More For Sale: Terminators w/ Converted Cyclone Missile Launchers!

Greetings readers! Just about wrapping this round's army-cleanup is another batch of Terminators! If you are looking at this post, then you will know I'm selling my terminators squad. I am not sure if they are AoBR, as the captain and a couple of the other guys look different than my other squad. I converted two of them to be packing CML's, and did a solid job painting them. They are painted as Blood Angels, specifically the Angels Encarmine. Because of the Red Thirst which figures so prominently in both the Blood Angel fluff as well as rules, I've painted the sergeant as if he's fallen to it. This time, that means somewhat ashen skin and my preferred glowy-white eyes. If you got a terminator squad and want to beef it out with a special-weapon guy, this squad is for you. Or, if you like the Black Templar rules, these termies are for you. Here are some pics. They're at full size, so if you click on one you can open it to a huge size. They'll be on eBay, i'll post the link shortly!

Oh, if you're curious as to why you'd need shooty terminators, they fit in any list where you need someone who is extremely resilient, absorbs a ton of shots, and can destroy vehicles and soldiers alike in the shooting or assault phase. Like this list at 1500 pts, for example:

For Sale: Blood Angels Tactical Marines!

Greetings readers! If you are looking at this post, then you will know I'm selling two squads of Blood Angels Tactical Marines. They started out life as  an AoBR Tacticals, and I've added the power weapon and bolter onto the Sergeants and done a solid job painting them. The backpacks have some simulated wear on them to bring a bit of life to them, as black is boring. They are painted as Blood Angels, specifically the Angels Encarmine. Because of the Red Thirst which figures so prominently in both the Blood Angel fluff as well as rules, I've painted the Sergeants as if they've fallen to it. Here are some pics. They're at full size, so if you click on one you can open it to a huge size. They'll be on eBay, i'll post the link shortly!

Oh, if you're curious as to why you'd need tacticals, they fit in any list where you need someone to sit on objectives, or to babysit something slower. Like this list at 1500 pts, for example:

For Sale: Converted Blood Angels Captain!

Greetings readers! If you are looking at this post, then you will know I'm selling my converted AoBR Captain. He started out life as  an AoBR Captain, and I've added the thunderhammer and done a solid job painting him. He is painted as a Blood Angel, specifically the Angels Encarmine. Because of the Red Thirst which figures so prominently in both the Blood Angel fluff as well as rules, I've painted the Captain as if he's fallen to it. Here are some pics. They're at full size, so if you click on one you can open it to a huge size. He'll be on eBay, i'll post the link shortly!

Oh, if you're curious as to why you'd need a Captain, they fit in any list where you need someone who has multiple wounds and packs a mean punch. Like this list at 1500 pts, for example:

For Sale: Terminators

Greetings readers! If you are looking at this post, then you will know I'm selling my terminators squad. They started out life as AoBR Terminators, and I've added the special weapon and done a solid job painting them. They are painted as Blood Angels, specifically the Angels Encarmine. Because of the Red Thirst which figures so prominently in both the Blood Angel fluff as well as rules, I've painted the sergeant as if he's fallen to it. Here are some pics. They're at full size, so if you click on one you can open it to a huge size. They'll be on eBay, i'll post the link shortly!

Oh, if you're curious as to why you'd need shooty terminators, they fit in any list where you need someone who is extremely resilient, absorbs a ton of shots, and can destroy vehicles and soldiers alike in the shooting or assault phase. Like this list at 1500 pts, for example:

An Update.

Fire Warriors Look Awesome

Firstly, I have not published anything Tau-related in a while. While they are my favorite army and the one I almost always choose to play, most of what needs to be said has already been said. There is very little strategy for them, sadly, which has not already been covered. It is disappointing, but the only choice I make when putting my army together is whether to take more Broadsides or more Hammerheads. However, i hope to be posting a new batrep soon which will bring some fresh Tau content to you.

I proposed an article to The Escapist Magazine, a worthy website which you should frequent almost as much as my humble blog. However, it was turned down. I was interested in writing about the link between modern DRM, digital distribution, reduction of single-player content, and the loss of the classic PC game. By classic I mean a game whos quality is so exceptional that 18 years after its release you load it up and play it again. There may be emulators, or system tweaks, but it is still doable. Always-on connections and server-side authentication will end such things, and the consumer will be so much the poorer. Perhaps I will post it here. You never know.

Awesometown

While I have not been able to play any 40k games recently, my Blood Angels army construction continues apace. I have 11 scratch-built drop pods ready to be painted, and two squads of Vanguard Veterans kitbashed from Death Company and Sanguinary Guards that I need to finish assembling. Also, I have two Terminators I scratch-built Cyclone Missle Launchers, which need new Storm-Bolter arms. They came with Assault Cannons, which I still have, but for now lay dormant in my bitz box. Also, I am looking at posting a couple well-painted Tactical Squads and a AoBR Captain w/ Thunderhammer on eBay. If it weren't for their awesome appearance, the termies would likely join them. Neither quite fit in the jumper or drop-pod based assault armies I am building. So naturally I built a list with them, with two variations:

x1 librarian: bolt/sword
2x5 termies: cms
3x1 sang priests: x2 infernus pistols
2x10 tac squad: ml, melta, combi-melta
x6 devs: x4 ml
2x1 dreads: hflamer, assault cannon

x1 librarian: bolt/sword powers, combi-melta
2x5 termies: cms
3x1 san priests: x2 infernus pistols
2x10 tac squad: ml, melta, combi-melta
3x5 devs: x4 ml apiece

They both come to about 1500 points. The idea is to build a BA army that uses Blood Chalices to protect them while they stride slowly across the battlefield. One version, the devs provide a firebase set off at an angle from the rest of the force. In the other version, the Dreads go with the rest of the army, providing alternate threats as well as cover for the infantry. My goal was to use shooty terminators in the 1.5k range. I think these lists are about as good as it gets without introducing units that will fast outpace the termies.

And in other news... I will soon be finished with Mass Effect! Living under a rock and all, I am a bit behind the PC Gaming times. But I must say this game does live up to its hype. I hope to begin reindulging in Starcraft soon after this.

"prosper, as Tau shall"
Shas'El Mike

Chaos Space Marine Lists

Filefront

As the title suggests, I've spent part of today thinking about Chaos Space Marines. Specifically, how to build a solid 2k point list. As a quick scan of 3++ will tell you, that is no easy feat. Thus began my musings.

Every army is better at some things than others. Tau are mobile and shooty, Dark Eldar are mobile and assaulty. Blood Angels are good at everything, and so on. As far as shooting goes, there are three ranges: short, mid, and long. So, Chaos SM is adequate at mobile: their vehicles are more expensive than vanilla marines, yet cheaper than Blood Angel vehicles. But they aren't fast and are missing important vehicles like LR variations, speeders, and Razorbacks. As far as shooting: solid shooting at close range: melta is plentiful as are bolters. Mid-range shooting is adequate: auto-cannons are available on a couple different platforms. Long-range: terrible availability. Other than Heavy Support, there are no options unless you are playing gun-line. And should you do that, IG will blow you away. Looking at the available upgrades for vehicles and units, it appears that short-mid is where C:CSM wants you to be. And as for close combat... dangerously close to pants-on-head-bad.  It costs an arm and a leg to get the champion upgrade for any unit, and in most cases they are the only ones who can sport power weapons, claws or fists. Which are crazy expensive. Unless you are getting Terminators, which are more expensive than their loyalist counterparts and still somehow aren't as good.

So, on to the list churning. I stayed away from certain units due to their lack of performance versus cost. Here is one basic fundamental I based my lists around: Not all marks or specialty troops are created equal. For example, Khorne is dumb. khornecornflakes are bad, and so is anything else owing allegiance to the throne of skulls. As an expensive mark, it boosts your strength by one. cool. But, your hero is dumb, and as i mentioned its tough building good CC units out of C:CSM. Another fundamental was the avoidance of units too common in C:CSM armies. One of my gaming buddies uses Nurgle DPrinces and Plague Marines. So in the interest of variety these are both out. This restriction might be silly, but I think I can make it work. So, if marks are to be used, I have to chose between Tzeentch and Slaneesh. Increased invulnerability is cool, but higher initiative is cool too. and its cheaper. So its a toss-up.

so below is List One. I built it to get close, shoot a bunch, then kill everything left in CC. This list has a lot of melta, lots of combi weapons, and terminators to tie stuff up in CC while raptors kick at the victim when its safe to do so. A couple chaos marine squads can hang around the backfield or wherever they want, and hold objectives or use their meltagun to kill stuff while the other two advance. the two rhinos, preds, and LR's all move foward, with the raptors behind them. The speed depends on how much shooting you need to do. When you get close, you kill stuff. Here is the list, coming to 1995 pts: 

chaos lord: slanesh, combi, dual lclaws
2x5 termies: slanesh, x4 combies, x1 hflamer:
2x1 LR:
4x5 chaos marines: x1 melta:
2x1 rhino
2x5 raptors: slanesh, x2 melta, champion/powerfist, x1 flamer
 3x1 pred: ac/las

The only problem with this list is that terminators and Land Raiders, while awesome as loyalists, under-perform for their point costs as renegades. Chosen seem to be a better way to go. Cheaper per model, and you can dump 5 special weapons on a squad. I built a list using them as 4 melta gun platforms, which was cool. But, that means being within 12 inches of the enemy to use them. And since Chaos doesn't have any good CC outside of HQ and Elite slots, that can be a problem. Unless you want to play like a chaos-tau hybrid, move close, hide behind rhinos and dish out tons of melta fire. But that's silly. So, I built a second list for your consideration.

With this list, chosen can either shoot stuff or attack it. By removing Land Raiders, I'm free to move rhinos all 12 inches and pop smoke or shoot with occupants if I so desire. Again, the raptors jump behind the rhinos to keep them safe.  And, I can either have the preds hang back and shoot lascannons all day, or have them trundle behind for a turn or two, reducing their shooting. This way, the army gets close, shoots a ton of melta, and next turn jumps out and assaults stuff. And between the Chaos Lord, the Chosen, and the Raptors, not much will be left. So here it is for your convenience. And it comes out to 1999 points:

chaos lord: slanesh, dual lclaws
3x6 chosen: slanesh, x3 pw, x2 melta, champion/pfist
3x1 rhino: combi-weapon
4x5 chaos marines: x1 melta
2x1 rhino:combi-weapon
2x5 raptors: slanesh, x2 melta, champion/powerfist (one squad w/ flamer)
3x1 pred: aclc:


so, questions, comments. Let me know what you think!

'Ard Boyz List

First off, 'Ard Boyz is stupid. For two reasons. Firstly, there is no need for craftsmanship. Customization beyond GW-parts is verboten, and painting is an unnecessary effort. Which means if you want to use models that GW hasn't provided you with a model for, you're out of luck. Secondly, the points are too high. At 2500 points, you can take anything your heart desires. There is no need to decide between taking unit A or B, or maximizing the effect of a particular FoC slot at the expense of the others. With most armies, your only remaining limitation is the number of slots. Problems aside, it does allow for something that "real" 40k battles don't: total firepower optimization. By bringing everything you could ever want, and equipping it the way you want, you can either (a) wipe your enemy out in a truly brutal manner, or (b) rent the earth in twain.

Tau aren't quite on the level of Imperial Guard at high point levels. With Tau, 1750 is the sweet spot. At this point, by maxing out your Elite and Heavy Support slots you bring enough firepower for a 2k game to a smaller one. By having the bigger stick, you stand a much greater chance of thrashing your opponent. At 2k points, you expand by adding in some diversionary units. Your firepower does not increase significantly, but your survivability and ability to bubble-wrap is much greater. At some point even this increase ends, namely at the 2k point range. At the 2.5k range, the law of diminishing returns strikes with a vengeance. At this point, you are out of Elite, Fast Attack, and Heavy slots. Troop slots do not increase anything beyond the ability to make sure your objectives stay claimed. So that only leaves HQ slots to increase offensive potential.

I propose that the HQ slots be entirely filled by deathrain suits.  The first reason I would propose such a thing is the likelihood of enemy mechanization. Most enemy armies will have extreme armor saturation at 2.5k points, whether it be rhino/razor-spam, or tons of squadrons IG-style. Or, in the case of Tyranids, lots of t6 baddies. Against all the above scenarios, loads and loads of s7 missiles are a good idea. The second reason is points allocation. Assuming you add an extra warfish and minimum-sized Fire Warrior squad for scoring redudancy, you can either take two commanders and two bodyguards as fireknives, or you can take two commanders and four bodyguards as deathrains. While the extra points from the fireknife setup could allow your piranhas to live longer and add a couple shield drones here and there, it doesnt significantly increase your offensive punch. The list is as follows:


shas'el: x2 mp, tl, bonding knife: 78
x2 bodyguards: x2mp, ta, bsf: 122

shas'el: x2 mp, tl, bonding knife: 78
x2 bodyguards: x2mp, ta, bsf: 122


x3 crisis: mp, pr, mt: 186

x3 crisis: mp, pr, mt: 186

x3 crisis: mp, pr, mt: 186


x6 fire warriors: 60

devilfish: mt, ta, sms, dp: 120

x6 fire warriors: 60

x10 kroot carnivores / x7 kroot hounds: 112

x10 kroot carnivores / x7 kroot hounds: 112


x2 Piranhas: fb, ta, dp: 150

x2 Piranhas: fb, ta, dp: 150

x9 Pathfinders: leader: bonding knife: 118

Devilfish: mt, ta, sms, dp: 120


Hammerhead: railgun, sms, mt, dp: 175

Hammerhead: railgun, sms, mt, dp: 175

x3 Broadsides: x3ass, leader: target lock, bonding knife, shield drone: 190