Join our WoW guild!

Time for some advertisement and some non-Warhammer related jibba-jabba!

With the release of World of Warcraft: Caraclysm, me an a bunch of my friends decided to play again. We wanted something new and fresh, so we began from level 1, on a new server. A PvP server nonetheless! I have to say, leveling a new character through the Shattered Azeroth is so much fun. A totally new experience with amazing new quests.

We are playing on Horde side on the Laughing Skull server, which is located in Chicago. It is a PvP server and I encourage you to give it a try, since there is nothing better than ganking Alliance players when you are bored from questing. Our guild name is   and all of the guild ranks are inspired from the Adeptus Astartes. Neophyte, Initiate, Battle Brother, Veteran, Captain, Chapter Master (we have Master of the Fleet, Master of the Arsenal, Master of the Recruits, Master of the Forge, etc.) and finally I am the Grand Master.

Our ranking system is actually pretty sweet and is focused on proving your dedication to the guild by donating gold, participating in events, recruiting and leveling your professions. There are also tons of nifty rituals tied to each one. For example, the rank of Captain is given to people who are considered to be the most experienced in their class (Hunter Captain, Warrior Captain..) and each Captain creates his own 5-man team capable to run instances. A Captain is responsible for his squad to be ready for raids or events and is expected to answer class-specific questions. In guild Battleground runs each squad is supposed to move as a whole and follow the Captain's lead. Someone can always challenge a Captain's rank if they meet the prerequisites. They must also defeat each member of the squad in a duel.

We are still a young guild in need of any and all classes. When we get enough people we will be doing tons of PvP and raiding. I'd like to consider a casual guild with the main purpose of experiencing the new content in all ways possible.

If you are interested, my Goblin Hunter's name there is Squighoppa.

Kustom Ork Apocalypse Datasheet: Magnokinetik Lifta Wagon Battery

The Lifta-Droppa has always been my favorite thing about my Stompaz. It is so fluffy, so.. Orky and is always so much fun to use during a nice game of Apocalypse.  Once I heard about the option to field a Battlewagon (the Lifta Wagon featured in IA 8 - Raid on Kastorel-Novem) equipped with a Lifta-droppa my jaws did some dropping of their own. I just had to do a formation that would combine the powers of a few lifta-droppas. Just... had... to. It is a pretty expensive formation, given that Lifta Wagons are like 225 pts. each...

Tell me what you think..

Magnokinetik Lifta Wagon Battery                                                               Points: 150 + MODELS
Fascinated with the utility and unlimited power of magno-traktor beams a Big Mek once gave birth to the idea of combining the charges of numerous lifta-droppas "just ta see wut happenz". Already, mounting lifta-droppas on top of Battlewagons or "Lifta Wagons" was a very popular (although extremely dangerous and reckless!) practice, but he craved for something bigger and flashier. He was not prepared for the charge of the traktor beams to rip out all of his cybork implants, however. 


The Magnokinetik Lifta Wagon Battery features a squadron of at least three Lifta Wagons lead by a Big Mek with a Kustom Force Field daring enough to control this weapon of wanton destruction. Able to combine their tractor beams, the Lifta Wagons are capable of moving mountains of junkyard crap: naturally even multiple vehicles and Super Heavies are not safe. Operating withing the protection of their own magnetic field, the Lifta Wagon Battery is a valuable asset to any Waaaagh!

FORMATION:
3+ Lifta Wagons
1 Big Mek with a Kustom Force Field
One Lifta Wagon must be designated as the command tank. The Big Mek rides in it!

SPECIAL RULES:

Don't Kross Da Beamz! - The combined force of many traktor beams is truly devestating and just like most Ork teknology it defies all laws of physics, all logic and most of all - all sense. The Lifta Wagons focus their lifta-droppas at a target designated by the Big Mek and created a gigantic magnetic field that could move mountains of scrap metal and all sorts of random junk including any soon-to-be-lifted-and-then-dropped-from-the-skies enemy vehicles.

                                                      Range             STR        AP                          Special
Magnokinetik Traktor Beam       48"                     -            -         Apocalyptic barrage (*). Lifta-droppa

All vehicles (even wrecked ones), vehicle squadrons, Super Heavies and small pieces of terrain that would normally be affected by powerful magnetic fields (tank traps, barbed wires, barrels) even partially touched by the Apocalyptic Barrage are treated as being hit by a Lifta-droppa. The standard rules apply and all vehicles must move the exact same distance in the direction of the scatter die. Super Heavies only suffer d3 glancing hits. Roll separately for the number of glancing hits on each vehicle.

