1850 Battle Report in Louisville!
Time for another battle report, thanks to Lexington of Aurora Chapter! I went down to visit him in Louisville, KY. We ended up playing an 1850 pt. game at The Louisville Game Shop.
We played Spearhead (board quarters) and Sieze Ground (d3+2 objectives, we had a total of 3). Lexington played Orks, I played Azure Flames Space Marines. Here’s what we took.
Bozeman – Azure Flames Space Marines
-Zeraf Antonius (counts as Cato Sicarius)
-Assault Terminators x 5 (THSS)
-Land Raider Crusader with Multi-Melta and Extra Armor
-Tactical Squad x 10, Power Fist, Bolter Flamer, Flamer, Missile Launcher in a Rhino with Extra Armor
-Tactical Squad x 10, Power Fist, Bolter Flamer, Flamer, Missile Launcher in a Drop Pod
-Scout Squad x 5, Power Fist
-Land Speeder Storm
-Land Speeders x 3, Multi-Melta, Heavy Flamer
-Ironclad Dreadnought, replace meltagun with heavy flamer, in a Drop Pod
-Dreadnought, two Twin Linked Autocannons
Lexington – WAAAAGH! Zagdakka!
-Zagdakka, Warboss, Bike, Power Klaw, Stikkboms, Attack Squig, Bosspole
-Nob Bikers x 5, Painboy, WAAAAGH! Banner, 4x Power Klaws, Grot Orderly
-Boyz Mob x 12, Nob, Power Klaw, Bosspole, Shootas in a Trukk with a Red Paint job
-Boyz Mob x 12, Nob, Power Klaw, Bosspole, Sluggasin a Trukk with a Red Paint job
-Tankbustas x 12, Nob, Power Klaw, 2x Tankhammas
-Burna Boyz x 14, 2x Meks with Rokkit Launchas
-Battlewagon, Deff Rolla, Red Paint Job
-Battlewagon, Deff Rolla, Red Paint Job
-Stormboys x 10, “Chukka Khan” (counts as Boss Zagstruk)
-Wartrakk, Twin linked Rokkit Launcha
-Big Mek, Burna, Attack Squig, Kustom Force Field
Lexington got to set up first in the upper right. Going from left to right are: shoota boys in a trukk behind the trees, wartrakk, battlewagon with Burnas inside, trukk with Slugga boyz, battlewagon with Tankbustas, Nob Bikers with Zagdakka. For me in the lower left, left to right, are a tatsquad by their rhino, Land Raider Crusader with Terminators and Antonius, Dreadnought on top of building, and Land Speeders behind building. Lexington was going to go first, but thanks to Cato Sicarius’ re-roll, I siezed the initiative!
Bozeman – Azure Flames Turn 1
The first thing I did was drop the Ironclad Dreadnought in Drop Pod right in front of the battlewagons.
HI.
Next, I zoomed the land speeders to my right, moved the Rifledread and put a wound on a Nob Biker, moved up the Land Raider and popped the Slugga Boyz trukk with a lucky shot! 3 out of 12 survived and the 3 were pinned! Tatsquad Missile Launcher fired, but the Shoota Boy trukk made its cover save.
Lexington – Orks Turn 1
The Nob Bikers and Tankbustas moved out toward the Land Speeders. Shooting from both squads managed to kill one Speeder. The Tankbustas assaulted, but whiffed. Lexington shouted at them.
FAILURES!
Meanwhile, the Deff Rolla Battlewagon with the Burnas tries to ram through the Ironclad’s Drop Pod, but it only does one hit, which does not glance the Pod. The Trakk drives around the Battlewagon and shoots at the Ironclad, to no effect. The Shoota Boyz trukk moves out behind the building towards my left.
Bozeman – Azure Flames Turn 2
Tatsquad in Drop Pod arrives, becomes 2 combat squads. They burn the Tankbustas down. Land Speeders and Dreadnought concentrate on the Nob Bikers, doing only 2 wounds after FNP. Ironclad Dreadnought assaults the battlewagon and WHIFFS. It’s a zone of failure over there! Land Raider moves up and puts a Crew Stunned result on the Tankbusta’s Battlewagon. Tactical Squad moves into their Rhino.
Lexington – Orks Turn 2
Nob Bikers eat the Land Speeders, remaining 3 Slugga Boys charge the Ironclad and don’t do much.
