into a unit (green) and a termie squad into a whittled down unit (yellow). The dread will be there forever, the termies lose a few but kill the squad, but they don't consolidate away enough to stay out of charge range.

His turn 2 he sees only 1 prince and 1 thirster come in, I opened up my notebook and wrote "game over" my shooting means I can easily kill 1-2 MC a turn. His blue squad charges my termies, they slap and tickle leaving me with 1 guy left. My turn I charge a dread into the blue guys, kill the blood thirster with shooting.

His turn 3 2 Princes arrive, but since he is so aggressive, one mishaps and goes back into reserve. His nurgle prince charges the ven dread that is fighting the green squad at the bottom of the table. Bunch of slaps and tickles. My turn Belial leaves his squad and joins another behind him. The command squad moves to to kill another squad of letters (red). I shuffle around so one squad of termies can join the ven dread vs the blue if needed but can also shoot the prince that just dropped. The other Ven dread moves down to join the fight vs the prince and letters thats at the bottom of the map. My shooting kills the nurgle prince. I wipe out the green squad at the bottom, so now I have 1 dread with no arms and a fresh dread fighting a prince.

His turn 4 gets the prince...We go on but I end up killing everything but 1 wound on the prince in combat and the crusher because he hid the whole game. Bad matchup and worse reserve rolls for him....GW fix daemons!!! Please! Dan 0 me 20.

I ended up finishing 7th overall. If only I could have not lost to Keith...now I will hear about it forever lol. I voted Phillip my favorite opponent, mostly because he was super cool under pressure and we talked all day after our game. I hope his club makes it down for Maul in the Mall.

Well enough Deathwing talk, time to start painting Dark Eldar!

Vanguard Veterans

Thought I would put up some pics of my Vanguard Veterans, since I am gonna start playtesting them. Turns out my camera memory card has crapped out, so I had to snap em with my phone, sorry about the quality.

This was the paint scheme I used on my Storm Shields, finished them off with a blue ink.

VV w/ PW/SS

Sergeant w/ LC/SS

VV w/ LC/SS

VV w/ PF/SS

VV w/ TH/SS

Paint scheme - 
-Black Basecoat
-Mechrite Red
-Red Gore Drybrush
-Blood Red Drybrush
-Badab Black Wash
-Tabards got a Devlan Mud Wash on top of everything


Still have to base 'em, and still not sure how much playin time they'll get, but I think that they turned out ok, regardless. Storm Shields are from GW bitz.


So what do you think? Hit or miss?

Modeling the Duke

Today we will look at a step by step on how I converted my own Duke Sliscus. He is a really cool charater and I think the dual swords are kick ass. I'll just warn you, this post is long and pic heavy. Feel free to skip to the end for some more shots of the finished model. If you still with me, I'm gonna get right into it
                                
What you need:     Dark Elf Lokhir Fellheart Model
                             2 X Power Sword from the Wych Kit
                             1 Splinter Pistol bit from Warrior Kit
                             1 Head from the Warrior kit
                             1 Blast pistol bit from the Warrior Kit.
Step 1: Take off the Head

Now, i suppose if you wanted to, you could keep the head. It doesn't look bad. I find the biggest mistake people make in converting is keeping the small things because they can. The kraken helm is a major part of the Fellheart Model. If you want a  Duke model and not a "Lokhir model your using as the Duke" then head has got to go. This is actually one of the most annoying parts of the conversion, especial if your using a hobbydrill and sprue cutters. Just be patient and it should go fine.I left the very bottom tendrils of the helm and I wand to paint them to look like clasps for the cape.

Step 2: The Head

I really love the head I used. I had it on my archon before I started using Vect. It just has a sort of ninja look. It also goes with the fluff that he does not like to share the air with lesser species. You must cut the head to fit the cut made for the body. After that you simply glue the head to the body. This is what mine looked like.

Step 3: The Left Arm

The left army on th body is molded on. You could just alter the knife the the sword, but i wanted to duke to have Dark Eldar gauntlets  to distinguish him as an Dark Eldar instead of fantasy elf. You can easily cut off the left arm up to the cape. Sadly I forgot to get a pic at this point. Sorry.

The left arm bit is easily fixed. Just cut the arm off just above the glove end.

Before

After

Step 4:  Now the right arm is a little more tricky. The body needs no work but the right arm sword will be tricky since the arm bit is left-handed.  You could just use the Lokhir arm and sword, but it just wouldn't look right. To me, twin blades means identical twin blades. Also, this conversion really needs a lot of Dark Eldar cues to pull it into the 41st millennia. 

First you take the Splinter pistol bit, and the second Wych sword bit. Now you want to cut the splinter pistol off the arm. Make sure to do this delicately and try to remove the trigger guard from around the finger.Later you will need to cut the arm off just above the gauntlet, but for now leave it on so you can get a good handle on the bit. Then you want to cut the top of the sword of just about the hand, but below the hand guard. Make sure to hang on to the hand bit, as you will need it in order to use the sword hand on the new arm. 

