The Alpha Legiondary Journey Part 1: Evaluating Codex: Space Marines

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.  

Original is "Torias Telion" by tutzdes

+Torias Telion with Scouts and 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..

Next time I'll go over Codex: Space Wolves..

The Alpha Legiondary Journey Part 1: Goal, Concept and Evaluating Codex: CSM

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.

CONCEPT:

Copyright: Anvil Industries

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. 

Eternal Hunt's very own, converted Chaos Cultists!

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"

Next: Evaluating Codex: Space Marines

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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.

Getting to know 40K 6th edition: Assault Distance In-Depth

So most of use have gotten around to looking through the new rulebook, and after having some time to mull it over just about everyone has their opinion on the 6th edition of 40k. My personal opinion is that the assault phase might just not be worth it anymore. Now there are some things here and there that have been tweaked that you might not have noticed, or haven't run the math on quite yet, so that's what this post is going to be all about. This isn't going to just be all about doom and gloom, or how I "think" something has been "nerfed," I am going to be delving straight into the facts.

C-c-c-combo Charge!

First off, we should all know by now, even if you haven't picked up the book, that "assaulting" has been renamed "charging," and is now subject to a random 2d6 dice roll instead of a straight 6". This change is something I greatly dislike, in fact I have only played less that a dozen games of 8th edition Warhammer Fantasy since they adopted the rule and in that game system it made more sense with the back and forth charge range shuffle that plagued previous editions. Each time you add in more random elements it diminishes the effect of player skill, because there are less things a player has control over. A 6" charge out of cover is more reliable than a 2d6 inch charge, so a player doesn't have to rely on luck and they can solely focus on choosing to attack the correct unit. It also has the same effect on the person being charged if their opponent happens to roll incredibly long charges, and subsequently wipes them off the table. In Fantasy this is diminished slightly by getting the charge only giving you 1 combat res (equal to 1 kill), while in 40k it can potentially double a unit's number of attacks. There is no amount of skill that can made up for if you roll a 2 when you needed a 4, or if your opponent somehow always gets crazy 11 or 12 inch charges. Someone might say, "But this is a dice game, you have to be used to being lucky or unlucky that is just the way it works!" To that person I would say, take a minute and look at how the dice are handled in other phases of 40k. Every time you attack someone you can potentially roll 10 or more dice, heck Orks can get up to 120 in just a single unit. When you are rolling large numbers of dice, like the 20 or so from a unit rapid firing, with 4 or more units per turn, we are looking at potentially hundreds of dice being rolled over the course of a game. With that many dice being rolled luck can really start to even out. Not so when 2 dice are used to settle the outcome. We have all had those games where one assault is the difference between victory and defeat, in fact some armies rely on their one assault unit to come in and reliably get the job done. Some people rely on great positioning to make sure that their fragile shooting army is never in range to be assaulted. What are we going to say to these two people? "Oh you should have rolled better," or "You should have known your opponent was going to get that charge when he started way over there," isn't that a bit ludicrous? I just KNOW that the whole time in the back of someone's mind they are thinking to them self, "But the average of 2d6 is 7, that is better than the 6 from before." (I know it's not you, it is that other guy). That statement isn't false, but it is misleading. Let me drawn an analogy: suppose you only have $100, and I tell you that you can give me that $100 and I will give you $1000....or you can take a 1/1000 chance to get $1,000,000 but if you fail I get to keep all of your money and you get nothing. Which one would you take? They are the exact same average, but I am guessing you all take the automatic $1000. See how averages can be misleading?

The new charge system isn't so much about average distance as it is about % chance of success.

Green: old fleet; Red: new fleet; Blue: normal

Assault phase issues continue with people who have fleet of foot. No longer does fleet let you run and assault in the same turn. Instead it lets you reroll one or more of the dice when you run or charge. Fleet charge distance went from 7-12" to 2-12". Now at first I thought that this was horrendous, and it is bad don't get me wrong, but after I did a bunch of math it isn't as bad as I initially thought. It all comes down to the specifics of how the reroll lets you chose to reroll a single dice if you want. So if you get 6-1, you can keep the 6 and reroll the 1. The fact that it isn't an all or nothing is huge and greatly changes how the curve looks (I haven't seen a correct one yet on any other site). In fact it almost makes the % chance become a straight line. It ends up that on numbers 8-12 is about 10% less likely to happen than a 6+d6, a 7 is 15% less likely a 6 is a 92% chance of success, and all the others are pretty much 100%. The real kicker is fleet in comparison to a "normal" charge, where having fleet greatly increases you chance of success at those low "I should make this but getting unlucky looses me the game" numbers. In the end with fleet you get around 2 more inches at the same % chance of success as a unit without fleet (note this probably isn't 2 more inches on average, averages are bad remember!). I haven't done the math yet (as there are over 45,000 combinations), but after looking at this I expect that fleet will be even MORE of an advantage when assaulting through cover.

You have to be kidding....

So which dice do we reroll and which die do we leave? The answer is pretty simple, actually, if you use some math. Any time the dice is a 1-3 you pick it up and reroll it, no questions asked. If you have a 4 and a lower dice and you need a 10 (wow you play risky) it is the same to pick up both or just reroll the low dice and hope for a 6. If you have only 4+ just reroll your lowest dice, but if you rolled that high and you still failed maybe you need to rethink your strategy.

Red: old; Blue: new

Assaulting through cover has changed a lot compared to 5th edition too. Instead of 2d6 pick the one highest it is now 3d6, pick the two lowest. Those fleet rerolls are going to be huge here. Players can feel pretty safe about having their units 6" behind terrain as rolls of 6 or 7 are going to be considered very lucky. With the change to rapid fire weapons you can expect to see people back up when they are in terrain both whittling down their opponent and knowing they are almost immune to being charged in return. In the end charging though cover is going to be a little more forgiving distance wise than it was in 5th edition, but I know I won't be relying on those 6 or 7 inch charges unless my units have fleet.

Like it or not the game has been changed, and we all have to deal with it. While I personally think changing assault distances to a random 2d6 roll is a mistake, because it can potentially leave the entire game up to a single roll of the dice, I just really want to know why they wanted to "fix" what has been working. Especially since they made the shooting phase a lot more "safe." It's going to ruin a few games on both sides of the board, I just hope it doesn't put as sour a taste in my mouth as it did for Fantasy.

Switching from Warhammer to Warmachine: I Just Lost the Game!

In what might turn out to be a pretty interesting series of articles, I'm going to share with you my experience of slowly departing from my days of shouting "WAAAAAGH!" and gradually getting to know the glory of Warmahordes. While I still love Warhammer 40,000 and even Warhammer Fantasy I can't help but feel alienated by Games Workshop's policies and just general business presence. I could go on and on about the things that went wrong, but I don't want waste your time with my rants.
It is what it is.

And now.. Warmachine! 

If leaving the Warhammer 40,000 scene and getting into this whole Warmachine business has taught me ONE thing, then it is the following: I am no longer the top dog. Gone are the days of me knowing the outcome of a game long before it even began. I can no longer underestimate my opponents. I don't have a superior understanding of the rules which can give me an advantage against my opponents. I no longer look at an opponent's list and see all the wrong choices. I can't win games by making mistakes or expecting my opponent to make more mistakes than me. The list goes on..

I guess what I'm trying to say is that.. there is challenge for me in Warmachine. I might sound a little snobbish at first, but 40k had been very stale for me.. for quite a while, actually. I did keep on trying to motivate myself by thinking big. I wanted to have an army of 100 Deff Koptas.. but that never panned out. I wanted to re-do my Space Wolves - to finally highlight them and to get my army up in points. I wanted to have an Apocalypse-ready army of Space Wolves. That's probably never going to happen with the current prices on things and the fact that there's no way I can duplicate the paint scheme for my armies anymore. But I digress. Again.

So true..

Like I said..
I am no longer the top dog.
I don't have the confidence that I'm going to win anymore.
I do win some of my games, though!
But then I lose just as many. I lose a lot.
I make mistakes.. and I lose.
I get outplayed and outsmarted.. and I lose.
I decide no to boost that one attack.. and I lose.
I become too confident and reckless.. and I lose.


There has been a whole lot of losing as I'm dealing with the learning curve of this game. That was not the case of my Warhammer 40,000 days in which my Orkz dominated the Ultramarines and Necrons of my gaming buddies. Hm, I guess my whole wargaming career so far has been an avalanche of success due to a lack of challenges. Oh, I've had my ass handed to me more than once, naturally.. but not enough. Once again, this is not the case. 

So.. I've been learning how to lose properly while enjoying the game as much as I can.
I can't say that I don't play to win. I enjoy winning! Victory achieved by outplaying and outmaneuvering your opponent is awesome.. Which is why Warhammer 40,000 was getting boring - victories were just victories. I wasn't getting anything out of winning anymore, I wasn't losing enough to learn from my mistakes and when I did lose it was more often than not due to time, a rules dispute or Matt Ward.


Of course, saying that I don't mind losing would be a lie. Losing still really rustles my jimmies sometimes and I mean.. that's normal. I put a lot of thought into the game and I really do my best, but sometimes even my best is not enough. I'm still learning, though, and will be learning for a long time.
There are so many armies out there and just changing a warcaster or a warlock completely changes everything. So many lists to win and lose against, hahaha...
I've been learning how to lose. I always do my best and when I do lose a game (again - that happens a lot!) I always try to leave the store with at least one important lesson learned.

I have made it my mission to only feel defeat if after a game I cannot see my own mistakes and the things I could have done better. That's why I really like Warmahordes, guys. Even losing is awesome!

Here are some of the lessons I have learned by losing..

• Charging pStryker with pSorsha when Stryker has 20 ARM, even if made Stationary is a bad idea..
• Relying too much on 'jacks and not enough on the Old Witch's toolbox to save her when being surrounded by Mercenary Steelheads, when an Iron Flesh and dropping a Murder of Crows on her could have saved her..
• Being too aggressive with Scrapjack and getting it killed on turn 2 on more than one occasion.
• Putting too much focus on 'jacks while preparing for a possible charge on a Getorix after a nice Gallows without boosting the attack roll with the Old Witch, causing Gallows to miss. 
• Allowing pSorsha to get knocked down by slammed 'jacks.

So far all of the games that I have played have had that "ARGH!" moment. I bet you know what I'm talking about - it's the turn you fuck up. You either forget to move, shoot, boost or you fail to allocate your resources properly. Or you fail to see a way out of a situation. "ARGH!" moments are always different as as long as you keep them that way and avoid making the same mistakes you should pat yourself on the back, because avoiding making the same mistakes is what makes us better gamers.

So.. that's it from me.. for now.

And until then,
Keep on losing!

Adepticon 2012: Tales of the Lord Hellion - Tom's Battle Reports from the W40k Championships!

While I'm still recuperating from the glory that was Adepticon let me share with you the triumphs and tribulations of a friend of mine who for a second year in a row decided to rub elbows with some of the greatest wargamers at the Warhammer 40,000 Championships! Tom was kind enough to write up a few quick battle reports from his four games and there are some pretty sweet pictures to boot! Since I couldn't really play the tourist role at the Championships (it interfered with the Killzone events we were running) this is my way of covering the event through the point of view of Tom's Dark Eldar, led by the Lord Hellions himself.. 

Adepticon 2012 Battle Report - Sathonyx’s Raiders 

It Came From 4chan: When Life Gives You Pauldrons..

Ah, I've been meaning to post this bad boy for quite a while now. Actually, it has been 3 months! About time I shared with you this little gem from the /tg/ board from 4chan.

This time an Anonymous poster shared a pretty cheeky way of making a mini version of your favorite Adeptus Astartes using your left-over pauldrons! That's right! 10 Space Marine pauldrons, some Green Stuff, round sprues, a bolt pistol and a shortened close combat weapon are all you need to start your very own chapter of midgets in power armor. They could count as Squa   

I had a bunch of leftover pauldrons and other random bits, so I tried to see if there was any possible way to squeeze out a few more marines from the leftover bits. No extra legs or torso backs, so I had to get creative. The solution uses 10 pauldrons. There should be no purity seals or raised iconography, and the piece used for the front visor shouldn't even have the little square at the bottom like most newer ones do. Four of them fuse together to make the torso. The pauldrons that are actually used as pauldrons glue directly to the torso. Chop off the top part of some space marine arms. Save it, we'll come back to that later. Use only bolt pistols as an actual bolter looks a bit strange on these guys. Shorten any power weapons or chainswords. You might have to shave the elbow guards a bit to get it to fit up into the gap underneath the pauldrons and torso. For the legs, use a hand drill (pin vise) and make holes just a little larger than a bit of round sprue. Form four pauldrons together in two groups of two to make the shin guards. Drill a hole in the top just slightly off center for your round sprue to fit into. Take the top (shoulder) part of the arms you cut off and cut a half circle into the front of the shin guards big enough to insert them for feet. When applying the backpack, use some sprue clippers or an exacto knife to carefully carve away the bottom two exhaust pegs. I also used a set of three space marine pouches across the chest to break up the egg shape of the torso a bit. And there you have it. A space marine of the Imperial Knuckles chapter.

Pretty cool, huh? Games Workshop gives us a bunch of extra pauldrons in most Space Marine kits so we might as well use them, right? Getting the extra backpacks, now that's tricky. What do you guys think? Good idea or Greatest idea ever?

I know I've been slacking as of lately, but believe me.. it's actually quite the opposite.

Come and say "Hi" to the SO: Killzone crew at Adepticon!

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.

The AdeptiConstruct
Adepticon's 10th Anniversary Model

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 Battleforce or 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.

Seriously, it's orgasmic.