Hard Boyz List V3

So maybe I'm being dragged kicking and screaming to a new way of thinking about Eldar.

I've had success, but in many ways I don't want to embarrass myself when I get to BOLSCON, what with Fritz, Jawa, Goat, JWolf - hell, all those guys and more are converging on Austin in August, and I want to hold my own or do them one better. I just need to make sure I have the proper tool.

I've been arguing with Stelek over on his blog, and while I don't think I'm wrong I'm not sure I'm right either. I won't waste words rehashing it; I've put the link in my last post. Suffice it to say, I need to trim some fat, so I cranked out some tighter lists this morning (concentrating on Hard Boyz points value, though the same theory applies to the 2000pt roster due this Friday).

2500 Pts - Eldar Roster - Eldar Hard Boyz List V3

1 Eldrad Ulthran @ 210 Pts
Psyker; Doom ; Eldritch Storm ; Fortune ; Guide ; Mind War ; Divination; Fleet; Independent Character; Ghost Helm (GH); Rune Armour (RAmr); Runes of Warding (RofWard); Runes of Witnessing (RofWit); Spirit Stones (P:SpStn); Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Witchblade (WB); Staff of Ulthamar (SofU)

1 Avatar @ 155 Pts
Unit Type: Monstrous Creature; Fearless; Deamon; Inspiring; Molten Body; Wailing Doom (WD)

4 Harlequin Troupe @ 126 Pts
Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Harlequins Kiss (Hkiss) (x4); Shuriken Pistol (x4)
1 Harle Troupe Master @ [38] Pts
Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Power Weapon; Shuriken Pistol (Sp)

9 Fire Dragons @ 332 Pts
Fleet; Fusion Gun (Fg); Melta Bombs
1 Fire Dragon Exarch @ [43] Pts
Fleet; Tank Hunters; Dragon's Breath Flamer; Melta Bombs
1 Wave Serpent @ [145] Pts
Energy Field (Wave Serpent); Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); TL Shuriken Catapult (TL-Scat); TL Bright Lances (TL-BL)

9 Fire Dragons @ 332 Pts
Fleet; Fusion Gun (Fg); Melta Bombs
1 Fire Dragon Exarch @ [43] Pts
Fleet; Tank Hunters; Dragon's Breath Flamer; Melta Bombs
1 Wave Serpent @ [145] Pts
Energy Field (Wave Serpent); Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); TL Shuriken Catapult (TL-Scat); TL Bright Lances (TL-BL)

10 Pathfinders (Rangers) @ 240 Pts
Fleet; Infiltrate; Move Through Cover; Stealth; Ignore Difficult Terrain; Pathfinder Stealth; Scouts; Pathfinders; Shuriken Pistol (Sp) (x10); Ranger Long Rifle (RLRifle)

10 Pathfinders (Rangers) @ 240 Pts
Fleet; Infiltrate; Move Through Cover; Stealth; Ignore Difficult Terrain; Pathfinder Stealth; Scouts; Pathfinders; Shuriken Pistol (Sp) (x10); Ranger Long Rifle (RLRifle)

10 Pathfinders (Rangers) @ 240 Pts
Fleet; Infiltrate; Move Through Cover; Stealth; Ignore Difficult Terrain; Pathfinder Stealth; Scouts; Pathfinders; Shuriken Pistol (Sp) (x10); Ranger Long Rifle (RLRifle)

4 Dark Reapers @ 217 Pts
Reaper Launcher (RL)
1 Dark Reaper Exarch @ [77] Pts
Crack Shot (CS); Tempest Launcher (TL)

4 Dark Reapers @ 217 Pts
Reaper Launcher (RL)
1 Dark Reaper Exarch @ [77] Pts
Crack Shot (CS); Tempest Launcher (TL)

1 Falcon @ 190 Pts
Holo-Field (Vehicle) (H-F); Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); Bright Lance (BL); TL Shuriken Catapult (TL-Scat); Pulse Laser (PL)

Total Roster Cost: 2499

This isn't the first build I came up with this morning, but it does make use of stuff I currently have. I may need to buy two more tanks.

Brent

Some Thoughts On Army Composition

This image has zero to do with my thoughts; I just can't post a blog without pictures.

So, I'm still trying to nail down a list for BOLSCON and Hard Boyz. I don't have too much more time; the deadline for list submission for BOLSCON is this Friday.

Here's the list I ran in my test game last Friday.

