Welcome back to the second article and the continuation of "The Alpha Legiondary Journey". Hopefully you have read and enjoyed Part I where I listed some of the goals and concepts that I'm shooting for with this series and as to why I will not be using Codex: Chaos Space Marines as the core for my Alpha Legion list. Evaluating Codex: Space Marines The Space Marines have been out for quite a while now and everyone and their mother are familiar with their pros and cons, their strengths and weaknesses. The tricky part is evaluating said characteristics and figuring out what can be applied to the Alpha Legion doctrine - what works and what does not.
There is a caveat, however: Supposedly the 6th Edition version of Codex: Space Marines will be hitting the shelves by the end of the year, so this article may not be relevant for long. I doubt, however, that GW will tinker with their favorite poster child too much.
Pros: Tons of incredibly flexible and customizable options, Combat Squads mimics the division of small, Alpha Legion cells, Combat Tactics can be a great bait-and-switch mechanic, many options to play with USR abilities such as Infiltrate, Move Through Cover, Scout as well as the option of having your entire list Outflank. Because of Combat Squads and Chapter Tactics, there is a lot of strategy and trickery to consider before and during deployment, really allowing you to analyze the situation and change the way your army is split and deployed. Cons: Really.. not a whole lot. The Codex is so big that there are plenty of options to consider and use and the real cons do not really apply to the Alpha Legion play style. By itself, Codex: Space Marines totally fits the doctrine of Alpharius' progeny. What is important to figure out is if it should be used as the core for the Alpha Legion list.
I really don't know where to begin with this Evaluation as there are some great Alpha Legion tidbits.
Combat Squads is just great and allows you to play your Alpha Legion list as a collection of small, but elite cells of special operatives by splitting your 10-man squads into two 5-man squads. With some Chapter Tactics this can be pretty interesting and especially useful in non KP missions. Consider the following:
Using Kor'sarro Khan's Chapter Tactics (All units can Outflank) can allow you to have a small squad with a Heavy weapon on an objective and then the other part of the squad is equipped for tank hunting (melta, combi-melta on the sergeant) and Outflanking to screw with your opponent's plans.. and nerves.
Chapter Tactics of note..
Without a doubt, the winner here is Kor'sarro Khan's ability to give your entire army (or all Space Marines, at least) the ability to Outflank! Just this little rule is enough to create an Alpha Legion army using the Khan as an HQ and unlocks so many options in addition to the huge list of units available to Space Marine players. I am not sure if taking Bikers is the thing for me - they are great and Khan lists have proven to be competitive in 6th Edition, yet I am not really convinced that they are Alpha Legion material. Giving the option of Deep Striking units such as Terminators or Sternguard Veterans the ability to Outflank is great in certain scenarios and situations where terrain or enemy deployment is making Deep Striking too dangerous or impossible.
Another interesting option to consider is Pedro Kantor whose Chapter Tactics give your army Stubborn and makes the amazing Sternguard Veterans scoring... AND whose Inspiring Presence works just like a Chapter Banner (+1A to all friendly units within 12''). Kantor is amazing in lists which utilize Drop Pod Assault as their main strategy. Drop Pods, however, are not to my liking - they make sense, but it is not how I envision the Alpha Legion. Best part about Pedro Kantor, however, is The Orbital Bombardment. Just because.
Changes 6th Edition Assaults on Turn 1 or the Turn You Infiltrate/Outflank - Unfortunately, some pretty cool units which were very popular in 5th Ed. are now... kind of questionable at best. Keyvaan Shrike's ability to launch crazy assaults with Fleeting Terminators, for example used to be awesome. Both this ability and the Fleet USR took a hit, though.
Special Mention:
+Thunderfire Cannon and Techmarine: Man, where do I even begin? As a Space Wolves player, the Surface Detonation (S6, AP5, Heavy 4, Blast); Airburst (S5, AP6, Heavy 4, Blast, Ignores Cover) and Subterranean Blast (S4, AP-, Heavy 4, Blast, Tremor) gets you a unit which can deal will all sorts of infantry. Tremor is just awesome against assaulty units as well. IN ADDITION, the Techmarine can repair vehicles and Bolster Defenses is just.. awesome - the ability to increase the cover save of a Ruined building in your deployment zone is fantastic and has great synergy with any Heavy Support units you may have, especially those with Stealth.
Thunderfire Cannon is.. like.. the one thing I'd totally steal and add to my SW list. With Allies, I guess I can now, huh? The Thunderfire Cannon's supporting element is, for me, the epitome of all of the tactical shenanigans of Codex: Space Marines. Three modes of fire -
Basically an excuse to use the Warpsmith model.
This would definitely be a MUST for me if I were to play Codex: Space Marines, although I would have to go with the modeling of the Thunderfire Cannon differently. Not that I don't like it.. I was thinking of basically creating a Heavy Weapons platform with 3 Space Marines on it, each with a different kind of heavy weapon, all bunkered down and hiding behind some rubble.
+Torias Telion with Scoutsand Aegis Defense Line - Sergeant Telion is yet another character who does not need much explanation as he has been proven to get shit done and even more so in 6th Edition.Before, he used to be a 50 pt. model people took for his rules and because his Stealth USR saved them ~30 points on Camo Cloaks. Now, with the FAQ on how Camo Cloaks work (they give +1 to cover save, rather than Stealth), your scouts led by Sergeant Telion will enjoy a static +2 cover save.. and you don't even need the Boltered Defenses from a Techmarine! So a nice, bigass unit of Scouts with a Missile Launcher, Camo Cloaks, etc. and enjoy.
Hide behind an Aegis Defense Line with an Icarus Lascannon and enjoy your S9, AP1, Skyfire shots.. at BS6 and with Precision Shots from Telion.
Or play it safe with the Quad Gun.
+Scout Bike Squad with.... Cluster Mines! - I'd field this (perhaps) barebones unit of 3 Bikers just so I can scare the shit out of my opponent when he triggers my trap ca-- I mean, my cluster mines. 2d6 S4 AP- hits is actually pretty decent if you think about it and with the current game mechanics, if you roll well you can glance the shit out of most vehicles. Honestly, I just want to see someone move flat out into cluster mines and get wrecked. Besides, Gretchin need to do their job. Actually, I'm not even sure if It's a Grot's Life works against Cluster Mines... Laying the field with traps is very Alpha Legion-y, so not taking the one option allowing you to do so would be a letdown.
For the purposes of "The Alpha Legiondary Journey" I hereby declare Codex: Space Marines fit for my preferred Alpha Legion list. But will it be the one Codex I choose to go with? We'll see..
