W.I.L.T - Colossus Siege Mortar

Good morning folks and welcome to another edition of "What I Like Today" (or W.I.L.T for short).

Today I'm going to talk about the Colossus Siege Mortar in the Imperial Guard codex. This has been a favourite unit of mine since 5th edition with the Guard codex, but only since getting to grips with 6th edition rules have I brought it back out onto the tabletop.

My logic for this has been 2 fold. 1 is to deal with infantry blobs in their own deployment zone and also to take the Colossus over something like the Griffon or Basilisk is the S6, AP3, Ignores Cover.

What this means is that I can 2+ out Tau Firewarriors, instakilling any HQs that it lands on and fail their L.O.Sir test. It can also then deal with backfield power armoured units, like Tactical marines in cover or pesky Devastator equivalents like Long Fangs or Dark Reapers.

In the games I've used it, it's always done pretty well. I'm not sure if it's made it's points back in every game, but it's killed a few HQs and troop units they're hiding in.

It's very reliant on getting a hit since otherwise it'll be scattering full 2D6", but it's got a decent chance of landing a hit, or even scattering onto other nearby units if you play something like Guard platoon blobs or Tau huddled together to benefit from support fire.

And that's time up. What do you guys think of the Colossus Siege Mortar? Both playing using it, and playing against it.

SB
(Song: Mr Brightside by The Killers)

Demo Game - Battle For Hades Hive - 2nd War for Armageddon

Ello,

On Saturday we ran 2 demo games at Phalanx in St Helens. It was a really good event, and I'd urge those who didn't go this year, to check it out next year. I've not got any pictures of the actual event hall and stalls, but there were a lot of really great traders, along with a bring and buy. (So next year, I'll start saving up some pennies a couple of months before!)

So, we decided for our MAWS 40K demo game, we'd like to do one of the Armageddon battles, but it was dependant on who would be going as to what one we'd run. Eventually it was decided that we'd do the 2nd War for Armageddon as we had Orks, Guard and Blood Angels.

We did it at 10k for the Orks and 9k for the Imperium, but loooking at the table we had, we vastly underestimated how much stuff we had to fit on the board - although it did look epic! But actually trying to play the game and move units was a nightmare.

So yeah, here's some pictures of it all...

Pre-Game shot of the terrain on the table, courtesy of Sanguinius' hard work.

View from the ultimate Vantage Point. No cover saves from up here folks!

The Green tide descends!

"Who suggested 10,000 pts? Look how many Orks I've got to move!"

Tycho and Corbulo become a road block, to prevent the Stompa getting to the Land Raider.

"Fire EVERYTHING at the Stompa!"

Mr Stompa Head finally topples over after 3 turns of Imperial shooting.

Sly Marbo takes aim...

Ork Fighta Bommas emerge amidst the Imperial Guard's backline.

The Killa Kans attempt to avenge their father... "Nooooooo! Daddy!!"

(Young) Commissar Yarrick takes on Warboss Ugulhard, ultimately defeating him and claimining his Battle Klaw!

Dante and the Sanguinary Guard take on the Meganobz and Warboss.

We called it at the end of Turn 3, as we needed to make a start on packing up. It was good fun, just a lot of models for the table size we had, especially playing 1 v 1.

The Imperium held back the advancing green tide (no thanks to the amount of terrain on the board!) succesfully defending Hades Hive for the time being. But we all know that Orks never truly lose!

We've got a few plans for future demo games, (all of which will be reduced in points!) based on feedback and other demo games we saw around the hall.

Big thanks to everyone who helped out beforehand and on the day (Sanguinius, Col. Straken, Farseer Jordan) and also a big thanks to St Helens Spartans for organising a fantastic event, and allowing us to play the demo game.

Peace,
SB

P.S. Everyone LOVES the Stompa. He'll definitely be at the next show.

Badger's Log - Commissar Yarrick Conversion

Ello,

Quick one again while I remember and have a few mins. Over the last month or two, we've been planning a club demo game for Phalanx 2011, themed around the 2nd Battle for Armageddon, specifically the Battle for Hades Hive.

In doing this, I've had to read up a lot on exactly who was there and also, check out a lot of facts about Commissar Yarrick, like when and how he got all the wargear he has in Codex: Imperial Guard.