Bozeman – Azure Flames Turn 3
Land Speeders Storm arrives, hides. Combat Squad with Power Fist charges and kills Battlewagon. Other squad moves toward objective. Land Raider and Rifeldread move up but shooting does nothing to Nob Bikers. Ironclad kills an ork, squad does not break.
Lexington – Orks Turn 3
Wartrakk hightails it towards my left. Battlewagon with Burnas moves up and burnas the combat squad with 38 wounds. Ouch. “Chukka Khan” arrives, and assaults the other combat squad, removing them as well! Ironclad finishes off the Sluggas. Nob Bikers kill the Rifledread.
Bozeman – Azure Flames Turn 4
Ironclad assaults the Burna Battlewagon, kills it but most Burnas are OK. Land Raider Crusader kills all the Stormboyz but “Chukka Khan and one other guy. They break, but Chukka kills the remaining Stormboy and holds. Tatsquad in Rhino moves up.
Lexington – Orks Turn 4
Nob Bikers and “Chukka Khan” move behind the building. Burnas move toward Land Speeder Storm, but Rokkits only give it a Crew Shaken result. Wartrakk moves behind the Shoota Boy Trukk.
Bozeman – Azure Flames Turn 5
Ironclad flames and assaults Big Mek and Burnas, kills most of them but they do not break. Antonius and the Terminators assault the Nob Bikers and kill them, no casualties. Tatsquad in the upper left jumps out to claim objective. Land Speeder Storm zooms to the objective in the upper right.
Lexington – Orks Turn 5
“Chukka Khan” assaults the Terminators, kills one, and dies. The Shootas move up, shoot the Tactical Squad which falls back out of assault range, due ot a poor armor save roll. Game Continues to Turn 6.
Bozeman – Azure Flames Turn 6
Tatsquad moves up and flames Shootas to death. Other movement to support.
Lexington – Orks Turn 6
Trukk hides and Trakk zooms to the right. Game continues to turn 7.
Bozeman – Azure Flames turn 7
Trukk is killed by Land Raider.
Lexington – Orks turn 7
Buggy contests objective by scouts.
Final Score: Azure Flames 1, Orks 0.
Bozeman’s Thoughts: That was a great game, worth the 6 hour drive. It went surprisingly fast too! I probably should have combat-squadded the Rhino tatsquad, but it didn’t matter. Zagstrukk is a GREAT Ork Character and I can’t wait to make an Ork list with my Zagstrukk stand-in, Rukkstud ‘Andfoot. I am also impressed by the 15 Burnas in a Battlewagon tactic, which WILL KILL ANYTHING toughness 5 or lower, guaranteed. In the end, there were a few good luck moments, such as losing 3 tactical marines so I could fall back using Combat Tactics.
Lexington’s Inane Ramblings
Combat Tactics is important, and I forgot it!
This was a nice game with a lot of swing to it. Things looked grim after the first turn, and my subsequent inability to remove even one pesky Ironclad from my own deployment zone, despite the earnest but lacklustre the attempts of a Deffrolla, was disappointing to say the least. The second and third turn rally was particularly Orky in both destructive capacity and haphazard luck, and the end turned into the kind of gritty slog that tests one’s brainpan a bit.
This list continues to be fun and surprisingly killy in places, as it has for the tenure of a small campaign we’ve been running ‘round these parts. The Burna Boyz in a Battlewagon is the sort of thing that should scare anyone not within the thick candy shell of a transport, and even the more ethically-equipped Nob Biker squad can dish out punishment like several angry mechanical bears. Eric played with his trademark stoic loyalty to statistical norms, and I’m usually pretty happy to even contest against it, given my own propensity to go for the stupidly improbable but highly entertaining. It was a nice time.
It was that one forgetful moment that knocked things from a win to a tie, as it often can be. Combat Tactics is a rule I usually regard as a little too corner-case, but if forgotten and/or cannily deployed, it can make a real difference, as you can see here. I’ve got a vanilla Space Marine Chapter (along with a skeletal blog for their theoretical exploits), so it’s great to see it perform a real function.
Stay safe, children, and I apologize for accidentally subjecting you to endless shots of my crotch throughout this battle report. We’ll have a group or a session or whatever. We’ve all gone through something terrible today. Let the healing begin.
Azure Flames vs. WAAAAGH! Smartyskull! 1850pts
Wait, what? How can I fight myself? Easy, by having others do the fighitng for me.
