Design Studio: Codex Chaos Legions (v 0.792)

Latest update for Codex: Chaos Legions...

After a long hiatus, Design Studio is back. With the first update, here is an look back at Codex Chaos Legions.]
Since the previous update, the codex has doubled. While totally incomplete - with most of the fluff missing - this stuff is mostly done. I'm looking for opportunities to playtest them ASAP.

Updates:
- Added Arrax the Brazen, a new Iron Warrior character. Hate having your artillery miss their mark? Arrax will focus your fire.
- Added The High Orator and his Dark Apostles, reduxed Word Bearer characters. Very similar to the Sanguinary Priests, but not as OTT, these can buff your entire force.
- Added Calaesh, Thrall of Alakhar, a new Alpha Legion character. A cult leader exported from Codex: Lost and the Damned (a project in progress btw), the Thrall is your insane psyker, who guarantees your outflanks to destroy the foe.
- Added Talonmaster Torhren, a new Night Lords character. The only character outside of the HQ choices, in Fast Attack, prepare to screw people over in assault.
- Added Greater Daemons to the codex. With unique wargear, albeit at a large cost, these guys actually represent the true power of the gods.
- Added a bunch of unique Daemon Engines - 4 types of Engine Units, to be exact.
- Added some... decent Obliterator stuff? :O
- Added Campaign Chaos Gifts. If in a campaign - say, my Planetary Empires redux - you can use these rules to modify your champions and characters. With 80 options in the list, no character (should) be similar

SCRIBD LINK: http://www.scribd.com/doc/26225522/Warhammer-40-000-Fanmade-Chaos-Legions-5th-Ed
PAGES: 65
CONTAINS: Full Chaos Codex, Updated to 5th Edition standards. Few missing entries - for now - to be updated soon.

Army Plan: Tyrants Legion 'Babab Defense Force'

This is my intended 3 phase project.

Essentially, it goes from the unique Tyrant Legion army, to an Astral Claws force constructed with Codex: SM (well, adapted from Codex Blood Angels, for I REFUSE to pay for another codex), and finally a load of Imperial Guard 'artillery' or heavy firepower to level the foe.

The only reason I have to use the Guard for the third part of the force is because IG has the best selection of tanks, giving me a chance to drastically alter my plans with little change in the materials I need to play the force. Oh no, Hydras became more viable due to Dark Eldar? Seeing as i've not brought ANY of this, and will be buying it in sizeable chunks each month, I can change it, lol.

Anyway... Tyrant's Guard...

Organised as Unit, Wargear/Additions - Pts - Cost (£). Where 0 is indicated for the cost, i've got some decent proxies for the moment and they're not a priority.

6030pts Babab Defense Forces – Tyrant’s Guard

The Battle for the Fortress of Thorns was filled with much bloodshed, requiring constant resupply and remanoevreing to even gain a single hour’s advantage. However, with the number of troops available for the Tyrant’s use this was simple enough to work.

The Tyrant’s Guard relies on its tanks being scoring, to be honest – having 4 Tank Squadrons and 6 more Individual Tanks available for such a use, especially tanks such as the Thunderer with its Demolisher Cannon and all, makes the army quite formidable. As with the Bulwark, the Auxilia and Cohort move forward, while the next waves move and attack the enemy on contact.

Tyrants Legion Field Forces – 1805pts

Centurion – 55 – 0

Corpse Taker with 8 Servitors – 110 – 45

Corpse Taker with 8 Servitors – 110 – 45

35 Legion Auxilia – 115 - 0

35 Legion Auxilia – 115 - 0

10 Legion Cohort with 2 P Weps – 170 – 40

10 Legion Cohort with 2 P Weps – 170 – 40

3 Thunderer Siege Tanks with Camo Netting – 480 – 90

3 Thunderer Siege Tanks with Camo Netting – 480 – 90

TOTAL - £270 + £80. 4 Months Buying, AMAP per month. Already got the Auxilia assembled... aka: regular Guardsmen. Got bits for the Corpse Takers too. :)

↓

Astral Claws Fortress Guard – 1825pts

Captain Corien Sumatris – 165 – 0

10 TH/SS Assault Terminators – 400 – 0

Venerable Dreadnought with Plasma Cannon and Extra Armour – 190 – 26

Dreadnought with 2 Autocannons and Extra Armpur – 140 – 27

10 Tactical with M Launcher and Flamer – 170 – 0

10 Tactical with M Launcher and Flamer – 170 – 0

10 Tactical with M Launcher and Flamer – 170 – 0

10 Assault Marines with Sergeant (P Wep, C Shield) – 210 – 0

10 Assault Marines with Sergeant (P Wep, C Shield) – 210 – 40

TOTAL: £93 - 1 Month Buying, AMAP per Month. Note: Sumatris is already assembled and will be used as a Centurion until this part of the list is ready to be made. 

