Road to Adepticon: Gladiator

 It's just over two weeks away and time is ticking away fast!!!  I've decided to ditch the Eldar and go with Chaos Space Marines for each of the 3 events.  I just feel that Eldar requires play in a way that would not be fun for me.  So without further adieu...

Abaddon, the Despoiler
Summoned Greater Demon
5 Berserkers, Champion, Icon
6 Plague Marines, 2x melta, Champion, Icon, Rhino
5 Lesser Demons
5 Lesser Demons
5 Lesser Demons
5 Lesser Demons
5 Lesser Demons
3 Obliterators
Land Raider, Extra Armor
Traitor Warhound Titan, 2x2 Turbo Laser Destructor

Yep, Minus has decided to forgo Gladiator and is letting me use the Warhound.  I think this will be a much more fun army to play, though I don't think it has what it takes to win really.  It also means I'll need to paint up the other Turbo Laser, but it's quite easy so it shouldn't take long.  That leaves the rest of the Land Raider, another Obliterator, and the last 2 mooks to complete the full 10 man squad that I have to paint before I leave.  I'll also need to build the warhound's base as well our team's display board.  I've got a busy 2 weeks ahead of me...

Sons of Horus Update

I've been working to get 1000 points of my Sons of Horus done for the Adepticon team tournament and I've finally gotten myself moving again.  I've been working on my Rhino and my land Raider, the last two models I really need for the Team event.  The Rhino is finally complete.

This is what it looks like after the first couple steps.  Primed gray, then a coat of Verdis green, then a black wash.  From here I start applying coats of the Verdis again until it comes out pretty solid.  Then I fix the greys and highlight.  Sorry for the picture quality, I can't seem to get any good macro shots with my camera lately.

And there it is.  I'm really liking the general look of the army and I'm going to be starting the Land Raider tomorrow.  Here's a quick preview!

It won't be very "pre-heresy" but it will suffice until I can get the kit from Forge World.  Oh, and if you go take a look at Dave Taylor's Blog, you can see the Warmaster himself! :)  I can't wait to get him, he'll be entered into the Rogue Demon at Adepticon.  Speaking of which, I'll be putting up a Road to Adepticon update very soon.  Lots of changes...

Adepticon: Gladiator Prep

The Austin crew had it's first Gladiator prep day this past weekend and a few of us got some games in to test our armies.  I decided to get some test games in with my Eldar, even though I'm still not sure if I'll play.  RealGenius, Jwolf, Darkwynn, and Ferro were there ready for some killing.  Goatboy stopped by for a bit to see what was going on, but didn't play.

Eldrad
Autarch, Power Weapon, Fusion Gun, Mandiblaster
5 Fire Dragons, Wave Serpent, Shuriken Cannons, Spirit Stones

5 Fire Dragons, Wave Serpent, Shuriken Cannons, Spirit Stones

5 Dire Avengers, Wave Serpent, Bright Lance, Spirit Stones

5 Dire Avengers, Wave Serpent, Bright Lance, Spirit Stones

5 Dire Avengers, Wave Serpent, Bright Lance, Spirit Stones

5 Dire Avengers

Falcon, Missile Launcher, Shuriken Cannon, Holofield, Spirit Stones

Falcon, Missile Launcher, Shuriken Cannon, Holofield, Spirit Stones

Scorpion Super Heavy Grav Tank

We were using the primer missions and let me tell you, they are insane.  I got a game against Ferro's Tyranids and we played scenario 3.  This meant odd diagonal corner deployment zones as well as a warp teleport allowing you to deep strike units once a turn as you please.

He was playing a Heirophant, a Swarmlord with a guard, a squad of termagaunts, a Tervigon, Doom in a Spore Pod, and 3 Zoanthropes.

I wasn't terribly worried and I was able to clear out his entire 1000 point army.  Never did a would to the Heirophant.  I was able to take the game 2 objectives to 0.  I'm going to play against Darkwynn's IG on Thursday, we'll see how that goes.

Wolf's Chaos vs Darkwynn's IG

RealGenius' Eldar vs Ferro's Tyranids

 

Really starting to get exited for Chicago, even if Gladiator might be meh.

Painting Contest: Finished!!!

The painting contest is over and though I failed at finishing the squad on time (I suck) I turned in what was done. Which was why I decided to do the squad one model at a time and not assembly line.  I also think that the results tend to be better this way.  I also decided to do a banner for the sergeant, he just didn't seem special enough as he was.  I'm glad I did.

Ended up getting 3rd place with the squad.  I'm quite happy with that considering I was not really going for any prizes or placing.  There were some really good entries, including what I think was Goatboy's best work yet.  I had 6 models from the squad including the sergeant and the 'Obliterator' reaver which were submitted.

Since then I've been able to finish the squad and the other Oblit.  Now I just have to do the Rhino and Land Raider for my team army list and I'll be ready.   Then only about 30 pre-heresy terminators... ugh.  I do like the way the squad is coming out though, as does most everyone who sees them.

Retribution of Scyrah: Assembled

I've gotten all my Retribution models assembled and primed at this point.  It wasn't too bad though I was really wanting some little pins (which the local store can't seem to get from GF9).  I might have to just forget about the GF9 brand and get some floral wire or something from Hobby Lobby.  It would work well enough.  The light jacks were the most testing to assemble.  Some of it just wanted to break apart, not to mention that the arms don't quite fit perfectly so you kinda have to wing it.

It's done though and although I haven't gotten a pic of it, all the models are primed and ready for painting once I finish the Sons of Horus for Adepticon.  I'm still trying to decide what color to use for the "glowy bits".  I know I don't want to use the sea greenish color that privateer used.  I'm looking at perhaps blue, or purple.  I'm also considering red as a possibility.  I might have to do some tests to see which I like the best.