Above, Hector and Dario (mentioned previously on Four Strands) at Pandemonium Games in Garden City. Here’s the lists:
Hector: WAAAAGH! Smartyskull! 1850 pts
-Big Mek, KFF, Burna, Attack Squig, ‘eavy armor.
-Nobs x8, Painboy, Grot Orderly, 2x Big Choppas, 3x PKs, WAAAAGH Banner, Eavy Armor
-Battlewagon, Deff Rolla, 3x Big Shootas
-Boyz x12, stikkboms, big shoota, Nob, PK, Bosspole in a Trukk, red paint job, armor plates, reinforced ram.
-Boyz x12, stikkboms, big shoota, Nob, PK, Bosspole in a Trukk, red paint job, armor plates, reinforced ram.
-Boyz x12, stikkboms, big shoota, Nob, PK, Bosspole in a Trukk, red paint job, armor plates, reinforced ram.
-Boyz x12, stikkboms, big shoota, Nob, PK, Bosspole in a Trukk, red paint job, armor plates, reinforced ram.
-Looted Wagon, Reinforced Ram, Big Shoota
-Tankbusta Boys x12, Nob, PK, Bosspole, 3 Bombsquigs, 2 Tankhammas
-Warbikers x8, Nob, PK, Bosspole
Dario: Azure Flames 1850pts
-Zeraf Antonius (Cato Sicarius)
-Assault Terminators x5, THSS
-Dedicated Land Raider Crusader, Multi-melta
-Tactical Squad x10, Power Fist, Bolter-Flamer, Flamer, Missile Launcher in a Rhino with extra armor.
-Tactical Squad x10, Power Fist, Bolter-Flamer, Flamer, Missile Launcher in a Drop Pod.
-Ironclad Dreadnought with Heavy Flamer, Hurricane Bolter, Ironclad launchers in a Drop Pod.
-Dreadnought, 2x TL Autocannons
-Scouts x5, Power Fist
-Land Speeder Storm, HB
-3x Land Speeder Tornadoes, MM/HF
Mission: Annnhilation (Kill points), Setup: Dawn of War (table halves)
Setup: Hector won setup roll, deployed 2 boyz squads in trukks in the center of the board. Dario placed a tactical squad in a building. Sicarius’ special rule gave this tatsquad Counter Charge, which came in handy! Dario did not sieze the initiative, so Hector went first.
Above: the setup.
Dario’s tatsquad in the building.
Turn 1: Hector
Hector moved up with one trukk near the building and got the squad of orks out. The other trukk moved up and tried to shoot, foiled by night-fight. The squad of orks got a lucky pistol shot and killed a Space Marine!
Turn 1: Dario
Dario moved his tactical squad up and out of the building (mostly). Dual flamer fire from the sergeant and regular flamer, along with bolters, lowered the ork squad size to 5. Orks failed their morale check, but passed after a bosspole re-roll kills another ork. Ironclad dread came down, but a bad scatter moved it away from the trukk. It failed to do damage with its hurricane bolters.
4 orks left after the Bosspole re-roll.
Too far for a flamer!
Turn 2: Hector
Battlewagon, another trukk, and the looted wagon full of tankbustas come on. Tankbustas move 13″ toward the Ironclad. Wagon moves up 13″, Trukk 19″ keeping close enough for the KFF cover save. Orks get out of trukk by Ironclad dread and move toward the Rhino. Trukk tries to ram Ironclad against my STRONG OPINION. The trukk is smashed by a Death or Glory attack. Remaining 4 orks charge the Tactical Squad, which counter-charges. Marines win combat by 3, orks break and are run down. Marines consolidate towards the Rhino.
Turn 2: Dario
Sicarius, Terminators, and Land Raider drive on behind the Rhino, and the Land Speeders show up. Land Speeders fry an ork squad down to 3, which passes its check. Land Raider guns don’t do much to a trukk. Marines enter Rhino. Ironclad moves up to shoot orks.
End of Turn 2
Land Raider is coming!
These orks keep their cool.
Lots of lads!
Turn 3: Hector
Hector calls the WAAAAGH! Another boys squad in the yellow trukk comes on. Ork squad moves 13″ in trukk, runs 4. Other 3-ork squad moves and runs 6. Battlewagon moves up 13″ but Nobs only run 1… Blue trukk drives away. Tankbustas drive up 13″, run 5″ and assault the Ironclad Dread. Despite the defensive grenades robbing them of their charge bonus, the Tankhammers blow up the Ironclad, and only 4 tankbustas survive! Both orks squads assault the Rhino, and immobilize it.