1 Eldrad Ulthran @ 210 Pts
Psyker; Doom ; Eldritch Storm ; Fortune ; Guide ; Mind War ; Divination; Fleet; Independent Character; Ghost Helm (GH); Rune Armour (RAmr); Runes of Warding (RofWard); Runes of Witnessing (RofWit); Spirit Stones (P:SpStn); Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Witchblade (WB); Staff of Ulthamar (SofU)

1 Avatar @ 155 Pts
Unit Type: Monstrous Creature; Fearless; Deamon; Inspiring; Molten Body; Wailing Doom (WD)

7 Harlequin Troupe @ 280 Pts
Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Close Combat Weapon (x2); Harlequins Kiss (Hkiss) (x5); Fusion Pistol (Fp); Fusion Pistol (Fp); Shuriken Pistol (x5); Hallucinogen Grenades
1 Harle Death Jester @ [28] Pts
Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Harlequin Shrieker Cannon (HSC); Hallucinogen Grenades
1 Harle Shadow Seer @ [48] Pts
Psyker; Veil Of Tears ; Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Close Combat Weapon; Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Hallucinogen Grenades
1 Harle Troupe Master @ [38] Pts
Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Power Weapon; Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Hallucinogen Grenades

9 Fire Dragons @ 337 Pts
Fleet; Fusion Gun (Fg); Melta Bombs
1 Fire Dragon Exarch @ [48] Pts
Fleet; Tank Hunters; Crack Shot (CS); Dragon's Breath Flamer; Melta Bombs
1 Wave Serpent @ [145] Pts
Energy Field (Wave Serpent); Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); TL Shuriken Catapult (TL-Scat); TL Bright Lances (TL-BL)

9 Fire Dragons @ 337 Pts
Fleet; Fusion Gun (Fg); Melta Bombs
1 Fire Dragon Exarch @ [48] Pts
Fleet; Tank Hunters; Crack Shot (CS); Dragon's Breath Flamer; Melta Bombs
1 Wave Serpent @ [145] Pts
Energy Field (Wave Serpent); Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); TL Shuriken Catapult (TL-Scat); TL Bright Lances (TL-BL)

9 Dire Avengers @ 322 Pts
Fleet; Avenger S-Catapult (ASC)
1 Dire Avenger Exarch @ [69] Pts
Fleet; Bladestorm (BS); Defend (D); Power Weapon; Shimmershield (Sshld)
1 Shimmershield @ [0] Pts
1 Wave Serpent @ [145] Pts
Energy Field (Wave Serpent); Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); TL Shuriken Catapult (TL-Scat); TL Bright Lances (TL-BL)

0 Guardian Squad @ 146 Pts
Fleet
11 G Storm Squad @ [100] Pts
Close Combat Weapon; Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Flamer (x2)
1 Spiritseer (Warlock) @ [46] Pts
Psyker; Enhance ; Fleet; Spiritseer Upgrade; Rune Armour (RAmr); Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Witchblade (WB)

10 Pathfinders (Rangers) @ 240 Pts
Fleet; Infiltrate; Move Through Cover; Stealth; Ignore Difficult Terrain; Pathfinder Stealth; Scouts; Pathfinders; Shuriken Pistol (Sp) (x10); Ranger Long Rifle (RLRifle)

4 Dark Reapers @ 217 Pts
Reaper Launcher (RL)
1 Dark Reaper Exarch @ [77] Pts
Crack Shot (CS); Tempest Launcher (TL)

1 War Walker Squadron @ 255 Pts
Scouts; Spirit Stone (V:SpStn)
1 War Walker @ [80] Pts
Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); Bright Lance (BL); Scatter Laser (SctL)
1 War Walker @ [80] Pts
Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); Bright Lance (BL); Scatter Laser (SctL)
1 War Walker @ [95] Pts
Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); Bright Lance (BL); Bright Lance (BL)

Total Roster Cost: 2499

Some changes are definately needed - just check out my test game below. Here are some thoughts.

The War Walkers gotta go. I modeled them, painted them up, and used them in a tournament in June. Which I won. Just 'cause I wanted to use them! But there were reasons there. First, I believe people become comfortable playing against a familiar list, so I wanted to shake things up a bit; in the same tournament I also painted up and played two D-cannon support units. See where I'm going? Not the best options at all. So while it is good to rattle my opponents and shake up my tactics some, it wouldn't be wise to count on a unit at best untested and inconsistent and at worst complete crap. Now my second reason, not that it really matters but included for completeness, is I have a theory about Eldar at 36 inches that I wanted to test. Moving on...

