Finally, 6th Edition! First Thoughts.

So at long last my Gamer's Edition has arrived. I've finished reading through the rules and they look really solid so far - quite a few rules have been shaken up, but that's to be expected. I think this'll help greatly to get rid of some of the mech stagnation that 5th fell into.

The other thing I like about the rulebook is the VERY extensive background and hobby sections - the rules are only about 1/6 of the book. In the back there are some neat alternate missions, campaign and terrain ideas which are reminiscent of the 4th Edition book - something I found distinctly lacking in the 5th edition one.

The Munitorum Dice are not extra special, but the las-pack they come in is nifty - I'll probably try and snag the Vehicle Damage Dice and Battlefield Objectives when they come out, keep the red Munitorum dice for markers and such. Might refill one of the las-packs with my brass-pipped Chessex dice (because the Gamer's Ed satchel has handy pockets for the las-packs).

Now the only things I've left to do are keep hammering away at getting my Marines painted, and get some games in! With the power weapon changes, might bring the Terminators back off the shelf... and get the Space Hulk ones painted up to augment my First Company detachment.

A Farewell To Fifth - The Final Tally

With only four days left until Sixth is officially released, I'm putting the cap on my running tally of Fifth Edition battle statistics. Of course, I'll update it if I manage to get any games in between now and then. So, for posterity... the annotated tally of war from Warhammer 40,000 5th Edition, 2008-2012.

W/L/D (G)

Revilers 3rd Company
36/34/16 (86)
The Revilers were my main army for 5th, and continue to be. I actually started this army soon after 5th was released, alongside the Black Reach starter set and the latest Space Marine codex. In the last four years, the Third Company has grown from five push-fit Tactical Marines (who all bear gold aquuilae as honour markings) to almost an entire Battle Company (command, six tactical, two devastator, one assault squad) with large detachments from the First and Tenth Companies as well as the Librarius.

A'rynnal Corsairs
4/3/3 (10)

My second army, the Eldar were the army that I brought into 5th Edition. I lost interest in them due to a lack of focus in army planning, however, I would like to revisit them in small-project chunks, building up an Aspect-heavy foot Eldar force.

219th Vigilance Line Infantry
2/1/1 (4)
The 219th Vigilance are a collection of classic metal Imperial Guard models I got secondhand from a family friend. I run them as basic infantry supported by Conscript Platoons, and they see the most action as allies in Apocalypse games.

The Legio Aerayakh
2/0/0 (2)
My first ever army, I hadn't touched my Necrons since I had declared them "finished" at about 2000 points and moved on to Eldar. With the advent of a new codex last November, I brought them out again over the Christmas break and started repainting them in a bold new colour scheme.

157th Aeshaettar Light Infantry
2/0/0 (2)
My own Imperial Guard regiment, recently relegated to "hobby project" status so I can focus more on developing the look and feel of the army rather than building an army to use in standard games. Hopefully in 6th they will see more action as an allied contingent to my Revilers.

The Great Hunt of Svenhag Scar-Foot
0/1/2 (3)

A Space Wolf army list I tried out for a few proxy games. The army's four heroes accounted for fully half of the total points, and it was great fun to try out.

Total
46/39/22 (107)


So I exit 5th edition with a 43% victory record, out of 107 total games played. I hope to better the second statistic in the new edition - and maybe with a little luck, I'll surpass the first as well.

Sixth Edition Allies Rumours

Sixth edition will allegedly be announced on Saturday, and the rumours are starting to look more concrete.

The only thing that I have anything to say about right now is the rumours of allies... apparently, the allies rules will allow you to "integrate a second FOC" from an allied codex.

If this is true, I might start fielding combined Marines/Guard as a matter of habit. Might even pick up some Vostroyans (to be modelled/painted as Evanturel Highlanders) and do Shrinehold themed armies.

Now, back to painting Scouts for Saturday.