Turn 3: Dario
Sicarius and his terminators move up, and get out in front of the Nob Squad. Tac squad arrives via Drop Pod behind Battlewagon, but another bad scatter pushes them almost to the board edge. Scouts arrive and move 24″ in Storm. Marines in rhino get out and kill some of the Orks by their Rhino, conveniently hiding in a choke point between the tanks. Storm Bolter on Dreadnought Drop Pod kills one Tankbusta, who make morale check. Land Speeders pepper the Nobs, killing 2 and putting one more wound out. Sicarius and the Terminators charge. 3 terminators die but all of the Nobs except the Big Mek go down. Big Mek flees…2 inches.
End of Turn 3
Whats left after the big fight…
Chokepoint!
Turn 4: Hector
Mek runs…5 more inches. Yellow and blue trukks move up for shots on the land speeders. Squad in yellow trukk jumps out to assault Sicarius and Terminator. 3-ork squad turns around to charge the land speeders. Deff Rolla crushes Sicarius! Terminator survives long enough to be charged by the squad from the yellow trukk, and dies. Massive big shoota fire against the land speeders has no effect. Surviving ork squad charges through the chokepoint, combat drawn. Tankbustas assault the Drop Pod and kill it. Bikes arrive and damage the Land Speeder Storm, removing the Heavy Bolter.
Turn4: Dario
Rifle Dread arrives and kills the remaining Tankbustas. Land Speeders move up and annhilate the Ork squad that killed the Terminator. Tactical Squad moves up and assaults Battlewagon with Krak Grenades, it explodes and 2 marines die. Land Speeder Storm moves another 24″. Three marines die in the assault at the chokepoint, but they don’t flee. Land Raider gives a no shoot result to the blue trukk.
End of Turn 4
There used to be a battlewagon here. Now? Not so much.
Fighting in a chokepoint can get ugly!
Turn 5: Hector
Looted Wagon and surviving trukk move up. All trukks open fire on Land Speeders, one gets a shaken result. Mek continues to flee. Bikes move up 12″ and fire on the fleeing Land Speeder Storm, but only give it one shaken result. Combat in the chokepoint is a draw again. Yellow Trukk, which has a Shaken result, tank shocks the Tactical Squad, does nothing.
Turn 5: Dario
Rifle Dread blasts 2 bikers, who fail their check and flee just to the edge of the board. Land Speeders ineffecually chip at the Looted Wagon and Trukk. Tactical Squad in the chokepoint is reduced to the Sergeant only, who kills all 3 remaining orks! He consolidates into the Rhino. Land Raider kills blue trukk. Tactical Squad perform an AMAZING feat, as they assault the Trukk, which recieves the Trukk “Kareen!” result, Kareens 16″ directly toward the 3-ork squad, and explodes, killing all but the Nob who breaks and flees! Scouts get out and assault the trukk, but whiff on every attack. Game continues to 6th turn.
End of Turn 5.
Warbikers fear the rifle Dread…
Now THAT’S what I call a trick shot! A trukk knocked into an ork squad, exploding, and breaking them!
Turn 6: Hector
Bikes rally, consolidate. Mek runs just shy of the board edge. Looted Wagon and red trukk concentrate fire on land speeders. No effect.
Turn 6: Dario
Rifle Dread kills another 2 bikers, they hold. Land Speeders move 24″ to ensure the Mek runs off the table if there is a turn 7. Land Raider kills Looted Wagon. Scouts kill trukk. Game ends.
End of game.
The only unbroken Ork unit, the bikes, decide it’s not worth it and go home.
Final kill points. Dario (Azure Flames): 13, Hector (Orks): 5. Space Marine Victory!
Hola, muchachos de Espana! (I don’t know how to type the squiggly thing above the n)
Two firsts, right here on Four Strands! Our first international game, and our first Space Hulk post! My family’s friends from Spain arrived yesterday, and it turns out they play Warhammer!
Hector Rueda, pictured above, plays Skaven for Warhammer Fantasy, and borrows a friend’s army to play Chaos Daemons in 40K. His younger brother Dario doesn’t play but collects and paints various GW minis.
