Have you seen this unit? Part 9

Ortan Cassius is the Ultramarine Chaplain. At 400 years old, (wha?) he is one of the, if not the, oldest Ultramarine still outside of a Dreadnought. He has the leadership and oratory skills to make his men achieve battlefield greatness. He is a master warrior and fighting Tyranids is a personal hobby of his. His horrible scars and robot/ bare skull face are proof of that.

He comes to the tabletop with the standard Marine army rules and of course he is an independent character. He also has Feel No Pain like so much of the 40K universe.  His stats are a almost typical Chaplain; WS 5, BS 4, strength 4, toughness 6, 2 wounds and attacks, WAIT TOUGHNESS  6!,initiative 4, leadership 10 and a 3+/4++ save. That toughness 6 is great! A straight toughness 6 as well, looks like Cassius can shrug off the best wounds. He also has the Liturgies of Hate and Honor the Chapter rules. He rocks power armor, a crozius Arcanum, Infernus, frag and krak, bolt pistol and a rosaries (4++ save). All this for 25 points more than a standard Chaplain.

Grey Knight grenades and 2 other items

Most of Grey Knight HQ choices can take some eclectic wargear options. The majority of these are grenades, and a couple other options. These should cover the non-standard/ little known wargear options for Grey Knight leaders.

Blind Grenades- These are defensive grenades that lessen the enemy charge. Assaulting enemy units fight with -1 attack. Now your Grey Knights can be irritating to charge like Plague Marines.

Rad Grenades- These dose the opponent with radiation and weaken them. When assaulting or being assaulted, the enemy unit is at -1 toughness. This lasts only for one assault phase. This is a full point will affect the calculation of Instant Death. Probably my favorite option as making targets easier to wound is always awesome.

Psyk-Out Grenades- Made of psi-refractive particles these stun and disorient psykers and warp based beasts. When assaulting any demon or psyker, they will fight at initiative 1 for that phase. A situational option, but a real screw job if used against those Slaanesh Demon Princes.

Real life interlude: no 40k here and not for everyone

Ivan was the newest member of our animal family. He was the most laid back animal I ever had. He was a rescue from a local shelter. He had been relinquished as a kitten, and for an entire year all he knew was a room with nine other cats. During this time he developed an eye infection that lead to its eventual removal. 

Then one Sunday he met Manders and me. He instantly drew my attention, a one eyed cat. Awesome! Why awesome? The dude has one eye. He was Russian Blue-ish, with his good eye a deep gold color. Also awesome, dude has one golden eye.  I spent some time with him and noticed he seemed pretty calm. However, it was just a social visit and we left sans cat.

As the next week passed I kept thinking of that grey one eyed cat.  That Friday Manders went home and come Saturday morning I was back at the shelter. I just wanted to “check in” on that cat. I spent some time with just this guy. He was completely calm, I was shocked. Especially after all I was told about him. After twenty minutes I was hooked. I filled out the papers and was on my way home.

Jump ahead a few weeks.

Have you seen this unit? Part 8

Varro Tigurius is the Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines. He was appointed this rank after many years of fighting and because of his deep knowledge of the galaxy and his immense psychic powers. So he sounds pretty cool. Wow, Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines that has quite a ring to it, the best of the best of the best, or is he?

Tigurius has a standard Librarian stat-line: WS 5, BS 4, strength toughness and initiative 4, 2 wounds, 2 attacks, leadership 10 and 3+ power armor save. He comes with the Rod of Tigurius, bolt pistol, frag and krak grenades and the Hood of Hellfire. He also has the rules of Master Psyker and Gift of Prescience. He has the regular Marine army wide rules and is an Independent character.

Rod of Tigurius is a master crafted force weapon.

Hood of Hellfire allows him to use 3 psy powers per turn. It is also functions as a psychic hood.

Master Psyker gives Tigurius access t all the Marine psy powers.

Gift of Prescience lets Tigurius re-roll any reserve roll.

Having access to all the “vanilla” powers is pretty awesome. It allows for multiple rolls on the battlefield. He can move troops with gate. There is the added fire power from Avenger Vortex of Doom and Smite. He can be a close combat specialist with the Quickening and Might of the Ancients. He can even de-buff with Nullzone or add some defense with Force Dome.