I have to have units I can count on. The test game proved the War Walkers are crap without Eldrad to babysit, so they gotta go.

Next up, the Guardians. Now, set aside for a moment the fact I completely misplayed them, that unit has been a big winner for me. I've tested it and know how best to utilize it. That said, I think they need a Wave Serpent. I won't waste pixels on the reasons, which are obvious. The only real consideration is should I stick with Enhance or go with Destructor for the Warlock? Enhance makes for a surprisingly effective speedbump/counterattack unit, but since my tactics may change with the addition of the transport, it might be nice to have 3 templates to throw down. This has been done before, so I know it has been effective; that said, in some games I may decide to use the Serpent to transport my Harlequins, in which case the Guardians will go back to their more defensive posture. Enhance is a good tactical choice, giving me some options.

I've learned to appreciate the one unit of Dire Avengers. http://www.yesthetruthhurts.com/2009/07/re-new-mech-monstrous-creature-eldar.html ...for the reasons outlined here! So it seems I disagree with public opinion on this one, at least as far as YTTH goes, but I have to trust my instincts and experience. The internet and blogosphere is useful for a starting point, but it's important to have faith in your own ideas.

Which brings me to the Dark Reapers. I have full faith in this choice. When I had the idea to create an Altansar Eldar list, the general consensus was the Dark Reapers sucked. The best I got was they were a hugely inferior choice for a heavy support slot and that I should go with 3 Fire Prisms. I changed some minds. Look, the Tempest Launcher with Crack Shot hits with Ballistic Skill 5, that's two templates that wound and kill Marines on a 4+ with a reroll. In the game last Friday I killed 8 expensive Vanguard with one shot (the other Reaper and the War Walkers killed the other two). It was the only shot the unit was able to take the whole game, but it more than paid for itself doing so.

Over time, I did cull down my use of Reapers, and other units as well, for that matter, until I only use the one unit most of the time. Same theory as with the Dire Avengers, synergy and support.

I'll post my ideas on this in the future. You know, for the one person who reads this blog. :)

1 Eldrad Ulthran @ 210 Pts
Psyker; Doom ; Eldritch Storm ; Fortune ; Guide ; Mind War ; Divination; Fleet; Independent Character; Ghost Helm (GH); Rune Armour (RAmr); Runes of Warding (RofWard); Runes of Witnessing (RofWit); Spirit Stones (P:SpStn); Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Witchblade (WB); Staff of Ulthamar (SofU)

1 Avatar @ 155 Pts
Unit Type: Monstrous Creature; Fearless; Deamon; Inspiring; Molten Body; Wailing Doom (WD)

7 Harlequin Troupe @ 280 Pts
Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Close Combat Weapon (x2); Harlequins Kiss (Hkiss) (x5); Fusion Pistol (Fp); Fusion Pistol (Fp); Shuriken Pistol (x5); Hallucinogen Grenades
1 Harle Death Jester @ [28] Pts
Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Harlequin Shrieker Cannon (HSC); Hallucinogen Grenades
1 Harle Shadow Seer @ [48] Pts
Psyker; Veil Of Tears ; Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Close Combat Weapon; Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Hallucinogen Grenades
1 Harle Troupe Master @ [38] Pts
Fleet; Flip Belts; Furious Charge; Hit & Run; Holo-Suit (H-S); Power Weapon; Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Hallucinogen Grenades

9 Fire Dragons @ 337 Pts
Fleet; Fusion Gun (Fg); Melta Bombs
1 Fire Dragon Exarch @ [48] Pts
Fleet; Tank Hunters; Crack Shot (CS); Dragon's Breath Flamer; Melta Bombs
1 Wave Serpent @ [145] Pts
Energy Field (Wave Serpent); Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); TL Shuriken Catapult (TL-Scat); TL Bright Lances (TL-BL)

9 Fire Dragons @ 337 Pts
Fleet; Fusion Gun (Fg); Melta Bombs
1 Fire Dragon Exarch @ [48] Pts
Fleet; Tank Hunters; Crack Shot (CS); Dragon's Breath Flamer; Melta Bombs
1 Wave Serpent @ [145] Pts
Energy Field (Wave Serpent); Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); TL Shuriken Catapult (TL-Scat); TL Bright Lances (TL-BL)