Their mom forbade them from playing video games for more than an hour, so I broke out Space Hulk. Hector and Dario played mission 1, Hector as Space Marines. He was doing well, but got too close to several intersections and let the genestealers jump him. It went downhill from there. Dario emerrged victorious, but then retired due to traveling fatigue.
Hector and I elected to play mission 2, him as Space Marines. Yes, Space Hulk fans, THAT mission 2. The one that is near goddamn impossible against a good Space Marine player.
Above, see our setup. THSS Sergeant is on the extreme left, regular Terminators in the gray and green rooms. Chainfist Termie in the red room near the top right, Assault Cannon near the lower right.
Turn 1 Terminators: Hector moved the assault cannon up, looking down the hallway towards the (not pictured) genestealer entry point. Chainfist guy ripped down a door to come join him. The two regular marines moved to the left side of the board to support the sergeant.
Turn 1 Genestelers: I brought a 3 blip on, down by the assault cannon, and another 3 on the other side. Both blips moved up and hid.
Turn 2 Terminators: Hector moved the assault cannon up and went on overwatch, chainfist broke another door. Used a lot of points both turns to get chainfist up to the other red room. THSS Sergeant advanced, one Terminator looked down hall on overwatch.
Turn 2 Genestealers: I brought on a 1 and a 3 near the assault cannon. The blip already on the board revealed as 3, and ran up the hallway on top in the picture. 3 blip moved up behind the other 3 ‘stealers. Lone blip up by the THSS just advanced and hid.
Turn 3 Terminators: Assault cannon moves up, turns, and opens the door. Chainfist moves up behind him on overwatch. THSS sergeant approaches a corner around which the lone blip is hiding. Other termies move up on overwatch.
Turn 3 Genestealers: Drew a 1 and a 3, put both by the THSS. A genestealer pops out, takes an overwatch and regular shot from the assault cannon (he spent a point). It lives through both and eats the asscan for breakfast. It has just enough movenent to get right next to Chainfist. All the other ‘stealers move up behind him, ensuring swift doom for the chainfist guy. Blips by THSS move up, one reveals as 3 and they hide around corners and behind doors.
Turn 4 Terminators: THSS moves up, smacks a ‘stealer to death, goes on guard with points. Other termie moves up just far enough to see a ‘stealer and kills it with the free bolter shot you get while moving. Doesn’t have points for overwatch.
Turn 4 Genestealers: Drew two 1s, placed by THSS side. Swarm of stealers eat chainfist guy and move up as fast as genestealers can. Another stealer pops out and eats the guy who got the lucky shot last turn.
Turn 5 Terminators: Last regular termie moves up, kills a ‘stealer, and goes on overwatch. THSS sergeant moves up, attacks a ‘stealer, and dies.
Turn 5 Genestealers: Because the termie on overwatch is only looking one direction, a stealer pops out from the other way and kills him. See the pic below!
Result: Genestealer victory!
Analysis: Hector isn’t very experienced at Space Hulk, and it shows because he went OFF GUARD with the THSS sergeant. Never go off Guard unless genestealers are 6 or more spaces away. He also looked down the smaller hallway with the Assault Cannon. Correct procedure is move asscan down the hall, with another marine at the junction on overwatch. This would allow 3 spaces between ‘stealer and Termie, not one.
Look forward to a 40K or Gothic battle report with Hector sometime soon!
EDIT: Had another Space Hulk match with Hector, this time mission 3. The most memorable part was the last Terminator, the Assault Cannon which was completely out of ammo, going toe-to-toe with waves of ‘stealers. Look at this pile of bodies!
6th Edition 40K? A look into the future?
For those who haven’t read BOLS’ rumors on 6th edition, here it is: http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?t=15933&page=12
Big Changes:
-Squad “leaders” are now more important. Various tests are taken with their characteristics. If a squad doesn’t have a leader in their entry, like Necron Warriors, the owning player picks one. ICs become the “leader” of a squad if they join. So my history of killing the Sergeant of my regular Terminators is over? Do I have to buy him a chainfist?
-Models can only make one armor save normally, or two in certain situations. Will massed fire become much more important? We shall see what these vague, incomplete sentences mean.
-Most universal special rules now have a level in parentheses, such as Feel no Pain (1). Higher levels are better, or ignore opposing special rules of lower levels. Rock on.
-All of the things that a unit can do are spelled out clearly (according to this guy) and make sense.
-Units have actions they can do in the appropriate phase.
