First 6th Edition Game: 1000pts IG vs Fire Hawks

Tonight I tried out the new rules with Realgenius (Jim) tonight, and of course had lots of fun. 

Ratlings!

Since this was the first game and all I didn't have a real grasp on the wound allocation part of the game, but that will just come with practice. There were a couple of times I left important models out in cold which were quickly picked off.

I ended up winning the game but it hardly mattered as it was both our first game with the new rules and neither of us had particularly powerful lists.

Things I liked:

Cover: We didn't have any ruins so everything was 5+ save. I think most IG armies will contain at least one Battle Tank now. NTM Stealth and Camo cloaks stack now so there are a few units here and there that can still get good cover... Harker and Telion can both do this if you pay the points for it.

Wall of Death: Over watching with flamers is pretty cool! I had 4 flamers in a chimera and they killed three Vanguard Vets before they got assaulted! 

Fliers: My Vendetta didn't come in until turn 4, but when it did that Stormraven was toast. I wonder if I will ever put anything inside of it now or just use it as a gun platform? As is, it is one of the best units at shooting other fliers out of the sky.

Psychers: I took a Sanctioned Psycher as well as a Psychic Battle Squad. Combined they did a lot of damage... Psychic Shreek does 3D6 wounds minus the enemy leadership. This combined with PBS reducing the Ld to 2 made for a pretty ridiculous combo. I think the PBS will be coming back into my army. I had dropped them for a while but I can't pass up that combo.   

Wargames Con 2012 Mantis Warriors Army

Hey guys, Wargames Con is just one week away OMG! Here is the list I plan on taking to the two day, seven game, 2000pt GT next weekend. I have no illusions of going all the way, I just hope I get 7 good games against 7 opponents I've never played before!

HQ

Kahn

Cassius

ELITES

Assault Terminators*5; th/sh*3, lc*2

Land Raider Redeemer; ex armor, multi-melta

Sterngaurd*5; combi-plasma*2, plasma gun

Razorback; twin-plasma gun, lascannon, dozer blade

TROOPS

Tactical Squad; power fist, combi-melta, melta gun, multi-melta

Rhino

Tactical Squad; power fist, combi-melta, melta gun, multi-melta

Rhino

Scouts*10; Telion, heavy bolter

Scouts*5; combi-melta, melta bomb

FAST ATTACK

Land Speeder Storm; multi-melta

Stormtalon Gunship; twin-assault cannon, twin-heavy bolter

Attack Bike; multii-melta

So this list isn't anything too crazy, just my typical Kahn army (three Special Characters lol) with lots of units designed to Outflank and hit hard with shooting and decent combat. The Mission Format for all 7 games will be three equally weighted objectives: two from the book and one random one (table quarters, kill HQ exc.). I'm mostly looking forward to using the Stormtalon and Telion; my most recent editions to the army.

~the best part is that I only have one mode model left to paint!

In Defense of the Stormtalon

Okay I am pretty annoyed with all the Stormtalon hating on the interwebs, especially on BoLS. All the reviews I've read have been based on theory, not on games played or witnessed. I've now played 4 games with the new unit (one SM, one Blood Angel, and two Dark Eldar) so my review is at least based on practical application. All 4 games the Stormtalon been armed as is (twin-assault cannon & twin-heavy bolter - 130pts) and has outflanked while escorting my Landspeeder Storm.

The complaint that most people have about the ST is that it is not worth the points (130pts basic) because it is essentially a big, more expensive Landspeeder Tornado (90pts). Lets compare...

Although the ST and the Tornado are armed similarly; the ST makes much better use of them. On the ST both the HB and Assault Cannon are twin-linked which essentially gives it the fire power of TWO Razorbacks. However the biggest advantage the Stormtalon has is the 'Aerial Assault' rule which allows it to move 12" and fire BOTH weapons! When have you ever seen a Landspeeder fire both gun? This makes a huge difference, especially when you consider how short ranged the Assault Cannon is (the better of the two guns).

The other bonus the ST has over the Tornado is the 'Escort' Special Rule. which essentially allows it to show up at the same time as another unit arriving from reserve. I believe this Special Rule only makes a difference if you use the ST to escort an Outflanking which is something a Tornado cannot do.

Consider the worst part about Outflanking in a SM army; not getting any bonus to reserve rolls (possibly arriving piecemeal) and not being able re-roll what side you come in on (possibility of being unsupported or without enough strength to do anything). By Escorting a Landspeeder Storm you eliminate both of these issues. Both units arrive at the same time and on the same table edge! Individually neither is particularly menacing, but combined there is strength.

So there you have it: my reasons why the Stormtalon is not as terrible as so many people on the interwebs say it is. Granted I am not trying to say it is super amazing and belongs in every army, but what in the SM codex IS super amazing for only 130pts? The ST is certainly a unit that requires some tactical thinking and maneuvering but at the same time is a lot of fun to use and can be very rewarding to use.

Tonight I used the ST in my all Outflanking Kahn army which has lots of very short range firepower. The ST was the only unit in the army that could be considered to have "long range" firepower while still being able to move over 6". Has anyone else actuarially used or seen a ST used since it came out last week? What are people's general reaction? Sucks, okay or useful?

