Deathwatch Librarian

I am kinda in-between projects right now. Without any big tournament nearing to give me motivation to paint just one army I am sure I will be painting a few new models for each of my existing armies to compensate/complement the new changes that 6th edition will bring.

Here is my Deathwatch Librarian I finished tonight to be added to my Mantis Warriors army or allied to my Imperial Guard... I used to be able to field this guy back in 4th edition but here he is finally with paint!

...and I got a little work done on this Corsair Raider

Wargames Con 2012

Wargames Con 2012 is in the books! and boy do I feel like shit but smiling :)

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!

Scout Sergeant Telion

Scout Sergeant Telion ready for Wargames Con next week! Sorry about the pics, I'll try and get better ones soon.

Stormtalon Gunship Complete!

Likely the first ever Mantis Warrior's Stormtalon is complete! Wargames Con is less than two weeks away, but I finished the Stormtalon in plenty of time. Not much left to paint before the tournament, just lots of practice games with my Kahn list.

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?

Stormtalon Gunship WIP

 Just some WIP shots of the Stormtalon. I am really liking this model...

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.

Hanging About; Not being Idle...

Last week Dragons Layer did something really cool; they hosted a "Mentor Tournament" to encourage new players to get into the tournament scene. To do this they paired someone who has never played in a tournament with someone who has played in a lot of them. Veteran teamed with Newbe. 

I showed up having no idea who I would be teamed with and in the spirit of the fun tournament I took a 1000 point army with a lot of scouts and no special characters. Unfortunately for our opponents my 13 year old teammate Sam took Gaz and 6 Mega Nobz who carried us to victory in every game... At the the end of the tournament Dragons Layer gave a $20 gift certificate to each of the 18 new players. 

Picture from game two: SM&Orks vs father and son team Necrons&Deathwing

Gearing up for the GT circuit means making terrain so a few weeks ago the locals gathered at Darkwyn's house to build BoLS terrain for WarGames Con. This was the first time I've made it to one of these terraing building days and I had a lot of fun and glue on my fingers.

AdamHarry blogging instead of helping... unlike me lol

Cutting foam hills... the spell of burning polystyrene traveled all the way inside.

Flames of War trees... can't have enough.

JWolf building the Wizard's Tower... over 4 hours and three different people working on it and it still wasn't done.

There was food and beer... did I mention it was fun?

Last night I went to Dragon's Layer to get my weekly game in. I really wanted to take the Eldar Corsairs but they just aren't ready yet so instead I built an interesting Chaos army using what Nurgle models I have and some old old old Legion of the Damned as Tzentch units. I played against Caldera's Dark Eldar; expect a BoLS Battle Report in a couple of weeks... 

 On the table next to us the fabled Leaf Blower faced off against BigRed's undefeated Tau army for another BoLS Battle Report... fun times.

New Year's Resolution 2012

Happy New Years fellow WH nerds. It is that time of year again to look back at last year's resolutions and make new ones!

First lets look at the resolutions I made last year concerning my three army projects and how close I came to completing them.
FIRST
paint 1500points of my new Dark Eldar army.
first was the worst, I only painted 300points for this army. I really didn't have much motivation to paint this army since I was starting it from scratch and only played one game with them all year. FAIL

SECOND
paint a further 1000points of Mantis Warriors and finally put decals on all the infantry and tanks. DONT BUY 
ANYTHING NEW!
I far surpassed this goal. I painted almost 1500pts of Space Marines which has really expanded my range of models. I also don't think that I bought anything new for them so that was 1500pts of models I already owned; double score.


THIRD
paint 1000points of Plague Marines.
I hit this one right on the nose. My goal was to paint 1000pts of Nurgle for WARgames Con and I did it just in time!


2012 RESOLUTIONS
FIRST
Paint 1000pts of Dark Eldar for WarGames Con team tournament. 
This goal seems a little more realistic than last year's. Eldar are very difficult to paint so I should shoot for a smaller army to get done. This goal also has a hard deadline; having to be finished in time for the Con mid Summer.


SECOND
Paint a further 1000pts of Space Marines without buying anything new!
This goal shouldn't be too hard to complete. I have so many unpainted SMs in my collection but with 6th edition on the horizon, buying new models will be hard to resist lol.


THIRD
Paint 500pts of Chaos Nurgle Marines, unless Codex Chaos Legions comes out, then 1000pts of Nurgle!
I think this will be the hardest to complete, simply because every model has to be sculpted fist and already made the fun units (possessed, raptors, Prince) which only leaves me basic Plague Marines. However if the codex comes out before the end of the year I'm sure that will be ample motivation to get the army complete, thus the additional points to paint.


FOURTH
At least one blog post a week with real content.
I am starting my second full year of blogging and I want to be more constant. I hope to have more than one a week. 

CONTENT

alright; almost a minimum sized troop choice done!

Scout Squad Ultis

As the Badab War ground on and the number of casualties mounted, the Mantis Warriors were forced recruit an ever growing number of initiates to compensate for the Chapter's Battle companies inability to keep a full contingent of Tactical Squads. In an effort to ensure that the Chapter could still call upon full strength Battle companies to defend the Mantis Warriors home world, the chapter's Reserve and Scout Companies were dissolved and their numbers were added to the remaining Battle Companies. In doing so, several Scout Squads were permanently added to Captain Mantodea's second company, a shift from the Codex Astartes that has continued long after the the Mantis Warriors reunification with the Imperium. 

Scout Squad Ultis was formed late in the Siege of Tranquility. Although their sniper rifles were poor use against the Carcharodon Terminator legions, they mainly attacked from the rear of the advance, taking out servitors, chapter surfs, and other non-combat personnel in an effort to slow down the Space Shark warmachine and ultimately make any time spent on Tranquility as miserable as possible for the invaders.

That was a bit of a long winded fluff piece but I hope you enjoyed it. To be honest I don't recall why I decided to paint up these scouts. I've played a few games with them and they are terrible. BS3 with sniper rifles is rubbish, not to mention the squad costs the same as 10 Eldar Rangers. Well they are painted now so I'm sure they will make their way into some future lists.

I'm in the Movies: Sisters vs Mantis Warriors

Friendly game at Dragon's Lair a week ago. Apparently the last turn has been lost in the Warp, don't worry you didn't miss much.

A Trio of More Scouts

Painted up three more scouts today. Two more to add to my Sniper squad and a Combat scout to round out the other unit to 10.

View of the cam.

For some reason I want three 10 man units of scouts... still have a few wholes to fill still.

Sniper Scouts

Made more progress on the sniper scouts tonight while watching Baseball. 

Will do a little fluff bit when I have a ten man squad is complete.

Tranquility Camo

 Been working on some Sniper Scouts for the Shrike list lately and here are their Camo Cloaks on display. I'd say they are still a bit WIP as some of the black "leaves" are a bit wispy for my taste.

1500 point Shrike Thoughts

The local gaming community in Austin has been talking about reducing the size of standard pick-up games from 2000 points to a smaller number between 1850 and 1500. It has been a long time since 1500 points was the normal around town; 10 years maybe? Anyway it got me thinking about the differences in army list construction between 1500 and 2000.

After being used to 2000 for so long, 1500pts created quite a dilemma for me during army list construction. There is just not enough points to fill out two HQ slots, all the scoring units necessary for a 5 objective game, and the necessary Elite/Fast/Heavy slots to do the heavy lifting/killing.

Recently I've been toying around with a Shrike list, with heavy component of scouts, as a change of pace from Khan or Sicarius. I am hoping that the reduced price of my scoring units will leave me enough points left over to still bring a strong army at 1500pts.

HQ
Captain Shrike
Chaplain; jump pack, digi-lasers, melta bombs

TROOPS
Tactical Squad*10; power fist, combi-melta, melta gun, multi-melta
Drop Pod; locator beacon

Scouts*10; sniper rifles, combi-plasma, heavy bolter
Scouts*10; power fist, teleport homer

ELITES
Assault Terminators*5; thunder hammers*3, lightning claws*2

FAST ATTACK
Assault Marines*8; power first
Attack Bike; multi-melta

HEAVY SUPPORT
Devastators*5; missile launcher*4


~the idea is pretty simple. Infiltrate as close as possible with the assault scouts and assault marines+characters and hope for a first turn assault with both. Tac squad drops in first turn, combined with decent weight of fire from the sniper scouts and devs to weaken enemy before termis deep strike ASAP. It is a very aggressive army with a fairly major weak link: 20 scouts making up the majority of my scoring models. After a few games I'll post how it does. Any thoughts or words of wisdom for using Shrike or Scouts?

Scout Sergeants; the only good thing in the unit

I've been messing around with a Shriek list in my last couple of games. I lost both of them but got me thinking about what I would need to add to my collection to make a Shriek list work for me... solution; more scouts?

 not the best pics but it was done quicly

 plasma gun/sniper sergeant, never seen one so we'll see how it goes

 Back slung Sniper Rifle.

 I always thought that SM power fists looked awkwardly large on scout arms. 

 Teleport Homer.

This is an old old Catachan power fist with a Cadian flamer hose and some putty.

Mobile Support Part 2

It's been a while since I've posted finished models on here, and to make matters worse I painted this guy 2 weeks ago... jeeze. 

This gives me a squadron of three, and I've got my eye on adding a fourth before I'm through.