-Units have reactions they can do whenever the right situation permits, like shooting back when getting shot at.
-Terrain rules are slightly different and look like they make more sense.
-There are 5 phases now! Preparation, movement, assault, shooting, and consolidation. Splits certain parts of the turn into places that make the turn make more sense. Hopefully will not be confusing for older players.
-Everything wounds on a 6 if it didn’t wound before. Beware flashlights, Wraithlords!
-Wound allocation says “wound against majority,” and there are “armor groups” which I hope means different types of save. Looks like a modified version of the 4th ed wound allocation. There are also “directed wounds” allocated by the enemy. Snipers get one of every two wound “directed” so sniper scouts and ratlings could make a comeback.
-Cover saves are nerfed and depend on squad leaders. Confusingly worded here, I bet it’s explained with a picture in the 6th ed book.
-To hit is different and can be modified! Squee!
-PISTOLS HAVE AN EFFECT IN CC! They are a CCW, OR you can use their strength instead of yours, but gain no bonus from an additional CCW. AP 1 2 or 3 pistols gain Rending (2) in CC! Plasma pistols will make a comeback!
-Blast templates now determine cover without LOS, which makes sense.
-Vehicle damage is changed. Language is confusing, but it looks like there are no more positive modifiers.
-Vehicles in a squadron treat immobilized as a weapon destroyed as long as they have weapons left. This fixes a big problem in vehicle squadrons.
-Looks like buildings might be used often. There are rules for shooting and ramming a building.
-Flyers! Flyers have to move straight and then can turn up to 45 degrees. Hard to hit, and cal always shoot all their guns. Can “change” into a fast skimmer and back.
-Blast weapons get “instant death” against swarms!
-All missions are now about “victory points.” Not the old victory points mind you.
-You get 1 for every tank, walker, IC, MC, or squad leader killed.
-You get 2 if a non-scoring unit holds an objective during your preparation phase.
-You get 3 if a scoring unit holds an objective during your preparation phase.
-Players get strategy points to spend to modify the mission. They can place automatic guns, change the way Reserves work, change night fighting or terrain, or other stuff. You can re-roll one failed roll during the game for each strategy point unspent. Strategy points can also be spent to go first.
-There are also narrative objectives that you and an opponent can choose to use! Hooray for variety!
-Apocalypse rules included! Permission only? Who knows?
Looks like they’re changing the game up. Adding more complexities while streamlining old ones. I’m optimistic.
On my plate: 6-22-11
Hoo boy. Getting laid off and finishing a school year takes more time that you’d think. Plus intruders from Spain are visiting and my ability to paint or model will be nonexistent. However, I’m getting back in the saddle. With a little help from Forge World. So, without further ado, here’s what I’m going to be working on.
-Azure Flames: Twin Linked Autocannon from Forgeworld. I USED to have a left and a right to do a Rifledread. This has somehow changed. I lost the right TL Autocannon, and had to buy another from Forgeworld. Priority one: Get this done by July 8th. Why? I have no idea. I’m certainly not taking a rifledread in a 40K game against Lexington.
-Epic 40,000: Finish Terminators. I’ve got some basecoated, but I ran out of free time while working on them. They’re next. Then I fill out the rest of my 3000 pt. “teaching list.” Then, strip my Great Gargant and paint 3000 pts of Orks.
-Warmachine: Menoth starter box after Epic. ON HOLD.
-Necromunda: Delaque gang. ON HOLD.
-Azure Flames: I recently bought 5 Maximus armour Marines from Forge World. I’m going to custom-mod these by adding sculpted flames and braziers to them to make the Lightguard: Chapter Master Perseus’ Honour Guard. I’ll never use ’em but they’ll look FANTASTIC. I’ve also got a few plans for another famous Azure Flames character… Status: ON HOLD. The Flames are complete enough for now.
-Orks: Need to complete painting all minis, possibly buy one more box of Boys but no more. Status: ON HOLD though I might bump these in front of the Flames now that the weather’s nice.
-The Saratogan 58th: Need to build most of the minis and paint up at least 1500 points to start learning how to play Guard. Status: ON HOLD. Way too much on my plate to start an army from almost scratch.
The Dice Abide
Lexington just clued me into his new communal blog: The Dice Abide. Some good stuff there. I’ve added them to the blogroll. Check it out.
Why do you do this?
As those 3 people who read this blog know, I post each link to each new post on my Facebook page so that friends can keep up with my inane, possibly syphilis-induced ramblings. Some, however, have no idea what I do this blog and this hobby for.
So, why again with the tiny mans and the painting?
1. It’s awesome. Seriously, who doesn’t think that an army of nine-foot tall super soldiers clad in powered armour is cool? If you said “me” then do everyone a favor and jump out of a tall building, please. I wouldn’t play a game if I thought the idea behind the game was dumb.
2. It gives me an outlet for my artistic imagination. During almost all of my pre-college years, I was vehemently anti-art. In high school I had some fun in Metals, Ceramics, and Drawing and Painting, but most of the time I felt inadequate based on the works of the talented artist kids in the room. Plus, my elementary art teacher was a HORRIFIC NIGHTMARE of a woman for whom all I did was worthless and deserving of hate and venom. When I started painting minis, not only did it fill the vacuum in my creativity left empty for so long, but it also made me feel good because it was an art thing I was good at. Wooo self esteem.
3. All wargames are social. While there are a few people who just paint minis to paint them, I do it to play the game. To do this, I need people other than myself, which means getting out of the house and speaking to other human beings. This is one of the few things keeping me from letting my beard grow and saving my urine in a jar.
4. It’s fun. The entire point to do all of these things is to have fun. If you don’t think wargaming can be fun then A: youve never tried it, B: you haven’t found the right wargame that appeals to your aesthetic and creative tastes, or C: you suck. For A and B, the answer is to get gaming and ask people about games they play. For C, stop sucking.
So there’s another little manifesto whipped into the internet due to boredom. I hope you relieved as much boredom from reading it as I did by writing it. Now, as cliches are the order of the day, I shall ride off into the sunset. Goodnight and good luck.
Finally able to join Mini Art of War!
The above shot of a ridiculously cool Chaos army is courtesy of Ogre44 of Mini art of war. There’s a new link off to the right. I’ve posted on this blog about them, but it’s time for a recap.
In February I was playing a game of Gothic against John. I met some Epic players who were very nice and directed me to the forums. Sadly the confirmation email system was broken and I couldn’t join. But now I’m registered and looking forward to getting some Epic games on!
…I need to get painting.
Blood Bowl Down Kroxigor Marker
In Blood Bowl, most teams get one large model. (Ogres get three) It’s a huge pain whenever this model gets knocked over, because they are so much taller than other models. It’s even worse for my Kroxigor, as he doesn’t like to lie on his back
Solution: a marker that replaces the Kroxigor when he’s knocked down. The Blood Bowl Kroxigor comes with 2 pewter heads. I puttied the head I didn’t use to a normal base, and painted it with the same scheme as the Kroxigor. Now keeping track of the Kroxigor is easy.
As a bonus, last game my Kroxigor levelled up for the 2nd time, and now knows Block AND Guard! Huzzah!
The Victory Point, the Kill Point, and Missions (or, Get Off My Lawn, you kids!)
One of the most hotly contested parts of 5th edition is Kill Points. After all, it seems to hideously disadvantage certain armies (orks, guard, nids) and greatly favor others (Chaos, Marines etc.). If only there was some way to value a unit based on how powerful it was and judge the game on that…
Oh. Wait. We already had that. It was called Victory Points and it used the exact same points system that you use to make your army! Essentially a destroyed unit gave it’s full points cost to the opponent, and a 50% unit or an immobilized vehicle gave 50% of its points. It made it so that armies that had a lot of cheap units was just as tactically viable as an army that had few expensive units.
Now admittedly in 5th ed’s awful mission system, only 1/3 of the games rely on kill points. But it’s just stuck with me how unfair kill points are to the horde armies.
Some have defended Kill points in that in the Victory Point system, you didn’t tend to risk expensive units. After all, if they kill your expensive Space Marine Command Squad with a lucky tank shell, you were out almost 400pts, handing the victory to the enemy. With Kill Points, your decked out command squad is worth just as much as a 10 grot mob, so if you lose it, big deal. While this is valid, it’s not a good enough reason to keep kill points.
The bottom line? We need more missions. I liked the mission book at first, but if the main missions in the rulebook are chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream cones, then the missions book is chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream in a bowl. It’s the same idea, presented slightly differently.
We need more flavors. We need a new missions book that is the Baskin Robbins of 40K. Bring back Meat Grinder, Assassinate! and Breakout. I had some amazing games with those old missions. Let’s get some variety.