Grey Knights: one psy power and guns review

The Grey Knights have a lot of weapons, gear and powers at their disposal. I thought I’d hit the four that are available to all the squads: Hammerhand, Incinerators, Psilencers, and Psycannons.

Hammerhand is a psychic ability that all the Grey Knight units (excluding driving vehicles) have. It is an assault phase power. After assault moves have been made, but before rolls to hit, you can make a psychic test. If the test passes, then all members of this squad benefit from +1 strength. This lasts until the end of that assault phase. It also can be cast in either assault phase. It is also applied before any other modifiers to strength, like Demonhammers.

So you can get a grey Knight with Psy Mastery of 2 and throw out Hammerhand during your assault phase and then again in the opponents assault phase. It also adds the +1 strength and then any other modifiers…so Demonhammers + Hammerhand = S10. So Hammerhand + Furious Charge = S6 on the charge? I know there is not much of that in this codex; but if there is a random weird game rule, Inquisitor unit that has it, or you are playing some weird team tourney thing, it would be a great power to use. I think it will be the default psy use in Grey Knight squads. The activation of force weapons being a far second to having +1 strength power weapon wielding Marines.

Now, let us look at the guns these guys can upgrade with.......

Keeper of the Lost

Since his acquisition of a Warp forged artifact, Bother Sergeant Gavor has taken over a new mantle, Keeper of the Lost.



Have you seen this unit? Part 7

Another overlooked Marine fast attack choice, is the Scout Bike Squad. There seems to be a bit of a theme with these posts lately, underused fast attack units. Anyway, the Scout Bikes don’t even seem to appear on player’s radar let alone their shelves or tables. They do not seem to get attention or play, why?



Well they are a bike unit so they get: Turbo Boost, a (+1) toughness, Relentless, Infiltrate and Scout. They have the best of the bike and scout worlds. They have Astartes scout stats with 4’s where it counts, WS 3, BS 3 and a 4+ save. They also get a sarge in the unit which adds leadership 9, 2 attacks and upgrade weapon options. These guys also run 5 points cheaper than regular Marine bikes. That seems great.

They run in a three man squad that can be bumped to ten. They come with all the typical grenades, a bolt pistol, shotgun and the twin-linked bike bolters (thus mitigating the BS 3 misses). Up to three members of the squad may replace their bike bolters for a grenade launcher. It is basically the same as the Imperial Guard version (rapid fire 24” S3 AP 6 blast/ rapid fire 24” S6 AP 4). They are not that expensive an upgrade, can give the unit wound allocation shenanigans (that people like) and can give a bit of versatility to the squad. They can also take cluster bombs.

EDITORIAL

It is late spring/ early summer. That means it is time for everybody to lose their minds again as Games Workshop raises prices.

Now there are two things about this hobby that spin me. The first is codex creep, codex unbalance, codex over power, or codex rumors destroying the gaming universe. The second is the insanity that is caused when Games Workshop raises prices. I’ll only be talking of the second point and save the first point for another time.

Now I’m not a G.W. apologist, but I am a realist. This is a business first and a hobby/ game second. If they want to raise prices as a means to an end then they will. We can do nothing to stop them. All the angry internet vitriol and polite letters to customer service will change nothing.  G.W. has investors that want a return, employees and bills to pay. So, if they have to raise prices to get this done they will. What can we do about it? Well we can do a few things, but are any of them useful?

Begining Grey Knight review

Well the newest members of the 40K, codex, universe are the Grey Knights. Now they have been out for a month and everyone has been all a buzz about them. There have also been many codex reviews, and now I give you mine in several parts.

THE BOOK

Well there is nothing new here. It is the standard 40K codex. It has some new artwork that is descent, but for every good drawing there is a poor one or a rehashed/cut and pasted one. The models pictured are great as always, but silver silver everywhere is the modeling/painting downside to this army.

STUFF AND FLUFF

This is where the book gets good. They added a lot to this army’s story. Especially, when compared to the last codex. They did a good job of fleshing out the life and times of the Grey Knights. The descriptions of the units and new wargear are fairly good (not all of them are winners but the majority is good). I am glad that GW codex writing (maybe not always the rules writing) has made great strides forward.

"We should have shotguns for this kind of deal."

Claw 4 is where the Terik's Night lords place the newest recruits. They are the responsibility of Brother Sergeant Solen. These marines serve as outriders, ambushers, and cover operations. They often arrive long before the main force an work to disable supply lines, communication, and general disruption among the enemy. If they survive the trials,tests and missions they will be fully indoctrinated into the Night Lords.

Almost the Dirty Dozen

Have you seen this unit? Part 6

Another fast attack option not seen very often on the battlefield is the Assault Sqaud. These are marines with bolt pistol, chainsword (or other close combat weapon) and jump packs.

They run in a five man squad base with one of them being a veteran sergeant. They can be boosted up to ten men. They have a 12” move with their jump packs or can deploy via deep strike.

The pistol and close combat weapon add a nice two attacks base for these guys. Three on the charge is not too shabby either. Add in the sergeant and his base three/four on the charge and you have a descent amount of strength 4 attacks coming your way.

Speaking of him, the veteran sergeant can have the myriad of typical marine upgrades: plasma pistol, power weapon, fist, thunder hammer, lightning claws and melta bombs. The squad can, for every five members, take a plasma pistol or flamer. The squad can also dump their jump packs and get a Rhino or Drop Pod for free.

So why are these guys shunned? Well first is the fact if you want Assault Sqauds you take Blood Angels. They just do jump pack assault better. They have better weapon options, most notably melta guns. They also deep strike with greater accuracy. Oh yeah, they are also are scoring.

The “vanilla” assault squad just doesn’t have the punch it should have. They have the option to take anti-infantry weapons, but lack the ability to truly threaten armor. They are made to fight, but are not that super at it, when compared to Vanguard Veterans or Terminator Assaulters.

So how do we make them more appealing? Much like the Attack Bikes, I’m not sure. Well, if you just dump melta weapons in the unit that would help. It is also a 5^th edition cure. There could be the inclusion of a power weapon for one member. One per ten and one for the vet sarge would be attractive for a fast moving close combat unit. However, it cuts into the Vanguard Veteran’s shtick.

I will say I do like the option of no jump packs for a free Rhino. They could act as a nice counter charger for a mobile force. They could be an escort for a close combat HQ and unit. I can also see a ten man squad; dual flamers and power weapon driving up, unloading promethium death to a big mob of guys/beasties and then charging the remnants. These two options are appealing to me, but honestly if I want Assault Squads, I’ll play Blood Angels. Sorry “vanilla” marines it is just that way right now.

Not quite a Cenobite, but close

Some armies need an evil genius or a mad scientist, the Dark Eldar has that in Urien Rakarth.

He is the Master Haemonculus. He has taken flesh crafting and alteration to an entirely new level. This depraved genius has even altered himself beyond measure. He is supposedly over 1,000 years old.  During this time he has not only made countless wracks, grotesques and other flesh constructs, he has also modified himself extensively.  

original Urien

His modifications have made it so he essentially cannot die. Upon each death Urien’s remains re-grow into a new version of himself (like a twisted Timelord). He has even come to embrace death. He gets enjoyment out of the sensation each time he dies. He might actually be garnering knowledge from it.  This does come at a small price; his re-births have become a bit corrupt. His new forms have retained vestigial organs and limbs. This should be a problem, but Urien takes it in stride. He seems to put these new parts and limbs to proper use.  He is essentially a quasi-eternal mutated Dr. Viktor Frankenstein.



Urien after one too many re-births



Now Urien is not an Archon or Succubus, his stats show that. He is still no slouch. His is actually very similar to the Ancient Haemonculus HQ choice. He has a WS 5, BS 5, strength 3, toughness 5, wounds 3, attacks 3, initiative 5, leadership 9 and a 6+ save. He comes armed with a close combat weapon, clone field, casket of flensing, and an Ichor Gauntlet. He has the Night Vision, Power Through Pain and Independent Character rules. He does not have Fleet. I guess all those transformations didn’t grow him extra legs. He has special rules like all unique 40K characters; Meld Flesh, Father of Pain and Master Haemonculus. This will run you $1.90 which seems steep for a fancy Haemonculus.

Dark Eldar next wave

So the GW newsletter is in my e-mail today. The new wave of Dark Eldar models are there, Scourges, Venom and Talos/Chronos. Not to shabby. The Venom should be gang busters for GW. Since many people love the transport option and $30 is do-able for most gamers even on a budget.

The Wyches can go, add Trueborn, Warriors or Wracks am I right?

Brother Captain Terik

This is my second HQ, Brother Captain Terik. He is Tycho for game point and stats.

He has taken to wearing the torn flesh of his enemies. This is a trait occurrence throughout the army. He has also taken several trophies through the years. He wears the symbol of the Black Templars, which was removed from the corpse of one of their champions. He has several skulls that he has kept from Astartes rivals he has laid low. 

Battle Company of Brother Terik: the recorded actions

Some more exposition for my Night Lords, since I am approaching, albeit slower than intended, their finish.

843M34- Culling of Grendel’s World   Battle Company of Brother Captain Terik founded.

850M34- Idumea Forge World raid that sees several techpriests and melta weapons captured.

M36- Fifth Black Crusade Perform several lightning raids on Imperial supply depots. This helps Addadon’s forces during the opening attacks on Cadia.

M37– Recruitment Discover three planets to begin recruitment and implantation of new battle brothers.

220M38- Arios Point A rouge trader vessel baring Nigh Lord iconography is seen leaving system as the Howling Griffons are ambushed at Arios Point.

694M39- Jericho III Dark Eldar pirates attack as Night Lords are performing a raid for menials and slaves. Deal is made between the two forces. More slaves are given to the Dark Eldar in exchange for combat enhancement drugs form their twisted Haemonculus. The Night Lords begin new chemical regimen.

705M39- The Green Chemical enhancement has begun to alter the DNA of new Night Lord recruits. After gene implantation their eyes begin to glow with a bright green. They also retain their skin color. They do not take on the Primarch’s black eyes and pallid skin.  They do retain all the other abilities and traits of their brothers.

710M39- Rage Addiction to the Dark Eldar combat drugs is noted in all levels of the Battle Company. Stopping the drugs causes serve weakness and crippling pain, even to the enhanced constitution of an Astartes. Several events of uncontrolled battle lust and rage begin to surface.

712M39- The Hunt Brother CaptainTerik begins a galaxy wide search for the Dark Eldar responsible for the chemical tainting of their gene seed.

675M40- Vidium Terik finds Dark Eldar forces assaulting the Hive World of Vidium, the same forces he was hunting. “The Green” has begun affecting almost all of Night Lords under Terik’s command. Terik finds the Haemonculus responsible, but is pulled into their warp portal while fighting him. Brother Sergeant Hargrev assumes command of the company.

978M40- Forge World of Baji IV Assist Abbadon in overthrowing this Forge World. Payment is the return of Captain Terik from the warp.  Several Black Legion pyskers, after determining his location, open a stable warp portal. Hargrev and two squads enter the portal and return with Terik. Only three other battle brothers return.  Hargrev relinquishes command to Terik. Many brothers think he has been tainted by his time within the warp.

156M41-158M41- Gothic War Once again Terik’s Night Lords answer Abbadon’s call to arms. They perform several raids on several communication and supply installations.

231M41- Capture several Astartes bikes and attack bikes after ambushing a White Scar scout force. The Night Lords begin to put these bikes to use.

505M41- Infestation Genestealer infestation on Night Lord recruitment world. During the cleansing Terik flies into an uncontrollable rage. He kills dozens of Genestealers and their Patriarch with his bare hands. He then turns on his battle brothers and kills eight before he is subdued.  “The Green” has even taken hold this mighty warrior. Brother Hargrev once again takes command of the Battle Company.

506M41- Hargrev begins a search for a cure to the “Green.”

926M41- Vaxhallian Genocide Blurry vid-cap of Night Lords, bearing the Terik’s heraldry, is found after the Purge has killed 14 million on the planet Vaxhallia. 1^st documented action in 400 years.

980999M41- Sessec  Under the command of Lugft Huron, assist in raids on the planet Sessec.

9959999M41- 13^th Black Crusade Perform several ship to ship assaults against the Imperial Navy and even capture two frigates and a destroyer.

Black Templar list with Grimaldus and friends



After reading Helsreach I have had an itching to make a Black Templar army, lead by Grimaldus. It is based on him and the other Astartes characters in the Helsreach novel. The problem is the points. I have had a problem finding useful stuff with the few points left over. Now this is the typical list for fun.  It is also loosely based on the Helsreach force, it isn’t exact.  It is mostly a small unit of fast responders.

HQ – Grimaldus and his servitors - Duh he has to be here.

Command Squad- 5 guys, Apothecary, Rhino-  These are to be modeled after the command squad in the novel.

Elite- Techmarine  & servo-harness-  Yup he was here as well

The troops were there, but their number and deployment was varied.  I went with a fast reaction and small unit force. It is very mobile, but also very small in number.

Troop- 6 marines pistol/weapon, melta gun, power weapon, Razorback heavy bolter

Troop- 6 marines pistol/weapon, melta gun, power weapon, Razorback heavy bolter

Troop- 6 marines pistol/weapon, flamer, power weapon, Razorback heavy bolter

Troop- 5 marines pistol/weapon, flamer, power weapon, Razorback heavy bolter

Fast- 2 Multi-Melta bikes

Fast- 2 Multi-Melta bikes- These squads are here for anti-tank or the “heavy” slot in the force.

Now I have near 60 points left and not sure where to dump them. I could just throw storm bolters on everything, add a heavy bolter attack bike in a squad with the melt bikes, add a coulpe power fists (but with only 1 base attack for all Black Templars their powerfists kind of suck), add furious charge to the command squad, a power weapon in there maybe or throw in points worth of extra silliness.

Is this army true to the Helsreach force? Maybe. They fought for a long time and they did have the Templars fight on foot, on bike and with jump packs. They also fought in combat squads or in pairs along with the Imperial Guard. So, a mobile Templar force running through the city, or up the Hels Highway is possible.

Grimaldus and his Command squad are there for the close combat duties and such. His Holy Relic can be a nice once per game assault boost.  The squads all being close combat focused can benefit from that little attack bonus, if they need it.

The Techmarine rides with the 5 man squad to add some punch to that squad. They get; 2 power fists a flamer, a twin plasma pistol and an extra wound to soak all from the Techmarine.

With no heavy support the melta bikes are the heavy lifters for ranged armor penetration. This force also will need to pick it’s fights wisely due to the low number of models. At least this is how I see it being used. Now to add this to the Book of Impossible Dreams, a coffee table book that details all the 40K stuff I’d do. That is if I had infinite time and money.

Have you seen this unit? Part 5

The popularity of mechanized armies has me wondering why this unit is not included more often, the marine attack bike.

It has all the bonuses of a marine bike, +1 toughness (except vs. insta death), fast, turbo boost, relentless, two wounds and even two attacks. I can easily move behind and with mechanized forces. It is not a huge point investment and has some versatility.

It is armed with the standard bike twin-linked bolter. It also has a side car with a heavy bolter. Now this can be swapped for a multi-melta at a tiny price. This is where the versatility comes in; it can be an anti-troop or anti-armor unit.

Being a bike it can move up to 12” and fire both guns, one per rider. Just two of these as a squad with multi-meltas can make a rough time for a vehicle you really want destroyed. The 24” multi-melta range is effectively increased to 36” when you figure in the 12” move the bike has. It also makes that juicy 12” melta range easier to attain.

Now the heavy bolter load out is not bad either. I know many do not like the heavy bolter, but it can add a nice weight of fire and wounds. The twin-linked bolters and heavy bolters at a squad of anything, on foot, have damage potential.  The heavy bolters can even suppress or wreck some light armor. Sure it might not destroy that rhino; but if it stops it, even for a round, then it has done something useful. It has changed or hindered your opponents plan (even if only for a turn).

The two attacks are a boon, albeit a small one, as well. It gives the bike another use, an assault unit. Sure it is not a huge threat with just two attacks, but they can be helpful. Slag a transport run the attack bikes at the survivors. Now if you take these attacks into close combat monsters, double strength vs. toughness or the like, then the bikes fail. They are attacks best used to hold up a unit for a counter or at something that has a rough time hurting toughness 5 (4).

Well it would seem these would have more tabletop use. They do appear in bike heavy armies, but in regular armies they are absent. I have very few reasons why they are sitting on the shelves. They do compete with Land Speeders, which seem to see more use than the attack bike. Now they cost the same to start and can move just as far and fast. They can be bought in units of 1-3 However; the Land Speeder can take a secondary weapon system and become even more deadly.  Being a skimmer has its advantages as well; they can get shots that clear cover, and negate those troublesome saves.

This unit does not have a real problem with other competitors in the fast attack slot. So I am still wondering why attack bikes are not utilized more. Is the model unappealing? Do players want those points elsewhere? Are heavy bolters the pariah weapon of the Space Marines? This is all I can really see as to why attacks bike squad is passed on by the masses.

This is the first unit I have reviewed (granted I’ve only done four so far) that I have trouble wondering why it does not get more use.

A break from blue..enter the pig gun!

My first Hordes model is complete. The Farrow Gun Boar is a model I've had for some time. Not sure if I'll ever play Hordes, but a pig with a back mounted cannon really speaks to me.

The skin color was the hardest part. I decided on dwarf flesh, a wash of ogryn flesh and some pallid flesh dabbed on for flavor/ highlights. I think it works for a dirty but not filthy pig color.

The gun mount was a bit off center, might be the giant chunk of metal on the base I had to saw and file down. I eventually got it to where I could mount it on his back, and it was still a bit askew. I don't hate the finished look of it, well they are pig monsters they aren't concerned with aesthetics.

 

 more pics below

The Dr. Evil of the Dark Eldar, well sort of.

Once he was just low class citizen of the dark city of Commorragh with delusions of grandeur.  However, let it be known that following your dreams can pay off. It did for one Asdrubel Vect.



"The details of my life are quite inconsequential."



Once Vect started his rise to power he never looked back. He united the ruling Kabals, noble families, cults coven and others in the hierarchal structure of the dark city. He did not do this through diplomacy; he used brutal and excessive force.  He is highly intelligent and has a remarkable acumen for shrewd military tactics. Just ask the Dark Eldar opposing him that had an Astartes strike cruiser dropped on them. Oh wait you can’t. They are all dead.

He has ruled Commorragh for over 6,000 years, and that is no easy task in a world of backstabbers, liars and the power hungry. However, being the Overlord of Commorragh and the leader of the Kabal of the Black Heart is not as exciting as it once was.  Vect has lead more real space raids as of late. Is it boredom or some other reason that he leaves the dark city for glory and plunder?

1st Grey Knight game

Well we ran a 40K game this weekend with a combined 2000 points of Grey Knights/ Inquisition vs. 2000 points of Chaos marines.  Mike was running a typical Chaos force: prince (wings warptime, nurgle), greater demon, 8 plague marines X2 in rhinos and meltas and plasma, defiler X2, obliterators X2, 10 marines in rhinos X2 chaos icons auto cannons champion fist, terminators wit h3 combi-melta and heavy flamer, and dreadnoughts X2 double close combat weapons.

Lew ran a Malleus Inquisitor, Strormraven (twin-link  lascannon and multi melta), 5 man strike squad in rhino, 5 man terminator squad  with demon hammer, 5 man purge squad X4 psycannon, deathcult x10, and a banisher.

I ran: Coteaz, dreadnaughts twin auto cannon and psybolt X2, 4 jokearo and 2 heavy bolter servitors, 9 warriors with storm bolters and jokearo in rhino X2, and vindicare assassin.



Mike you ready to play some 40K now?

We rolled capture the flag (seriously this is the mission I get most of the time) and dawn of war. I’ll spare you the report. It was a very spirited game, but we had concerns. Mostly for Mike, since he either had a mild stroke pre-game or had spent the previous night huffing silver spray paint through a sock. He thought you only scatter a D6 if you don’t move and fire ordnance, was trying to move marines 12”, rolling dice wrong, and  a slew of other silliness. He has been playing 40K for a number of years now. We were not sure why (and neither was Mike) why he was forgetting rules. It did make for some great moments though.

Anyway, thanks to the Lew’s terminator assault on Mike’s flag we did manage a win. It also helped that our flag was protected by a mass of gridlocked rhinos. Thus making it very hard time walking to get near the building it was located in.  The Chaos forces were being peppered but psycannons and strombolters as they disembarked and approached.

We did learn some great stuff from this game.