The End of the World?

The Greater Demon Myand, kin to Kyros Fateweaver has activated an ancient doomsday reactor. It has been slowly counting down over the millennia. This doomsday reactor has possibility to destroy the entire universe.


The forces of evil want to see the galaxy burn! The forces of good want to burn the galaxy at their own leisure. Which side will you choose?

The local Gamesworkshop is putting on a little game in honor of the end of all things tomorrow. The humor of playing apocalypse on the apocalypse was too much for me to resist.

If we survive I will have Pictures by monday...

P.S. If you happen to be in the vicinity of lake crest village games workshop in sacramento, CA tomorrow swing on in. I'll be the one with the pith helmet!

Rogue Trader: first thoughts

A group of my friends and I started a Rogue Trader campagin this week. Our adventure (following the sample set out in the core rules) saw our traders set out from Port seeking a lost treasure ship and hot on the heels of a rival trader seeking the same prize. After a 3 day passage in the warp the ship came under attack by pirate raiders in a floating debris field and ultimately was rammed by the enemy. Our heros defeated the pirates but lost 7540 souls from amongst the crew.(nearly 30%)

All things said the game went very well, with a notable exception being the ship combat (most likely due to my unfamiliarity with the rules.) The books are full of details about the universe that the regular scope of warhammer 40k just can't handle. (imagine unique wargear on each of your guardsmen) these details really make the world pop and I would suggest taking a gander at some of the sourcebooks in the neverending attempt to write more fluff for our armies.

Stumper Muckstart: Ratling Sharpshooter

I was tinking it would be fun to update good ol' Stumper to better fit with the current edition. so here's a go at it.

Stumper Muckstart: 35pts Elite choice
WS  BS  S   T   W  I  A  Ld  Save
 2     4   2   2   1   5  1   6     5+

Type: Infantry

Wargear: Flak armour, Sniper rifle, close combat weapon
Special rules: Inflitrate, Stealth, Trick Shot, Killer shot, Sharpshooter.

Sharpshooter: Stumper may choose his targets in the same manner as a vindicare assassin.

Trick Shot: Stumper may fire d3 shots this turn. In addition each of these shots may be at a different target. Targets must be declared before rolling to hit.

Killer Shot: Instead of multiple shots, Stumper may instead fire a single shot with incredible accuracy. He may re-roll both to hit and to wound and his shot will Rend on a 5-6.

As always feedback is appreciated!

An Unexpected Journey

It's time to pull the hobbits off the shelf! Not the Tolkien variety, no I am talking about my favorite abhumans. Ratlings have been part of the guard since the first army book. (anyone remember stumper muckstarter?) since their inception these lil guys have been laying down the sniper fire. Their statline in the current codex doesn't seem impressive, (a fair number of characteristics being 2.) my thinking is that Ratlings are more than the sum of their parts and furthermore with the advent of secondary objectives the rats may have just found a niche.

That said here are few reasons that you should run Ratlings in your army.

Ratlings are point for point the cheapest sniper rifle on the board. Better shots than scouts and double the number of models of pathfinders for fewer points. You can take as few as three or as many as ten to an elite slot and with their sniper rifles you can pick out a unit champion or more importantly enemy characters. This can have a psychological effect on your enemy as they will be doubtlessly less than enthusiastic about their warlord or librarian drawing so much heat. This goes the same for monstrous creatures or emplaced guns. Wounding on a 4+ means these lil rats laugh at your high toughness.

A favorite tactic of mine is to run a three man (is halfling or hobbit more appropriate?) squad as line breakers. For thirty points I get a victory point with an easy to hide model and a fantastic cover save.

Unless I missed something shrouded and stealth stack meaning that long rang rats at night have 4+ cover in the open. Put em down in a building or a bastion tower and you have 2+ - 3+ cover. This should mitigate their lowered toughness to some degree.

The final note I have is character. Ratlings ooze character. Are they the company cooks? Happy go lucky snipers? Maybe the regiments amulets are running an after hour card game or operating a black market racket. Te options are many and varied. Ratlings have been present at some of the most important battles don't you think it's time to try out a few yourself.

One year down.

One year ago I posted my first post here. A simple bit of fluff and a silent attempt to motivate myself to finally paint my Praetorian army.  Sometimes the world has other plans and while I haven't painted as much as I'd have liked to, the year has been interesting all the same.

So as I set out on my secound year I just wanted to Thank those of you who have taken the time to read my posts. This hobby more than many others requires a community and for those of you who make up mine I am thankful.

Gloria Praetoria! Gloria Imperium!