Welcome to "The Alpha Legiondary Journey" series, which is going to be my way of communicating, sharing and brainstorming with you - the blogosphere and wargaming community - as I slowly create a 2,000 points Alpha Legion-themed list to be used with the Warhammer 40,000 6th Edition ruleset. Originally I was thinking of calling this segment "Alpha Legioning it Up", but I'm pretty sure the fact that English is not my native tongue isn't the only reason why this title is unpronounceable. Yeesh.
My name is Skarvald the Troll-faced and I will be your host. Haha.
Let's start with the foundation of what "The Alpha Legiondary Journey" is trying to accomplish:
GOAL:
The goal of "The Alpha Legiondary Journey" is supposed to create an Alpha Legion list that is fun to play
with and against, stay true to the design of the Legion and remains fluffy. I will be using 6th Edition rules to accomplish this and will aim to create a 2,000 point list from the ground. Q: Why 2,000 points? A: A 2,000 points list is a nice, large army that can fit a lot of fun components in it. There is plenty of space to include a plethora of guys, toys and other things without having to sacrifice a lot of interesting options for efficiency's sake. Reducing the list down to 1850 or even 1500 points for various events and tournaments will be possible, but we are not trying to limit ourselves here. 2000 points will give us the space AND freedom to be creative.
Q: Will you be using Allies, Modified Force Organization Charts and/or Forge World rules and models? A: I will split this one into three.. Allies - YES: Oh, God. Definitely. I simply cannot a way around it besides using the Codex: Chaos Space Marines and spamming Cultist. I will not be doing that, actually. I'm also not going to be using the Chaos Space Marines codex at all, but I will justify this in a few. Double FOC - NO: While at 2,000 points I am technically "allowed" to do so, Double FOC remains a questionable practice and something that I don't really like. I might consider it and do some "fun" lists in the future once I have some of the elements, but "Double FOC" is not something that I'll be going for. Forge World - YES: Ah, the big one. YES. I am for Forge World? Why? Because Forge World models are gorgeous, have some pretty interesting rules and because people should embrace it. Not to mention that with the price-gouging of GW's prices, Forge World models seem more and more like the better option anyways. I will not be using a LOT from Forge World, but I expect this to change once the Alpha Legion gets its Horus Heresy treatment in a couple years. Currently I'm thinking of two models tops.
The
Alpha Legion epitomizes trickery, infiltration, outmaneuvering and
outsmarting and foot-slogging. While they are just as good (if not better) at prolonged,
direct combat, the Alpha Legion prefers to destroy from within, to
ambush and slowly chip away at the enemy and to manipulate using
subterfuge and propaganda. Information is crucial and the spy networks
organized by them are deep and complex. Basically, if each Legion was
represented by a god from the Norse Mythology, the Alpha Legion would be
Loki himself.
Anvil Industry. It's like Alpharius, Omegon and Sam Fisher had tons of lovechildren.
"Counts-As"/Interchangeable - If there is a Marine-based army whose style can be represented by more than one Codex, then it has to be the Alpha Legion. One of my main goals with this current Alpha Legion list and army is to create a foundation of units which can be used with more than one Codex. Currently I am looking at Codex: Space Marines; Codex: Chaos Space Marines and Codex: Space Wolves. The Alpha Legion have always been the most tactical fallen Marines. Many codices have a lot of fun and interesting ways of representing the Hydra's doctrine - from creating a Kor'sarro Khan list with tons of Outflanking due to his Combat Tactics, Combat Squad-ing Tactical Marines/Scouts and dropping elite Sternguard Veterans from the sky with Codex: Space Marines to all the infiltrating and Behind Enemy Lines fighting style of the Space Wolves..
In the next couple of posts I'll quickly evaluate a couple of the Codices which I think best fit the Alpha Legion style, choose the one I like the most and will ally Imperial Guard with it, because I consider I.G to be a necessary part of the Alpha Legion.
Chances are you already know what the Alpha Legion is all about. I actually jotted down a lot of my ideas like a year or so ago before 6th Edition's Codex: CSM even came out. A lot of my speculations and wish-listing was for nothing, it seems. Nonetheless, the Alpha Legion is about combining Power Armor and cheap, but elite infantry that Infiltrates, Scouts and catches the enemy completely unawares and with his pants down. Evaluating Codex: Chaos Space Marines
Codex: Chaos Space Marines
It's hard for me to choose which PA Codex would best represent the Alpha Legion play-style, strategy and mentality. Immediately, Codex: Chaos Space Marines stands out, though primarily because the Alpha Legion IS a Chaos Space Marine force to begin with. I tried and tried to force myself to like the Chaos Space Marine Codex. I really did. There are a lot of cool components about it - I like the ability to spam dudes in Power Armor and Cultists. And that's about it, really. My knowledge of 6th Edition is pretty limited, but every CSM unit has been dissected and over-analyzed by the community already - there are many losers and a few winners. Sadly, the winners are not those likely to wear the Hydra tattoo.
Pros: Cheap, customizable basic Chaos Space Marines, cheap and efficient Chaos Space Marine Bikers, Cultists. Cons: The part of Codex: CSM that got the most "love" in 6th Ed. is not really Alpha Legion material: Icons, Marks and any units with Marks, including Psychic Powers, any Daemonic units/upgrades and Daemonic Vehicles (Defilers, Forge Fiends, Maulers, Hell Drakes) do not make a whole lot of sense in an Alpha Legion list. While the Alpha Legion is known to deal and use daemonic forces and tools, the theme that I want to pursue is that of a foot-slogging, inflitrating elite force which surrounds and dismantles the enemy piece by piece.
Sadly, it seems like there are a couple of really niche and "mandatory" units in the Codex: CSM which make the ruleset shine.. *cough*Hell Drakes*cough*, while other units get to sit on the bleachers and carve the Chaos Undivided symbols on all surfaces available.
Special Mention:
+ Warp Talons - At one point I was semi-seriously considering a minimal squad of Warp Talons to just drop in and Blind a unit,
but with Blind being an Initiative check (too random and unpredictable)
and Warp Talons counting as demons I just couldn't justify it. Also,
talk about a one-trick pony!
+ The Warpsmith was also a
cool idea, which I quickly realized was not going to work for me due to
the lack of vehicles I plan to have on the battlefield. Being able to
give vehicles Gets Hot!, though... Sigh. Such a shame - the model is
gorgeous.
+ Chaos Cultists, while cool lack any sort of
decent customization. I'm glad that Chaos Space Marines finally got
them, but with the addition to the Allies option there really is no
reason to take them - Imperial Guard and Tau are better choices.
+ Dark Apostle
also gets a special mention as a way to make Cultist cool and give them
that extra flavor. Unfortunately there seems to be a pattern here -
Games Workshop seems to be making a lot of exceptionally jaw-dropping
models which happen to have really, really sub-par rules.
