BrookM tries to paint stuff occasionally

[merydell]

Looks pretty good.

me and a mate got a knights renegade box together so we now
each have one knight..still wondering how to paint and use it. ninja  

[Hoxtalicious]

merydell

Looks pretty good.

me and a mate got a knights renegade box together so we now
each have one knight..still wondering how to paint and use it. ninja

Field it as a freeblade, that way you can either paint it to match your primary army, or in any colour you like.  

[Hoxtalicious]

In other news, did a surgeon for the troops:



Still need to clean up the gold a bit around the armour, but other than that, very pleased with how this one has turned out so far.

Also made some progress on the Infernus and started work another medic, though that one may still need some kitbashing to look more in place with the rest of the medical corps.  

[merydell]

BrookM

merydell

Looks pretty good.

me and a mate got a knights renegade box together so we now
each have one knight..still wondering how to paint and use it. ninja

Field it as a freeblade, that way you can either paint it to match your primary army, or in any colour you like.

Yeah, planned to go Freeb;ade or a custom house allied with my marines. ninja  

[Hoxtalicious]

As kindly asked, posting this here as well then.

Played a game of 40k yesterday, 1250 pts of my mechanised Solar Auxilia against the Tau of my usual opponent. The mission we played was a semi-custom one dubbed "Operation Linebreaker" using the Hammer and Anvil deployment paired with the Purge the Alien scenario, with an additional secondary objective suite tacked on.

Additional Secondary Objective
Breaking the Line: At the end of the game, every unit completely within 12" of the enemy's table edge is worth 1 Victory Point.

We also used the following custom campaign rules gleaned from other Tank Shock organisers in the US:

Destroy the Enemy Command Vehicle: Instead of Slay the Warlord players earn one Victory Point if they manage to destroy the opponent's Command Vehicle/ Legendary Beast.

Strike True: First Blood scored by a Command Vehicle / Legendary Beast is worth two Victory Points instead of one.

Lead by Example: Linebreaker is worth two Victory Points if achieved with the Command Vehicle /Legendary Beast.

Also, Slay the Warlord was still in use, which meant that if my tank commander was shot away she'd be worth between two to four Victory Points.

Seeing as this was a game for our Tank Shock mini-campaign, we also used the Elite Vehicle Assets found in the event package, both deciding to re-roll our assets for this game.

Ace skill Solar Auxilia: Armour Killer (Tank Hunters)
Ace skill Tau: Beastslayer (Monster Hunter)

Army list used

show spoilerhide spoiler

Onslaught force organisation chart
Compulsory: 1 HQ, 1 Troops, 1 Heavy Support
Optional: +1 HQ, +3 Troops, +4 Elites, +2 Fast Attack, +3 Heavy Support
Army special rule: Due to the use of so much heavy armour I can never have the first turn unless I seize the initiative.

HQ
Auxilia Tank Commander Josmaine (55)
Auxilia Tank Commander Alice (55)

TROOPS
Veletaris Storm Section (115)

Dracosan Armoured Transport - Auxiliary Drives, Armoured Ceramite (165)

FAST ATTACK
Leman Russ (175)

Leman Russ Vanquisher - Armoured Ceramite (195)

HEAVY SUPPORT
Leman Russ Executioner (200)

Malcador heavy tank - Armoured Ceramite, Demolisher Cannon, Siege Armour (295)

Total: 1255 pts

The table setup this time around was pretty crowded, opting for more buildings and LOS blocking features this time to prevent this game from becoming one massive shooting galleria from turn one onwards.

The deployment zone from my side of the table, with both my regular Leman Russ and Vanquisher with tank commander held in reserve for outflanking.


The enemy deployment zone, with a squadron of three Hammerheads holding one flank, while a full Tidewall anchored the middle of the line.


During the first turn only my Malcador advanced, the Executioner and Dracosan opting to remain dug in for a while longer.


The shooting on both sides was in the first turn rather ineffective, with one of the Hammerheads shaken. A shitload of drones were released though, both in an attempt to harry me and in a game-long mad dash for my deployment zone as they too counted as scoring units for this mission.


During the second turn the lone Crisis Suit with two fusion blasters deep-striked in behind my Executioner, but scattered slightly, coming up against the armoured flank, being unable to knock off any HP's.


The Malcador likewise received the attentions of a fusion blaster, losing one HP, but thanks to its armour did not suffer any catastrophic damage.


The Hammerheads attempt to take on the Malcador, but fail to do any damage, their shots ineffectively slamming against the hull.


The end of the second turn for the Tau player, with drones slowly floating into my table half and his few fusion guns trying to stop the tide.


The Hammerheads were quite content to remain where they were, having found a great place to camp. However..


The Vanquisher under the command of my aspiring tank ace managed to outflank and came up behind the enemy formation, taking aim at the enemy ace known as Longstrike.


One round of most effective multi-laser and Vanquisher cannon shooting later, Longstrike was no more.