Kill Team 4th ed style: grid point-zx772

Sweat dripped off the end of private Hooks nose as he sat crouching in the bushes. The humid jungle air stifled him and he found himself thinking longingly of the cool confines of the troop ship that had brought him to this rotten stinking planet. Up ahead a lean shape slid silently from a tree and silently landed on the ground next to the sergeant. No matter how many times he saw them Hook couldn't get used to the sight of the Kroot warriors that acted as guides for the Praetorian 23rd. The warrior pointed off into the distance and it was then that the fires became visable, Fires that burned smokeless atop stone pillars.

"Emperors teeth.." Hook breathed to himself. the men around him seemed equally agitated. their concern was not for the arcane fires nor for the roving squads of brutes moving about the perimeter of the enemies altar, but was instead for the two figures atop the altar.

There lifted up in the air was the Colonel and standing before him was a foul sorceror of chaos! Soulban hung limp in the air and at this distance Hook couldn't tell if he was alive or dead. Hook's attention was drawn away from this scene by the approach of a trio of cultists moving down a path. Hook held his breath waiting for them to pass but they continued off the path directly towards the kill team. All hope for a stealthy extraction fell by the wayside as the cultists opened fire on the Praetorians. Moments later as the giant forms of chaos marines joined the fray private Hook found himself alone, the last survivor. Hook felt a sharp pain as a rifle but hit the back of his knee, moments later a power armored fist smashed the bones of Hooks face and he slumped in the mud. The rescue had failed.

The game itself lasted about an hour. I failed to control any of the brute squads and was spotted right quick. Amazingly even 3 man squads of chaos marines proved too much for my 22 man squad! Oh well a fun game with a great opponent!

As for the colonel, it seems that the great deceiver has other plans in mind for him... Only time will tell.

Gridpoint Z-637

The daemon prince shrieked as it plummeted from the sky. In the ground ahead a vast warhost of chaos had materialized. On the targeting screen of his manticore McKenzie watched the daemon land in front of him an mockingly laugh off an entire platoons worth of fire. It was the creatures eyes the McKenzie was intent on and in the back of his mind a voice whispered. "be one with us and live"

Without his permission McKenzies hands plotted a new trajectory for his lethal pay load of missiles, and as his mind finally gave in to the dark whisperings he flipped the fire ignition.

Col. Soulban watched helplessly as the manticore pivoted. He called out his orders in vain as the missiles fired and in an instance that lasted an eternity, Soulban watched as his entire platoon disintegrated into fine black ash. He watched as the proximity of the blast flipped the firing manticore into the air the remnants of it's crew pulping upon impact.

Taking the company banner in his hands Soulban bellowed a challenge and charged a group of advancing terminators. His attacks rattled off their ancient armor and the counterblow knocked the old man from his feet and cut down his command squad.

As consciousness abandoned the Colonel he was vaguely aware of a massive clawed hand picking him up and then blackness.

the hoard bears down on the platoon. moments later they would be turned to ash as the Daemon Prince took control of the mind of the manticore pilot.

Guardsman Drake was able to escape with the platoons standard and report the capture of Col. Soulban. The company colors that accompanied the Colonel were recovered soon after. Ratling scouts operating in the area, informed high command that the Chaos Marines departed soon after the Colonels capture. [Commissars note: the Ratlings in question revealed their information only after the Commissar on duty threatened to have their lockers turned out.]

  It is also to be noted, the presence of a sorceror with the chaos terminators. It is possible to surmise that Ahriman may have been present on Rourkses prime during the time of this incident. [See Inquisitors Report]

Engagement at gridpoint J-349

I made it down to the Local shop for a game friday night. I played against marines and had a great time and the game resulted in a draw. I didn't have a camera with me so instead of offering up some sort of tactical analysis I thought I'd toss a bit of fluff out at the universe.

if that sort of thing interestes you read on....

+++
Private Sims looked down at his mud caked boots. In the back of his mind the Lady Commissars voice rang as she made her way down the lines of men on inspection. Two days of marching through this damned jungle cutting a path for the battle tanks reminded Sims of the constant mind numbing work he had been responsible for in the rookery. She was almost on him now and Sims knew that his muddy boots would mean some form of discipline, he almost let out a groan. lifting his eyes to meet hers as she stood if front of him he tried desperately to think of an excuse, but he never had the chance. A shot rang out from the jungle and Private Sims fell to the ground. His last vision was of the Commissar as she un-holstered her las pistol and returned fire.

Near the middle of the column Col. Soulban flexed his mechanical fingers and flicked on the power relay for his sword.

The traitorus marines advanced through a pathway in the trees their rhino transports speeding along crushing the underbrush. In the distance Soulban could make out the distinctive shape of a bastion tucked into the treeline. already he saw that Lt. Reeve was moving black platoon into cover behind some old aegis lines.

'Our auto-cannons will make short work of those transports' Soulban thought to himself but at that moment the hulking forms of three dreadnoughts burst from the trees. their forms heretically modified with what apeared to be xenos tech. Soulban recognized the shapes and reacted even before he thought. ordering his troops to ground as the deadly salvo of poisoned needles impacted on the aegis line.

Already the vox net was alive as Lt. Reeve called for close air support and as the Leman russ battle tanks rolled into position opening fire to little effect. The marines continued their advance and moments later a figure who appeared to be their commander led a squad of elite warriors from the back of a rhino to obliterate Lt. Reeve and his command squad. mere moments later the two remaining dreadnoughts (one having been destroyed by a battle cannon shell) crashed into the line of men defending the aegis line.

With a cracking sound the air overhead was was super heated as lascannon shots arched towards the enemy vehicles and simultaniously the bastion fired ineffectively at the newly arrived vednetta gunships.
an explosion sounded as one of the companies mercenary bounty hunters let fly a demolition charge and reduced the enemy commanders command squad to so much ruptured armor.

With a cry of hatred the enemy warlord charged from the smoke, bearing down on Col. Soulban.
with a flick of his right hand Soulban dispatched the traitor with a single white hot plasma shot. Content that the honor of the company was satisfied but aware that there was little to hope for but slaughtered praetorians by fighting the enemies machines Col. Soulban sounded the retreat.
'Let the artillary level this enemy stronpoint" Soulban thought as his troops fell back into the now welcome arms of the deep jungle.

+++

If you managed to stay awake than I offer my thanks

Blue Company, Black Platoon

The last few weeks have kept me busy painting away, but I finally completed my first platoon! here are some shots of the finished product.

The command Squad includes a vox, banner and two grenade launchers

First Rank, Fire!

Form A Hallow Square!

Rourksis Prime and the plaguestorm incident.

+++Incoming report+++
+++Clearance level approved+++
+++Record: Plaguestorm Incident+++

Rourksis Prime, Located in Segmentum Tempestus, was first discovered by an Explorator vessel in the middle years of M.36 marked as an excellent source of Promethium fuel from underground deposits of degraded plant material, Rourksis Prime has also become known for it's secondary export of exotic game animals that are shipped to various noble families around the Segmentum for sport or personal zoological facilities.

The death world came to greater attention during the closing years of M.40 when their planetary tithe went unaccounted for. The admisitratum sent out a survey team to audit the planet and discover the truth behind the missing shipments. what they found was a growing collective of un-sanctioned cults worshiping "the gods of the jungle." a request was sent out and an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus set out for the planet.

The Inquisition arrived to find a sizable contingent of Dark Angels space marines vessels in orbit and were informed the the cults had been cleansed. Indeed Inquisitors on the ground could find nothing remaining of these cults save for the burnt husks of entire settlements razed by the vengeful marines of the first legion.

+++Expunged from record by Inquisitorial mandate 3994.773+++



All was well with Rourksis Prime until 3489986M.41 when once again the Imperial tithes began to slip behind. Initially the Planetary Governor requested the aid of the 13th Praetorian Imperial guard due to their experience with jungle and forested environments. However the 13th had been deployed to another war zone and the Lords of Praetoria felt that immediate action needed to take place.

It is likely due to the high numbers of game animals imported from Rourksis Prime to Praetoria for the noble houses that the Lords of Praetoria acted so quickly to ensure the Inquisition didn't descend upon Rourksis Prime. Inquisitorial which hunts so often involve obliterating native species that are deemed harmful and this would have force the Praetorian nobility to spend even more to import rare animals from further worlds.

The Praetorian 23rd under the command of the cantankerous Col. Soulban was recalled from it's duties hunting eldar pirates and immediately re-deployed to Rourksis Prime. The mission was to take control of the Rourkstead spaceport, the planets only functional spaceport, and seek out the source of the disrupted tithes and snuff it out.

+++More on the Plaguestorm incident to follow+++
+++Received by Astropath Drusch+++
+++Transcribe by Auto-Savant Fallough+++

Thought for the Day: Love thy work for it betters you.

Take and Hold!

I wish to present an idea I've been running with the last few weeks, Harker Stonetooth. As a character upgrade for a veteran squad Harker brings some neat tools to the table. first off is infiltrate which allows for options when deployment, either outflanking or starting in an ideal position.

The secound tool is stealth, Harker confers this rule onto his entire squad and with the changes to camo cloaks, (which can be gained with the forward sentires upgrade) this means that your veteran squad can sit in a ruin an boast a 2+ cover save!

Now throw in a heavy flamer, a heavy bolter team and a pair of additional special weapons of choice (I'll likely be running grenade launchers due to limited model supply) and you have a tough unit that is difficult to move and can put out a fair amount of anti-infantry fire.

So lets break it down
10 men
6 Str 5 shots
2 Str 6 shots / Str 3 blasts
1 Str 5 template / D3 overwatch hits
4 Str 3 flashlights...
2+ cover. in ruins 5+ in the open.
Infiltrators

all for less than 200pts.

Any thoughts?

Infantry squad complete!

Here we have for your viewing pleasure the first squad of my blob platoon and the platoon commissar. painted and based at long last.

next up we should have 3 more squads, a platoon command section and finally an aegis line behind which they can all sit happily plunking away at orks!

The Man, The Myth, The Marbo...

Guardsman Marbo has been a fast favorite of guard players the world over since his updated rules came out in 5th edition. He has been portrayed in pith helmets and kilts, Russian fur hats and Cadian standard gear. Marbo has even been seen on occasion masquerading as an Indian chief.

A quick google search will show you the many and varied ways that players have customized this character to their collections.

today I would like to discuss Marbo and 6th edition. As with any change in the rules we find ourselves scrambling to see how we must adapt our strategies and hoping that our favorite units have not been completely ruined and in this case I am happy to report that, in my humble opinion, Marbo has gotten even better!

His high WS, initiative and number of attacks mix nicely with the new challenge rules meaning that the loner guardsman might win some combats in 6th. only having to fight one on one is a huge boost for this guy.

His shooting attacks have gotten better as well with the wound allocation rules and his ability to show up behind the enemy to blast their models hidden in back ranks.

However, the real advantage that I have found is in the secondary objectives arena.
Line breaker is a secondary objective in most scenarios that I have read. Marbo makes an ideal line breaker as he can arrive anywhere he pleases and remain fairly safe with stealth and move thru cover. Often times your opponent will forget about the lone guardsman hiding behind that hill at the back of his deployment since he is just sitting and not posing a threat.
Even if they decide to gun for him, careful placement of Marbo can ensure that your opponent wastes resources and turns dealing with him instead of the fighting at hand.

and all this for 10pts more than a chimera... sounds like a deal to me.

In Defense of the Blob

This week I have managed to get in no less than three games of 6th edition. my initial thoughts are that deployment has become slightly more strategic with the additions of fortifications and my only chief complaint for the edition thus far has to be the randomess of terrain features and objectives. (I have a notoriusly bad memory)

While working on my lists I have checked on what others have had to say about the edition, what works, what doesn't and what is downright terrible. In my searching I have found several instances of people saying that the Guard blob squad has had its last huzzah.

I would like to politely disagree. While it is no longer the close combat grind machine that it was in 5th ed. the blob is a very effective firebase. I have been running mine with 40 men 4 autocannons 5 powerweapons and a single Commissar. This all sits neatly behind my aegis defense line.

here is what we have here. one set of aegis lines comfortably holds 40guardsmen and then some. that gives us a nice 4+cover/2+if we go to ground. with cover like that they become very difficult to move and they produce enough firepower to make my regular opponents fearful of ignoring them.

overwatch provides these boys with another layer of protection since they can put out an awesome amount of firepower!

I for one will continue to use my blob as a defensive line until they start becomeing a liability.

Hold the line boys! For the Emperor and Praetoria!

5th Editions Last Stand!

And so it is that I find myself on the eve of a new edition of this game I have grown to love, It seems only appropriate that I send out the last one in style.

Tonight I engage in one final game before the new book hits the general population. My foe will be an ork horde! Very fitting for Praetorians I'd say.

Win or lose, it's been a fun ride 5th. here's hoping that 6th ed brings just as much enjoyment to myself and tabletops the world over.

Stormtrooper assault

I want to take a moment to examine Imperial Storm Troopers. most tournament players will tell you that they are overcosted for what they do, that veteran squads are better and that they don't measure up to the other selections in the elite section of the IG book.
However there seems to be a trend, especially amongst Praetorian players, to convert and/or run stormtroopers in their armies.
Today I wanted to share my experiance running these elite troops and also ask everyone else to share their thoughts, both pro and con, on the "glory boys"

Storm troopers are some of the most versitile troopers on the board. they can scout, infiltrate or deepstrike for deployment options and dependant on who you are playing against you can change these options around (so long as you make your choice pre deployment.) If your opponent is aware of this ability it lends a bit of uncertainty to their pre-battle plans. Each game played can change the way you use these guys, similar to penal legion troopers but with the choice of ability.

I've been running a ten man stormtrooper squad in my lists armed with two plasmaguns. I find that this formation allows me to put out a good amount of firepower on enemy squads which couples well with the psychic battle squad I like to run. Imagine this scenario, a 10 man squad deepstrikes/outflanks onto the board. they deliver 15 ap3 lasgun shots and 4 plasma shots into an enemy squad. luck holding you will manage to cause a 25% morale check. The psychics of course are there to drop the enemies leadership score so they need snake eyes to stay on the board. This combo has worked for me very well and I've seen squads, often with independant or special characters attached, run off the board without doing any damage to me in return. The stormtroopers usually die in the next turn or two but they have succesfully seen 100% - 200% of their points value eliminated and soaked up firepower that otherwise would be dumped into my scoring units.

Searching for Stormtroopers with a faithful hound...

Finally got started working on my warhound!
I know I'm suppossed to be working on praetorian command squads but this resin monster was calling me from it's box in the closet!

hopefully will have him finished by this weekend and I can start working on other projects.

As far as other projects go I have been searching for the old school baret stormtroopers. I need one plasma gunner, one melta gunner and one regular trooper to complete my two squads.
I have thought about mixing in the old metal hooded troopers but I think that might hurt the overall look. anyway if you happen across the above listed models and are willing to sell/trade let me know.

The Glorious Defense of Little River

Had a friendly game with a pair of buddies a few nights ago which sadly threw off my posting schedule.

however as promised I have new pictures!

The game itself was a 3100pt planet strike with me playing the defenders.
my base was against a table edge and surrounded by a little river.
we designated the river as dangerous terrain excluding two ford points where troops and vehicles could safely cross.

my plan was to force them to fight thru the little hold and into the main area with my bastions.
this plan worked very well, despite horrendous casualties in the little hold, the big hold saw no close combat and very little in the way of shooting save for the pregame firestorm which disabled the executioner and killed 19 guardsmen and 6 drookian scouts.


Little River defenses!


Big Hold.


Little Hold.


Big Hold after the firestorm


Little Hold takes the full force of the enemies fury!


An Imperial war hound arrives to relieve the defenders!

The Game ended in a victory but it was hard fought!
the war hound lost all but its last structure point and little hold was at the end held by 4 Drookians, the tanks all having been destroyed.

That's what I have for you on this front!
till next time, Cheers

not strictly Praetorians...

...I got the painting bug for something without rows of tiny red coats.

Return to Glory!

Back from a fantastic 2 weeks in Ireland and ready to get back into the saddle so to speak.

just before leaving I was able to nab about 30 praetorians at a swap meet for $20! very pleased.

I also managed to find 15 of the old plastic stormtroopers, 9 necromunda arbites and the best of all, an armour cast warhound!

needless to say I have some painting to do!

Should have some new pictures up by the end of the week!

Side Tracking...

A few weeks ago I dug my old Necromunda gangs out of the box they have been living in and got the sudden urge to not only paint them (a task I never completed) but also to convince a few friends that Necromunda is hugely popular and that we should play a campaign!
(pictures to follow)


In other news the blog (and largely painting, building and the like) are taking a back seat for the next month or so, as I prepare for my wedding (4-21-12) and honeymoon. (april 23 - may 9)

while I tried to convince the Wife-to-be that warhammer world would be the ideal romantic local for our get-a-way she didn't buy in. so I will have to settle for Ireland. ;)

expect regular posting to resume in May

Plaid in full.

I decided to keep the blue plaid but I have changed to a red shirt under the armor.
I think this ties in to the rest of the army enough without building traditional Scotts guard.

what do you think?

Deliverance! Now squeel like a manticore...

I Have been toying with the idea of building the Emperors deliverance Manticore battery from white dwarf 365(US)

I built this Manticore counts as before the new plastic kit came out and it worked out well...





But now I have two of the current plastic kits and I am not sure if the old conversion will stand in as well.


Now a new coat of paint is in order but other than that, do you think this could be a manticore? perhaps pulled into duty from a different forgeworld than the others?
you thoughts are appreciated!

Bay Area Open Pictures

So this tournament didn't go so well for me. 2 wins 4 losses and a single tie.

still, it's hard to be upset when I can have beer!

the main problem I found with the guard power blob is that dedicated close combat troops will grind you down too fast. I may try this style again with cheaper artillery...

but until then, Pictures!


Hold the Line lads! those Orks will never take us!

I'd call that a target rich environment!



against the Dark Eldar on an Ice world.





The witches attack!
Drookians scouting ahead of the main force
This hill is nice but that one is nicer...