9 Dire Avengers @ 322 Pts
Fleet; Avenger S-Catapult (ASC)
1 Dire Avenger Exarch @ [69] Pts
Fleet; Bladestorm (BS); Defend (D); Power Weapon; Shimmershield (Sshld)
1 Shimmershield @ [0] Pts
1 Wave Serpent @ [145] Pts
Energy Field (Wave Serpent); Spirit Stone (V:SpStn); TL Shuriken Catapult (TL-Scat); TL Bright Lances (TL-BL)

0 Guardian Squad @ 140 Pts
Fleet
11 G Storm Squad @ [100] Pts
Close Combat Weapon; Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Flamer (x2)
1 Warlock @ [40] Pts
Psyker; Enhance ; Fleet; Rune Armour (RAmr); Shuriken Pistol (Sp); Witchblade (WB)

10 Pathfinders (Rangers) @ 240 Pts
Fleet; Infiltrate; Move Through Cover; Stealth; Ignore Difficult Terrain; Pathfinder Stealth; Scouts; Pathfinders; Shuriken Pistol (Sp) (x10); Ranger Long Rifle (RLRifle)

10 Pathfinders (Rangers) @ 240 Pts
Fleet; Infiltrate; Move Through Cover; Stealth; Ignore Difficult Terrain; Pathfinder Stealth; Scouts; Pathfinders; Shuriken Pistol (Sp) (x10); Ranger Long Rifle (RLRifle)

4 Dark Reapers @ 217 Pts
Reaper Launcher (RL)
1 Dark Reaper Exarch @ [77] Pts
Crack Shot (CS); Tempest Launcher (TL)

Total Roster Cost: 2478

So here's a new list to try. It has the elements I like, the Fixed and Mobile elements I play off of. But I've still have to give this some thought, since I'm not happy with all the elements. For one, I'd like another Wave Serpent for the Guardians, for the reasons stated above. So what's the solution? Drop them completely or what? I can already tell this won't be the final version; I need more elements for dealing with AV14.

Okay, I'm done with all the rambling, I just wanted to outline some of my thoughts over the last few days.

Eldar vs Marines (BOLSCON/Hard Boyz prep)

August is going to be a huge month, what with BOLSCON and Round Two of Hard Boyz. I'm still not 100% decided on the army for either event. I won Round 1 with my brand-spanking-new Chaos Marines... new in the sense of, "Hey, just got done painting models that have been sitting in my bits box for a decade now!" My actual new army, collected over this last year and some months, is the Eldar. I built them to be competative against MEQ, the formula has been pretty successful: I've won or placed in almost every regional event I've used them in.

What I haven't done for some time is test my mettle at a really large event. I've done well in the past, but the larger the event the less control one has over the outcome. Things like time, scenarios, rules dispute, and terrain (among many other factors) are huge considerations. So it's important to minimize adverse effects prior to hitting the board - and god, the list is huge! Sleep, weather, painting schedules... on and on.

And I've rambled on and on. Basically, I tested out an Eldar variant against a buddy of mine at the FLGS last night. He's trying to nail down his Vulcan Mech list, so this was a good challenge seeing as how I'm concerned about 'Best Of' variants...

HIS influence is trickling down, making it tougher to take on marines.

Boy, this is going to be a long blog already - I'll just hit the high points.

We decided to play a random scenario from Hard Boyz Round 1, and after rolling the dice came up Scenario 2. Dawn of War Annilation with skewed kill points. 5, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1 from HQ down to troops and transports.

I rolled higher and took 1st turn, with the plan of forcing back as much of his army as possible. I knew the Alpha Strike was coming and wanted to create space. I also decided to hold my Warwalkers, both Fire Dragon Waveserpents, and my Harlequins in reserve, reasoning I'd need a counterpunch in Turn 2 and 3. I cringe at the mistakes I made here; hindsight is 20/20, but the Avatar was hiding for no good reason and wasn't within range to support the guardians and the pathfinders didn't need to set up so close - the guardians were enough to force the marine line back. As it was, I compounded these mistakes.