Then just glue them together. I recommend you use Plasti-Zap or some other form of plastic cement. These parts are too small to pin and super glue just won't cut if for a robust model. After that, clip the pistol handle off the new arm. Then cut the sword handle off the old arm and glue it on to the new arm.

Now all you do is cut the arm of just about the gauntlet and that arm is ready to go.

Step 5. Blast pistol:  As the Duke already has his hands full, the best way to model his blast pistol is to have it hanging from his belt. Take the blast pistol bit and cut off the arm. If you are careful you can cut the hand away leaving a reasonable handle behind. This will mostly be hidden so it doesn't have to be perfect. You may even have to trim the handle and bit to get it to fit well. Next simply glue the blast pistol to his side like so.

Step 6: Glue on the arms and Presto! you are read to take the Duke to battle! Here are some more pictures of the finished product.

So what do y'all think? Do you like or dislike it? What particular parts do you like or what could I do to make it look better? Comment and criticisms are appreciated.

BUY A @#%!&! CASE ALREADY!!

I know this hobby can be quite expensive and we all cut corners when we can, but a good figure case is like car insurance. Sure, it may feel like you don't need it and it is a waste of money, but once you have it you feel protected. And when something goes wrong and you don't have it, you really feel the sting.

When I first started, i was hell bent on not spending too much money. I played necrons so I only had to buy two colors of paint, Mithril Silver and Boltgun Metal. For the longest time I refused to buy Snot Green to add a little color, Refused.

It was the same for miniture storage. At first I used an old tool box my dad had. Of course, everytime i went somewhere I broke models. And everytime I had to glue them back together and it was very frustrating. When I finally did buy a case, I bought the cheapest thing I could find: a Reaper Mini Case. Full of foam $50 Bucks. After about six month, the low quality foam started falling out, i knew I made a mistake. After that I when back to caring things in tackle boxes. It was so frustrating. I finally realized that I had spent $100 and  countless hours and loads of frustration instead of getting what I needed the first time.

So I finally after years of frustration, i broke down and bought the biggest Sabol Army Case they make, and I am telling you it revolutionized the hobby for me. My army is always ready to go. I don't have to worry what is broke in my army. It is absolutely amazing.

So I get my brand new dark eldar and what do I do? I go out and buy foam immediately, right? I mean, I've learned my lesson, right? WRONG!!!

I keep saying to my self I'll buy it later and look what happens. I break vital bits on 2 -$50 models.  This is what i like to call a 'Stupid Tax'- you were stupid, now you must pay for it.

Anyhow, the moral of today's story is, Go buy a good quality case to keep you minis in. Get either a Battlefoam or a Sabol. Battlefoam is the best. Sabol is cheaper, but high quality and you won't be dissapointed with it. In the long run it will save you, time, money, and whole lot of heart ache. See ya'll next time. I'm off to order some foam.

The Vindicator...Pie Plates of Doom

The Vindicator. Just saying the word can drain the color from an opponents face. Simply placing the little stubby thing on the board automatically changes the way the person on the other side deploys/plays. From turn one, they are playing reactively. So why is it that we don't see these little bulldogs on the table as much as we used to?


Part of it is the survivability of vehicles in 5th. This has encouraged many to dust off their Landraiders and use up all of their HS choices. I have seen 4 Raider lists in tournament play out of C:SM. I think another is the 24" range. When a lot of people get to selecting their HS, they look for range. Las Cannons, Missile Launchers, anything with a 36"+ range. While powerful, it is not as reliable for poppin armor due to range and scatter.


When it comes to Blood Angels, you tend to see a lot of Preds due to the Fast rule. Everyone and their mama are runnin Autocannon/Las Cannon preds, and why not? Move 6" and fire 2 S7 AND 2 S9 shots?? Yes please! Also the BA vindy has to share FOC slots with not only preds, but drop pod dreads, cheapy cheap dev squads, and Stormravens!


Space Wolves players have Long Fangs.......moving on.

Space Wolves' Default Heavy Support choice

Now, after I have brought all these defects and issues to the surface, surely I can't be trying to convince you to take one of these little suckers, can I? Of course I am. One of the most important parts of Warhammer 40,000 is knowing your units and how to use them properly. You must know their weaknesses, as well as their strengths. 

Looking at this end has been known
 to cause sweats,  irrational behavior,
instant vacation of the bowels,
screaming, crying, paralysis, and death.