To be on the safe side, I needed to make a version of Yarrick as he is in the Guard codex (Battle Klaw, Bale Eye and Forcefield). So after scrambling around on eBay, I pieced together this guy:

His Klaw looks a little big on the pictures, but it's an Ork Warboss's Klaw afterall, so it shouldn't look like it fits Yarrick. I used a Baneblade Tank Commander as the basis, as he came with a robo-eye which gives me his Bale Eye as well.

So yeah, he should be appearing on the battlefield with my Imperial Guard army sometime soon, along with preparations for the Third Battle for Armageddon.

Peace,
SB

What do you want next for your army?

Morning all,

Again, I'll try and keep going with the updates here and there, in between bouts of overtime at work.

Last night, I was flicking through the Imperial Guard codex to have a nosey at some units and started thinking about what I'd like to buy next for them, to move me away from Mechanised transported squads and utilise more of the Imperial Guard book.

First up, there's a few more characters I want in the army...

Commisar Yarrick
  First up, the only named Independent Character in the book (well, one without being bought in a command squad to start with?). I've already made a plastic Commisar Lord from the Cadian command boxset, but next up would be to make this dude.

The idea being, that I've got plenty of Ork power klaws lying around, waiting to lop off his hand with. Add a storm bolter to the other, and his bale eye, and we're there. My Manutian equivalent of Yarrick.

Captain Al'Rahem
There's something I like about this guy as an upgrade to my Platoon command squad. Mostly because he's got better orders than a standard Platoon commander (Bring it down and First Rank, Second Rank), bigger order range, a unique order which lets you shoot, then run. And on top of that a plasma pistol and an instant death causing power weapon. So he's S3, big deal, he only needs 1 wound to land on a Carnifex for it to go pop. He's got plenty of fodder around him to take the hits!

As for converting Al'Rahem, the best thing to do is get his iconic weaponry - the plasma pistol and Claw of the Desert Tiger - and make him look a bit rugged and worn. I'm hoping a Dark Eldar power weapon and standard Guard plasma pistol can do the trick there, along with a goggled Catachan head and a cloak from Empire pistoliers. Job done... hopefully.

Commander Chenkov
I'm a pansy for special characters, I like to use them all over the show, just for the variation they can bring to a game. I'm intending on buying the bits for Al'Rahem, so it seems daft not to also do the other Platoon Command upgrade - Commander Chenkov. The main reason I was to use  him, is to back up a big Conscript unit. I

A Manutian version is going to be a bit awkward to do. His defining features are his cloak, greatcoat and sword. The only problem with that is I've used exactly the same gear for my Commisar Lord (excluding the bolt pistol). There's a few WHFB heads I can use for the beard and whatnot, and I should have plenty of broadswords lying around.

Conscripts
Continuing on from using Chenkov, I've always wanted a big meatshield unit of Conscripts. Literally to worry people about a 50 strong unit heading towards them and for the satisfaction of knowing they're pretty much just a suicide unit. The only problem I've got with that is painting and buying all those Conscript models...

I'm not sure how to make my Conscripts yet, I intially wanted to use the Catachan models as inducted Manutian Gangers, but having found no decent deals on the older boxes of models via eBay... I'm thinking I may as well just use the Cadian models.

Sentinels
Sentinels have always been a cool little unit, I like the thought of these scouting walkers to support Infantry units or tag along with mechanised infantry. I also like the amount of weapon options available to them, from anti-vehicle, anti-infantry, anti-terminator, anti-light vehicle etc. The only question is scout or armoured?

No change here, I'd love to just use the GW models as standard, hopefully magnetising the weapons and being able to swap the cockpit top in and out to swap between scout and armoured variants.

Rough Riders
Rough riders are my absolute favourite unit in the Guard codex. So much so that I've been hanging fire on building them, just waiting to see what new models are coming out for all the GW ranges, for what I can convert them from.

My initial idea for them came from an article in White Dwarf about Abhumans, with the use of Xeno mounts. At that time, using the very old and chubby Cold Ones. I didn't have an issue with those models, just that they were a pain to get hold of in bulk. So at the moment, I'm toying with either using Dark Elf cold one knights for the Xeno approach, or go the classic horse way and use Empire pistoliers.