As a matter of fact, if Codex: Chaos Space Marines was not so limiting I could easily see myself using some of the "Special Mention" units. Unfortunately, I cannot justify it.
The main issue with Codex: CSM is the lack of the very important USR's for the Alpha Legion: Scout and Infiltrate. Chosen used to have access to it back in 5th Edition, but 6th Edition stripped them of that privilege and now the only two (well.. 3) ways to give your units some Infiltrate shenanigans and that is through the Master of Deception Warlord Trait which is conveniently given to two special HQ Characters:
- Huron Blackheart, who is a well-rounded character with some minor psychic abilities, decent ranged attacks and decent close combat capabilities, but nothing to write home about. Okay, but Master of Deception is a fickle thing, allowing d3 units to get the Infiltrate USR.
- Ahriman himself, a powerful psycher dedicated to Tzeench - Not Okay, because Ahriman is allied with Tzeentch, also see Master of Deception
- You could also run a Warlord and hope to roll Master of Deception.....
In the end, all the cool things in Codex: Chaos Space Marines end up verboten and trying to stretch the few elements that make sense for an Alpha Legion feels more like an annoying, unnecessary obstacle rather than a list-building challenge to me. Oh, and there's also the thing about Allies.. I, still, to this day don't get why Imperial Guard are considered Allies of Convenience with Chaos Space Marines! There are plenty of common reasons for both armies to fight together, following the Chaos Gods being the most obvious one, for example. You know, basically the mirror to why the I.G fight for the Imperium - because they believe in the God Emperor of Mankind and hate Chaos.
It's possible to make it work. It's not hard, but once again.. - an annoying little detail.
TL;DR: Codex: Chaos Space Marines is a huge NO-NO for me all things considered. I wouldn't mind playing an all-Nurgle Force one day, but for the purposes of "The Alpha Legiondary Journey"
Blah, blah, blah, you've read this here already and you've encountered similar posts on other blogs and websites scattered across this neat, little thing we call the Internet, haven't you? Well, no worries. I'm keeping this short.
Hey there, my fellow bloggers and blog lurkers! Long time no see, I suppose. It has been.. errr.. more than a month since I last posted here. A series of unfortunate events (sucky primer, a third of my paints drying or exploding, etc. etc) managed to throw a wrench in the clockworks of my hobby mojo at the very beginning, proving once again that Skarvald the Troll-faced is unable to hobby by himself.
No, seriously. Bad things happen whenever I finally sack up and start painting, folks. Add a few weeks worth of 100+ degrees and insane humidity in the Chicagoland and I think you get the picture. No hobby for Skarvald.
But not all is lost. My Khador WILL be painted one way or another. Probably not this month, because I'll be saving money for a NEW super secret hobby (Spoilers: I'll be making mead) and of course for the inevitable 6th Edition Starter Set and my next 40k Army...
But first.. 6th Edition: I still don't have the book. I haven't had the chance to go over the rules too much, except for randomly browsing the freebooted .pdf. Sue me. The book is $75. I'm waiting for the chibi booklet with all the important rules innit.
I still haven't played a game using the 6th edition rules, but I feel like I have a firm grasp of the rules. Some things I like, some things I love. Some things I dislike.. and some things I hate. But I'll get used to it, I suppose. Do I have an option? Overall I like the general feel of this new edition... We'll see if this still hold when I start playing it! :D
New 6th Edition Army:
I already have two armies: Orkz and Space Wolves.. so why a third army?
1) Orkz: Every time I look at my pile of Ork Boyz I just lose all desire to play them. They were my first army and I think I have 4 different Ork Squads painted TOTALLY different. Seriously - different greens, different shades, washes, different levels of effort. I kind of want to strip 80% of them and to start over.. but then I remember how painful it is paint Orkz. I still love painting Ork vehicles, though.
Orkz got a decent buff with how much easier it is to kill vehicles in close combat, although no consolidation still sucks. Random Assault distances are a pain. Still no Psyker support, except by allying a Farseer which is lame. Don't get to benefit from the new Psychic Powers.. at all. In general, shooty Orkz hiding in terrain and eventually counter-charging seems to be the best option and while this is a playstyle that I enjoy with my Orkz I'd rather wait for their new Codex in a coupe of years.
It's a shame. I have an unpainted Stompa, a Battlewagon, like 20 Burna boyz, Nobz, Deff Koptas.. etc. etc. etc. And HOTPanda is sending me a box of Killa Kans as well. Grrr...
WAIT. THIS JUST IN. THE MAILMAN JUST DELIVERED THE BOX OF KILLA KANS!!!
-Thanks, HOTPanda..
Robots!
2) Space Wolves - I have a Land Speeder, a Land Raider Crusader and a Land Raider Achilles that have yet to be painted. The new Citadel paint range killed me, man. I just don't have the will to start over, because it's impossible to mimic my current paintjob. I also want to repaint my Thunderwolves so badly. I dunno. I still want to play them, but I don't have a reason to expand the army anymore. We'll see..
And now for the new army that I really want to start..
Chaos Space Marines! Wooot! Even more power armor, baby! And more importantly.. it will be Alpha Legion!
Now, I know that there will be no Legion-love in the new CSM codex, so I'll have to be extra creative with which units I pick. One is for sure, though - the list will be heavy with Allies.
Imperial Guard, to be exact.
We all know that Codex: Chaos Space Marines is already finished and it's just a matter of time until it is released. The rumor mill is already spinnin' with delicious tidbits and so far things are lookin' pretty promising for the arch-enemies of the Loyalists.
And while I can all but speculate about the things in the Chaos Space Marine codex I can at least jot down some of the more promising and thematic units from Codex: Imperial Guard, which will be playing the role of Special Operatives and various agents, indoctrinated and placed by the Alpha Legion..
The Alpha Legion epitomizes trickery, infiltration, outmaneuvering and outsmarting. While they are just as good (if not better) at prolonged, direct combat, the Alpha Legion prefers to destroy from within, to ambush and slowly chip away at the enemy and to manipulate using subterfuge and propaganda. Information is crucial and the spy networks organized by them are deep and complex. Basically, if each Legion was represented by a god from the Norse Mythology, the Alpha Legion would be Loki himself.
Next post I'll share with you some of my ideas.. Until then.. uuuh... imagine the awesomeness of the first Forge World Horus Heresy book coming out this August?
I'm sure that a lot of you already know that there's going to be a Special Operations: KILLZONE event at Adepticon 2012 and that it will be ran by Brain from A Gentleman's Ones and the duo from Wolves for the Wolf God: Skarvald the Troll-faced (yours truly) and the ever-elusive "Frozencore" Joe.