↓

Babab Armory – 2400pts

3 Leman Russ Executioners with Camo Netting – 630 – 90

3 Leman Russ Executioners with Camo Netting – 630 – 90

3 Manticore Rocket Launchers with Camo Netting – 570 – 90

3 Manticore Rocket Launchers with Camo Netting – 570 – 90

TOTAL: £360 - 3 Months Buying, 1 Tank of Each Squadron per Month

Lets Play Tyrant's Legion

Big Guns Never Tire...
That's the story of how I fell in love with the idea of doing Tyrants Legion.

Originally this post was meant to outline the list i'll be doing for this project thing, but thats gonna take some thinkin' out. What I DO know is that i've 80 Guardsmen standing around doing nothing and one of them needs shooting in the kneecaps.

*toddles off for 5 minutes*

Anyway, Tyrants Legion.

Cool story bro, apparently Huron meshed his Guard and (some) Astral Claws together in what has to be the most meh and money grabbing scheme GW has ever done.

Let me say something now - Yes, I have the Blood angels book. Yes, I have Space Wolves. Yes I have Imperial Guard. The problem I have with the book is... what if I didn't? Suddenly I become a sad sad person who wants to kill Jervis Johnson again, despite my restraining order. Why? Because theres not only no weapon summary (except from IA only units), but you also need to have Codex: SM to use the book. And believe me, i've no interest whatsoever in getting that pile of rotten sardines. ;)

Anyway, unit ideas:
- Corpse Taker: I can haz Bile? Using the Chirurgeon Backpack set on GW site to build the actual Apothecary bloke, with a dash of Flagellants + Flayed Ones + Spare Chirg arms OR Tech Servitors for £7 at FW = Vivisection Servitors. Imma thinkin' it might be good to start with the bare unit and see how it goes before I go up.
- Centurion: Thinking basic marine with Helmet Plume, Bare Chest, and as many weapons as possible. Tip for next time, FW? ALLOW ALL ASTRAL CLAW CHARACTERS IN THE TYRANT LEGION!!!!
- Retaliators: Thinking Iron Armour for them. Nuff Said
- Legion Cohort: ...
- Iron Hunters: Scythed Bikes it is!
- Marauders: Thinkin' these should be Flagellants (for Death Cult), Necromunda (for Scout guys), or Penal Legion (for anyone else). Might want to pick up a opened up Chimera for the transport...

My intention is to pretty much build one of every infantry/bike unit in the book, and then load up on metric craptons of tanks, to bring forward the Big Guns. Then, at the end of the project, it's Huron tiem.

The time has come for this corrupt land to be cleansed with redeeming fire...

Wow, Flashback tiem!

Flashbacks. Gotta love them. Especially when they remind you of some of your... duties.

I'm not a painter. I'm not a memory... guy. I'm not a hobbyist... in a way. These are all reasons why I flitter between projects... that and the flies.

Another reason? Because something is always better.

Say, for instance... BABAB WAR!

Lamenters vs. Star Phantoms was a 2 week thing. Anyway, i've found something better, thanks to this week's From The Warp own Flashback (lol it's Flashback week. Next week, it's flashdance)... here: http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2010/11/tuesday-top-ten-91.html

Anyway... BOOM! http://thefallenprinces.blogspot.com/2010/11/badab-project.html

Meet Babab War Awesome Group of Awesomeness Complete With A Label no Jutsu (or BWAGA CWULJ... pronounce from the depth of your throat, bwah-aga, cuh-wuljuh)... Label no Jutsu being here...

So yeah... Babab War Project!

My intention is for this to be a side project to my other side projects, which are themselves aside glances from the big side project, y'know being PURE EVIL (and afraid of puppies, but thats beside the point)

So. What chapter... No, it's not Phantoms or Lamenters.

All about teh Astral Claws! Gonna go down to WHW to pick up the stuff I need for it - namely Huron (the decent model) and some of those armor packs. Gonna be a blast.

I have GOT to the be the worst blogger ever...

I mean seriously. I revamp the site, post some stuff saying content is coming back, start, stop... return 6 months later... and put the old template back up.

Anyway, yeah. Back again for now. But what does that mean?

Well, it means one certain thing - i'm going to be posting some of the stuff i've been working on for the past few months, whether its crap or not lol. I'm not one for writing long sappy stupid posts which end eventually in my continuance in doing whatever the problem i've felt and advertised in the post, so lets keep this short.