I had to edit, so this is the table after Turn 2. Basically, I sent my guardians forward with some half-ass plan of offering a target to the Land Raiders: I wanted him to climb out and close assault me, giving me something to counter attack. Stupid idea, of course - it just gave him something to shoot at. I did fly the Waveserpent with Eldrad and the Dire Avengers up to support the Avatar with Fortune in subsequents turns. All in all, his Turn 1 was brutal. His dreads dropped, one targeting my pathfinders and Avatar and the other my Dark Reapers, who had just come on to grab the wall in my backfield. His tanks pushed in, setting up. I lost most of my Pathfinder and all of my Guardians, plus a couple Reapers. That said, his Dreadnought wanted no part of the Avatar; I think a better plan would have been to flank the Dark Reapers position with the Drop Pods and completely take out the unit, dealing with one threat and hopefully finding some cover behind the Pods from the incoming Firedragons. As the picture shows, I did deal with the Dreadnoughts pretty handily, nominating one squad apiece. The Warwalkers came in on my left flank. More on them later.

This shot is the end of Turn 3, which was fairly uneventful. Oh, did I mention Bruce forgot his other Land Raider? Thus the Orkish proxy.

Bottom of 3 and the Land Raider decides to Tank Shock the Avatar. My opponent figures the Avatar will just move aside, leaving a nice path to my army. The Avatar is slightly insane, what with earlier in the day taking a stroll aboard the Craftworld that ended with him being the guest of honor at a lobsterbroil: he Death or Glory strikes with the Wailing Doom and rolls 4+1 on the penetration hit. Nice. Of course the terminators inside pop out to have a chat with him about it (turn 4). The Avatar is happy to oblige until he realizes Eldrad has sacrificed the left flank... No more Fortune, no more Avatar.

Turn 4. I was concerned about his next move. He still had one Drop Pod, complete with Marines and Vulcan, that was almost assuredly coming in at the bottom of 4. My weapons weren't in the right places to really take on everything. My big question was where will he strike? He had a full Vanguard squead in the proxy-Land Raider and Vulcan and friends in the express elevator - so what to do? Ultimately I decided to tighten my grip on the right flank, reasoning I need to finish killing squads to grab kill points and the Razorback w Marines and Scouts would be a fairly easy target. On my left flank I sent my Fire Dragons after the Predator. I'm still not sure of this move, but I wanted to seperate this squad from the Walkers and Reapers: I didn't want to just offer it all on a plate now did I? Luck wasn't with me as the Fire Dragons disembarked and failed to take out the Predator. In hindsight, this was probably the mistake. There wasn't a great reason to leave the protection of the Serpent... I should have forced him to get me out before he killed me. I'll have to give it some thought.

The game is closing in... here is the right flank...

...and here is the left. As stated, the terminators did in the Avatar and closed on the Dragons. Vulcan's squad and the proxy-Land Raider full of Vanguard also targeted this flank. I can't say this was a mistake, since we were both laying claim to territory... Perhaps he didn't need as much as he took, but I'm also a big believer in nailing down the kill.

The start of Turn 5: as it happened, this was the last turn.

Left flank. The Vanguard and Cassius had already done for the pathfinders. I zeroed in with the Reaper Exarch, Dark Reaper, and two War Walkers. It was the only firing the Reapers did all game, but they earned their points. One dead Vanguard, leaving Cassius a lonely man. The Exarch killed 8 by himself...

The shot. An on-target Tempest Launcher templates with Crack Shot. Ap 3, reroll wounds, no cover save... MEQ hate it for good reason.

At the bottom of 5, Cassius hops in and comes in for payback! And promptly rolls a 1 for his terrain test. I thought Bruce was going to burst a blood vessel in his forehead! I couldn't stop laughing! Don't get me wrong though, I would never celebrate an opponent's bad luck by laughing, but we're friends so it was part of the fun. Bruce is a good sport, and he has terrible luck playing me.

The right flank turn 5. I set up... Eldrad had doomed the scouts and guided the Dire Avengers. I felt I needed to take out these units to pull out a victory, given that I lost 5 VP with the death of the Avatar.

The bright lances from the Wave Sepents did for the Razorback (I know they're not there - I'm still putting them together) and the Marines piled out, trying to avoid the Harlequins. I ran with the Harlequins and felt comfortable that I'd get to the Marines over the terrain, er... Razorback. So I unloaded the Avengers and Dragons at the Scouts, taking them out.

The Harlequins swarmed the Marines, taking them out and sealing a victory.

Well, actually just the Troupe Master actually - just to drive my opponent nuts my first Harlequin hit and wounded with every dice of his power weapon attack.

Closing shot, the right flank.

Broad view of the board. He earned credit for the Reapers and almost finished off the War Walkers. The VP were 15 to 11.

Well, putting this report together wasn't as easy as I thought. Thanks to Bruce for putting up with the camera.