Psyker Battle Squad
I know, I know. The internet loved / loves these guys and everyone else hates them... but I really, really like the idea of a Psyker squad. I love Psykers in 40k and think they're really, really underused. Mostly because they're competing for better slots in some armies (Weirdboys in Orks, for example) or whatever other reason. But I do want to try and force a squad of them in, to accompany my Primaris Psyker.

The intention for them is to have this rogue and tattered look about them. Probably using Empire Flagellants for them, or Bretonnian men at arms. However, when making my Primaris Psyker I did think about using Cadian Shock Troops with Empire bits to maintain the similar look - although maybe they'd be too similar for other players?

Hardened Veterans
The next thing on my list is to have some actual models for my Hardened Veteran units. The aim is for these to be my Chimera mechanised squads, and my current Mech squads can sit inside the Valkyries / Vendettas.

Now these guys are Wargames Factory sci-fi Infantry, but I really like the Killzone Helghast thing they've got going on. Plus they're pretty cheap. I think it's about £40 for 54 of them. Which is more than enough and with all the special weapons to boot. They're different enough from Cadians to get away with and also could be used to show Carapace armour?

Hopefully over the coming months I can start chipping away at the tons of units I want. Maybe before the end of this month I can look into that Psyker Battle squad, or the Platoon command special characters and Yarrick.

Next month's project is to start some Rough Riders!

Peace,
SB

Christmas and Wargaming

Morning all,

Thought I'd roll on with the blog articles whilst it's quiet in the run up to Christmas. Just quickly to talk about Christmas and Wargaming... Now, for me, Christmas is a weird one for gaming - I've got more time to do stuff, lots of new shiny toys, but never seem to get around to getting stuff sorted or playing games..

Even Marines get festive...

Hopefully if I've been very good these year, I'll be getting some more Dark Eldar stuff, to flesh the list out to about 1500 - 2000pts. More Warriors are a priority, along with some boxes of Hellions to have a squad of those and also turn some into Beastmasters, since I love the idea of that unit and also have plenty of models around the place I can use for the Beasts.

I'll also hopefully get / buy myself a full new set of brushes. Painting my Guardsmen last week was a nightmare, since most of my larger brushes have been demolished through years of painting, so I had to paint the Black armour all with a detail brush. Not fun.

As for what I want to try and get done over the Christmas break. I've got 12 Imperial Guard Heavy Weapons teams sat on my paint desk, after finishing painting 62 Guardsmen over the last week. I really want to get the HW teams painted up so I can start using Platoons more in the army, as opposed to the current "Veterans as Troops" setup I've got going now.

I've also got 4 older Commisar models to paint up, which I figure can be used to spread around the Platoons.

On top of that, I'm then planning on organising my Guard Infantry into containers, with specific weapon loadouts and then do the squad markings. I'm hoping this will go some way towards helping with my dislike for masses of Infantry and trying to get squads together during deployment.

After that, I'll hopefully make a start on my first wave of Dark Eldar stuff (Warrior squad, Wych squad, 20 Wracks, 6 Grotesques, 6 Haemonculi, Urien Rakharth, Archon, 2 Raiders, Ravager and 3 Venoms). Undercoating the vehicles will be first, then make a start on painting the infantry from there.

I think I've finally set myself on a colour scheme, using the Kabal of the Poisoned Tongue as a basis. I seem to do well at using Blue in my paint schemes, plus, I'm not really up for the Edging on armour, so that rules out most of the other Kabals. The Kabal of the Obsidian Rose was pretty cool (Red majority armour, Black plates for variety) but I just don't think Red translates well on the Dark Eldar vehicles, but that debate could fill an article in itself...

Anyways... what are you guys hoping to get hobbywise for Christmas? And what are you hoping to get done over the Christmas break?

If you don't hear from us in the meantime, have a Merry Christmas from MAWS40k!

Peace,
SB

Badger's Big Update - Part 1 - Black Wash

Hi everyone,

As you've probably noticed, the blog has been a bit bare for a while now, due mostly to members being pretty busy or in the middle of projects that aren't really ready to be posted.... Or in my case, forgetting to take pictures of models I've painted!

I've had some form of Man Flu for the past week and it decided to go full on attack mode on my painting backlog. I ended Sunday feeling better and also chipping away at the dreaded painting Backlog.

So - the aim is, each day I'll post a unit or project that I had worked on over the weekend, chat about it pretty quick and show off some pictures.