The Malcador meanwhile busied itself with dealing with the drones, the stealth team and the Hammerheads to its front to varying degrees of success.


At the start of the third turn, it suddenly dawned on me that the Vanquisher was in a somewhat precarious situation. It was however, nothing to worry about, as the Vanquisher took the beating and remained standing.


The only assault of the game, where the lone Crisis Suit, fed up with being unable to blow my Executioner apart with its guns, tries to rip and tear it apart instead. It failed.


At the start of the fourth turn, something funny happened: one of the two remaining Hammerheads, with its main gun blown off, decided to ram the Vanquisher, glancing itself to death upon impact.


On the fourth turn I also finally managed to blow away the enemy railgun emplacement, allowing my other tanks to emerge from cover and start pouring fire into the as of yet unscathed Fire Warrior teams on the Tidewall itself.


Turn four also finally saw my Leman Russ under the command of Rosehip finally make an appearance! After botching two reserve rolls she finally came into play automatically and I rolled well enough on the outflanking that she drove up behind the Tidewall with guns blazing.


A lone Tau Tetra trying to get Linebreaker, but instead gets chased away by my only infantry of the game.


While my tanks are focused on breaching his line, my own is being infiltrated by a few drones and a stealth team.


Having taken some damage now, the Malcador prepares to drive through the forest and make a dash for the enemy deployment zone for that much-desired linebreaker bonus.


Breakthrough! On the fifth turn the tide was truly turning against the Tau!


Slowly but surely the walls were being swept of defenders as the tanks closed in.


Meanwhile, behind my own lines the Veletarii were in pursuit of the drones, Tetra and stealth team, only..


Being confronted by several enemy units, who despite all being understrength, dished out quite a beating, gunning down eight of their number. They passed their leadership checks however and remained standing.


With the Malcador in place the mopping up truly began, but the remaining Tau tenaciously clung to their cover and did not budge.


As did the Tau in my backlot, who ensured that the Tau player gained at least some points out of this bloody ordeal.

The game ended at the sixth turn, with a 11-3 win for me.


Aftermath: Aside from losing eight infantry and a few HP's on some of my vehicles, I did not lose a single unit or had it run away.

So, while I won, the last two turns of the game were quite one-sided, especially seeing as my rolls (aside from the Dracosan, despite having a twin-linked lascannon, still missed almost every single time it opened fire) were doing quite well for me, but kudos to my opponent for not quitting straight away and instead shifting from trying to kill me to instead gain points through Linebreaker and denial instead.

Aside from winning this game, there was another bit of silver lining to celebrate: Josmaine had scored her fourth and fifth vehicle kills, meaning that the plucky tank commander could finally consider herself an ace as well! To properly celebrate this next session she's going to get her second Elite Vehicle Asset, to complement the already awesome Tank Hunters rule!  

[Vikki Stardust]

BrookM

The game ended at the sixth turn, with a 11-3 win for me.

That's not right. emotion_0A0  

[Hoxtalicious]

Vikki Stardust

BrookM

The game ended at the sixth turn, with a 11-3 win for me.

That's not right. emotion_0A0

Why can't I have something nice every once in a while? emo

 

[Hoxtalicious]

While I'm still working on my assorted amount of tanks for next weekend, last night I decided to take it easy and kitbash together a pair of pilot models, who have no real gaming purposes other than that I could and wanted to I suppose.

These were also done with Stormcloud Attack in mind, a copy of which will arrive at my doorstep some time early next week hopefully.



Lieutenant Daniel Swift and Major Olivia Marion, who will both be piloting a Lunar pattern Lightning strike fighter (I'll be using the Nephilim jetfighter, both the model and stats) for a hopefully upcoming aerial campaign set over the skies of Medusa V.

That said, I'm hoping to get both the Stormsword and those two Leman Russ tanks done before next weekend. Looming deadline and all that. sweatdrop  

[Hoxtalicious]

Played a game of proper Horus Heresy yesterday, 2500 pts, using a scenario from one of the red books, Tide of Carnage. It ended in a 3-3 tie with both warlords still standing and an equal amount of units still in play.

Only picture I got was of my opponent's army, Iron Warriors with Mechanicum allies:



The only survivors in his army were the Thanatar, his Warlord, the Medusa and a single marine. I still had seven Veletarii, Malcador, Stormsword and Thunderbolt.

All in all, a good game, we'll be facing off again in August, where we'll be playing two or three Zone Mortalis scenarios.  

[Vikki Stardust]

BrookM

It ended in a 3-3 tie

You're supposed to lose, the delicate balance of order and chaos is kept in check that way. emotion_c8  

[Hoxtalicious]

No time for games recently, due to work and my newfound Horus Heresy opponent being in Japan of all places. Oh well, finally found time today to pick up a brush again and get some work done..

Scary enough, almost all of that is done. Just need to put decals on the Stormsword and the two vanilla Russ tanks, plus paint up the Vanquisher turret, Stormlord and the bowser of the Infernus. There's also a Baneblade on the shelf, but I'll get to her when I feel like it.