Take care - Brent

The Problem With Old Melmoth

Okay everyone, undead group shot - this ones for print. Smile in the back there - all three heads: there's a good Cerby!
Melmoth, look up, baby. Melmoth? Into the camera, mate, into the camera.
Dammit, Melmoth - look up!

(psst - 40K next post)

Melmoth!!! (or A Confrontation Resin Interlude)

So, for many years at Galaxy Books and Comics in Wichita Falls, Texas (the FLGS) two games fought for dominance, for the top-spot as favorite.

*yawn* Okay, I'm already bored with the lead-up, basically Confrontation and 40K were played alternately month-to-month for many years. For the record, I was pretty horrible at this game - come to think of it, I'm probably not even in double digit wins - but I loved it for the miniatures. I really enjoy painting Rackham minis, largely because of the beautiful and diverse sculpts. This was also the favorite game for the Master Manipulator (every store has to have one) and the Partner In Crime (enlist him for a sure thing), both of whom have a large collection of gorgeously painted miniatures.

But even this couldn't stop the game dying the moment Rackham stopped supporting it. Their decision to change the game to prepainted figures killed it overnight. Even the repeated attempts to resurrect it by playing 3.5 failed: who wants to support a dead game?

That said, the Master Manipulator (every store has to have one) and the Partner In Crime (enlist him for a sure thing) have decided to push the game again, using a combination of rules from 1.0 to 3.5; basically, the best rules from all sets. We'll see how long this lasts, but I'm always game to support the FLGS.

Plus, a new sculpt for Melmoth hit the store today. Man, I'm excited about this one.

Nice box.
This is a really nice plastic. Very detailed, almost no flash. Also notice the different shaped female slots: putting this together is a no-brainer.

And voila! I literally snapped it together for this picture. It's not glued, but the pieces are so well developed they hold in shape perfectly. Wish all miniatures were like this...
I'm not going to be able to resist the temptation to paint this model before I continue work on my other various projects. Matter of fact, I'm off to work on it now.

Take care - Brent

From The Stack

Just some random pictures this evening. I left them larger so the interested reader can click on them for detail. I'm sure reader is singular in this case, as in me.

These two Ultramarine armies were at a large tournament I went to - oh, 5 years back? 4? not sure - in Abilene. Must have been some time ago, since I played my 13th Company. I have poor memories of that one; it was where I learned to hate soft scores. I was the only one with 4 straight wins but missed best general because, get this, the judges who scored painting were literally off the street with no gaming experience! They gave me poor marks for 'dirty' painting; as you can imagine, it was supposed to be. This second Ultramarines picture, the one with the blue dice, was literally outscored by a dipped Eldar army. Fun stuff. Anyway, I remember there was talk about which of these armies was better painted. I think it's obvious myself.

This one is from the recent Lone Wolf in Dallas, the only large Fantasy tournament I've attended. This army was amazing; I'm sure a lot of readers (Hi Mom) are familiar with it from the pages of White Dwarf... you know, before it became a $10 catalog.
Shannon finally did it! Well, almost. He's not quite finished with the DP's, but this is literally the first army he's painted. Bang up job too.
And these are from my collection. I'm thinking about repainting them for my Homage Army (the one with all the old shit), but they wouldn't match the two Dreadnoughts in it. Still, it's under consideration for BOLSCON.
Ah, memory lane.

Oops - better leave work - Brent

Galaxy Games 2009 North Texas

Well, so much for promises. I swore to myself I wouldn't miss two days in a row on this blog - so what happens the very first weekend? Ah well; unrealistic expectations and all that.

Saturday was the event and, despite some setbacks, was a pretty big success. The 40K tournament wasn't as large as we (collective we, as in FLGS folks) would have liked, but the card gamers came out in style and saved the day, making next year a real possibility. The idea, you see, was an annual, regional gaming event, starting small and building on that.

The date was cemented before the Hard Boyz dates were determined and posted, so it wasn't taken into account; the tournament organizer and Chief Master Manipulator In Charge (every store needs one) thinks that hurt our numbers. I agree. People just weren't willing to travel two weeks in a row.

That said, we had 14 painted armies throwing down on tables 25% covered with great terrain. GW came through with prize support, so the entry fees went to the hall Larry (the owner) rented, covering costs as it were.