Strike Force Xerius - 1250 Point Space Marine List

So, my FLGW is running a 1250 point tournament next Saturday, and once again the Revilers are making an appearance. My list looks something like this:

Chaplain
+Jump Pack
+Meltabombs
+Digital Weapons

Librarian

Tactical Squad [10]
+Powerfist
+Meltagun
+Heavy Bolter
Drop Pod

Tactical Squad [10]
+Powerfist
+Meltagun
+Missile Launcher

Scout Squad [10]
+Powerfist
+5 Combat Blades
+4 Shotguns

Sternguard Veterans [5]
+Combi-melta
Drop Pod

Dreadnought
+Multimelta
+Heavy Flamer
+Extra Armour
Drop Pod

Assault Squad [5]
+Power Weapon

So that means I've got a touch of painting to get done in the next six days. The Chaplain, Assault Marines, one tactical squad, Dreadnought and drop pods are good to go. The Librarian, Sternguard, and Scouts need painting... and the Tactical Squad with the heavy bolter is partially painted.

AFTERMATH: The Taking of Hellion Prime

Author's note: this is an after-action report from two years ago that I somehow neglected to publish.

So I went down to the local GW today for a 1750 point pseudo-narrative tournament - 3 rounds with a rudimentary linked narrative running through all the games. The list I brought looked like this:

HQ

Librarian 175

• Terminator Armour

• Epistolary

• Vortex of Doom, The Avenger

Chaplain 130

• Jump Pack

• Meltabombs

• Digital Weapons
ELITES

Terminator Squad [5] 230

• Assault Cannon
TROOPS

Tactical Squad [10] 220

• Meltagun

• Multimelta

• Sergeant: Powerfist, Meltabombs, Teleport Homer

Tactical Squad [10] 210

• Meltagun

• Multimelta

• Sergeant: Power Sword, Meltabombs, Teleport Homer

Tactical Squad [10] 205

• Flamer

• Heavy Bolter

• Sergeant: Power Sword, Meltabombs, Teleport Homer

Scout Squad [10] 165

• 4 Combat Blades

• Heavy Bolter

• Sergeant: Combat Blade, Teleport Homer
FAST ATTACK

Landspeeder 50

• Heavy Bolter

Assault Squad [5] 135

• Plasma Pistol

• Sergeant: Power Sword, Meltabombs
HEAVY SUPPORT

Devastator Squad [10] 230

• 4 Missile Launchers

Game 1 was Seize Ground with Spearhead deployment. The Secondary objective was to "scan" each objective marker with a Troops unit; roll a D6 and on a 6 you got a point. Most points takes the secondary objective.

My opponent had a fairly balanced Eldar army: an Avatar, 10 Dire Avengers, 10 Wraithguard, 10 Guardians, 10 Swooping Hawks, 5 Dark Reapers, a Wraithlord, and 3 Warwalkers.

At the end of the game we were each sitting on one of the four objectives, but my opponent had managed to scan 3 objectives - whereas I had failed to scan any. Minor victory for the opposition.

Game 2 was Annihilation using Dawn of War deployment, with Table Quarters as the secondary objective. My opponent was a very tank-heavy Ultramarine army: a Librarian, two Tactical squads (one in a Rhino, one with a Razorback), ten Assault Terminators in a Land Raider Crusader, two Landspeeders, two Predators, and another Land Raider Crusader.

My infantry-heavy army was slaughtered almost to a man; the game ended with my opponent claiming 8 Killpoints and 2 table quarters, for a Massacre.

Game 3 was a Capture & Control mission using Pitched Battle deployment. The Secondary Objective was to end the game with units in your opponent's deployment zone. An additional twist included in the scenario was that all terrain was counted as difficult for infantry - that meant it would be a long walk for my Revilers. I faced an aggressive Salamanders army that included Vulkan and 5 Vanguard in a Land Raider Redeemer, 2 Tactical Squads in drop pods, an Ironclad Dreadnought in a drop pod, an unmounted Tactical Squad, and a squad of Assault Terminators.

This game was incredibly close - in the end, my opponent claimed one objective by an inch, but I had three units in his deployment zone. This resulted in a Minor Victory for him.

Despite losing all my games, I got to play three good games of 40k and walked out at the end of the day with the award for Best Sportsman - and $45 in GW gift certificates.

Battle Missions

Invited a buddy of mine over this aft to test out the Battle Missions book. Got five (!) games in - they were relatively quick as we were only playing 1000-1250 points or so.

First up was the Close Quarters Action mission, available from the GW website. To capture the cramped, desperate flavour of the mission we decided to use the tunnels from Space Hulk as the setting for the mission. I took on my friend's Imperial Guard with my Revilers and ended up falling half an inch short of contesting the objective (for a win). Nevertheless, I managed to chew my way through 90% of his Guardsmen and a good time was had by all.