We are going to be showcasing the third and final (until 6th edition, that is) version of Killzone and of course we'll be presenting the ten 3'x3' tables that we have been working on.
There was a lot of this.
Personally, I can't wait to show our efforts to you. And I can't wait to play on them, to actually play some Killzone, it has been so long since we released the final version of the rules! I an't wait to be finally done with the tables and the organization. I just want to relax for a bit. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the last few months have been hectic at best and this whole ordeal has been feeling more like a second job than a hobby, but only because all three of us had to juggle that with life and school. You know, the usual interferences.
If I was asked to do it again, I'd say "Yes!" in a heartbeat.
But this is not the time nor the place for me to discuss what has been happening behind the curtains with the Chicago Operatives.
I want YOU to stop by and say "Hi!" to us if you are at Adepticon. If you are a reader of Wolves for the Wolf God
and/or if you frequent Brian's blog please feel free to visit the SO: Killzone tables. I'm not 100% where they are going to be this year, but last year we were sandwiched between the tables for the Team Tournament and the Crystal Brush. Bah, you'll find us.
We WANT to talk to you. Yes, YOU. We want to hear what you think of our blogs, of KILLZONE, of the tables. We want to hear your suggestions. This is more or less a community project done for the wonderful miniatures war-gaming community. And heck, if you like what you see record a video or take a bunch of pictures. Help us spread the word about Special Operations: Killzone. We are very proud of what we have to offer and want to see this wonderful skirmish version of Warhammer 40,000 in every little store, in people's basements and even in your local Games Workshop stores. Blog about it, share it on Facebook, tweet about it.. I dunno, lol.
Oh, we also accept drinks as gratitude. Hahaha. No, seriously. This is my first Adepticon in which I can legally imbibe alcoholic beverages. I'm a Space Wolves player (actually, all three of us are). Don't let me leave the convention sober.
We'll be at Adepticon on Thursday, setting up the tables, so if you are good at stalking you might be able to find us and catch the first glimpse of the Killzone tables.
On Friday we are going to be running 2 Special Operations: Killzone events from 10am to 10pm with a break from 3pm to 5pm. You'll find us where the tables are at.
On Saturday the crew will be all over the place. I'm not sure about Joe or Brian, but I will be playing in the Warhammer 40k Team Tournament from 7am until 10pm, so all you have to do is find what table "The Justice League" is playing on. I'll be running the same list I ran last year with some buddies. This time we are just doing it for teh lulz with almost no preparation whatsoever. We're just going to be putting models on the tables and hope for the best... of times. I'll be drinking. Heavily.
Actually, Brian will be playing in the Warhammer 40k: Combat Patrol with his Necrons, but I'm not sure if it's going to be the 9am-2pm or the 5pm-10pm event.
On Sunday, before the three of us run the last SO: Killzone event from Noon to 4:30pm, we are all going to participate in the Freeblades event from 9am to 11am. I have no idea what it is, but it was cheap and at a time that was available for all of us. I have no doubt that it's going to be a blast, though.
Speaking of buying drinks and war-gaming in general, have you guys read what Dark Future Games has to offer? If you're at Adepticon and you see any of the awesome dudes from Dark Future Games you can get your name in a raffle to win a FREE Battleforceor an equivalent of one. All you have to do is buy any of them ANY drink and every drink will get you a raffle ticket. How awesome is that? Pretty awesome, but not as awesome as the guys from Dark Future Games and not even close to being as awesome as their newest banner.
By the way, DARK FUTURE GAMES DUDES, you are reading this please bring me one of those awesome T-shirts. I MUST have one. I'll pay you or get you drunk, whatever.
Well, folks, I never thought I'd say it but.. I bought a White Dwarf.. and I liked it (and yes, I shamelessly stole that line from Meat for Meta). April's 2012 US WD387 is truly filled with awesomesauce and I think that for once the $9 tag is almost justified. There a bunch of new things to take a look at - the brand-spankin-new Empire range of miniatures with a beautiful illustration of the Empire's territory; (During the reign of Karl Franz, 2522) the final part of Warhammer Fantasy's Civil War Expansion featuring rules for the Empire, the Dwarfs and the Skaven; tons of painting tutorials, tips and tricks using the new 145 brand-new Citadel Paints but most important of all - three brand new missions and new ways to spice up your game by using PHIL KELLY's..
Death Worlds, WD387 April 2012
Death Worlds: Warhammer 40,000 Battle Missions
"Tread carefully, brother, for here even the battlefield is your enemy."
This expansion for the Warhammer 40,000 Battle Missions supplement/expansion provides you with 3 new missions to challenge your list-building skills and your skills on the tabletop.
The expansion focuses on those battles waged on the Death Worlds of the Imperium of Mankind. On the second page you will find Imperial accounts (by the Administratum) on four Death Worlds: Fenris, Sycodax, Luther McIntyre and Catachan. It's nothing too substancial or new, but it's certainly a nice touch. Gotta love the "Population: Survey Failed" tidbit about Fenris, though.
The premise is actually quite simple.
Battle Missions: Death Worlds uses five charts to add some grim realism to your games of Warhammer 40,000. The first chart is called the Hazard Randomiser Table and has 6 results on it. Rolling on it tells you how to proceed after that. Four of the results (2-4) tell you to use one of the following Death World Hazards, a 1 lets your opponent choose which table is used and a 6 lets you choose which table is used. You roll each turn to see which table you use and then you apply the effects, kind of like fielding Njal the Stormcaller. See? Pretty darn simple.
Then there are the four Death World Hazards: - Environmental Hazards - Seismic Hazards - Indigenous Hazards - Hellscape Hazards
Each table has 6 possible results and they are all very different. Some are just minor nuiscances (like a few D6 worth of S1 AP- hits on all non-vehicle units) others will bog your units down making terrain difficult and/or dangerous and others are pretty random and with high chance of pain. Nothing as asinine, game-breaking and overpowered as some of the Warhammer Fantasy spells, mind you.
My only issue is that too many effects mess with non-vehicle units, units outside of transports, etc. giving non-mechanized armies the short of the stick more often than not. However, with some luck and clever table-choosing it may not be SO bad.
Speaking of Hazard Randomiser Tables..
old man Njal has a few words to say.
You can play normal games and just add the Death World Hazards, you can also add them to your games of Apocalypse or even to all of the other Battle Missions since they don't mess with mission objectives OR you can play one of the three new Death World Battle Missions: Search and Rescue, Breakthrough and Weather the Storm! Each one is pretty unique and personally I think that the hazards further enhance the gameplay, especially in the last two missions.
It's pretty crazy, actually.
I know I already linked you to Meat for Meta's article, but lemme do it again.