New link bar, bam. Here's why i've added these 6 particular links - and myself - to the side:
- I have about 60 RSS feeds in my browser already. To add all 60 when not all of them are blogs would be insane.
- BoLS and YTTH are what actually got me into the hobby. They are the solder which keeps me stuck here. They are the building blocks of the hobby, and are totally Yin and Yang. To have the truly pretty much all out killing spree of YTTH without the hobby content of BoLS and the community would be so much worse than it is.
- Galaxy in Flames is there because, lets face it, I love Big Jim's work. The Soul Reapers may be the reason I put as part of his Link, being that they're remarkably similar to my still ongoing Codex: Chaos Legions, but his work in another piece - called Killzone - is so incredibly awesome that even my local GW has - or will - cave into it. Big Jim is so larger than life.
- Dethtron is there because I think that even if he, unlike all of the others in the list, uses his blog as a front for a secret underground awesome band of total bitchingness, his Friday Night Internet Fights make me lol. Sooo much.
- Explained 4, so the rest of them. Hmm. King Elessar is a British dude. From the Warp is the second greatest blog network ever (first being House of Paincakes :P). I'm a sap for self advertising, and the opportunity to lock people into an endless link loop is fascinating (makes me want to make 5 more clones of his blog to really screw with people).

Well, the link bar went on longer than I expected. So, tabs at top.
Currently broken, really, at the top but DIGAF? Herald Highlights, Design Studio, and Tactica Chaotica (aka: Tactics) articles up at the top. Added a Contact feature - my email address is battlefleetchaotic@live.co.uk, as if that wasn't already obvious. Send me hate mail if you want, at least it isn't touching my other email accounts. =)

All of my Design Studio files are being updated this week. If you're wondering, since posting Codex Chaos Legions preview in 2009, we're into version 0.791. Yep, thats the Version. 15 Updates have gone into the codex - 7.8 of them are in the Lounge Blog I have at Bell of Lost Souls.
Please, DO NOT TOUCH THE LINKS ON THE OLD DESIGN STUDIO FILES, as in those pre 2010. They're all broken or totally stupid so theres no point.
I'm hosting all of my new files on http://www.scribd.com/. That's a far better site, and its easier to update them. Plus, you can download the documents as Word Docs so that you can spread the homebrew far and wide!

Anyway, good to be back. Now then, time to make the first of many Killzone articles.
~ Herald of Nurgle

PS: Currently accepting applications for writers on Battlefleet Chaotic. Likewise, i'm registering a domain name. Tiem for funnz0rs!

The Colours of Magic: The Wind of Light

Second article in a series, eh? Well, the Lore of Light is certainly worth it.
Like all of the Lores in this edition, this Lore has been massively buffed... wow, I said pretty much the same thing in the previous article, didn't I? Well, unlike Death, the Lore of Light was buffed in an entirely different way. It's focus has been sort of shifted. Now that isn't to say that its gone away from it's 'Anti Undead' image - that'd be totally incorrect - but the focus has MAJORly shifted.

Now the lore is pretty much a combat one. Why? Because of two spells:
- The Speed of Light is cast on an 8+ - fair enough - but it's got a 24" range and makes a single unit both WS and Initiative 10 until the next magic phase. It can be cast into combat. That's not it - the epic (16+) version makes every single friendly unit within 12" have the same boost for pretty much, what, 4 more power dice? Ouch!
- Birona's Timewarp is the real deal here, though, with a casting value of 12+. Sure it's got a range of 12", but not only does it double the target's Movement, give +1 Attack, AND gives Always Strikes First to the target unit, it has an epic (24+) version which gives the same buff to every unit within 12". Painful.
Combine the two together and, for the cost of pretty much all the dice in your pool, you've just made EVERYTHING WITHIN 3 MILES turn into fighting gods. Those Free Company just became MENTAL.

The idea of this being painful is fair enough - you could be excused for saying 'wow those spells are good. they're probably the only gems in this here lore'. Well, you'd be wrong. There are the OTHER FIVE spells to worry about...
- Light of Battle is a simple spell, with a value of 9+, which means that until the caster's next magic phase, the targetted unit within 12" passes all Leadership checks and, if fleeing, immediately rallies. Fair enough. But the dealmaker is that it's epic version (18+) makes ALL UNITS within 12" have this effect. Nice.
- Pha's Protection is another gem, with a value of 6+. Until the next turn, the target essentially turns into a Follower of Nurgle with even more protection vs. Warmachines. The epic version (12+) extends this to all units within 12".

Hold it, Herald of Nurgle, didn't you say FIVE spells? Well, I did, but the last three all benefit from the Lore's Attribute ability - dealing extra hits to Undead and Daemons. Haha! Looks like armies such as Empire just got the upper hand against Sylvania!
- First, the attribute deals exactly D6 more hits. No additional strength, no extra abilities. That makes it pretty tame in comparison to the Lore of Death's bonus, but still quite annoying.
- Net of Amyntok casts on a 10+, quite cheap then (the epic one is 13+ but only increases range so meh), and snares a unit within 24". They must take a Strength Test or else take D6 Strength 4 hits whenever they try to move. The Undead and Daemons may not be broken, but they will hurt. Oh yeah, the kicker? It remains in play till dispelled, and the wizard can cast more.
- Banishment is the spell you bring to the table when you're playing a horde of Light users. With casting value 10+ (13+ epic, but only doubles range) Banishment deals 2D6 hits to the target, with a Strength of 4+X (X= Lore of Light users within 12" of initial caster). That's a potential 18 hits with Strength 7 under the previous Hero system of 3 Wizards in the force.
- Shem's Burning Gaze, the signature spell with casting value 5+, deals D6 Flaming Attacks with Strength 4 to the target. It's Epic version (15+) makes these hits a Strength of 6.

But how can you combo the Lore of Light?
The Lore of Light works well as a gun which is loaded with the bullets given by other Lores...
- In the Lore of Death, Soulblight reduces Toughness, increasing damage from actual damaging spells, and also Strength, making Net of Amyntok more likely to go off.
- The Lore of Shadow works similar to Lore of Death with The Enfeebling Foe, which reduces Strength, and The Withering.
- The Lore of Metal makes your super combat units even more deadly with Enchanted Blades of Aiban, which makes their attacks Armour Piercing, Magical, and gives them +1 to hit on Shooting and Combat.
- So does The Lore of Beasts, with the Signature Spell (Wyssan's Wildform) giving the super combat units have +1 Strength and Toughness. The Curse of Anraheir also helps in Combat as a Hex, making the foe even less likely to hit you.
- Even more so with Lore of Heavens, with Iceshard Blizzard making you nigh impossible to hit with even more -1 modifiers. Likewise your super combat unit can re-roll all 1s with Harmonic Convergence. The foes attacking your super combat will have to roll double 6s to hit you with Curse of the Midnight Ward, so that's useful too.
- The Lore of Fire has Flaming Sword of Rhuin to make your super combat unit more likely to wound and with Flaming Attacks make these wounds count.
- The Lore of Life can buff your super combat unit with Flesh to Stone, which gives +2 Toughness, and the Signature Spell Earth Blood which gives the unit 'Lesser Regeneration'.
Overall, I recommend a combination of The Lore of Heavens with the Lore of Light, ironically.

VERY VERY major lore this edition, the Lore of Light. I would be surprised to see people taking other options nowadays. If you're a High Elf, Empire, or Slann... replace your usual ones with Light for a change. It will not let you down!

The Colours of Magic: The Wind of Death

Ah the Lore of Death, most pleasing of the lores of Warhammer Fantasy. Like all the Lores of the Basic Rulebook, the Lore of Death has been vastly buffed in comparison to its 7th Edition counterpart and now forms a viable alternative Damage dealing lore for one simple reason.

The Lore of Death Generates Power Dice for dealing wounds.

Woah. That is one pretty nifty change, mes amis. For each unsaved wound dealt by a Lore of Death spell (the most effective, i'd say, being Spirit Leech) roll a d6. On a 5+, the army's power pool increases by a single d6. Wow. While you may not be able to spam spells like you used to to really benefit from this buff, it certainly is one of those reasons why you want Death to either be near the middle of the spellcasting list due to the glass ceiling of 12 Power Dice in your dice pool.

The Lore of Death is more than just a damage dealing lore, though (ironic, eh?). This Lore is based entirely around really disrupting your foe by stacking debuffs onto his units...
- There are two Hex spells in the Lore, being Doom and Darkness (which reduces Leadership) and Soulblight (which reduces Strength and Toughness)
- There are three Direct Damage spells in the Lore, being The Fate of Bjuna (which damages based on the foe's Toughness), The Caress of Laniph (which damages based upon Strength), and of course Spirit Leech (which damages based upon Leadership)

Oh jeez mister, I think that says it all. The Lore of Death is a self fuelling lore! Level Two Wizards will just love being able to fuel their own damage by picking up Doom and Darkness and the Signature Spell, Spirit Leech, or alternatively by picking up Soulblight and either of the other Direct Damage spells available really. But that isn't all that the lore is for...
- The Purple Sun of Xereus aka the 6th Spell of the Lore is another 'Direct Damage' spell but with a twist - it's a Stone Thrower of doooom! The target takes an Initiative Test or is literally torn apart and removed from play. With the fact that all models under a template are auto hit now that is one nasty effect.
- Aspect of the Dreadknight is an Augment spell - the only one in the Lore of Death - which literally just makes the target scarier. Though you can't automatically make a Fear unit Terrifying, this can really make that giant unit of, say, 30 Flagellants really tough to deal with.

How does the Lore of Death team up with other Lores, though?
The Lore of Death, while already quite daunting in its self sustainability, should be teamed up with any of the following Lores:
- The Lore of Fire has one combo, which is the Fulminating Flame Cage. This Hex will cause each model in the unit to take a Strength 4 hit if it moves (before ceasing). Using Soulblight on that unit will increase the chances of wounding. Using Aspect of the Dreadknight on a unit charging that Caged unit could cause it to flee, causing damage to it as it does so!
- The Lore of Shadows can combo The Enfeebling Foe with The Caress of Laniph due to the spell's effect of decreasing the target's Strength by D3. Ooh, more damage... Alternatively Melkoth's Mystifying Miasma can be combined with the Purple Sun to deal Initiative test pains.
- The Lore f Life can combo The Dwellers Below with Soulblight in order to increase the chances that the target will fail their Toughness Tests.
- The Lore of Light can combo Net of Amyntok with Soulblight for more Strength Test shenanigans.
- The Lore of Heavens can combo Iceshard Blizzard with Spirit Leech (Wow, two Signatures working together!) to deal some more Leadership damage.
Overall, I recommend a pairing of the Lore of Shadows with the Lore of Death.

Imperial Ideas: Age of Steel 2000

Games Workshop posted a number of FAQs - about 15 actually - which cover many of the changes which are occurring to armies due to 8th Edition. As part of this, there's one very handy ruling on Engineers... if they stand within 3" of a war machine, the war machine gets massive bonuses. That's the thing... some people have been just noting this simple fact by itself.

With the new 'Force Chart' for choosing your army, it is quite possible to plan an entire army about this fact... An Age of Steel as I call it (or the Gunline force as people sometimes call it :P)

The idea of the Age of Steel is that you launch as many rocks into the foe's face as possible. Whether these rocks are from the Lore of Metal, Great Cannons, or just Handgunners is irrelevant. The core of it will generally be Engineers in units of Swordsmen.

Master Engineer with Hochland Long Rifle. 85
Master Engineer with Hochland Long Rifle. 85
Master Engineer with Hochland Long Rifle. 85
Master Engineer with Hochland Long Rifle. 85

20 Handgunners with Full Command. 180. 4 Ranks of 5.
20 Handgunners with Full Command. 180. 4 Ranks of 5.
11 Swordsmen with Musician, Standard Bearer. 81. 4 Ranks of 3.
11 Swordsmen with Musician, Standard Bearer. 81. 4 Ranks of 3 .
11 Swordsmen with Musician, Standard Bearer. 81. 4 Ranks of 3.
11 Swordsmen with Musician, Standard Bearer. 81. 4 Ranks of 3.

Great Cannon. 100
Great Cannon. 100
Great Cannon. 100
Mortar. 75
Mortar. 75
Mortar. 75

Helstorm Rocket Battery. 115
Helstorm Rocket Battery. 115
Helblaster Volley Gun. 110
Helblaster Volley Gun. 110

This main force comes up to 1999 points. It uses...
0/500 Lords
340/500 Heroes
584/500+ Core
525/1000 Special
430/500 Rare

If I were to increase this to higher points, i'd probably add loads of fodder to run at the front...

Warrior Priest. 90
Warrior Priest. 90
24 Free Company. 120
24 Free Company. 120

Total Points? 2419.
Total Units? 24
Standards? 6
General? Just any of the Engineers. To be in the middle.

Nid and BA FAQs finally up!

Yes they're up. Kthx to The King Elessar for the notice. :)

https://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1240365a_FAQ_BloodAngels_2010.pdf

https://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1240364a_FAQ_Tyranids_2010.pdf

Main things:
TYRANIDS
- Doom of Malantai doesn't affect in vehicles, and gives a Cover Save (:O)
- Weapons stack in Tyranid codex
- Shadow of Warp doesn't affect Eldrad
- No more Instinctive Behavior on the turn reserves arrive
- Reserve effects no longer stack on Hive Commander but the Lictor/Swarmlord do >.>

BLOOD ANGELS
- Death Company Tycho has been CONFIRMED to not be an Independent Character. Oh joy.
- Demolisher Cannon given it's proper statline
- The transport + Descent of Angels issue is resolved (take THAT BoLS!)

Review: Warhammer Fantasy 8th Edition

Wow. How time has passed since the previous Games Workshop 'core rules' release... and how policy has shifted.

Back in 2008 when the 5th Edition of Warhammer 40,000 was released, we had rumours stretching way back into November 2007. People were sighting the rulebook everywhere in early 2008 and everyone knew the main changes to the rules which were going to occur. Various Games Workshop stores were previewing the book to their customers around April 2008 - well, at the very least here in Britain, which allowed for an air of legitimacy with every rumour... and confirmation.

But what about this release? Well, it's certainly been different - it was around May/June 2010 that most stores were recieving (And letting people open) copies of the book and a tight grip was held on any rumours coming out of Games Workshop's design studio. Many people were denying up until about January 2010 that the rulebook was even going to be released in July - like the 5th Ed of Warhammer 40,000 was - and this led to just... complacency. Well, the rumourmill didn't rest but neither did it seem believeable. Sightings of '10 man ranks' led people to the belief that the (now confirmed) 'horde' system was to become the norm in fantasy.

People were, you could say, pissed.

But, are the changes so bad? I found a summary of the changes here at an awesome blog that I follow: http://quietlimit.blogspot.com/2010/06/eighth-edition-compiled-notes-and.html. From the list here, I think I quite LIKE the changes to the system! It's not too over the top, really - cutting down on Mage spam to make Magic Phases more enjoyable, and giving a horde army a real advantage when it comes to grinding opponents down with attrition.

I think this edition of Fantasy may dumb things down a bit, as some might say, but it will also breathe new life into the hobby with the new scenarios and the sheer amount of content in the Big Rulebook. Pretty much every single page in the 528 page Rulebook is jam packed with useful content for hobbyists - gamers may be annoyed with 2/3 of the book being such content, but does it matter? As some have said, the big rulebook is supposed to be the ground and the basis for the hobby while every other book fills out the real 'niche' stuff.

~ So, what are your comments? Post them below and lets see where they go :)

New Template

(Image stolen from Dethtron :P)

Trying out a new template.

Kthx.

How Much I Miss Blood Claws

Back a year or so ago, way before the new Space Wolves codex came out, GW did a Blood Claw kit. Based around the old SM sprues (with Legs, Head, Body randomly together, with the weaponry on another sprue with pads), this also had the old SW upgrade sprue (which I also miss, but at least thats on the site still at a reasonable, for GW, price).

Oh how I miss it.

That kit was PERFECT for getting large numbers of Ass. Marines without Jump Packs out on the field, and could even do for a sort of 'pre heresy' World Eaters army - which, as it happens, is one of the forces I have begun to build on again in the form of my Blood Angels >.< (The Sons of Arkhan)

To say that its annoying that now you have only the options of buying a load of bitz (which I can't be bothered to due to the price here in GB), buying Pack Ass. Squads (at £32 for 10 guys, with the Packs I won't ever use), or hoarding the Tac. Squad tacky CCW/BPs which need to be shared with the Sergeants anyway.

I really dislike the lack of thought by GW that perhaps some people didn't actually give a damn about the outdated models supplied in the Grey Hunters and Blood Claws kits and that they chose to develop the standard pack ahead of Thunderwolf Cavalry. While the SW Pack is a BEAUTIFUL kit - far the better of the plastics of the Blood Angels release i'm afraid - I believe it would have been cost and time efficient to perhaps have simply used the standard Tactical sprues, with 1 of those 'Wolf Guard' sprues (the one with the Options and such) and the old Blood Claw CCW sprues added.

This would have given people EVERYTHING they needed for the building, and heres another thing... it probably wouldn't have cost GW that much more. Instead of constructing, say, 3 molds it would have required one new mold and a single older one. Simple. And the spare time could have been put into preparing more Tyranids, Beastmen (the damn Rare choices!), or the Thunderwolves/New SC Sculpts (Canis is rushed, and piss poor because of it).

So please... I hope the next SM wave in June perhaps could have a new plastic Assault Squad frame with every option known to man in it. Combining the options for Vanguard Veterans, Foot Assault, and Jump Assault would be a BEAUTY, GW.

Army List: Flight of the Successors

The Chapter I have chosen for my Blood Angels army is strangely enough going to be the Flesh Tearers. I love their idea - and the fact they're down to a low, low number of marines - and happen to be planning a Seth/Astorath team up in the future. But in order to do an army list, I actually have to read the BA book and to be honest i'm not that inspired.

The Blood Angels, despite all my raving in the poorly written review from Wednesday, are far too similar to C: SM for me to be able to hold interest in them. Back in December 2008 when I started a SM army I brought a Battle Company box (essentially) and was so overeager to assemble and such that I built and painted everything in Crimson Fists (and invested in Kantor and a full list) that I did not realise that it actually SUCKED at what I wanted it to do. Thus in the period of a month I chose to dump that list.
Then in October I invested in Space Wolves and, while less disappointing, it's difficult not to gag on the idea of doing a second Imperial SM army while i'm still in the middle of five Chaos ones and a 'Space Wolf' (I play Skyrar's Dark Wolves) one.

So this is a basic 2000 point list which is low on model count. No Special Characters yet I should note.

Flight of the Successors
HQ:
Captain with Power Sword and Storm Shield. Jump Pack - 155
+ 5 Honour Guard with Noviate, Blood Champion, Jump Packs, Company Standard, 4 Power Weapons - 260

Troops:
10 Assault Marines with 2 Meltaguns, and Sergeant with Power Weapon - 315
10 Assault Marines with 2 Meltaguns, and Sergeant with Power Weapon - 315
10 Assault Marines with 2 Meltaguns, and Sergeant with Power Weapon - 315


Elites:
5 Sanguinary Guard with 1 Infernus Pistol - 210
5 Sanguinary Guard with 1 Infernus Pistol - 210

Heavy Support:
Predator with Autocannon - 70
Predator with Autocannon - 70
Predator with Autocannon - 70

Points: 1990
KPs: 10
Scoring: 3

On the Road to Armageddon

Armageddon. Some place which was given a campaign a few years ago by GW. The home of the Steel Legion. The most publicised battlefield for the Blood Angels and Space Wolves which I know of at the moment. Attacked three times by two races.

The perfect campaign setting.

The choice I have made for my next project.

Armageddon will be THE Swan Song of my campaigns and mini dexes. So far I have already constructed around 15 units for the codex, but in the end there will be 50 or so... for Space Marines alone. I will have the following chapters involved:

1. Blood Angels - Army of Death, Normal, Flesh Tearers
2. Salamanders - Orbital Force, Normal
3. Space Wolves - Normal, Thirteenth Company, Egil Iron Wolf
4. Executioners - Annihilation Force
5. Relictors - Monolith Reclamation Cadre
6. Grey Knights - Normal
7. Black Templars - Crusade Fleet, Grimaldus' Retinue

This is in addition to many I have not started yet, and this is simply for the Space Marines. I also have Chaos and Orks to consider, as well as Steel Legion and other Imperial Guard... alongside the actual campaign setting itself.

So Armageddon will be this year's big project. Each fortnight I will post a new part of the Campaign and each month more progress will be made towards finishing the actual book. I will have Battle Reports and such planned as well, for I know a few players who are already making forces for this.

We. Shall. See.

(PS: I'm doing World Eaters, Flesh Tearers, and the Thirteenth Company :P)

Review: Codex Blood Angels

On the day of it's release last Saturday I chose to purchase the new Blood Angels codex. This was after constant advertising of how overly fudge coated brokenedness it was over the wild and rampant tubes that we call the Internet, and I guess also due to the fact that since Codex: Chaos Space Marines in 2007 I have, in essence, been a regular show at the bandwagon station.

I have to admit that the codex isn't as bad as it seems though... well, at first glance it isn't.

What's different, then?
Codex Blood Angels is fairly similar to the Thriller of Vanilla codex which normal, boring, SM get, but there are a load of changes to make them seem a bit more hip and fresh. One thing that they have is a lack of Combat Tactics or any characters (aside from Tycho) who have Combat Tactic like effects - so there's no free Stubborness or anything to fall back on i'm afraid. Also, the BA have become a little less badass by losing out on the incredibly fun Conversion Beamer, Thunderfire Cannon, Ironclad AND VENERABLE Dreadnoughts, Land Speeder Storm, as well as cheap Assault Terminators.
So what do they get?
One simple thing: JUMP PACK EXTRAVEGANZA. Every single part of the codex points towards a mass Deep Strike/Jump Pack army here. Sure you retain both types of Veterans, so there's Vanguard and Sternguard here, you also gain Troop Choice Assault Squads as well as the badly modelled 'Sanguinary Guard' (who seem to be freezing in their Artificer armour and, like MWG Joe, could cut through glass with their cold bat nipples) in Elite and the ability to possess Jump Pack 'Honour' (a mix between the Honour and Command Squads in normal SM) Guard units. Theoretically, someone can field 105 models with Jump Packs before considering HQ choices or the other special unit in the codex...
This special unit is DEATH COMPANY.
Take a certain character, and you could theoretically have 180 models who are essentially a big, annoying, combination of the best parts of Khorne Berserkers and Plague Marines... with Fearless, Feel No Pain, Furious Charge, and 4 attacks on the charge with the low price of 20 points pre-pack and 35 with. Sure they no longer have Rending, but at the same time, these guys do have Rage to 'balance' things out. Oh boy... because having Rage is a problem.
But back to the Jump Pack point... The BA have a few rules to give you this...
Descent of Angels: You scatter HALF the normal distance if you're DSing from reserve with a pack.
Prescision Strike: Dante's squad does not scatter, and has Hit and Run USR
Heroic Intervention: Vanguard with Packs are accurate due to DoA...
Stormravens: Assault Vehicle, like LRs, which allow you to DS (without DoA) any unit from them.
It's an insane thought... but it isn't even near the end of it.

Ferrus Manus' Secret Buddy
Blood Angels have Dreadnoughts - but this is obvious. All SM Chapters have Dreadnoughts but BA bring this to a STUPID level with their 4 types of Dread... the standard Heavy Support Dread, the Elite Furioso, the Elite Furioso Librarian Dread, and the TROOP CHOICE Death Company Dread. You can have up to 1 Dread for each 5 DC... so a 2500pt list has a grand total of 11 Dreads. ELEVEN!
Sure you need to take into account your HQ - a 115pt Captain - but then... it's 500pts for 25 Death Company and 1315 for the 11 Dreads (no Librarians here though). 570pts of upgrades for your force, but still hell to take out. Iron Hands have a genuine right to be pissed :P

Emperors Children Rise Again
Just like Ferrus is pissed, so too is his ex-friend Fulgrim. Why? Dante allows for Sanguinary Guard as Troops. These guys are Jump Infantry Terminators without the Invulnerable Save: for 40pts each (5 per squad, so 200 lol) you get master crafted PWs and a load of Pedro Kantor's Storm Bolters. I say BARGAIN. Sure they may seem to be fodder and will be a first turn target for the foe, but think about it: that's what ALL expensive units are for. The more your foe shoots at them, the less they're shooting at the other 1075pts of your force.
That's right... it's 1425pts for 31 models. 31 kickass models sure (i'm converting Sanguinor into a new Dante) but still... is that too few in the current meta? I say nay.

Crimson Fists r teh Suck! Sicarius is a douche!
Two things to say about another HQ close to my heart: Captain Tycho. Not Death Company Tycho - he's too batshit crazy, and he also can't be used as an Independent Character till Blood Angels are FAQed - but normal Tycho. He might not make Sternguard a Troop or Scoring, but he does have another use... the fact that he is a 'Monstrous Creature' vs. Vehicles, the fact he has Special Issue Ammo (which hasn't changed between SM and BA), and his Artificer Armour... which gives him a better save than Kantor lmao!
To add to C: SM misery, he has Rites of Battle, or Sicarius' rule! And guess what... Tycho can beat the crap out of Sicarius any day, even with his 'Battle Forged Heroes'!
All for the low low price of 175pts...

You may call me Death, or Larry...
(Larry is more preferable). Mephiston's back and better than ever apparently! Let's put it this way: you know that time that you left a Carnifex and a Space Marine together overnight in your cupboard? 9 months later, Mephiston was the result. He's Tigger from C: SM, only with a Jump Infantry power, a Strength 10 power, the ability to transfix a foe like a Broodlord, and a Preferred Enemy power he doesn't even need. All for the low, low, price of a Land Raider. He may have absolutely no Invulnerable Save, but he's a monster truck who walks like a man! Who can stand up against such a harsh, harsh combination...
Oh right, a Strength D weapon. Bye bye.

WooOOooooOOOooo!!! I am the ghost of poorly written codexes past!
So we reach the final part of this poorly written review... The Sanguinor. Also known as the worst design decision I have seen in my time in the hobby. He's THE most overdone thing I have ever seen - he combines the fervour of Kantor's aura of attackyness with the big 'I Challenge You!' feature of the Chapter Champion in C: SM (vs. 1 character) as well as... the random blessing of a single lucky Sergeant who would probably turn out to be, ironically, the Sniper Scout Sergeant? What's more he's a Jump Infantry NON SPECIAL CHARACTER just like Mephiston? Wow. For 275pts, you get a mini Hive Tyrant who doesn't have Tyrant Guard but does always have a Storm Shield save and a Master Crafted PW of Strength 5...
Why would you be so stupid to waste your time on him?
Sanguinor is the most retarded ruleset i've ever seen and the only thing the model is good for is conversion fodder, to make a guy worthy of leading your Sanguinary Guard. No more, no less. It doesn't help, however, that there was so much flash and poor casting on my Sanguinor that it's going to take far longer than usual for a SM sized character model to prepare him for painting or such. To add to misery, i'm not even using his annoying chalice and stupid sword... as I said earlier, he's going into my Dante conversion. Dante! The man who doesn't need to be more expensive than the far more useful Marneus Calgar to, well, be needed! Why again would you do that? The guy has NO SURVIVAL INSTINCT WHATSOEVER!!!!


Anyway, that's the end of my review. I'm too busy being pissed off about the wings and two handed weaponry within my Sanguinary Guard to write anything else. I'm preparing my BA Assault List right now I believe... it'll be up soon.

(Still casually posting as it's coming up to exams and even with 11 days left of my break i've got a load of revision i'm being forced to do. Thank god there's no one else in the house right now or else i'd be strangling people)

Army List: Much Ado About Typhus

In the previous few weeks, i've made a big decision... it's time to go back to my roots.. Back when I first picked up Nurgle, I found them fun and amusing... well, more so than the Necrons which had come before them! This force essentially tries to bring me back to the glory days of the mighty theme army.

A Nurgle force for me needs to either try the 'Power of Seven' format of the Death Guard 7th Company, or it needs to try to keep to Mono. Fight as Mortarion always wanted you to fight, essentially. That's why this force is so fun - at 2000pts, it allows me to field 49 models (including 14 terminators!), as well as a good range of other weaponry. It also works in halves, so I can pincer my foe. It's also been very effective in combat and such against Horde forces.

List: Terminus Est
Typhus the Traveller- HQ choice, attached to Term Champions

7 Plague Marines- Plague Champion (Power Weapon), 2 Flamers
+ Rhino: Extra Armour
7 Plague Marines- Plague Champion (Power Fist), 2 Meltaguns
+ Rhino: Extra Armour
7 Marines of Nurgle- 1 Meltagun
+ Rhino: Extra Armour

6 Terminator Champions of Nurgle- 1 Chainfist, 1 Power Fist, 1 Pair L Claws, 1 Reaper Autocannon
7 Terminators of Nurgle- 1 Heavy Flamer, 2 Combi Flamers

7 Havocs of Nurgle- 2 Missile Launchers
+ Rhino: Extra Armour
7 Havocs of Nurgle- 2 Missile Launchers
+ Rhino: Extra Armour

Total Points: 2002 (if opponents disapprove, I remove 1 Combi Flamer)
Total KP: 13
Scoring Units: 3