First up, as those of you who've seen my armies on the table or on this blog, I'm a massive supporter of Badab Black wash. Considering the busy working patterns I can go through, as well as y'know, attempting to have a personal life, when I get chance to paint, I want to get a job done. Badab Black saved my life!

On that topic, I found myself painting 2 plastic Necron Immortals that had been sat on my desk for a looooong long while. I think I made them about 18 months ago - using a Destroyer Torso, Head and Gun on a normal Warrior's legs.

You used to be able to get hold of extremely cheap unboxed Necrons Destroyers on eBay and the aim was to make a 2nd squad of Immortals using these guys as the basis.

So here they are:

Whilst painting them though, I had them next to newer things I'd painted using Badab Black wash. Whereas my original Necrons pre-date that, (Boltgun Metal drybrush, reset Black areas and then Snot Green the pipes), so I decided to go over them with a Black Wash as tester models for the Necron army.

Suffice to say, I was happy with the result. It blended in some patchy drybrushing and then dulled them so they were more "fitting" of the 40k Universe.

That then got me thinking of my Guard army, who I set the Paintscheme for about 6 years ago when I first got into 40k. They take an absolute AGE to paint since it all relies on layering the cloth, resetting large Black areas and multiple skin coats.

So I attacked some rarely used Guard models to see what my scheme would look like with the Black Wash:



Original Guardsman Paintscheme



Guardsman Post-Black Wash

Again, I was really impressed by the result of this, so I went over a box of the rarely used Guardsmen (Metal Models) as the first stage of the project.

So - what do you guys think? I'm aiming to buy a ton of Black Wash over the next few weeks and go over the Necrons and Guard to really Grime them down and match my other armies. After all... Nothing is ever factory fresh in the 40k universe!

Expect part 2 tomorrow :)

Peace,
SB

[Battle Report] Apocalypse! Tyranids v Guard, Wolves and Grey Knights

Hey everyone,

I've finally had the motivation to pick up the stack of scribbled notes on my desk and write them up to cover the Apocalypse game we played a few weekends ago, with Angryman using his Tyranids against my Imperial Guard and Col. Straken's Space Wolf / Grey Knight list. Our club hall was double booked, so we had to play the game on a standard 6 x 4 table at my house - not ideal, but it meant for a quick decisive game...

Battle Lines are Drawn.

The objectives of the game were for 4 objectives - 3 minor (worth 1 each) and 1 major objective (3 points). These were spread around the board, 2 being Bastions, 1 being a Tyranid spawning pool, and the final one being an Imperial defence outpost.

Imperial Heavy Armour deploys on the Table.

The Tyranid horde deploys - plenty left in reserve to drop down on the board.

Turn 1 - Imperium
The Imperial armour advance forwards up the board, destroying Razorwire left from previous battles. Hellhounds and Leman Russes hold the right side, the remaining Russes and the Wolves on the left.

Imperial shooting however wasn't so good. Most of the Guard tanks scattered off wildly from their targets. The hellhounds however fared better, attacking a brood of Warriors and Zoanthropes in close proximity to one another.

In totalt, the Imperium managed to kill; 1 Carnifex, 4 Tyranid Warriors, 2 Zoanthropes and left 2 fexes badly wounded, as well as the foot slogging Tyrant and his guard.

Imperial Advance - Turn 1.

Tyranids - Turn 1

The Tyranid horde pressed forward, the Carnifexes and Tyrants towards Imperial Tanks. The Tervigons managed to spawn 27 gaunts between them.

In the shooting phase, one of the Tervigon attempted to cast Feel No Pain on the Tyrant's unit but took a Perils of the Warp wound. A Heavy Venom Cannon Fex destroyed a Grey Knight Dreadnought. A 2nd Carnifex managed to blow up the turret from the very effective Hellhounds. Zoanthropes fail to damage a Grey Knight Land Raider. Hive guard shoot and Shake a Leman Russ.

In assault, the Carnifexes run into the Hellhounds and manage to Stun the 2nd Hellhound.

Tyranids Turn 1 - They do NOT like Hellhounds

Imperium - Turn 2
From reserve, the Marauder Bomber arrives and aims for a strafing run across the entire Tyranid back line. Drop pods with an Assault Squad, and a Wolf Guard squad arrive aiming to attack the Tyranid defensive horde. Grey Knight Terminators leap out from the Land Raider.