He seems to share my excitement about the newest White Dwarf issue and the new Battle Missions issue in general and then adds some pretty WILD speculations about Warhammer 40,000's 6th Edition.
Personally (and I might be a minority here) I seriously hope that missions follow the Battle Missions template in 6th Edition. It's just so much fun, it's fluffy and generic enough to make sense in conflicts between all the armies. I really like the visual of how the table is divided, where the deployment zones and table edges are and even where the objectives are supposed to go. It really helps with setting up the board.
Aditionally, I would rather have a few tables that add some variety to game play rather than having to roll for randomized terrain and then having to remember what each piece does throughout the entire game.
With table-wide effects you roll at the beginning of the turn, apply the effects.. and you're done! It could even be an actual official phase - Terrain phase.
It's actually kind of doubtful, though, because Games Workshop will surely try to capitalize on new terrain kits and we'll get to field a gazillion towers, because that's all the terrain that Games Workshop seems to be making. The Garden of Morr is pretty awesome and an exception to this rule, though.
I'm actually might go to Staples and ask them to spiral-bind my copy of Battle Missions and then add the Death World expansion inside. How awesome would that be?
I am also kind of curious about the promised tutorials on how to make and paint some of the featured icy terrain which can be seen in the battle report between the Harald Deathwolf's Great Company and Hive Fleet Kraken.
And because I am a dreamer..
1) With Harald Deathwolf having his own story and a set of decals for his Great Company, wouldn't it be awesome for Games Workshop to give him some stats and special rules? Yes, I know that we already have a Wolf Lord on a Thunderwolf that's a Special Character, but .. come on!
2) You know what Space Wolves are missing? Their own Battle Missions. SERIOUSLY, Games Workshop. You gave Sisters of Battle, Grey Knights and Blood Angels their own sweet Battle Missions, but Space Wolves don't get their own set? D;
New Space Wolves Achievements: What's That Lassie? Little Timmy Fell Down the Well? - Win the Search and Rescue mission from the Death Worlds: Battle Missions Scenarios expansion with Codex: Space Wolves. The Dog Days Are Over! - Win the Breakthrough mission from the Death Worlds: Battle Missions Scenarios expansion with Codex: Space Wolves.
Thunderstruck - Win the Weather the Storm mission from the Death Worlds: Battle Missions Scenarios expansion with Codex: Space Wolves. Through Hell and Back - Win all three missions from the Death Worlds: Battle Missions Scenarios expansion with Codex: Space Wolves. Conductor of Lightning, Not a Lightning Conductor
- While playing the Weather the Storm mission from the Death Worlds:
Battle Missions Scenarios expansion, have Njal Stormcaller survive the
Lightning Strikes Twice special rule by saving all the wounds from two
consecutive Seeker Lightnings. Teaching an Old Dog a New Trick -
While playing a game using the Death World Hazards tables, apply the
Gravitic Anomaly from the Hellscape Hazards on a unit of Wolf Guards in
Terminator Armor and force them to be placed in reserve and re-enter
play by Deep Strike on their next turn. Who says that Space Wolves
Terminators can't teleport?
Hey there, Battle Brothers. Long time no see, but things here have been extremely busy with school, work and working with Frozencore Joe and Brian from A Gentleman's Ones on the Special Operations: KILLZONE tables (In case you have forgotten, we are working on TEN 3'x3' tables O_o)... Life happens, I suppose.
Today's Topic of Discussion
I'm here to quickly jot down a few words and share them with you, but before that here's something that I have been meaning to do for a while...
If you frequent this blog then you probably know about Special Operations: KILLZONE. And unless you have been living under a rock you probably already know that Brian is selling sets of sweet-lookin' TOKENS and CARDS designed specifically to be used in addition to your beautifully painted (right?) Special Operatives Team.
Brian has been working feverishly on them and they are simply beautiful and so, so elegant. I definitely think that they are necessary on the tabletop because.. well.. you have everything you need ON the tabletop: no annoying rules to remember, no more having to peruse the rulebook every time you want to check a mission detail. It's all on the cards and on the tokens. As Brian would surely say: Glorious.
And in all seriousness: Cards make almost everything better. I actually like to say that any game that has any cards in it instantly becomes more interesting and less of a "Serious business" ordeal. Being able to surprise your opponent and stop his evil master plan by playing your Fate cards has that sweet "You have triggered my trap card" vibe to it. It's hilarious and quite frankly - a must have.
And now for today's topic.
OMG!!1! GW HAS A NEW PAINT RANGE!1! PANIC!?!!! PANIC! BUY ALL AVAILABLE PAINTS BEFORE THEY DISAPPEAR. THE END IS NIGH!
...just kidding. Don't do that.
I'm kidding yet again. You SHOULD probably do that.
Just so you're on the safe side, ya know?
Games Workshop's paint range has seen plenty of changes throughout the years, but this one is by far the biggest change yet (I think?). Colors come and go and so do paint pots, but now we have more colors, a wider variety: glazes, bases, layers, shades, textures, dry paint, etc. etc. You can find a color chart on Games Workshop's website, but I think it's currently down and being fixed. Eh, who knows.
Obviously this raises some concerns. Are all the colors going to stay the same or are the formulas changing completely. From what I understand GW has a new paint factory/provider thing and while many of the colors are almost identical the formulas are not 100% and it is possible that some colors will be slightly different. Or very different. That's why the names of all the paints are different now. GW didn't want to be selling a Scorpion Green that's now quite like the Scorpion Green of the good old days.
Now, if you could please turn your attention to the first image of this blog post.. Or, you know what? I'll just post it again for all to see:
I got this cool little card from Games Workshop. They have a few for each of the three main games and cover some of the main factions. I thought it would be a good idea to grab the only Space Wolf card and share it with the blogosphere, considering that not everyone has access to a Games Workshop store in their area.
Now, this Space Wolf Grey Hunter is very different from the usual Space Wolves we've seen over and over again in Codex: Space Wolves and the multitude of White Dwarf magazines.
They are.. darker. Blue-er.
Here's a "collage" with some Pre-2012 Paint Change Space Wolves, some Pre-2012 Paint Change Ultramarines and Pedro Kantor.
Spot the Differences
Now, here's a curious questions: Is this new Space Wolf scheme going to be the NEW studio paint scheme for Space Wolves? What's going to happen with the "baby blue" Space Wolves?
More Gentleman's Grand Tournament! I have not forgotten about it, thankyouverymuch!
With game 3 and my victory against Clay's incredibly shooty and pesky Dark Eldar, it was time to meet my 4th opponent on Sunday. I was feeling pretty good and quite confident with my 2-1 record, but was now expecting to face something scary - perhaps a Grey Knights army.. or even more I.G?