Second game was a Surprise Assault, with the Revilers on the defensive and my friend breaking out the new Blood Angels codex. Although by no means indefatigable, the new Blood Angels are incredibly strong... despite taking down a Furioso Librarian (Sergeant Alban claiming his second career Dreadnought kill), I ended the game with no units alive. Lessons learned: Thundershield terminators are a huge beatstick, but moreso on the charge; Command Squads add a lot of bang to the already (surprisingly) beastly Space Marine Captain (Feel No Pain for great justice!); and Chaplain Lemartes is by far one of the dead killiest things in the new Blood Angels Codex.

Third game was a Flank Assault - this time I was the attacker and the Blood Angels defended. I castled up my home objective with a half tactical squad and scout squad, and had the rest of my army go for a flank. Lemartes & Death Co. fell to a literal hammerblow from Chief Librarian Orzora and his Terminator retinue, and my Landspeeder was able to evade the Furioso Librarian's attacks, get behind it, and blow it up real good. Although slightly hampered by only having a single scoring unit, the Blood Angels' Land Raider-borne Assault Squad managed to claw their way onto my objective - making the game a draw.

Game four was an Ambush. We swapped roles again, with the Revilers lining up in a nice column for the Blood Angels to attack. Some less-than-average storm shield rolling with my Assault Terminators led to the Death Company carving a bloody swathe through the rear of my column, and a Turn 1 explosion involving a Heavy Flamer shot and my Landspeeder didn't help either. Although a few of my units survived to make a run for the table edge, I ended up throwing caution to the wind and simply charging Captain Telemachus back at the remnants of the Blood Angels force. In a series of post-game "what if" combats, the Captain managed to slice/meltabomb his way through half an assault squad, a Librarian, a Furioso Librarian, a Land Raider, and two Death Company before eventually falling to the remaining Death Company's power swords. His performance further reinforced my newfound love for the Captain's combat prowess, and reinforced my desire to get a proper command squad built for him.

The final game was played with the Dark Eldar Slave Raid mission. The game didn't really start until turn 3 as the Blood Angels held everything in Reserve - but once they flew on, it was a bloodbath. Death Company charged Terminators, Assault Marines charged Command Squad, the Furioso Librarian chased the Landspeeder around using Wings of Sanguinius, and Sergeant Koros' combat squad faced down a Land Raider. I managed to blow up the Land Raider and rack up a few prisoners by winning several rounds of combat against the Assault Marines (punctuated by the 3rd Company Champion slaying the Blood Angels Librarian!), but in the end, Chaplain Lemartes proved his sheer deadliness by slaughtering most of my army. The game ended turn 6, eighteen prisoners to ten.

The Battle Missions book is definitely worth the thirty dollars - the scenarios, for any of the armies, provide a fresh twist on 40k for those tiring of the three basic missions. As well as a tactical challenge, they also offer a great pseudo-narrative feel that would be great for campaigns.

Two Planetstrike Lists - And Painting Goals!

As I mentioned yesterday, my local(ish) GW is running a 1250 point Planetstrike tourney on the 29th of November. Up for grabs is a brand-spanking-new Fortress of Redemption. The lowdown? Two lists, attacker/defender, 1250 points, fully painted. Here's what I plan on taking:

Attacker

Librarian - 175
· Epistolary, Terminator Armour, Vortex of Doom, Might of Ancients
Venerable Dreadnought – 190
· Multi-melta, Heavy Flamer, Extra Armour
Drop Pod – 35
Terminator Squad – 450
· 10 Terminators
· 3 Chainfists, Assault Cannon, Heavy Flamer
Tactical Squad – 195
· 10 Space Marines
· Multimelta, Meltagun, Powersword, Meltabombs
Tactical Squad – 205
· 10 Space Marines
· Multimelta, Meltagun, Powerfist, Meltabombs
Total – 1250

The Terminators will be combat squadded, with the Librian joining up with one squad to lend his Vortex and the 2D6 penetration from Might of Ancients to their chainfisty-bastion-busting power. Everything deep strikes - the Dreadnought, via Drop Pod - and unleashes melty/chainfisty goodness on enemy bastions. A relatively straightforward strategy.