In the shooting phase, the Grey Knight Terminators Land Raider shoots and kill a Tyrant Guard, Drop Pod causes 2 wounds on the fresh Tervigon. Wolf Guard terminators wound the cowardly Hive Guard and the Bomber with it's strafing run killed another Tyrant Guard. The Guard opened fire, with a Leman Russ Vanquisher blowing up a Bastion housing Genestealers, a Leman Russ then followed that up with dropping it's Battle Cannon on the Genestealers, scattering, but managing to kill 1 Zoanthrope nearby and a Genestealer (darn cover saves...). The Leman Russ Demolisher killed the final Tyrant guard and wounded Old One Eye. Another Leman russ kiled a Dakkafex with it's shooting, along with 4 nearby Gaunts.

In assault, the Grey Knight Terminators take out Old One Eye in combat before the feared beast had chance to even open his Claws.

Leman Russ tanks press forward to Hammer the "Big Ones".

Tyranids - Turn 2
In the movement phase, the Mawloc, Trygon Prime, Doom of Malantai, Screamer Killer fex and Genestealers with Broodlord manage to arrive from reserve. Spelling big trouble for the Guardsmen... The Tervigons manage to spawn 18 more Gaunts between them, but unfortunately, both roll doubles - no more spawning in this game. The Gaunts to the back corner of the board move forward to target the Wolf Guard and press on the Objectives.

Shooting, the Tervigons cast Feel No Pain on the walking Tyrant (who's buddies have been killed) and a Carnifex. The Doom of Malan'tai wrenches the souls from 2 Grey Knight Terminators. A Dakkafex causes a Shaken and Weapon Destroyed result on a Space Wolf Rhino. The Gaunt wave shooting kills 1 Grey Knight terminator and the Hive Guard pop the Storm Bolter off the Drop Pod.

In assault, the Hive Tyrant and Gaunts charge into the GK Grand master, hits the Tyrant 5 times but fails to wound, more Gaunts charge the Wolf Guard. Carnifexes blow up both Hellhounds, destroying them and taking 2 Genestealers in the blast.

Tyanid Reserves en Masse

Imperial - Turn 3
Imperial Guard reserves show up now, with Kratos (Guardsman Marbo) appearing, along with 2 Veteran Squads in Chimeras, Company Command Squad in another Chimera and then 3 Vendetta Gunships.

The Grey Hunters and Grey Knights disembark from their vehicles, and "Jimmy Gauntslayer" the Lone Wolf moved towards the Trygon prime - a fitting test for him. The Marauder bomber strafes along the centre of the board.

In the shooting, the Marauder Bomber annihalated 25 gaunts with more dropped bombs, Grey Hunters kill 5 Ymgarl Stealers, GK Land Raider killes 6 gaunts. Marbo throws his demo charges and wipes out a squad of 3 warriors lurking near the backfield objective. Veterans and the Command squads, along with their Transports bring down the Mawloc thanks to Melta guns and a pinch of luck. The Wolf Long Fangs fail to wound anything and the Vendettas take their toll on the Tyranids, wounding a Tyrand, wounding a Fex and wounding the Trygon twice. A Leman Russ kills one Hive guard and another wiped out a Spore pod.

Assault phase, Dreadnaught assaults the Screamer Killer Fex, Lone Wolf assaults the Trygon and manages to survive. The Grey knights stuck in assault are killed off, and the Hive Tyrant headbutts the Grey Knight Grand Master to death.

Reinforcements FTW!

Tyranids - Turn 3
Reinforcements - Tyranid Warrior Prime, along with his Warrior Bodyguard show up, Raveners appear, Winged Tyrant, 3 Lictors jump out near the Imperial Artillery line, Parasite of Mortrex and Shrikes all appear. Everything in the Tyranid army pressed forward to cripple the Imperium.

In shooting, the Hive Guard turned their attention to Guardsman marbo, which thanks to their nifty guns, bypassed his Cover Save and Stealth rule (he was stood behind a wall). The Winged Tyrant knocks a Lascannon off the Marauder bomber, Tyranid warriors kill 3 space wolf Grey hunters and one of the Carnifexes blows up a Space Wolf Rhino.