Yea, yea - I got pictures. I'm also going to put together battle reports. I had four really fun games, with 3 wins to 1 stomping. I was happy with my overall performance, coming in 2nd overall while racking up the most kill points over 4 games, but I did have something of a personal ephiphany following the stomping I took. Don't misunderstand! This is nothing on Matt, the dude that kicked me another hole to own: he won the day, and it was well deserved.

Remember the regret I expressed in my last post? Well, it all came to pass. I hampered myself with an inferior list and I knew it. I have only myself to blame for feeling stupid. But more on that another time.

You're here for the pictures... no, it's okay, you don't need to lie. There, there. Put your head on my shoulder; ignore the groping hand...

...

What, too much?

This was my personal favorite. Ironically, it took him 10 minutes to paint.

A long view of half the tables.

The other half.

This was my 'We Need Trees, Dammit" table, which was a success...

Dale busted up a Landraider and Landspeeder to build this... Aaagh!

And of course, the shirt says it all...

I'll post more over the coming days. Armies, in game shots, that kinda thing.

Take care - Brent

Chaos Army, NTX Event 7-18-09

So I sent in my list for tomorrow's event and naturally I'm regretting my choices. I would have done that regardless; it's tradition.

This is not a tough list, though elements of it will give people problems. *thinking* In that, maybe it's like a lot of lists people put together. That said, as Stelek would say, "It's full of fail."

Yup. Don't care! My decisions weren't based on winning as much as on other factors. Primarily, I wanted an easy list to play that would either win or lose quickly, but I also wanted one that was painted to a decent standard so I could enjoy using it. I'm not against using unpainted models in one-off games but I can't stand using one for an event or tournament.

But I like to win. Thus the regret.

1850 Pts - Chaos Marines Roster - Chaos Roster Galaxy Tourament July

1 Abaddon the Despoiler @ 275 Pts
Drach'nyen; Talon of Horus; Twin Linked Bolter; Fearless; Personal Icon; Mark of Chaos Ascendant

1 Chaos Sorceror @ 130 Pts
Bolt Pistol (x1); Force Weapon (x1); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Lash of Submission; Personal Icon; Mark of Slaanesh

9 Terminators @ 465 Pts
Chain Fist (x2); Power Fist (x2); Power Weapon (x5); Combi-flamer (x1); Combi-melta (x1); Twin Linked Bolter (x5); Reaper Autocannon (x2); Icon of Nurgle; Mark of Nurgle
1 Terminator Champion @ [45] Pts
Power Weapon (x1); Combi-melta (x1); Mark of Nurgle

5 Summoned Lesser Daemon @ 65 Pts
Close Combat Weapon; Fearless

5 Summoned Lesser Daemon @ 65 Pts
Close Combat Weapon; Fearless

1 Land Raider @ 235 Pts
Twin Linked Heavy Bolter; Twin Linked Lascannon Sponson (x2); Extra Armor; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers

5 Khorne Berzerkers @ 216 Pts
Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon; Plasma Pistol (x2); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Fearless; Furious Charge; Personal Icon; Mark of Khorne
1 Skull Champion @ [76] Pts
Plasma Pistol; Power Fist; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Fearless; Furious Charge; Mark of Khorne

5 Plague Marines @ 248 Pts
Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon; Bolter; Plasmagun (x2); Blight Grenades; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Fearless; Feel No Pain; Personal Icon; Mark of Nurgle; Rhino
1 Plague Champion @ [63] Pts
Bolt Pistol; Power Fist; Bolter; Blight Grenades; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Fearless; Feel No Pain; Mark of Nurgle
1 Rhino @ [35] Pts
Twin Linked Bolter; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers

2 Obliterators @ 150 Pts
Power Fist; Obliterator Weapons; Show Weapon Stats; Fearless; Lascannon; Linked Flamer; Linked Meltagun; Linked Plasmagun; Multi-Melta; Plasma Cannon; Slow and Purposeful

Total Roster Cost: 1849

We'll see what happens; regardless, I'll post some games.

Here are the pics.



The astute reader (HI MOM) will notice the terminators aren't finished. They'll be Black Legion when I'm done... right now they're sort of the Grey Dudes. I have to take the color down a few layers.

Here's some closeups of the characters, primarily Abaddon. Goatboy requested a closer look.

Nope - he doesn't read this blog - I had to ask him to give his opinion via email.



Take care - Brent

Random

My camera focused on the building behind this model, which kills me. This was converted and painted by Mike B., an exceptionally talented individual living in WF TX, though currently the model is on long-term loan to Jon in OKC. Point is, I need a better copy of it.

It was taken at Hard Boyz 2008. I'll get around to posting more pictures from the different events I've attended, as well as battlereports and the like. Currently, I've decided to take my new Chaos army to the event here in North Texas tomorrow, which means I need to finish painting one unit.

I'll make sure my camera is charged and ready to go - I'm looking forward to posting a ton of content from the event center tomorrow.

You know, for the one dude actually reading this blog.

(My mom.)

(Maybe.)

(Probably not.)

Brent

Lone Wolf, Indy 2009

I love Warhammer Fantasy. I've got a total man-crush on the game; it's highly inappropriate in some cultures and outlawed in some states - that kinda thing.

I'm just not very good at it.

I mean, I'm OKAY... nothing special, just kinda meh. It's fairly amusing to some of dudes at the FLGS, cause I'm hell on wheels tough at 40K but would rather take a beating in Fantasy.

(A word on tough. My store is riddled with great 40K players; in this, we are like many, many stores across the country. My favorite part of blogging is seeing how easily offended people get at the idea someone else, somewhere else, might just know a thing or two about kicking ass. There is no ego in my game for two reasons, 1) I'm always ready to learn, believing the game is ever-changing and it's important to stay on top of it, and 2) I know who the best player around is - his name is Jon from Oklahoma City. The dude is a prodigy, and in that he reminds me a bit of Stelek; they both look at the game and army composition the same way. Enough about this: I have a top record - who cares? I'm never saying I'm better than this guy or that - I don't know nor do I care; it's not what's important to me.)

So my store had a decent run on Fantasy this year until it was sidetracked by the machinations of the master manipulator (every store has to have one guy like this to keep things moving) and it was again set aside for 40K. Ah well: me and a buddy went to Lone Wolf.

Lone Wolf was my first experience with a well-run Indy event for Warhammer. I got stomped 3 games out of 4, relying on my brillant strategy of running right at my opponent and getting my dinky knocked in the dirt.

I had a blast. Great fun.

Game One.

Game Two.

The minotaurs were down a man since one guy drank to much and decided he was the lone ranger. He took up a pair of guns and went to fight crime. This lasted until he met some Pistoliers, who actually knew how to use their guns.

Game Three.
The only game I actually won, primarily since he ran out to meet me. We had a nice group hug in the middle. This dude was a blast to play - really decent guy.

Game Four.
This was actually the best I played all day, though I eventually lost.

I'll end this all here, since I'm heading off to class now. I'll revisit the Lone Wolf in future posts, since I've got some great shots of many of the armies there.

Brent

Preparing Terrain and... Stalling

Okay, so this is a busy season. I've played in my local tournaments here in Wichita Falls, TX over the last two months, preparing for the big event this weekend, July 18; in addition, I made the trip to Oklahoma to play in Hard Boyz. I still have more coming up, with Hard Boyz round two and BOLSCON both in August.

All this and school too. I've got a biology class almost every day in July. But I made a commitment to Louis, who runs all the tournaments at Galaxy Books and Comics, to provide scenery. So let's take a look...

Still a ways to go. I've concentrated on vegetation since I'm aware of the current trend toward stone buildings, city ruins, and the like. There is also a picture of the workspace I'm using in the living room.

So is it any wonder my wife will be happy to see the tournament season end?

But over the next month my overwhelming task is deciding on and updating/finishing an army. I've got quite a number of armies in all stages of development, but it really isn't enough anymore just to pick an army. I need to consider how well it plays, is painted, and is received.

So we have Abbadon and some champions. The army was painted up the week before Hard Boyz, primarily as a reason to paint the models. I'll post it at some point, I'm sure, but it worked better than expected, considering I took first place. That said, it was a smaller tournament; I'll need to add much harder elements if I want to take it to round two.

Here are some models from my Homage Army, a collection of 80's and 90's era Space Marines. I really enjoy this army, begin a sucker for the old stuff. It is also well received by players, a lot of whom are suckers for nostalgia. The downside is it's not designed as a competative army.

Here are some walkers from my Altansar Eldar, by far my most competative army in 5th edition. I've had quite a bit of success recently, including taking first in the June tournament. It's not cookie cutter: I run a variant most people haven't seen, and it can be devastating. My real concern is how well my theory of strategy in the game stacks against the current trends in army building, especially given the high number of guard armies I'm likely to play.

*sigh*

Off to school.