Dragon's Lair Tournament: June 3rd, 2012

This month's Dragon's Lair Tournament was just 1250pts, and as has been the case the last three months; no entry fee and no prize support. Oh well, it is still lots of fun to get three games in on one day! I busted out the Mantis Warriors so I could get comfortable using Telion and the Stormtalon. I plan on using both units at Wargames Con and both preformed admirably today. 

In all three games the Stormtalon escorted my Outflanking Landspeeder Storm. These two vehicles worked very well together as it meant some added reliability and strength since they both show up at the same time and on the same table edge! 

The first game they didn't do much against my SM opponent but games two and three were against Mech Dark Eldar... Game two the Stormtalon scratched three DE vehicles! Game three the Stormtalon only took out one DE vehicle but also blasted a Warrior unit off an objective (always nice). Telion's unit, using only sniper rifles, managed to kill three DE vehicles!

I ended up in third place and BullyMike got first with his Necrons. Storm Lord in a 1250pt list... tisk-tisk.

Alamo 40K Tournament 2012: Tournament Report DAY ONE

Hello all! The dust has settled and everyone is back home after a fantastic weekend of drinking beer, rolling dice and of course drinking more beer. I've said it once and I'll say it again, the Alamo is the most fun you can have at a tournament. This was my third year and it really just gets better each time! If I had a  WFB army I'd go the Alamo Fantasy tournament in October as well.

From a strictly competitive outlook I'd say Alamo is much more relaxed than say Wargames Con or Adepticon. With only 5 games over two days there is a lot of down time to relax and enjoy walking around, talking to people, and the wonderful armies on display. There are definitely people there to win, but on average most people just bring armies that will be fun to play with AND against. Throw in cheap beer and you have a perfect recipe for a lot of very fun games.

The "NEW" Infiltrating Speed Lord

I don't know about anyone else but I am very excited about a new Chaos Codex coming out sometime in the next few months. I have been hard at work swelling (bloating) the ranks of my Death Guard army lately and have been looking back at C: Chaos 3.5 for inspiration.

Does anyone else remember the Infiltrating Speed Lord? Due to the shenanigans that was the chaos wargear page you could construct a Chaos Lord with Infiltrate and "daemonic speed" which made him Cavalry (fleet and 12" charge). Every army had their flavor of Speed Lord; my Nurgle one had S5, T5 and +D6 attacks. 

This was a very silly HQ choice that by the end of the book everyone was abusing. However when the current Chaos Codex came out in 4th edition everyone quit the Lord and went back to the Daemon Prince; either with I6 and Lash or T5 and Warp Time. In what could be considered a competitive Chaos list you never saw a Chaos Lord (besides Abadon). 

Now that both Lash and Warptime have been nerfed in the most recent FAQ I think the Chaos Lord has become a much more attractive option; especially with some loopholes in the wargear section that hark back to C:Chaos 3.5...

My current Lord has Mark of Nurgle, Wings (12" move), melta bombs and Daemon weapon (+D6 attacks, poison, pw). For some reason according to the FAQ if your IC has "wings" and not a "jump pack" he can ride in a Rhino. WTF?!? So that means he rolls with a unit 12" up inside the vehicle first turn then 2nd turn can move a further 12" and still assault. 

The Infiltrating Speed Lord of old was particularly great at getting to the enemy quickly before they could do anything to stop them. I hope that in the twilight months of the 4th edition Chaos Codex we will be seeing more of this type of HQ. In the local 1850 tournament next month I plan on taking two!

~has anyone else been working on or using their Chaos lately in anticipation for the new book? What do you think about the Chaos Lord now and his validity in an army instead of a Daemon Prince?

Donorian Clawed Fiend Thoughts

Yesterday I played in a team tournament at Dragon's Layer back home in Austin with my long time gaming buddy Minus6. Minus6 played with his IG and I also used his Dark Eldar models coupled with the Exodites I've been slowly painting over the last year to make a Webway Portal list. My army included a very large Beast Master Unit with a very expensive Clawed Fiend. 

The Beast Master unit is interesting because you buy 1-5 Masters (Dark Eldar on skyboards) and then buy different beasts as wargear for them. There are three different types of beasts, Khymera, Razorwing Flock, and Clawed Fiend and you can only buy one type per Master. The Clawed Fiend is by far the most expensive beast coming in at 40pts (the second most is 15pts) and you can only buy one Fiend per Beast Master so in total you spend 52pts.

The Fiend has a pretty good statline; S5 T5 W4 A4, and for every wound he takes he gets an extra attack. His T5 and the incentive to take wounds on him means that he can soak up any Power Fist attacks directed at the unit. Probably the best thing he did in my three games yesterday was get powered up to 7 attacks and killed a Chaplain.

So are the Fiends worth 52 points? The unit as a whole is terrible against vehicles and terrible against Terminators and because they are Beasts; they don't know how to climb stairs. The unit has at best Ld8 and T3, so what's the point of being able to soak wounds if as soon as you lose combat or get shot you run?