In assault, the Tervigon and Fex destroys the Land Raider, Tyrant attacks the Demolisher, the 2nd tyrant stunds a Leman Russ, Carnifex wrecks the Vanquisher, Genestealers attack a Veteran Squad Chimera, wreck it and kills several Veterans, Raveners shake another Leman Russ and the Ymgarl Genestealers attack the wolves, killing 2, then the remainder of the unit being wiped out by the Wulfen marked trooper. Finally the Doom of Malan'tai blows up the Leman russ, and the resulting explosion destroys 4 Gaunts. The Trygon finally kills off the Lone Wolf.

"There used to be more tanks than this..."

Imperum - Turn 4
Imperial retaliation time... Veterans and the command squads turn to wipe out the Genestealers with Brood Lord. The Grey hunters move to combat the Raveners and the Vendettas move up towards the destroyed Bastion.

In shooting, the Bomber kills 2 gaunts and all of the Shrikes. Long fangs take 3 wounds from the Trygon prime and Grey hunters killed 2 Raveners. The Company Command squad issues 1st rank fire, 2nd rank fire to the Veteran squad out of the Chimera. The Veteran squad kills 7 gaunts and the Colossus Siege Cannon kills off a Hive Guard. The Leman Russ scattered it's shot, managing to land on the Colossus but luckily failed to damage. The Demolisher missed the Trygon completely. The Vendetta gunships kill off one of the Tervigons, kill a Tyrant and finish off the Trygon prime - awesome shooting there Imperial Navy.

Assault was scarce, the Grey Hunters moved to the Raveners, 3 Hunters being killed in the process but the Hunters managing to kill off the Raveners.

"That's better lads... Thank the Emperor for the Imperial Navy!!"

Tyranids - Turn 4
The remaining Tervigon regenerates 1 of his lost wounds, the Lictors spread around cover. Gaunts move to secure the 2nd bastion objective and the remaining Tyranids dispersed to avoid Guard artillery fire.

Shooting caused a Carnifex to shake a Vendetta, but the remaining shooting patters harmlessly off the Imperial Armour.

Assault was more prolific for the Tyranids. Warriors with the Alpha Warrior charge the Leman Russ and Space Wolves, removing the Battle Cannon and killing the Wolves, Screamer Killer carnifex assaults a Vendetta, removing 1 of it's 3 Lascannons. The Lictors assault the Colossus mortar, shaking it, and a Tyrant assaults a Leman Russ, blowing it up. The Doom's assault against the Demolisher and the Lictors assault on a Razorback was fruitless, but the Genestealers and Broodlord stunned, then blew up a Chimera with a Veteran squad. The Tervigon assaulted one of the Drop Pods and destroys it.

ZERG RUSH!

Imperial - Turn 5
The remaining Razorback tank shocks the Gaunts, moving them up the battlefield. The Vendetta moves to contest the Tyranids home objective, while other Vendettas spread out to move for objectives. The Command squad disembarked from it's stunned Chimera and the attached Inquisitor moved and joing the remnants of the remaining Veteran squad. The Bomber again strafes across the table for maximum impact.

The Bomber's strafing run kills off 3 warriors and wounds around the rest of the unit. The Razorback fails to wound the Carnifex. One Vendetta kills the Screamer killer Carnifex and the Long Fangs fail to hurt the lurking Lictors. The Company Command squad kills off another 7 gaunts and the nearby Demolisher takes a wound off a Hive Tyrant. The Leman russ kills 3 gaunts with it's template and the other shootable Vendetta killed off a Sniper Fex.

In assault, the Veteran squad and Inquisitor moved to charge the Broodlord, but failed to damage it. Fortunately, their leadership held and kept the Broodlord pinned with them for a turn.

Zooooooooooooom!

Tyranids - Turn 5
The Gaunts press to a Bastion objective and the Winged Hive Tyrant moves to support them.

The Flying tyrant shoots a Vendetta but nothing happens and a Carnifex moves to support, managing to Shake the Vendetta.

In assault, the Tyranid prime targets were the Vendettas.. Tyrant attacks one, fails to do anything, similar story with a 2nd Vendetta assaulted by a Carnifex. A lone Lictor attacking a third Vendetta managed to cause a Weapon Destroyed result. Another Lictor assaulting the Colossus caused an immobilised result. A Tyrant attacking a Leman Russ caused 3 penetrating hits, resulting in a wrecked result. Gaunts charging in on the Imperial Guard Command Squad kill off all but the Company Commander who stands firm, killing 3 gaunts in retaliation. The Broodlord versus the veterans again resulted in a drawn combat.