Defender

Librarian – 150
· Epistolary, Gate of Infinity, The Avenger
Sternguard Veteran Squad – 290
· 10 Sternguard Veterans
· Powerfist, Combi-melta, Meltagun, Flamer
Tactical Squad – 190
· 10 Space Marines
· Heavy Bolter, Flamer, Power Weapon, Meltabombs
Scout Squad – 80
· 5 Scouts
· Combat Blades, Meltabombs
Devastator Squad – 230
· 10 Space Marines
· 4 Missile Launchers
Devastator Squad – 310
· 10 Space Marines
· 4 Lascannons
Total - 1250

My plan as the defender is to castle down 3 bastions with my Devastators and the Tactical squad, keeping everything else in reserve. The Scouts are a distraction - hopefully they earn their 80 points back. The real kicker is the Sternguard - I plan to hold them in reserve, with the Librarian, and then Gate them around the board shooting things up in a torrent of Hellfire/Melta/Flame/Avenger.

On the painting front, this is how my armies look:

Attacker

Librarian - Unassembled, Unpainted
Venerable Dreadnought – Mostly Painted - Needs Detailing
Drop Pod – Partially Painted
Terminator Squad – 6 Fully Painted, 4 Unpainted
Tactical Squad – Mostly Painted - Needs Detailing
Tactical Squad – Mostly Painted - Needs Detailing

Defender

Librarian – Partially Painted
Sternguard Veteran Squad – 6 Fully Painted, 1 Partially Painted, 3 Unpainted
Tactical Squad – Partially Painted
Scout Squad – Painted - Need Magnets for Bases
Devastator Squad – Partially Painted
Devastator Squad – Primed - Unpainted

Well, I had so much fun with the coloured text there... I think I'll keep this "diagram" updated, as a motivational tool, between now and the 29th. Hopefully, the red bits will disappear quick-like. Currently, I'm working on the Terminators and the Tactical squad for the Defender force.

Oooh, A Deadline!

Well... here I am, setting myself a goal.

There is a HoH 40k tournament at the local Bunker on April 11th... that's 47 days from now. I would like to bring my Revilers 3rd Co. to the tourney; this means I have lots of painting to do! Proposed army list looks like this:

• Librarian: Gate of Infinity and some other power
• Tactical Squad 1 (10 Marines): plasma gun, missile launcher, power weapon, meltabombs
• Tactical Squad 2 (10 Marines): flamer, missile launcher, powerfist
• Scout Squad (5 Scouts): heavy bolter, power weapon
• Sternguard Veterans (5 Veterans): powerfist
• Devastator Squad (6 Marines): 2 lascannons, 2 plasma cannons

At the moment I have about 90% of my first tac squad painted, and my Librarian is partly painted. The Sternguard are done, however. So I've got to finish the partially painted models, and paint my Scouts, second tac squad, and Devastators. 47 days... I'll post regularlish updates.

The Winter WAAAGH!

Today I went down to the GW Toronto Bunker to catch the local stop on GW Canada's Winter WAAAGH! Battletour, bringing along six Terminators and six Sternguard Veterans (as well as five Eldar Pathfinders) to try and hold the line against the hordes of WAAAGH! Borker.

The battle was a quite magnificent affair, with a motley assortment of Imperial Guard, Space Marines, Grey Knights and Tau facing off against no less than six Stompaz, hordes of Nobz & Flashgitz, as well as a Battlewagon and some Dreadz.

Although they were severely mauled by the Orks, the Imperial side managed to put up a fairly competent offensive, with shots from several Leman Russes and Broadside Battlesuits toppling two of the Stompaz and rendering others useless. In the third turn, a Vortex Grenade thrown by Captain Stern took three structure points off a Klawstompa that had been tearing up the right flank.

As for my forces, the Pathfinders were spectacularly ineffective, as they were confronted with a marked lack of targets - their long rifles being useless against Armour 13 Stompaz. The Termies and Sternguard fared better, though. During the third turn, the Sternguard managed to down Ghazghkull Thraka with Hellfire rounds, and the Terminators managed to destroy a Deff Dread in the assault phase. An excellent showing for the fledgling Revilers, and I am completely sold on the combat efficacy of the Sternguard. Truly a bullet for every occasion.