Perhaps even scarier.. I don't see much need to add more to the collection as is. Just one more heavy-chassis Leman Russ tank to act as a proper hull for the Vanquisher, another Dracosan that will be pimped up as HQ transport, maybe one more Malcador with battle cannon & demolisher cannon combo, but other than that, quite chuffed with what I've got right now.

If only painting up infantry was as easy.. gonk Still got loads of those to do, not to mention twenty more on the way from Anvil Industry for a future Zone Mortalis list. sweatdrop  

[NoUsedAnymore]

I wish you didn't live so far from me Brook!!! I would love to pit your Imperial Armor vs mine. It would give my Vanquishers purpose once more. I never had the opportunity to play my Vanqs cause all my opponents never play strong enough vehicles. I keep having to rely on my Battle tanks & Executioners. I love the Pask Punisher + Executioners combo, but sometimes I want that change to run Pask as a Vanq and pit him against tanks. Sadly, in my area, I am the only Vehicle person. But then my Guard collection is a bit insane.  

[Hoxtalicious]

Dark Master Steel

I wish you didn't live so far from me Brook!!! I would love to pit your Imperial Armor vs mine. It would give my Vanquishers purpose once more. I never had the opportunity to play my Vanqs cause all my opponents never play strong enough vehicles. I keep having to rely on my Battle tanks & Executioners. I love the Pask Punisher + Executioners combo, but sometimes I want that change to run Pask as a Vanq and pit him against tanks. Sadly, in my area, I am the only Vehicle person. But then my Guard collection is a bit insane.

I personally much prefer to play against other Heresy armies myself, as the gap between 30k and 40k in terms of meta is a bit too big for my tastes, especially where later releases are concerned. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but just very lopsided and skewed in favour of 40k, especially when the likes of Unbound and special formations come into play.

There is also quite a discrepancy in point cost with the units. To give you an example, you would pay 135 points for a Vanquisher, whereas I pay 175 points for mine. Their biggest differences are that I lose out on both the Heavy vehicle trait and access to sponsons, but in return can become Fast for one turn, can Outflank and that it comes with an Auxiliary Drive (at the start of the movement phase immobilized results are cancelled on a 4+) and Explorator Adaption (6++ against blasts and templates) as a standard.

As for Solar pattern Executioners.. paying 200 pts per model is a bit steep, but at least I get an extra HP, a main gun never overheats and +1 BS if the squadron is 2+ models strong.  

[NoUsedAnymore]

BrookM

I personally much prefer to play against other Heresy armies myself, as the gap between 30k and 40k in terms of meta is a bit too big for my tastes, especially where later releases are concerned. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but just very lopsided and skewed in favour of 40k, especially when the likes of Unbound and special formations come into play.

There is also quite a discrepancy in point cost with the units. To give you an example, you would pay 135 points for a Vanquisher, whereas I pay 175 points for mine. Their biggest differences are that I lose out on both the Heavy vehicle trait and access to sponsons, but in return can become Fast for one turn, can Outflank and that it comes with an Auxiliary Drive (at the start of the movement phase immobilized results are cancelled on a 4+) and Explorator Adaption (6++ against blasts and templates) as a standard.

As for Solar pattern Executioners.. paying 200 pts per model is a bit steep, but at least I get an extra HP, a main gun never overheats and +1 BS if the squadron is 2+ models strong.

I never played 30k. I seen how it is and it seems its models are a bit, very powerful compared to 40k. I enjoy playing my Guard. My goal is to build my Legion. Right now, I have 5 Baneblade variants, and about 20+ Lemans. That is not including a lot of other vehicles/artillery I possess. But I can never field my Armor in bulk when most things I fight are Close Combat and no armor.

Like you said, compared to 40k, my tanks are cheaper, but they do not have those nice perks. It is cause 30k has the ancient technology that the 40k lost.  

[Hoxtalicious]

I wouldn't exactly call the Horus Heresy units overpowered, they may look like it, but when put up against 40k units it should be painfully obvious that there is quite a difference. Aside from the Mechanicum, they are deliciously well-rounded and have some of the best monstrous creatures I have ever seen grace the tabletop.

In other news, my order from Anvil Industry came in today and while I'm still strapped for spare time this week, I did manage to stick three together to see how they would turn out, this being my personal favourite of the bunch, with a head from Statuesque Miniatures and a book on her belt from the plastic Storm Troopers kit, making for an excellent count-as Veletarii or some generic pulp science fiction space cadet with an atomic raygun.



For 30k these will be bulking out my troops slots as regular Veletarii, allowing me to field their Forge World counterparts as the old guard of the fleet, acting as Household retinues for the HQ's.

So here's Prime Drusilla of the Saturnyne Amazons, continuing the theme of me being sad and lonely and in desperate need of good company. emotion_facepalm