I was wrong, though. Fate put me up against yet another Dark Eldar army, which was interesting considering there were only 3 Dark Eldar armies at the Gentleman's Grant Tournament to begin with. Well, this time I had some experience with the sinister Dark Elves from Outer Space and was going to do my best in order to keep winning.
Steve's list was very different from Clay's Dark Eldar. It still packed quite the punch in the Shooting phase, but its potency was all about Close Combat, baby.
A very potent Archon with all the goodies needed to kill my Thunderwolves, leading a 5-man Incubi unit in a Raider. A small 3-man unit of shooty Trueborn. For troops there were x3 identical Kabalite Wariors in Venoms with the usual poison crap and Nightshields. x2 Wyches with all the goodies in Raiders with Flicker Field and Night Shields. For Fast Attack - a bigass Beast Master squad with x10 Khymeras and 4 Razorwings. For Heavy Support - x3 Ravagers with Flickerfields and Night Shields.
Overall a very balanced list with enough shooting and plenty of close combat craziness to be problematic for me.
Round 4
Five by Five
This mission follows all the normal rules for games of Warhammer 40,000
as outlined in the Organizing a Battle chapter of the Warhammer 40,000
rulebook (e.g, Ending the Game [p. 90], Seize the Initiative! [p.92], Mission Special Rules [pp.94-95], etc.), except as already noted in your tournament rules packed and described below.
Overview of the table.. Pretty legit when ti comes to tournament terrain...
Deployment:
This mission employs the Pitched Battle deployment. (See p. 92 of the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook.)
Primary Objective (4 points) Marked for Death: To sum it up.. You choose 5 unit from your opponent's list and they are the only thing that count as Kill Points. Your opponent then does the same to your units. Whoever has the most KP wins the Primary.
Secondary Objective (3 points)
Follow the Seize Ground standard mission rules defined on p. 91 of the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook, except that you must employ 5 objective markers.
Tertiary Objective (2 points) Victory Points: Accumulate at least 250 Victory Points more than your opponent. Employ the Victory Points rules from p. 300 of the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook Reference.
To be honest.. this mission was very bad for my opponent. Very, very bad. Limited Kill Points is bad.. as if KP was not bad enough for Dark Eldar. I marked the Raider of the Incubi and the two Wyches units AND their Raiders for my Kill Points. Why? Because those squads had to come to me to do anything effective, which would expose them to my shooting and Grey Hunters. Besides, that gave me yet another reason to wreck their Raiders, because they would be practically useless on the field.
Steve marked my two Long Fang squads, my Thunderwolves and two of my Rhinos.
I had the first turn!
And here is my deployment. You can see that I chose the side with the best places for my Long Fangs. Not that they really need the cover, but if just feels right, haha. I had pretty good fire lanes. I deployed everything except the Thunderwolves and the Marked for Death Rhinos. My idea was to move the two Rhinos I had in position to where the objectives are and then to reinforce them with the Rhinos in Reserve. The Thunderwolves were there to counter-attack from Reserve as well. I knew that he would rush me with the Best Masters, so I had to think of ways to deal with them without allocating too much firepower.
Steve had a solid deployment. He positioned his Beasts as close as possible in a way that he could move them without going through difficult terrain and his Raiders were positioned as far as possible behind cover and giving each other cover as well. He was doing his best to avoid the range of my Long Fangs.
His x3 Ravagers were on the other side of the board doing their thing and staying out of range of my Long Fangs with their Night Shields and Flickerfields.
His Venoms were out of LoS behind a building. He had the small Trueborn squad in the middle, behind some ruins.
My Turn 1
Priorities had to be set. I was going to have to ignore the Ravagers for a while and do my best to slow his advance by destroying the Raiders. The Venoms were going to be a pain in the ass, but at least my Thunderwolves were not in play yet, so he would have to close in and shoot at the closest Long Fangs squad. I was okay with that..
My movement was limited. The Vindicator got inside the building and I can't quite remember if he managed to get a shot at the Beasts or not, but he really didn't do anything too spectacular. He was going to be my fire magnet. The Rhino on the left side, containing my Rune Priest moved 6'' to get a better LoS. Setting the Trap! Here is what I know about Beast units - They are scary, with tons of attacks at low-to-medium Strength. They have some trouble dealing with vehicles especially if those vehicles need 6's to be hit. The Rhino on the right was going to be bait and with some luck it was going to provoke Steve to assault it with the Beasts. My hopes were that he was going to roll low or average with his fleet move and then only be able to get in his Razorwing Flocks in there to do any damage. After that I was going to have him all clumped up for some template love and close enough to my table edge to assault him with my Thunderwolves from reserve. So I moved my Rhino the full 12'' towards his Beasts, but slightly at an angle and popped Smoke. Was the risk going to be worth it?
The Rune Priest inside the Rhino cast Living Lightning at the middle Raider, because I knew that only the front one would be in range for my Long Fangs. And what do you know, I made it explode! The Wyches poured out and most of them died to the explosion. 1 Kill Point for me. Second Raider got hit by five rockets and also exploded, killing a bunch of Wyches who then failed their Pinning check. 2 Kill Points for me.
Steve's Turn 1
He moved his Wyches in cover and then moved his last Raider as far as possible, hugging his long table edge. I guess he panicked and realized that only my Living Lightning was going to reach it? The Venoms quickly flanked me on my right like a swarm of pesky little flies and were clearly going to unleash their splinter whatevers at my Long Fangs. Ravagers moved a little and as I predicted, his Beast Masters were going after my Rhino.
His shooting phase was not very impressive. A lot of his shooting went into that one Rhino with the Smoke, but a series of misses, bad rolls to pen with Dark Lances, and lucky 4+ cover saves on my part left the Rhino unscathed. I thin kthat some Lances were fired at the Vindicator, but I don't remember what happened there. Then he fired hundreds of shots at my Long Fangs and only 1 was left. But he didn't run. It was actually the exact same model that was left from the previous game against Clay's Dark Eldar! Spring the Trap! His Beasts then rolled average for their Fleet moved and charged my Rhino. As predicted only 3 of the Birds and some Khymeras managed to get in the fun. He was going to need 6's to hit, 6's to glance with the Khymeras. The Birds were S3 Rending.. So what happened? Only a single "Crew Shaken" result, which didn't bother me at all! Everything was working according to plan..
My Turn 2
This was going be pretty pivotal. I was either going to find a way to deal with the Beast unit on time, or I was going to get bogged down by 'em. All of my Reserves arrived, except a Rhino. The Thunderwolves moved towards the Beasts ready to assault them. I moved my Rune Priest's Rhino another 6''.
I figured.. hey.. why not.. and tank shocked the Beast Masters.