*: The Magnokinetic Traktor Beam has a barrage rating of 1+1 per Lifta Wagon in the formation withing 12" of the Big Mek's command tank.


Ferromagnetik Force Shield - The Big Mek's own Kustom Force Field is drawing from the powerful energy supply of the Lifta Wagons and when combined with the magnetic field produces a unique form of protection. For all intensive purposes, the Ferromagnetic Force Shield counts as a Kustom Force Field. When a template weapon is targeting a unit within the range of the Ferromagnetic Force Field, roll a d6. On a 4+ reflect the shot from the place it hit up to 24'' in a random direction. In addition, during the Shooting phase you may choose not to shoot some of the Lifta-Droppas to increase the range of the Ferromagnetic Force Shield by d3 inches until your next turn.

Strike Force:  All units in the Magnokinetic Lifta Wagon Battery must be deployed within 12" of the command tank, or, if coming on from reserve they must enter the table within 12" of the point entered by the command tank.

Insane Njal Delivery System: Crouching Wolf, Hidden Tempest

I cannot possibly fall asleep, so it's time for some crazy talk. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.
Actually, please do. Then tell me all about it.

People seem to think of two, maybe three possible ways to protecting and delivering Njal Stormcaller:

1) In Land Raider with either Grey Hunters or Wolf Guard - VERY expensive, blocks line of sight and does not let Njal make use of his awesome shooting Psychic attacks.
2) In a Drop Pod with Grey Hunters or Wolf Guard - Good for unleashing a salvo at an enemy unit, slow down a horde unit with Murderous Hurricane or try to get an early Jaws of the World Wolf from a good angle. Leaves you open to the enemy when you want Njal to stay alive for as many turns as possible to reap the benefits of his Lord of Tempests.
3) On foot with Grey Hunters of Wolf Guard - Cheap, you have numbers and if you spam Storm Caller you'll get yourself a 5+ cover save in addition to your 3+ armor save or 2+ if with Wolf Guard in Terminator Armor. Cover save is wasted on them, however.

Now, here's what I think would be awesome:

This is just as bad ass!

Crouching Wolf, Hidden Tempest - The Berserker
Njal Stormcaller + 15 Blood Claws + Wolf Priest with Saga of the Hunter - Yes, all of them on foot. As long as you keep casting Storm Caller as one of Njal's psychic powers each turn, with the new FAQ concerning the Stealth you'll be getting from Saga of the Hunter (if one model in a unit has Stealth, the entire unit gets it) you''ll get a Fearless unit (with Saga of Majesty!!) that in the open has a 3+ armor/4+ cover save and Preferred Enemy with 60 basic attacks on the charge. For the points you're getting the numbers to protect Njal and he will make sure to protect his guardians as they are slowly advancing while a scary tempest is blackening the skies...

Surround your flanks with Rhinos and Land Raiders and you'll be able to get a 3+ save (as long as half the squad is being covered by your APCs). As long as you deny your enemy tons of line of sight (a building in the center would be gorgeous) you'll be able to deliver this massive force to the center of the table where you want Njal to be anyways.

"Shitty weather everywhere I go!"

Crouching Wolf, Hidden Tempest - For the Wolftime!
Slightly different, much cheaper version:
Njal Stormcaller + 15 Fenrisian Wolves (1 Cyberwolf) + Wolf Priest with Saga of the Hunter 
You save about 100 pts. with this variant and you will only lose an attack per model if you don't manage to charge. You get only a 6+ armor save but again with Storm Caller you get a 4+ cover save in the open and a 3+ cover save if already hugging some delicious cover. Oh, and the bulk of your guys get WS4 where the Blood Claws are only 3. No frag and krak grenades, though.


Just like any Njal list, you want your army to make sure he stays alive. March forward with your sneaky, storm-covered blob as your vehicles are covering your flanks - Cheap Razorbacks, Rhinos even a Land Raider will help you with that. A Land Speeder Squadron is also perfect - Turbo Boost them in front of the Crouching Wolf, Hidden Tempest and you'll have a 3+ cover unit protecting a 3+ cover unit. Again, protecting your flanks is vital so Wolf Scouts are ideal, because they'll have a 5/6 chance of coming from the side you need them to be. A Vindicator driving forward, parallel with your blob would also be threatening. Or how about two on your flanks?

What do you think? Is this crazy enough? Or does it fail because it's deviating from the "All Grey Hunters. All Long Fangs. All the Time." mentality? Would you give it a shot?

Ultramarines: Movie Report

And They Shall Know No Fear!

Yes, I saw Ultramarines - the way an Ork Freeboota would, but mainly because I wasn't so sure about what to expect. Obviously, my expectations were low. Everyone kept on saying that the graphics were bad, that they were outdated and flimsy, but I think it's because people are so used to Pixar's beauty or the 2 minute CGI trailers/cut scenes that are in every game nowadays.. 

But I liked it. Yes, I still dislike the Ultramarines as a whole, but the movie made them cool if even for an hour and 10 minutes. I think whatever concept the team behind this project tried to portray it succeeded. Was the movie grimdark? It was. Were Space Marines portrayed as overpowered, invincible munchkins? No, they were not. Ultramarines argued, doubted each other, died and became corrupt, which was what I liked about this movie. It felt... realistic?
People always seem to bitch and moan about how easy Space Marines are to kill in Warhammer 40,000, how they are supposed to be godlike with nigh-invincible armor and how bolt guns should be able to completely annihilate anything they touch. But the same people seem to forget that the Adeptus Astartes are just humanity's best. Out there lurk horrors, xenos and Chaos beings that will always make a mockery of them. Just take a look at any of the Horus Heresy books. Space Marines die in droves. Sure, in the end they win... but it really doesn't take a whole lot to kill them. Megarachnids, Laer, Plaguebearers, Interex = they all rend through power armor like it's made of paper, and those are just some of the enemies that the various Adeptus Astartes encounter..

But in Ultramarines death was everywhere. I could feel how hard it was for the squad of Marines to see their brethren die, could feel their pain as they watched the Apothecary harvest the gene-seed in front of them..

Only in death does ugliness end.

Dan Abnett's writing really captured the essence of the Ultramarines - their pride, their thirst for glory, the need to be the best, the teamwork.. The plot was not super original, but I'll assume that it was Abnett's first attempt to write for a movie and that he wanted something simple that not only the Warhammer 40,000 fans would get and enjoy. It's a double-edged chainsword but it only makes sense..

The move is very suspenseful and it feels more like a horror than an action movie. That I liked a lot.

So that's why Marneus is so ugly..

I heard a lot of complaints about the Space Marine's faces. What? They were amazing... mostly. There were scenes where the emotions were portrayed perfectly and the supreme vox (lol) actors were matched with some pretty convincing lip synchronization. In the books, the Adeptus Astartes are often portrayed as weird looking. A lot of them are handsome, but many are described as having strange features, with too much space between their facial features, etc. Imagine an Ultramarine fighting on different fronts - different gravity, atmosphere, radiation, sunlight. Add to that the fact that they are practically mutants and some of the weirder-looking faces will make sense. The years of service on different planets throughout the galaxy would make even the Emperor's chosen to look like shit. ;P

In general, the movie was alright. Amazing voice acting, okay plot, okay CGI. Hopefully enough people bought the DVD and I'm really hoping to see another one. At least we get to see some of the cool parts of the 40k fluff. Like, it was awesome to see how a Land Speeder moved.. Or the destructive power of a Chaplain's Crozius Arcanum.. :-D

7/10

Over and out.

I guess I'm not naughty..

Hey there, guys! Just came back from the cozy little Christmas party that the local Games Workshop hosted with a gift that pleasantly surprised me AND made the little cogwheels in my brain spin in all directions.

Zoom Zoom Zoom...

For this Christmas, my wish list included a plethora of pretty crazy things, mostly because I just wanted to throw down some expensive items for the heck of it. I didn't even know we were going to do Secret Santa.. The only cheaper things on the list were some Space Wolves Techmarines and a Land Speeder. Oh and a new cube of green dice. The rest was just crazy - Ork Battlewagons, Deff Dreadz, The Horus Heresy - Collected Visions, Forge World Space Wolves Dreadnought. Oh, and a Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer kit.

Now, the minimum cost was $30 - just enough for a box of guys without being too expensive so that more people could participate. Naturally, I assumed I was gonna get a Land Speeder, since it was the only "economy class" item on my list. I know I got the person I drew one. I really wanted one, eventually two multi-melta/heavy flamer variants swooping around and causing havoc. What can I say, I'm a real sucker for versatilty.

However, I was really hoping not to get one just because it would have been weird to get what I was giving.. you know? Like I was buying my own gift... But at that point I had just assumed that some little kid had drawn my name. It only made sense that I was getting a Land Speeder. People were hinting at it. There were even two Land Speeder boxes missing from the shelves... I even played around with my current list to see how I would manage to fit two Land Speeders in it.

"Deep Strike? We'll just cram down your throat!"

But! It was my friend Vince who was my Secret Santa and he got me a Land Raider Crusader/Redeemer! What a great gift! You know, the current prize tag on this bad boy, the abundance of melta weaponry and now lances always made me cringe at the thought of ever fielding one. However, I always die a little inside every time someone fields one against me. I don't know why.. Maybe it is because of my pre-Deff Rolla Ork dayz..

I know that all of the Space Wolves options that are fit for a Land Raider are alright. Our Terminators are very pricey if you want to give them cool weapons and Blood Claws are a one-hit wonder at best..
I think what I'll do is try a few different things. I have always, always wanted to field Arjac Rockfist and now that I have the means to transport him I don't see why not! Maybe he'll fit in just fine with a nice big unit of Grey Hunters or as a Blood Claws babysitter inside a Land Raider Crusader.

Choices, choices.. I'll have to use this in bigger games, though. I am not getting rid of Skarvald's entourage of Thunderwolf Cavalry. Something tells me that combining a Thunderwolf Cavalry deathstar with a Land Raider deathstar will cost me some games... But it WOULD be cool.

Man, this is literally like sculpting. I can see this piece of precious rock and I'm trying to figure out how to give it life..

Any ides, suggestions, cool stories (bro)? I am all Acute Senses..

My Age of Strife is over!

Finally!
It feels so good to be finally sitting in front of my own computer (which similarly to our Rogue Trader frigate is named Scalpelexis). I literally just helped my dad to fix it and with some quick prayers to the Omnissiah, the venerable Machine Spirit of the Scalpelexis smiled upon us and decided to die another day! I am still on the watch and hopefully the old symptoms won't come back, because I was seriously expecting my PC to burst into flames...


I can finally understand the frustration and horror that existed during the Age of Strife. It is scary what even a few weeks of lack of communication and information can do to someone who takes them for granted.. Combine that with the shorter days and the time spent in my not-so-well lit room and you get the good Old Night..

I guess what happened was my dad pulled computer's heat sink but also managed to pull the processor which was attached to it. Thinking they were supposed to be one piece he also tried to put the processor back with the heat sink on top of it, which resulted in some bent processor pins. But we fixed it.. and I guess it's all that matters now, eh?

Other than that... Not sure if I have mentioned that I'm reading the Horus Heresy right now...? I just finished Mitchel Scanlon's "Descent of Angels", which is book #6 in the series, even though some of the books are pretty stand-alone. I just bought Dan Abnett's "Prospero Burns" and I'm still trying to decide whether I should read that first or "A Thousand Sons", since both books describe the same event but from different perspectives. Hm, maybe I should just make this easy and read Graham McNeil's "Mechanicum"? While I itch to read my first Space Wolves-oriented novel, I am also very fond of the dealings of the Adeptus Mechanicus. For the past few months I've been roleplaying a Vostroyan Explorator in my friend's Rogue Trader campaign and I just love the fluff..

Space Wolves Progress:  The shoulders and right knees of pretty much all Grey Hunters and Long Fang models were painted a 50/50 mix of Mechrite Red and Blood Red. We're slowly but surely getting there. At least the wolves are not one color now, right? I also did some touch-ups on the first coat of Shadow Grey and did some blacklining wherever I messed up before. Expect pictures!

Still Alive!

Hey there, Battle Brothers!
Just a quick note about my recent absence and the lack of posts..I've been having problems with the fan of my beloved PC and when my dad opened it up to clean some of the dust, etc. etc. he also removed the processor in order to clean around and beneath it. Unfortunately, when he tried to put it back he managed to bend 4 or 5 of the many pins. I know it is fixable, but with finals, work and more around the corner we just haven been able to repair it.
Add to that some glitches with the Internet connection and some nasty cold weather here in Chicagoland and maybe you'll understand my frustration.... ;_;


 I've been playing a bunch of games, though - I wrote up and ran a Spearhead Free For All event a little after Thanksgiving (it was appropriately named "Tanksgiving") and participated in a very cool Apocalypse game with 3,000 pts. of Space Wolves. My first bigger game with my Wolves, in fact. My Wolves were bravely defending an important bastion from the invading Orkz, Chaos Space Marines and Tyranids while Skarvald the Troll-faced reaped a great tally by slaying an incredibly powerful Daemon and then counter-attacking Ghazghkull and his Nobz.

 Our local Games Workshop also ran a 400 pt. Combat Patrol tournament of which I also have some nifty picture.
I will do my best to write up some battle reports for you guys.
In the mean time I will try to catch up with the painting of my Space Wolves..

Thanks for the patience!
- Skarvald the Troll-faced