"Stand still damn you!!"

Imperial - Turn 6
The Vendettas move around the board to contest 3 of the objective, the Shaken Vendetta moving flat out to reach it's one near the Winged Hive Tyrant. The Bomber strafes across the board again and the remaining 2 Leman Russes (1 Demolisher) move to open fire on remaining targets.

The Marauder bomber kills off 1 Lictor, the Vendetta nearby shoots another Lictor but thanks to it's Chamelionic skin and going to ground, it survived. The Leman Russ kills a Tyranid Warrior. A 2nd Vendetta attempts to open up on another Lictor, who again, dives for cover in the ground. The Doom of Malan'tai takes a Demolisher shell, but passes his invulnerable save. The Space Wolf Long Fangs nick a wound from the Winged Tyrant.

In assault, the Brood Lord kills off the Veteran squad (finally...) and consolidates towards the Bastion objective. Imperial Commander Grant wins the combat against the Gaunts, who take 2 casualties - standing firm to contest the Objective on his own.

Tyranids swarm the Digestion Pool objective

Tyranids - Turn 6
The Winged Hive Tyrant moves to assault the nearby Vendetta, Warriors, Carnifex and walking Tyrant move to attack Leman Russes, Gaunts move toward the digestion pool, and the Tervigon goes to attack a Chimera lumbering toward the Tyranid home objective.

Shooting caused no issues on the Vendettas, one passing it's Flat Out cover save and the other from the lone Hive Guard missing it's target.

In assault, the Tervigon destroyed the Chimera, Winged Hive Tyrant shakes the Vendetta, and all 3 remaining Leman Russes were destroyed. Commander Grant stood firm once again, holding the Gaunts for a draw.

Imperium - Turn 7
The Vendettas and the Long Fangs move to contest their nearby objectives. Everything else remaining (not much) held their positions.

The Marauder bomber shot the Lictors and wounded 1, the Vendetta with 1 lascannon remaining shot at the Winged Tyrant but failed to wound.

In assault, the Gaunts finally manage to beat down the Imperial Commander - not bad for someone who sits in a box ordering people around mostly.

Tyranids - Turn 7
So final turn for the Tyranids. The Warriors move to combat a Vendetta objective, one remaining Lictor moves to attack the Long Fangs and a Lictor / Gaunt combo move to secure the digestive pool. The Parasite of Mortrex and Tervigon head to the home objective to secure it.

Final round of shooting caused a Vendetta to become shaken, 2 Long Fangs to be killed and the Marauder bomber to finally take a hit, causing a Gun crew stunned result.

In assault, the Hive guard failed to damage his Vendetta foe, the Long Fangs caused 1 wound on a Lictor, but the Lictor held, the walking Tyrant managed to smash down the buzzard Vendetta hovering near his objective and the Winged tyrant failed to damage the final Vendetta.

The Aftermath of Portsmotia...

Result
Tyranid Victory - 1 objective held, other 3 were contested.

Conclusion
It was a tough game full of bloodshed, had Imperial Template Weaponry been a bit more accurate, the Portsmotian defence force may have held - alas. We have crippled the Tyranid foe significantly and can send for further reinforcements to cleanse this Tyranid infestation sector.

SB.

[Imperial Guard] Recent Games and Thoughts

Hey everyone,

Over the past couple of weeks, whilst working on odds and ends for my Brotherhood of the Forge Witchunters Count-As, I've been going to my Imperial Guard army. You've all got that army somewhere... The one you always mean to use more, but you never do. The one you intend to buy new units for to "refresh" them, but spend money on your favoured army...

Anyway, in a bid to put all my 40k stuff to use, I've been playing non-Britcon practice games using my Imperial Guard army, with the aim being to get the hang of using the Guard, then introduce my Brotherhood of the Forge units into it.

So I thought I'd do a bit of a "What I've used and What I thought" type article about everything.

#1. Vendetta Gunships

I know, a lot of people kicked up a fuss and cried about these online - or the flip side of the coin - spammed them to death in Tournament settings. I've been using all 3 of the Valkyries I bought myself for Xmas, because they look awesome on the table. I use them in a similar to vein to how one would probably use Land Speeders, but with the reliability of 3 Twin Linked Lascannons, not much is standing up to them. They're useful for a "guaranteed" vehicle stopper or Character sniper.

#2. Guardsman Marbo

There was an article on Dark Future games I read today that kicked this article into gear: Dark Future Gaming Marbo Article. I personally, think he's an ace addition to any army, capable of providing either a game deciding block, or a moment of utter comic relief as his Demo Charge flies wildly back onto himself. The only downside I have with him is his lack of Eternal Warrior. I'm still needing to get to grips with him a bit more - such as using Stealth USR in combination with cover, and also timing my combats with Hit and Run USR. I'm looking forward to using him the next couple of games.

#3. Tanks in General

Never rely on Pie Plates. They're all well and good in theory, but the scatter dice has not been my friend the last few games. It's all well and good every few years to take out that deepstriking assault squad and Chaplain in a single shot, but that's offset by the 99 other shots where it veers wildly off target.

I've also learnt that with the Leman Russ special rules, I NEEEEEED to remember about the Lumbering Behemoth special rule. The amount of times last night, that I forgot I could fire an extra weapon, I'd have to take my shoes off to count them up.

The other factor is that Tanks can die easily, one needs to accept that fact. In the past few games, to be able to add more tanks, I've skimped on upgrades. I'm still not sure what the best option is here, but I think the points for Heavy Bolter sponsons may be worth it. Against hordes of Orks and Tyranids, those extra few shots can make all the difference.

#4. Psyker Battle Squads

I really like these guys - mostly because I think Psykers should be on every table going. I have to admit, they can be extremely destructive and can all but guarentee a unit starts running - combined with the Guard's shooting and ability to cause morale checks, you're onto a winner here.

I wouldn't go as far to add another unit in the army, but I wouldn't mind chucking in a Primaris Psyker with them. He uses his power, Battle squad uses Weaken Resolve to make the morale tester's LD drop. Which relies less on the Chimera they were riding in.

#5. Guard Survivability

It's inevitable that Hordes of Guardsmen will die in droves. Especially with Flak Armour. I've taken to using Veteran Squads (until I can be bothered painting up my platoons) and made a habit of upgrading them to have Carapace armour. Admittedly it's a bit more expense in the force, but to me, the survivability outweighs it. I would have lost against Space Wolves last night, had it not been for the fact off shooting attacks, my men were getting Armour Saves.

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So for now, that's what I've currently been thinking about when it comes to Imperial Guard. I'm quite keen to get my Guardsmen and Heavy weapons painted up, so that I can start using some regular Platoon setups, but until I work through my existing backlog, that won't happen. Plus, with Veterans and Mechanised, it's a lot less things to move around and transport between games...

What do you guys think? It's hard not to be influenced by the internet, but similarly it's also hard when one of your favourite units in the book happens to be one of the most used and one of those "We all hate X" units.

Do you guys hate to play against Vendettas and Psyker battle Squads? Are we seeing them less now some people have moved onto the IG "blob" armies?

SB.

The Manutian Defence Force

INCOMING VOX TRANSMISSION: The Portsmotia region of Manutia is under Tyranid Assault... Massive initial Assault wave has been sighted... Defenders mobilised... Reinforcement beacon deployed..

Portsmotia is a strategic point on the planet of Manutia, home to numerous Industrial sectors and the largest Spaceport on the planet, so recieves heavy allied traffic. However due to this, planetary forces around this area are equipped with large numbers of vehicles.

[PICT-FEED: Mechanised Defence Force of Portsmotia]

Commander Grant, with Imperial Fleet Master Addams and the Alpha Bravo Veteran Squads, deployed in their Chimera Transports for safety and mobilisation.

Fast Assault Hellhound Squadron. Equipped with lethal long-range heavy Flamers.

The Wedge Attack formation of the Hammer of Portsmotia Tank Formation, all equipped with Battle Cannons.

Heavy hitting attack tanks and Artillery. Leman Russ Vanquisher, Leman Russ Demolisher and a Colossus Siege Cannon at the rear.

Fast moving Vendetta Gunships able to quickly re-deploy and take on priority Tyranid Monstrosities.

[INCOMING VOX TRANSMISSION #HIGH COMMAND] ETA For Battle: 16 Hours... Defenders of Manutia, stand firm.... Send the foul Xeno back to the spawning pit from where they came...

SB