In quite possibly the luckiest, craziest turn of events.. the Beasts failed their Morale check and ran 11'' away from the Rhino!!! Yeah.. I know. Crazy, right? Without allocating any firepower or assaulting I was able to win some precious time, and that was pretty darn important. I actually felt kind of bad, because clearly luck was on my side. Was it a good tactical decision? Yes. But then again.. The best part of the whole ordeal was that the Beast Squad was still within 6'' of my Rhino and was going to continue running on Steve's turn.
The Grey Hunters disembarked, ready to unleash their bolters on the Wyches that were not pinned.
The Thunderwolves were sad and just kind of shuffled around, expecting the poison next turn.
Rune Priest cast Living Lightning and wrecked the Raider of the Archon's Incubi. Oh, what a glorious thing you are, Living Lightning... Indeed.
Rockets were then fired at the Venoms and one was wrecked, another immobilized and one was stunned.
The Grey Hunters then opened fire at the Wyches, who went to ground for a 3+ cover save and actually one one of them died.
No assaults.. ;(
Here's what happened..
Steve's Turn 2
The Beasts had to automatically run away from the Rhino and Steve rolled 11'' for their fleeing distance.
From here on the game is becoming fuzzy, but not a whole lot of things change.
Steve shot at my units. A lot. He also fired tons of lances at the dangerous Rhino but they all missed and/or failed to even glance. One actually did glance, but it was a Weapon Destroyed result!
The Archon and Incubi got behind the building and some of the Wyches took positions.
My Turn 3
At this point I knew I had the Primary. All three Marked for Death Raiders were dead already and the two Wyches squad were damaged and too far from to assault my Long Fangs and too fragile to kill my Thunderwolves. Not to mention the two Marked for Death Rhinos. They were going to be taken care of. The Ravagers would be my next target to prevent the destruction of my Rhinos..
The Rhino in the middle moved 12'' - next to the Beasts. I felt like a total douchebag but the big pile o' feathers was going to evanesce. The Thunderwolves and Skarvald split and moved forward, both units getting great Fleet results. I threw one pack of Grey Hunters towards a Wych squad and Skarvald towards another one while the Thunderwolves were going to crush some Venoms!
My Shooting Phase was only so-so. I really don't remember much.
Skarvald almost squished the entire Wych squad but some lucky 4+ dodge saves saved the squad and it actually stayed in combat. The Venoms were wrecked as well by the Thunderwolves.
Steve's Turn 3
The Beasts ran away! Not a whole lot of moving for Steve's Dark Eldar. He kind of copied my maneuver and split his Archon and Incubi. The Archon was going after Skarvald while the Incubi - towards the Thunderwolves.
Shooting destroyed some Grey Hunters but it was not going to be enough. The Grey Hunters and their transports were not going to move from their objectives!
In the Assault phase the Archon failed to wound Skarvald and the infamous Wolf Lord wiped out the Wyches. He was now stuck in a duel against the scary Dark Eldar elf dude! The Incubi had to go through difficult terrain to assault my Thunderwolves and their lack of grenades spelled their doom. Literally every single Incubus died before they could even strike.
My Turn 4
This turn I dedicated to the Ravagers. I didn't want them to contest any objectives! So blah-blah shooting, they got glanced/penned. Basically were not a threat. I think maybe I had a squad of Grey Hunters in the Rhino.. maybe it went somewhere? I dunno..
Then the Dark Eldar Archon kind of had his way with Skarvald.. ;_;
Steve's Turn 4
At this point we were ready to call it, but I insisted on Steve to at least charge my Thunderwolves with his Archon. And he did! And he killed all of them! Hahaha... Stupid Archon. <_<
VICTORY!
This was my biggest victory in the Tournament. I won all three Objectives! Getting rid of the painful Beast squad without the need of any firepower was sooo lucky. I think it was what tipped the scales in my favor. That and just the fact that the mission was too mean for the Dark Eldar player. The experience I got from the previous Dark Eldar opponent definitely helped me. It was a great game, though. Every time I play against Dark Eldar the games are just a blast. Always bloody, always gimmicky, always requiring extra preparation and thought behind every move! Just goes to prove that Phil Kelly really is the best codex author in Games Workshop!
Here's some battle rep-inspired music for you to listen to as well... I guess:
Game 5 had me facing a codex that I had never had to face before, but was prepared to anyways..
No one truly knows remembers why the Imperial Guard's mainstay tank was named after the Primarch of the Space Wolves. Some say that it was Leman Russ' Crusade that discovered the STC for the tank, others insist that it was the Space Wolves which started using Leman Russ Battle Tanks en masse. Although they are usually seen as detachments in Imperial Guard infantry companies or seen fighting as part of an "Emperor's Fist" or "Emperor's Lance" armored regiment, the Leman Russ Battle Tanks are also sometimes fielded by the Space Wolves Chapter. The most commonly used variant in such rare instances is the Leman Russ Exterminator. Armed with a pair of twin-linked autocannons and usually a few heavy bolters, the Leman Russ fulfills a role similar to that of a Predator Destructor. Its simple design, durability and efficiency on the field of battle are literally unmatched by any other Astartes vehicle - whether tasked with obliterating hordes or dealing with light vehicles or flyers, the adaptable as a wolf Exterminator always succeeds.
At first manned by skilled Imperial Guard aces, the few Leman Russ Exterminators in the possession of the Space Wolves were used on many planets and campaigns in and beyond the Imperium of Man. It was Egil Iron Wolf's idea to allow Space Wolf veterans to man the vehicles instead. Egil, who was the Wolf Lord in charge of the Leman Russes decided that the few Exterminators in the Chapter should be driven by more deserving men - men with centuries of experience on the battle field. Instead of trusting mortal men with his few battle tanks, Egil decided to give the honor of manning a vehicle bearing his Primarch's name to some of the best Long Fangs his Great Company had ever known. Thus, "The Spear of Russ" armored regiment was created. The honor of going to battle inside the ferro-steel plating is given to some of the older Long Fangs - Space Wolves with centuries of experience, nerves of steel and an extremely reliable and stable demeanor. When a Long Fang's pack becomes too small or too precious to be on the battlefield unprotected it is given the privilege of dispensing indiscriminate justice from the inside of a Leman Russ Battle Tank. Ideally the remnants of a pack receive a dedicated vehicle, with the Squad Leader in control of the vehicle and the rest of his Long Fang pack manning the various turrets and sponsons. "The Spear of Russ" is composed of at least three similar vehicles and one of them, usually the tank with the oldest Squad Leader, is chosen to be the command tank. Although uneasy at first, the different Long Fang packs eventually adapt to the situation and learn to function as one with the rest of the Exterminators.
FORMATION:
3+ Leman Russ Exterminator Tanks (from Codex: Imperial Guard)
One tank must be marked as the command tank.