The number one rule to Vindicators was voiced by my good friend Pariah.Stevo, "If they're good enough to run one of, they are good enough to run two of ". One of the biggest beefs people have with Vindys is that they tend to go down turn one, as they are so terrifying. Running two is an insurance policy. The opponent will kill one and leave the rest of the army unscathed or try and split up their fire, giving you a better chance either way of having a tank left. If they both survive, then you can reek some real havoc. Everyone is afraid of a S10 AP2 large blast, and I mean everyone. Running them in a pair also helps when a scatter die doesn't go your way, basically giving you a second chance. As said before, A Vindicator makes your opponent play into your hands. Two Vindicators makes them fill their pants. All for a petite price tag, weighing in at a cool 115pts a piece.

Before

After

Now, for BA players, the Vindicator becomes an even better option, as it has the Fast rule Cause Da Red Ones Go Fasta!!. That means that a Red Vindy has an effective 36" range, moving 12" then throwing that template. On a pitched battle deployment, if you have first turn, you can throw 2 Vindys 12" up and have range to pretty much your opponents entire deployment zone. Can you say "Bye Bye Nob Bikers"? The sheer devastation that these bad boys can cause, as well as the psychological effect they have on your opponent, can be yours for a cool 145 pts.


The Vindy can also take some nifty equipment, as they are the only tank that can take the awesome lookin siege shield, which allows you to ignore dangerous terrain tests. Not sure if it is worth 10 pts, but it could save you some grief when that 1 drops. 


Space Wolves can also bene..........oh yeah, Long Fangs.

...sigh...

Now, For You Black Templars out there, your Vindicators can take the almighty POTMS, essentially making it fast, and ignoring Crew Shaken/Stunned. Definitely something to consider.


Now, I am not saying that the Vindicator is the end all be all HS choice, or that every list should take them. I am just trying to give those who haven't ever used or considered it an idea of the game changer it can be. They can be truly deadly, if given the chance.


So, how many of you guys regularly take Vindicators? When has that S10 template saved your rear end?

Dustin' Off the Grey Knights

Well, if you haven't heard, Codex: Grey Knights will be coming to us within the next 2 months. Also, for those of you living under a rock, they are going to be the epitome of elite armies. 20-30 models at 2000pts. Also, there has been a "leaked" codex, with speculation to its authenticity ranging from complete fraud to a cover art away from your nearest FLGS shelf, with the truth probably somewhere in between.

As I have glanced through the pdf and read the rumors, I must say that if the codex ends up with half of this stuff then it is going to be awesome. It will bring a whole new style of play to our beloved game. Never before have we had an army so elitist, so many psychic powers, a small army with the ability to take on the hordes. Grey Knights offer us all this, and more. 2++ saves, 2 wound terminators, 30" teleporters, I can't wait! 


This has prompted me to pull out my old Grey Knights force and survey the damage that 3 moves and a year in storage can cause. Surprisingly, they aren't that bad. What I have;


Brother Captain Stern
10 GK Termies
30 PAGK's - 3 Justicars, 5 psycannons, 6 Incinerators

Oh, yeah, well you just wait till April, then i'll really show you whats up!!

Not a bad lot, as I should have enough PAGK's to use, as well as enough psycannons/incinerators for the purgation squads. I will prolly buy a Stormraven, some dread kits, and a boox of the new plastic termies rumored to run as my paladin termies. I'll have to get a better look at the Dreadnight before I make my final decision to run him. 


I am just excited, as this is an army that I will be able to get up and running with very little added cost. Plannin on tryin to get them finished paint wise before the codex drops. Will update as I go along


So what do y'all think about the rumors? How excited are you about Codex: Grey Knights? Is GW headed in the right direction?

ALIEN ASSAULT!!!!

As a new member of the FTW Bloggers Group, I was browsing through some of the great bloggers featured and came across a great article on Stillfrosty Conversions about Alien Assault. Alien Assault(or AA) is freeware strategy game made my TearDown. AA is about "orbital marines" that board "abandoned space ships" completing mission why fighting four limbed alien creatures know as "The Swarm." By now I hope this storyline is beginning sound familiar. This game is a computer adaptation of the ol' board game we all know and love. In fact, though my experience with the board game is limited, I believe the game play is the exact same.

The game has been out for over a year now, but since I haven't heard of it till now, i figured I would help get the word out. I have spent hours today playing the tutorial mission and it has been an absolute blast. Head on over to TearDown's Website and check it out. What do you got to lose, it's free!

The Grizz's fabled past featured on Intl House of Paincakes

http://www.houseofpaincakes.com/2011/02/new-member-monday-happy-valentimes-day.html#more

1,000 Page Views W00T!!!

Cause for Celebration!!!! We've made it to 1,000 page views! Thanks to all the followers/readers who have kept this little blog rollin right along! Without you, I would just be blabbering to noone, or my wife, who I am sure could care less about my 40k habit. Anyways, thanks for reading!!

Here is where i need your help. Tell me your comments, criticisms, what you like or don't like, what you would like to see more of, or just whatever you are thinkin!