This weekend I tried out what I thought would be my list for the upcoming Overlords escalation league. The core of the list was pretty solid I thought but learned much during my games and have decided on a number of changes.
The old list is below, with comments in red:
4 Company Command Squad @ 150 pts (Infantry; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon x4; Lasgun x1; Plasma gun x3; Master of Ordnance)
1 Company Commander (Character; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Refractor Field; Plasma Pistol; Power Fist; Warlord; Senior Officer)
The wrong loadout for my commander in this type of list... also way too expensive in games where he'll be hunted down like a dog for that warlord victory point!
1 Master of Ordnance (Character; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon; Laspistol; Artillery Bombardment)
This guy was truly useless at this points level. There just aren't enough enemy units on the board. He needs to be dropping those blasts on large concentrations of enemy units or huge blobs of infantry - he killed nothing and has now been sent away to a penal legion somewhere.
9 Veteran Squad @ 135 pts (Infantry; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Krak Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x9; Lasgun x6; Plasma gun x3)
1 Veteran Sergeant (Character; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Krak Grenades; Plasma Pistol; Power Sword)
These guys should be fairly effective but need a way of not dying immediately... so, a transport or carapace armour is probably required.
1 Infantry Platoon @ 212 pts
4 Platoon Command Squad (Infantry; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon x4; Lasgun x1; Krak Grenades; Sniper Rifle x3)
1 Platoon Commander (Character; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon; Krak Grenades; Boltgun; Junior Officer)
7 Infantry Squad (Infantry; Assault Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x7; Flak Armour; Lasgun x6; Krak Grenades; Grenade Launcher x1; Combined Squad)
1 Heavy Weapons Team (Missile Launcher; Assault Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x1; Flak Armour; Lasgun x1; Krak Grenades)
1 Sergeant (Character; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon; Krak Grenades)
7 Infantry Squad (Infantry; Assault Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x7; Flak Armour; Lasgun x6; Krak Grenades; Grenade Launcher x1; Combined Squad)
1 Heavy Weapons Team (Missile Launcher; Assault Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x1; Flak Armour; Lasgun x1; Krak Grenades)
1 Sergeant (Character; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon; Krak Grenades)
There won't be any major changes here, these guys did their jobs admirably - stand on objectives and shoot stuff until you get assaulted and die. Not sure they need krak grenades though...
Total Roster Cost: 497
What I'll be going with is below with comments in yellow:
1 Primaris Psyker @ 70 pts (Infantry; Psyker (1); Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Refractor Field; Laspistol; Force Axe; Independent Character; It's For Your Own Good; Warlord; Lightning Arc; Nightshroud)
The CCS was too expensive for what it brought to the table - too many upgrades. I could take a naked/cheap CCS but I fear they would have even less impact then. So, scrap the CCS completely (I'll bring it back later at a higher points level where there are more troops to issue orders to). I went for the Psyker rather than the Commissar Lord because I want to learn how to use psykers in preparation for growing and playing my Tyranids in the near future. He will join the veterans in their Chimera and move into a useful position from which to cast his powers.
9 Veteran Squad @ 205 pts (Infantry; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Krak Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x9; Lasgun x6; Plasma gun x3)
1 Veteran Sergeant (Character; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Krak Grenades; Plasma Pistol; Power Sword)
1 Chimera (IA) ((IA1se, pg. 64); Vehicle (Tank, Transport); 12 model capacity; Heavy Bolter; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Turret Autocannon; Pintle Heavy Stubber; Amphibious; Mobile Command Vehicle)
The veterans are staying the same - the sarge probably doesn't need a power weapon but between him and the psykers force axe they might actually be able to kill something valuable in an assault. The big change is obviously the Chimera. I'm thinking that the squad will either deploy inside and move on an objective/relic or deploy in heavy cover somewhere, in which case the chimera can try to hunt down other light vehicles.
1 Infantry Platoon @ 185 pts
4 Platoon Command Squad (Infantry; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Close Combat Weapon x4; Lasgun x1; Sniper Rifle x3)
1 Platoon Commander (Character; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon; Junior Officer)
7 Infantry Squad (Infantry; Assault Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x7; Flak Armour; Lasgun x6; Grenade Launcher x1; Combined Squad)
1 Heavy Weapons Team (Missile Launcher; Assault Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x1; Flak Armour; Lasgun x1)
1 Sergeant (Character; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon)
7 Infantry Squad (Infantry; Assault Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x7; Flak Armour; Lasgun x6; Grenade Launcher x1; Combined Squad)
1 Heavy Weapons Team (Missile Launcher; Assault Grenades; Close Combat Weapon x1; Flak Armour; Lasgun x1)
1 Sergeant (Character; Assault Grenades; Flak Armour; Laspistol; Close Combat Weapon)
Nothing much has changed here - I just want bodies to hold an objective and a few heavy weapons to take down vehicles, so an infantry platoon seems to be the right tool for the job. I'm thinking that they will mostly deploy as a combined squad with the command squad nearby, setting themselves up as major fire-base.
1 Imperial Defence Emplacement @ 40 pts (Battlefield Debris (Defence Lines))
This is where things get interesting... I have tons of the Wall of Martyrs kits and I want to start using them (now that I actually can). I thought about adding an Aegis and/or a Commissar to the list to keep the infantry platoon in the fight for longer... this seems to serve both purposes for much less cost! As the league progresses I think this is going to be the theme of my army - regular infantry holding the line with various support elements coming in to assist them in throwing back the enemy!
Total Roster Cost: 500
Tuesday 31 December 2013
Games Played - 29/12/13
This past weekend I finally managed to get myself out to the Overlords for some 40k. I hadn't played in several months (since moving to London, really) so I was feeling pretty rusty!
Fortunately I more or less appear to remember how to play the game and both of my opponents were very friendly and helpful on the rules front.
I'm going to participate in an escalation league at the Overlords over the next several months - it's starts with 500pts in January so, this weekend I brought a fairly simple infantry heavy 500pt Imperial Guard list.
I learned a lot from the two games and particularly from chatting to the guys post-game - it turns out both either are or have been guard players so they had plenty of good advice.
Both games were 500 points and played on 4x4 tables.
Game 1: Imperial Fists
Mission: The Relic
Deployment: Dawn of War
Enemy Force:
Two tactical squads (an 8 and a 10 man) in rhinos with a librarian attached to the smaller squad. Plus one land speeder typhoon.
Game Summary:
The table was split down the middle by a large river which we decided would be dangerous terrain. There was a single bridge at the centre on which the relic was placed. I had some hilltop ruins off to the left of my deployment zone so I placed the PCS and one infantry squad there, giving them excellent lines of sight. My other infantry squad and the veterans deployed near the centre, around and behind a low hill, opposite the bridge. The CCS with the master of ordnance deployed out of sight, behind a small impassable building.
The Space Marines deployed in their rhinos more or less directly opposite the bridge. The land speeder was held in reserve.
My "plan" was to stop the rhinos short of the relic and grab it with my veterans, who would then head back into cover in my deployment zone. Of course, I immediately realised that was not going to be possible short of some amazingly lucky shooting on turn one. I totally overestimated the effectiveness of the Master of Ordnance as he proceeded to hit exactly zero things throughout both games. Both rhinos made it to the middle of the board and the large marine squad disembarked, spelling doom for my veterans. I did manage to kill both rhinos, but I was never really able to wear down the tactical squads sufficiently and they mopped up my troops fairly efficiently! They even assaulted the ruins I was hiding in and rooted out my snipers - Dorn would have been proud.
Thoughts:
There was one highly cinematic and rather comical moment in this game - the librarian assaulted my commander and they managed to double-K.O. each-other. Slaying the warlord was little help to me however, as my poor guardsmen were slaughtered to a man...
Even so, it was a fun game, especially since I haven't played at all in so long! I must say it was all very thematically appropriate; the Imperial Fists marched through my lines, shrugging off las-fire and stoically making the most of their bolter drill! I think the big lesson learned here was not to stand out in the open... also the master of ordnance is not as fabulous as that S9 AP3 large blast makes him sound.
Game 2: Inquisition
Mission: The Scouring
Deployment: Hammer & Anvil
Enemy Force:
Coteaz. One squad of stabby henchmen in a chimera plus one squad of shooty henchmen also in a chimera.
Summary:
We played this one on a very cool Orky scrap-town board. There were plenty of multi-level 'ruins' and a few buildings blocking line of sight across the middle of the board. Objectives were place fairly evenly around the battlefield, though we wouldn't learn the value of each objective until it was controlled.
I made a bit of a rookie error in deployment and put my officers well out of order range of the infantry squads... I might need to write up a little checklist so that I actually remember orders in future, I forgot about them completely several times!
I managed to explode Coteaz's chimera early in the game, which killed a couple of the arco-flagellants and left him and the remainder of his very stabby band of henchmen walking across the board. It was also revealed that I had access to a 4 point objective and a 2 point objective, whilst my opponent could only (easily) hold a 3 pointer.
Because of this, the game really boiled down to Coteaz and his retinue making a play for the 4 point objective that I controlled. On the other side of the board, one of my infantry squads and the veterans went up against a chimera - this didn't go very well for the veterans, who were mown down crossing open ground in an attempt to take another objective.
I had a lot of shots going into Coteaz's squad and that slowly took it's toll. I couldn't kill them all though and they made it it into assault with my CCS which was (unsurprisingly...) wiped out in short order. In an act of supreme silliness, my commander even managed to kill himself while overwatching with his plasma pistol... those things get hot, eh?
However, in the very final minutes of the game, a string of SIX 1's put an end to the remaining acolytes and saw my platoon command squad heroically beat Coteaz to death with their sniper rifles.
Another very fun game with some nail-biting moments towards the end - if Coteaz or his acolytes had passed just a one or two more of their saves they would have contested the 4-point objective and that would have been that!
Thoughts:
For me, the lessons here were not too dissimilar to the first game - the Master of Ordnance did zero and my dudes die really fast in the open! Also, orders are a thing and I should try to remember them...
In general, I also suffered from purchasing too many, ultimately unnecessary, upgrades. There was no need (despite killing the librarian in the first game) for the commander to have a power fist - or a plasma pistol for that matter. It's a totally different type of CCS that has such things. Maybe if they had a medic, melta guns and carapace armour - then I could use them more aggressively.
So, I'll be going for something a little different for the actual league list which I shall post imminently.
Fortunately I more or less appear to remember how to play the game and both of my opponents were very friendly and helpful on the rules front.
I'm going to participate in an escalation league at the Overlords over the next several months - it's starts with 500pts in January so, this weekend I brought a fairly simple infantry heavy 500pt Imperial Guard list.
I learned a lot from the two games and particularly from chatting to the guys post-game - it turns out both either are or have been guard players so they had plenty of good advice.
Both games were 500 points and played on 4x4 tables.
Game 1: Imperial Fists
Mission: The Relic
Deployment: Dawn of War
Enemy Force:
Two tactical squads (an 8 and a 10 man) in rhinos with a librarian attached to the smaller squad. Plus one land speeder typhoon.
Game Summary:
The table was split down the middle by a large river which we decided would be dangerous terrain. There was a single bridge at the centre on which the relic was placed. I had some hilltop ruins off to the left of my deployment zone so I placed the PCS and one infantry squad there, giving them excellent lines of sight. My other infantry squad and the veterans deployed near the centre, around and behind a low hill, opposite the bridge. The CCS with the master of ordnance deployed out of sight, behind a small impassable building.
The Space Marines deployed in their rhinos more or less directly opposite the bridge. The land speeder was held in reserve.
My "plan" was to stop the rhinos short of the relic and grab it with my veterans, who would then head back into cover in my deployment zone. Of course, I immediately realised that was not going to be possible short of some amazingly lucky shooting on turn one. I totally overestimated the effectiveness of the Master of Ordnance as he proceeded to hit exactly zero things throughout both games. Both rhinos made it to the middle of the board and the large marine squad disembarked, spelling doom for my veterans. I did manage to kill both rhinos, but I was never really able to wear down the tactical squads sufficiently and they mopped up my troops fairly efficiently! They even assaulted the ruins I was hiding in and rooted out my snipers - Dorn would have been proud.
Thoughts:
There was one highly cinematic and rather comical moment in this game - the librarian assaulted my commander and they managed to double-K.O. each-other. Slaying the warlord was little help to me however, as my poor guardsmen were slaughtered to a man...
Even so, it was a fun game, especially since I haven't played at all in so long! I must say it was all very thematically appropriate; the Imperial Fists marched through my lines, shrugging off las-fire and stoically making the most of their bolter drill! I think the big lesson learned here was not to stand out in the open... also the master of ordnance is not as fabulous as that S9 AP3 large blast makes him sound.
Game 2: Inquisition
Mission: The Scouring
Deployment: Hammer & Anvil
Enemy Force:
Coteaz. One squad of stabby henchmen in a chimera plus one squad of shooty henchmen also in a chimera.
Summary:
We played this one on a very cool Orky scrap-town board. There were plenty of multi-level 'ruins' and a few buildings blocking line of sight across the middle of the board. Objectives were place fairly evenly around the battlefield, though we wouldn't learn the value of each objective until it was controlled.
I made a bit of a rookie error in deployment and put my officers well out of order range of the infantry squads... I might need to write up a little checklist so that I actually remember orders in future, I forgot about them completely several times!
I managed to explode Coteaz's chimera early in the game, which killed a couple of the arco-flagellants and left him and the remainder of his very stabby band of henchmen walking across the board. It was also revealed that I had access to a 4 point objective and a 2 point objective, whilst my opponent could only (easily) hold a 3 pointer.
Because of this, the game really boiled down to Coteaz and his retinue making a play for the 4 point objective that I controlled. On the other side of the board, one of my infantry squads and the veterans went up against a chimera - this didn't go very well for the veterans, who were mown down crossing open ground in an attempt to take another objective.
I had a lot of shots going into Coteaz's squad and that slowly took it's toll. I couldn't kill them all though and they made it it into assault with my CCS which was (unsurprisingly...) wiped out in short order. In an act of supreme silliness, my commander even managed to kill himself while overwatching with his plasma pistol... those things get hot, eh?
However, in the very final minutes of the game, a string of SIX 1's put an end to the remaining acolytes and saw my platoon command squad heroically beat Coteaz to death with their sniper rifles.
Another very fun game with some nail-biting moments towards the end - if Coteaz or his acolytes had passed just a one or two more of their saves they would have contested the 4-point objective and that would have been that!
Thoughts:
For me, the lessons here were not too dissimilar to the first game - the Master of Ordnance did zero and my dudes die really fast in the open! Also, orders are a thing and I should try to remember them...
In general, I also suffered from purchasing too many, ultimately unnecessary, upgrades. There was no need (despite killing the librarian in the first game) for the commander to have a power fist - or a plasma pistol for that matter. It's a totally different type of CCS that has such things. Maybe if they had a medic, melta guns and carapace armour - then I could use them more aggressively.
So, I'll be going for something a little different for the actual league list which I shall post imminently.
Wednesday 18 December 2013
Nope! IC 2014 HPC!
Yet again my wondrous plans are cast down into ruin.
The rules for the Independent Characters 2014 Hobby Progress Challenge have been announced this month! So, in light of this and how much I've been looking forward to it, new plans are required.
The format this year is a bit different than last; there are two parts, the first goal will be to complete a 1000 point Zone Mortalis army and the second will be to expand that army into a 2000 points standard 40k army.
I've decided on a simple target for the Zone Mortalis portion: paint ALL the infantry!
My list will be as follows:
Stage 1: 1000pts Zone Mortalis
Inquisitor Hera, Ordo Xenos @ 78 pts (Digital Weapons; Power Armour; Force Sword; Plasma Pistol; Psyker)
Company Command Squad @ 120 pts (Plasma gun x3)
. . Captain Ulysses, Commander B Company (Plasma Pistol; Power Fist;)
Primaris Psyker @ 70 pts (Force Stave)
Veteran Squad @ 135 pts (Plasma gun x3)
. . Veteran Sergeant (Plasma Pistol; Power Sword)
Veteran Squad @ 117 pts (Meltagun x3)
. . Veteran Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Power Fist)
Infantry Platoon @ 477 pts
. . Platoon Command Squad (Meltagun x3)
. . . . Lieutenant Apollo, 7th Platoon Lead (Boltgun)
. . Infantry Squad (Grenade Launcher x1)
. . . . Heavy Weapons Team (Missile Launcher)
. . Infantry Squad (Grenade Launcher x1)
. . . . Heavy Weapons Team (Missile Launcher)
. . Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)
. . Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)
. . Heavy Weapons Squad (Heavy Bolter x3)
. . Special Weapons Squad (Sniper Rifle x3)
Total Cost: 997
It's not a super-effective list but it includes almost all of my unpainted infantry models plus a few other cool things that I want to build but don't own yet.
February:
Psyker
Vet Squad 1
March:
Inquisitor
Vet Squad 2
Sniper Squad
April:
Platoon Command Squad
Infantry Squad 1
May:
Infantry Squad 2
Company Command Squad
June:
Heavy Bolter Squad
Autocannon Squad 1
Autocannon Squad 2
Now I have 8... why do I have 8? Some day I will use them all in an Apocalypse game, some glorious day!
The rules for the Independent Characters 2014 Hobby Progress Challenge have been announced this month! So, in light of this and how much I've been looking forward to it, new plans are required.
The format this year is a bit different than last; there are two parts, the first goal will be to complete a 1000 point Zone Mortalis army and the second will be to expand that army into a 2000 points standard 40k army.
I've decided on a simple target for the Zone Mortalis portion: paint ALL the infantry!
My list will be as follows:
Stage 1: 1000pts Zone Mortalis
Inquisitor Hera, Ordo Xenos @ 78 pts (Digital Weapons; Power Armour; Force Sword; Plasma Pistol; Psyker)
Company Command Squad @ 120 pts (Plasma gun x3)
. . Captain Ulysses, Commander B Company (Plasma Pistol; Power Fist;)
Primaris Psyker @ 70 pts (Force Stave)
Veteran Squad @ 135 pts (Plasma gun x3)
. . Veteran Sergeant (Plasma Pistol; Power Sword)
Veteran Squad @ 117 pts (Meltagun x3)
. . Veteran Sergeant (Bolt Pistol; Power Fist)
Infantry Platoon @ 477 pts
. . Platoon Command Squad (Meltagun x3)
. . . . Lieutenant Apollo, 7th Platoon Lead (Boltgun)
. . Infantry Squad (Grenade Launcher x1)
. . . . Heavy Weapons Team (Missile Launcher)
. . Infantry Squad (Grenade Launcher x1)
. . . . Heavy Weapons Team (Missile Launcher)
. . Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)
. . Heavy Weapons Squad (Autocannon x3)
. . Heavy Weapons Squad (Heavy Bolter x3)
. . Special Weapons Squad (Sniper Rifle x3)
Total Cost: 997
It's not a super-effective list but it includes almost all of my unpainted infantry models plus a few other cool things that I want to build but don't own yet.
The challenge starts in February so I will be mapping out the monthly commitments like so:
February:
Psyker
Vet Squad 1
March:
Inquisitor
Vet Squad 2
Sniper Squad
April:
Platoon Command Squad
Infantry Squad 1
May:
Infantry Squad 2
Company Command Squad
June:
Heavy Bolter Squad
Autocannon Squad 1
Autocannon Squad 2
There are some tall orders in there but I'm excited about the prospect of having a fully painted army so by the gods I'm going to make a serious effort to do this! It may also help keep my motivation levels up if I start actually playing some games... so I'll be doing that too; it's my new years resolution!
I realist it's the 18th of the month now and I haven't been totally idle - I decided that I needed to build something (it's my favourite part of the hobby after all) so I dug out a couple of tank chassis that had been lying idle (and on sprues). Behold, two more tanks!
 |
| Turrets painted separately... |
 |
| There are still two more planned... I have a problem. |
 |
| The Arcadian 300th Armored Company en route to the nearest Munitorum painting facility... |
For the remainder of this month, I'll be taking a break until about the 27th because we'll have guests over Christmas. After that, I'll be either painting that goddamn Wall of Martyrs (even if it kills me) or potentially building all the new shiny things... it could go either way...
Saturday 7 December 2013
December/January Commitments
We're already a week into December so I think it's about time I made some hobby choices...
I'm still working on the Vendetta this weekend but hopefully it will be totally finished very soon - in any case, I consider it complete from a hobby progress perspective.
For December (and January if the IC Podcast Hobby Progress Challenge doesn't kick in before then), I'll be working on various secondary 'characters'. This motley crew are introduced below:
I will also be undertaking a sizable Christmas project for which I will be enlisting my girlfriend to assist. This is going to be the focus of my hobby efforts during the actual Christmas holidays. It's also actually the continuation of last years Christmas project which, true to form, I never completed...
Last year, as an awesome present, I received the large limited-run Wall of Martyrs box. I managed to get it all assembled (including some modifications...) and primed but painting didn't proceed beyond a few test pieces. Now, with the release of Stronghold Assault, it's the perfect time to get the set painted up and available for use with my army! I'll post later in the month with a before shot to show the changes that I made.
I'm still working on the Vendetta this weekend but hopefully it will be totally finished very soon - in any case, I consider it complete from a hobby progress perspective.
For December (and January if the IC Podcast Hobby Progress Challenge doesn't kick in before then), I'll be working on various secondary 'characters'. This motley crew are introduced below:
- Inquisitor
 |
| Now... where are my Servo-Skulls... |
- Primaris Psyker
 |
| The mandatory force weapon is... uhhh... concealed... |
- Krieg Commissar
 |
| Apparently he'll be shooting cowards with his sword. |
- Priest / Officer
 |
| Can I have some shoes? |
- Krieg Officer
 |
| Don't worry sir, a plasma pistol would only have made you die faster. |
I will also be undertaking a sizable Christmas project for which I will be enlisting my girlfriend to assist. This is going to be the focus of my hobby efforts during the actual Christmas holidays. It's also actually the continuation of last years Christmas project which, true to form, I never completed...
Last year, as an awesome present, I received the large limited-run Wall of Martyrs box. I managed to get it all assembled (including some modifications...) and primed but painting didn't proceed beyond a few test pieces. Now, with the release of Stronghold Assault, it's the perfect time to get the set painted up and available for use with my army! I'll post later in the month with a before shot to show the changes that I made.
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