TANK SQUADRON SPECIAL RULES: Astartes Crew - To represent the Long Fangs operating the Leman Russ Exterminator tanks, every tank in The Spear of Russ formation gains +1 BS. The extra cost of this upgrade is already included in the points value of the formation.
Auto-targeting System - The Leman Russ Exterminators have the Anti-Aircraft Mount special rule.
Fire Control - If a tank from The Spear of Russ formation is within 12'' of the command vehicle (or is the command vehicle itself) it can shoot each of its weapon at different targets.
Strike Force: All units in The Spear of Russ
must be deployed within 6" of the command tank, or, if coming on from
reserve they must enter the table within 6" of the point entered by the
command tank.
Hey there, folks!
I'm pretty excited to announce that The 11th Company Podcast just released there 101th episode, titled Episode 101: Now with 3 digits!
Well, what does that mean? Well, you should totally go and check it out, give it all your ears for its entire duration simply because the 11th Company Podcast is awesome. You don't really need any other reasons.
Tried not to sound like Chekov..
Alright, alright. There another reason to listen to listen to this specific episode, I guess.
It has me in it! Woot! And I did't even sound too ridiculous or stereotypical.. or at least I don't think so. Pat was nice enough to interview me about Wolves for the Wolf God and some of the more recent posts and projects that I've been working on. There is talk about Special Operations: Killzone (more like a tease, really), using and dealing with the Land Raider Achilles, The Space Wolf Achievements and just a lot of general talk about why I started Wolves for the Wolf God and the things I like to blog about.
So, if Podcasts are your thing or if you've never listened to The 11th Company Podcast.. well, give it a try. I promise that you won't be disappointed. And hey, you get a chance to finally hear my voice rather than reading my mumbo-jumbo. I.. I think I'm like the only Eastern European I know that plays this hobby and is part of the blogosphere. Weird. I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong, though.
Anyone out there? Anyone? Balkan power?
P.S: The inteview is
around 10 minutes long (starts at 2:18:45 and ends ~2:28:00) and you
should totally go check it out if/when you have some spare time
Frozencore Joe and I decided that it was time for us to dust off some models that needed glue and paint on them and we quickly deployed my room, which is juuuust big enough. It's not a dedicated Man Cave (although it sometimes might look like one...) but at least it's not the elevator room from Borat.
I had plenty of stuff to build. Brian from A Gentleman's Ones gifted me the Khadoran contents from the 2-player Warmachine Starter Box. He's justüber nice like that. The box contains the Sorsha model, a Destroyer, a Juggernaut and 5 Man-O-War Shocktroopers to boot! I also decided to finally build the Juggernaut from my very own Starter box, because everyone was sick and tired of watching just a pair of legs not even glued to a base...
I wish I looked like that... *sniff*
I also picked up Koldun Kapitan Valachev (trivia: the word "koldun" is a Slavic word meaning "sorcerer, warlock" ) just because his last name is almost identical to mine. Seriously, I was able to show the miniature at the register when asked for my last name (Games Plus keeps discount cards in alphabetical order) and just told the owner to drop the second "a". I'm probably the only Khador player that has ever been able to do that. Now I just need to get Epic Vlad.. Oh, I bought the trusty War Dog! I know that Silly Wishnailer is the thang right now, but he is just a dirty bald Retributionist elf. Now the War Dog, the War Dog is your best friend. He'll follow you anywhere, he has no other agenda other than protecting your life. Will Silly Wishnailer take a bullet for you?
Will he charge a Warjack to save your life? No, he won't. But the War Dog will.
From top to bottom: Karchev the Terrible, Destroyer, Leman Russ Exterminator, Juggernaut, War Dog, Koldun Kapitan Valachev
Above you'll see the models that I was workin' on. Karchev the Terrible was actually given to me by Frozencore Joe who had bought him ages ago just to paint him. He's a little chipped here and there but I'll do my best to restore his beauty. This is my 3rd Khadoran Caster - he's joining Sorsha and Harkevich (who I'm starting to resemble, because I've vowed not to shave until the release of Diablo 3. It's been 3 months and a half now." The two resin-plastic Khadoran Warjacks were easy to assemble, but hard to clean.. especially their damned legs, man. Their axes were slightly warped, but nothing nuking some water in the microwave couldn't fix.
The War Dog and Valachev were much easier to clean, but some Liquid Green Stuff was needed to fill in the gaps and I had to pin Valachev's sword-holding arm, which was the most time-consuming part of the day. Twas a tricky pinning..
Last on the list, but most important (yea.. I know) was the Leman Russ Exterminator which is still very much WIP. So far it has been a bitch to build, but the hard part is done. It's the OLD Leman Russ Battle Tank version and you have to build the friggin treads and all that crap. Oh, and I had no instructions.. So Joe helped. A lot.
There's also no hull-mounted heavy bolter bit in the old kit, nor is there the actual Exterminator twin-linked autocannon turret thing.. sooo for now this Leman Russ counts as a tank with all of its weapons destroyed... probably because there's a crazy Russian robot-man jumping on it.
I am also currently working on an Space Wolves Apocalypse Formation for 3 Leman Russ Exterminators..
Hopefully when I do get the other two kits the assembly will be much easier.
Actually.. I don't know why I'm complaining. I've had to build worse. Way, way worse. Like.. the metal Screaming Skull Catapult-worse. *shudder*
I finally convinced Joe to !@#$-ing paint his Space Wolves that he has had from their 2010 release. He has been talking about how he never got into them because Games Workshop never released the Fenrisian Wolves and Thunderwolf Cavalry models, which while true and unfortunate was still not a good enough reason. Joe is a great painter and I have learned a lot from him, so it was kind of nice to watch him paint his Space Wolves. Plus, I was able to give him a few pointers on how to paint the power armor and fur on the models since I have some experience with that. He's doing Harald Deathwolf's Great Company, which is what I've been doing as well, so hopefully it will motivate me to revisit my hastily-painted Space Wolves and start highlighting and painting their faces.
I am also not going to mention the fact that Joe primed inside my building and managed to get Grey primer all over my door and on one of the walls. Oh, wait.. ;D That's what Safety Deposits are for, I guess.
The Space Marines have been out for quite a while now and everyone and their mother are familiar with their pros and cons, their strengths and weaknesses. The tricky part is evaluating said characteristics and figuring out what can be applied to the Alpha Legion doctrine - what works and what does not.
Combat Squads is just great and allows you to play your Alpha Legion list as a collection of small, but elite cells of special operatives by splitting your 10-man squads into two 5-man squads. With some Chapter Tactics this can be pretty interesting and especially useful in non KP missions. Consider the following:
