Wednesday, 3 March 2010
[Necrons] Necrons in 5th Edition: Initial Thoughts
Monday, 1 March 2010
[Orks] Waaaagh! Nobrot!: HQ Special Characters
Old Zogwort
Old Zogwort is a special character equivalent of a Weirdboy, more expensive obviously, slightly stronger and also with access to a cool special trick. So what's he got different from a standard Weirdboy? Aside from a name...
First off, Zogwort is a bit tougher than your standard Weirdboy, having a Toughness of 5. That makes him that bit harder to wound with shooting and in combat, and having the bonus of needing a S10 weapon in order to insta-kill him. Very handy indeed!
He's got an extra wound over your standard Weirdboy too, alongside the same amount of Attacks, topped off with an extra D6 attacks - striking at the same time as Marines - to represent his snakes.
Even better is the fact that ALL of Zogwort's attacks are 2+ poisoned weapons, meaning wounding Monstrous Creatures and tough targets is easy for Zogwort with his possible 9 attacks. He could if you're lucky, solo a Carnifex in a single round of combat.
Zogwort has access to all of the standard Weirdboy powers, and has the bonus of being a Warphead as standard. The next special thing he offers however, is his unique Psychic ability, "Zogwort's Curse". This is one of the most fun Psychic powers in a game - although can be quite limited in it's use.
Instead of rolling on the standard Weirdboy psychic power chart, Zogwort can instead attempt to turn an enemy character into a Squig and the best thing is, they get no saves whatsoever, just a straight tougness test. Awesome!
Zogwort is a decent buy, especially if you like Psykers, Weirdboy Powers and face some Independent characters regularly. He's also handy in the fact he has a Poisoned Weapon, along with a high, albeit random, possible number of attacks.
Wazdakka Gutsmek
Boasting a base toughness of 5, with an increased 6 from the Bike, he can be a tough customer in close combat - cutting through people with his Power Klaw, as you would expect from a bike mounted Warboss. He also automatically comes with your bog standard upgrade for a Warboss - the Bosspole, ensuring his Bike mob doesn't run away as much.
Something people don't realise (and I also don't have a clue why he has it) is that Wazdakka has a Kustom Mega Blasta, meaning he can have a pop at Terminator characters and whatnot.
His bike is where Wazdakka shines however, being able to Turbo Boost AND shoot in the same turn. Not only that, but when you look at the gun it can shoot - the Dakkacannon - it's excellent. 4 S8 shots, even with Ork ballistic skill, can easily ruin light vehicles, allowing Waz and his Warbikers to steam roll over anything that spills out.
The final thing Wazdakka brings to the table for you though, is the ability to make Warbikers a Troop Choice. Some people prefer Nob Bikers (me personally) but Warbikers do play a good part in a Speed Freek army, the ability for them to be troops with constant 4+ cover saves, or 3+ cover with Wazdakka turbo-boosting and shooting his Dakka cannon is a fearsome prospect.
I used to use Wazdakka a lot, but now settled for my Warboss on bike purely for the points cost.
Mad Dok Grotsnik
Mad Dok Grotsnik is mental. He's a hybrid Warboss and Painboy, but he really excels in a few situations. He comes with your standard Painboy items - so whatever unit he is in gets Feel No Pain and he has the choice of attacking with a Poisoned Weapon, although 9 times out of 10, I'd prefer to use his Power Klaw.
Grotsnik however suffers from a bloodlust style special rule, where he and his unit become fearless, but must move as fast as possible towards the nearest enemy unit and assault if possible. Which, if you're staring down the face of a Trygon, C'Tan or something similar is a troublesome prospect.
What Grotsnik does bring to the table is Cybork body upgrades for ANY model, and for Independent characters, they get a 5pt discount. Not amazing, but it's still 5pts saved somewhere.
Grotsnik and Meganobz are where it's at for me personally. The reason I don't like to use Meganobz is their lack of being able to purchase Cybork Bodies and a Painboy. Solution around that is to attach Grotsnik to the unit.
It does mean however that they're a big points sink, but Fearless Meganobz with 2+/5++ and Feel No Pain are a force to be reckoned with. Even more so if you can spare the extra Warboss to make them scoring, then attach him to a Boyz mob.
Ghazgkull Thraka
Now... the biggest of the Green meanies, Thraka himself. What he brings to the table is pure and simple PAIN. He's big, he's tough and he's more than capable of taking pretty much anything on in combat.
Thraka gives you your usual Warboss benefits - a close combat monster, Power Klaw, very tough and ability to take Nobz as Troops. You then chuck onto this his Mega Armour and special rules and he's going to be prime target for your enemy.
First off, he's got 5 attacks basic. You add onto that, on the charge he gets +2 attacks for his Adamantium Skull - which also makes him immune to Instant Death. No stray Vindicator shot or S5 Power Fist Weilder is going to be smashing Thraka into pieces. He's more than capable of dishing out the punishment to his foes... and that's without his bodyguard being near.
His special rule "Prophet of the Waagh!" means the standard Ork army Waaagh! is replaced by Thraka's version, and it's a whooooole lot better!
First off, for Thraka, in the turn he Waaagh's, his saving throw is invulnerable... meaning he's even tougher to kill off. Use this time wisely to target big stuff, tough characters or things like Necron Pariahs. The Waaagh also lasts during your opponents phase too, meaning you've got 2 assault turns worth of 2++ saving throw!
Then you add in the fact he makes any Waagh-ing Orks on the table count as rolling 6's AND fearless, he makes the army work around him.
On the downside, he is EXTREMELY expensive. More so than the unit of 5 Meganobz you want him leading, or 2 other Warbosses combined. But, if you fancy a turn of absolutely destroying your opponent - provided you time it right - then Thraka is the Ork for you.
I rarely use him outside of Apoc games because I like to run him and Grotsnik in a unit of 5 Meganobz, scoring, with Feel No Pain, 5++ saves and in a Battlewagon. So yeah, extremely points heavy.
Conclusion
Ork special characters are the embodiment of the force - they're very fluffy, can be very random but also some of the most fun characters you will face in 40k.
Thraka may not be as reliable as Abaddon, but I know who I'm cheering on!
Peace out!
SB
Saturday, 27 February 2010
[Orks] Waaaagh! Nobrot!: Weirdboyz
I'm getting more regular with these so I'm trying to get through the units in the army and the remaining units that I don't have models for, I'll try and buy, converted and play with to give my opinion on.
Last article I covered the Big Mek HQ choice, so it makes sense this time to cover the remaining HQ - the Weirdboy.
A lot of people look down on the Weirdboy, and in some ways, rightly so as by taking him as the HQ choice you lose out on certain options, such as Nobz as troop choices (and scoring units) along with the combat power from your Warboss. Then the Kustom Force Field ability, Deff Dredz as troops to free up your Heavy Support options and the ability of Leadership boosting in your Elite units.
However, you have to look at the Weirdboy from a different point of view. True he doesn't allow you to take some units as Troops. True he can't lead from the front. True he doesn't have access to cool special equipment. The thing he does do well though is support your big units of Boyz, which every Warboss should be using, albeit quite randomnly.
The random element of his powers can come in handy, catching opponents off their guard each turn, but can also be frustrating to the Ork player, not knowing what will happen and not being able to plan around that. So the simple thing is... don't plan around the Weirdboy, let him add to your plans, but reduce the risk by always upgrading the Weirdboy to a Warphead!
Let's have a look at his psychic powers and we'll see why....
'Ead Banger
S6, AP3, Blast, Pinning - sounds good - but it's resolved on yourself... This is the 'downside' Psychic ability, giving you a second risk on top of your psyhic test. If you're clever and have put your Weirdboy into a squad of Boyz that are spaced out well enough, this isn't so bad. But in a smaller unit of Nobz or other Elite Orks, it can be a nightmare. Not to mention the fact it will cause pinning and damage the Weirdboy.
Frazzle
The same as 'Ead Banger, but you get to target an enemy unit. Being a blast weapon really helps the Weirdboy with his shoddy Ork ballistic skill. This is a good power to throw at a Marine squad, deny them the armour and if you're lucky, you could take out half the squad, leaving the remainder an easy target for your Boyz squad.
Zzzzap
A souped up Lascannon with the Melta special rule - excellent... but it does have a downside. First of all, the shoddy ork Ballistic Skill, meaning the chances of you actually hitting it aren't so great. But also, if you're leading a big Mob of Boyz, they then all have to shoot and assault said vehicle. Can be handy if said Vehicle is a Rhino and you can snap through it, but if it doesn't come off, you're a bit stuck there... It's also pretty good for Monstrous Creature bashing, or targeting independent characters on bikes.
Warpath
This is THE power you want when leading a 30 strong Slugga Boyz mob. An extra attack per model, meaning your Weirdboy, Nob and the other 29 Boyz are looking at over 125 attacks on the charge. Nothing is likely to stand up to that.... It's extremely handy, you just don't really want to get it too early in the game. Not much use having +1 attack in the first turn with nothing to assault.
'Ere We Go
A very handy power, in that you can Deep Strike (along with unit) anywhere on the board. Comes in really handy at getting either to an objective with a foot slogging mob in a late turn, or going for a Turn 2 assault with said mob, by using this in Turn 1, weathering the incoming fire, then going for it after that. However, this power can be extremely frustrating if you don't want it to happen. In one game I sat with the Weirdboy protecting my home objective, with his 20 strong Shoota mob, then rolled this ability. I tried to then Deepstrike them close by so they could try and get back, scattered off the board and ended up being placed by my Opponent, away from the objective and right near his troops for the next (and final) turn. Bad times!
Waaagh!
A free Waagh move can come in extremely handy, albeit not so much now in 5th edition where Run moves are optional, but never underestimate in a late game turn being able to inch that bit closer to an assault, just to guarentee you get in and contest or wipe out the unit.
Conclusion
Personally, I'd always ensure he's at the heart of at least a 20 strong Boyz mob, the Weirdboy benefits from the Mob Rule, meaning he's going to pass his psychic test the majority of the time. As I said previously, I'd always make him a Warphead, having the re-roll against Frazzle or swapping the Deep Strike move for something more situational is invaluable.
I don't tend to use the Weirdboy much nowadays, in my Snotling days as a Warboss, my original army was formed around him and a Warboss, leading foot slogging mobs of 30. He does have his place, you just need to work to limit the random factor and accept that he isn't a Warboss or a Big Mek.
[FAQ] 5th Edition Rulebook FAQ
Have a read through and see if you can spot anything tasty!
A good clarification for my Burna Boyz and their Battlewagon:
Q. Must passengers fire at the same target that
their vehicle is firing at?
A. No, they are a separate unit (albeit they are
temporarily co-existing with the vehicle) and so
can fire at a different target.
Peace out,
SB.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
[Orks] Updated FAQ
Q. Can you use the Deffrolla when Ramming
vehicles or does it only work when Tank
Shocking non-vehicle units?
A. The death rolla does indeed inflict D6 S10 hits
against vehicles, as Ramming is just a type of
Tank Shock.
Best 20pts spent in the Ork army!
The full updated FAQ can be found below, although it seems like that's the only (very necessary) clarification: http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m970066a_2010_Orks_FAQ
There should also be a Nid update on the way :)
Peace out Battlewagon fans!
SB.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
[HOBBY] The New Boys Pt 4

Obviously Bones isn't his real name, however, he has been fighting for so long that he doesn't remember his own name. Bones is the tactical department in the chapter and the only reason he hasn't raised higher is because he has refused every attempt to be "promoted". He knows that the Sergeants and Captains are always the first to be shot at when people can. Bones now tends to the Chapters dead and wounded much like an apothecary though he follows a more ritualistic way.Roth is the second newest recruit in the Forsaken Guard and was very pleased when Buck turned up to take his old place. Roth is a scavenger and always has been even before being made into a Space Marine. His bolter is of archaic make along with his Chest armour, anything shiny is soon taken by Roth.
Lastly we have Drustos on the left and Attilas on the Right

Drustos is the squads main Vox operator and the Chapter rely on him to maintain their communications. Drustos aspires to be just like Cogs (the techmarine) and follows him around when not at war. There isn't much more to say about Drustos he is a quiet man and he will fight stoically and to the end.
Attilas is the chapters soon to be Chaplain, he also shows a large amount of psychic potential however that is completely normal for this Chapters Chaplains. The Forsaken Brotherhood do not have any Librarians instead their Chaplains maintain their beliefs of the Emperor in his Bloodthirsty state slaking his thirst on the blood of the heretic and Daemon and fight with his will manifest in their destructive powers.
For now that is it, I am currently building some Warmachine models and attempting to build one of my Tactical squads.
If you want to follow my other Blogs on this topic you will find them and the links to previous ones here http://maws40k.blogspot.com/2010/01/hobby-new-boys-pt3.html
Primarchs
We have a choice from....
Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels
Fulgrim, Primarch of the Emperor's Children
Perturabo, Primarch of the Iron Warriors
Jaghatai Khan, Primarch of the White Scars
Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves
Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the Imperial Fists
Konrad Curze, Primarch of the Night Lords
Sanguinius, Primarch of the Blood Angels
Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Iron Hands
Angron, Primarch of the World Eaters
Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines
Mortarion, Primarch of the Death Guard
Magnus the Red, Primarch of the Thousand Sons
Horus, Primarch of the Luna Wolves
Lorgar, Primarch of the Word Bearers
Vulkan, Primarch of the Salamanders
Corax, Primarch of the Raven Guard
Alpharius, Primarch of the Alpha Legion