I'm looking forward to getting a few games under my belt and learning the rules.

Adepticon: Gladiator

Adepticon is coming up fast and the Austin crew are frantically preparing army lists and getting some practice games in.  I do have to say that things are a little different this year...

Last year, we spent nearly all of our time preparing for Gladiator.  We tweaked the Reaver list over and over, finding specific things that might cause us issues and correcting them.  There are only a handful of us even playing in Gladiator this year and to be honest, if they had released the rules before I'd registered I probably would not be included in that number.  I'm really only interested in any cool swag that they give out.  Though last year I'm not sure there was any specific swag stuff given out for gladiator.

I was originally planning to play a similar army to what I used last year, using the Vampire, the Phoenix, and the Nightwing.  However, the new flyer rules have made that all but impossible.  They have removed the restriction for no 2 models occupying the same space when it comes to flyers.  You can now even walk onto a flyers base.  However, a flyer is not allowed to move to a location where the base would be within 1" of an enemy model.  Kinda sounds like a double standard.  Also, despite the fact that no model is supposed to occupy the same space as another, flyers with the hover rule are not able to enter into hover mode while there's a model underneath.  It's pretty much impossible to hover a flyer against anyone with a brain, at least anywhere where hovering it would be useful.

So, that being said I'm certainly not taking Gladiator seriously this year.  I'm going with the "least-to-transport" army list.  At least I'll be able to play if I chose to do so.

Eldrad Ulthran
Autarch, Power Weapon, Fusion Gun, Banshee Mask
5 Fire Dragons, Exarch, Crack Shot, Wave Serpent, Shuriken Cannons, Spirit Stones
5 Fire Dragons, Exarch, Crack Shot, Wave Serpent, Shuriken Cannons, Spirit Stones
8 Dire Avengers, Exarch, 2 ASC, Bladestorm, Wave Serpent, Bright Lances, Spirit Stones
8 Dire Avengers, Exarch, 2 ASC, Bladestorm, Wave Serpent, Bright Lances, Spirit Stones
6 Pathfinders
Fire Prism, Shuriken Cannon, Holofield, Spirit Stones
Fire Prism, Shuriken Cannon, Holofield, Spirit Stones
Scorpion

I know that It's not the best list there is and I'm perfectly happy with that.  If I decide to play, at least my games should be over very quickly, whether I win or lose.  Not to mention, it might be a little fun at least.

Battle Report: 2500 Points, "Hobby" Tournament

This month was a "Hobby" month and for the first time, Minus decided to try 2500 point armies.  It sounded like fun and people were pretty excited about it.  I waffled numerous times as I always do and in the end, decided on the Demons so I could use my new Bloodletters.

Lord of Change, Master of Sorcery, We Are Legion, Boon of Mutation
Bloodthirster, Unholy Strength
Horrors x8, Changeling, Bolt of Tzeentch, Icon
Horrors x8, Bolt of Tzeentch, Icon
Horrors x8, Bolt of Tzeentch, Icon
Horrors x8, Bolt of Tzeentch, Icon
Bloodletters x10, Icon
Plaguebearers x5
Flamers x3
Flamers x3
Fiends x5
Soul Grinder, Tongue
Soul Grinder, Tongue
Demon Prince, Flight, Hide, Strength, Mark of Tzeentch, Bolt of Tzeentch, Demonic Gaze

(Note: I just realized I had an icon on the Bloodletters while I was writing this list... that would have been useful :D )

ROUND 1 - Space Wolves
Pitched Battle
Primary: Victory Points (+400)
Secondary: Greatest number of scoring units within 6" of the table center
Tertiary: Wound an HQ
Bonus: All fast attack alive at end of game
Bonus: 3 or more scoring units alive at end of game

I was paired up against David (one of the group who come up from the Houston area once in a while) whom I've played in the past.  He is generally a fun opponent and the game did not disappoint.

Hard fought and bloody as hell, the game came down to the very end.  Both of has had some strange luck, sometimes it would come through and we'd do something amazing... sometimes it would be awful and we'd fail 3 out of 4 2+ saves.  His suped up biker squad was pretty brutal, combined with a rune priest.  They were able to spread out enough that flamers were not terribly useful against them.  Eventually, I was able to take them out, but not without suffering some serious losses in the process.

In the end, all I had left was the Lord of Change, and most of my plague bearers. David had a couple of rhinos, a full bloodclaws squad, most of a grey hunter squad (who happened to have fled into the center of the table), and some assault marines who were fighting the plaguebearers. A draw, 8-12.

ROUND 2 - Chaos Space Marines
Spearhead
Primary: Capture and Control
Secondary: Annihilation (+3)
Tertiary: Kill opponents most expensive heavy choice
Bonus: kill most expensive fast attack

Round two was against Joe, who I've played before I think.  Though that time he was using Orks.  I was a little worried when I'd seen his army, I really don't like Lash.  However, his list did not use any sorcerers and wasn't too bad.

His army is really looking nice, though it is not completely painted.  I look forward to seeing it when it's done.  Another bloody battle of back and forth killy, led to yet another draw.  This one split exactly down the middle with us both getting 8 battle points.

ROUND 3 - Tyranids
Dawn of War
Primary: Seize Ground (5 objectives)
Secondary: Elite or Heavy choice completely within 6" of opponents table edge.
Tertiary: 2 or more scoring units of 5 models or more across the center line.
Bonus: 4 or more troop choices alive at end of game
Bonus: more troop choices at end of game than opponent
Bonus: more fast attack choices alive at end of game than opponent

Round 3 I was paired up against Brandon, who'd I'd met a couple times but had not yet played against. He was playing Tyranids and was about to give me my first game against them. I knew most of what was going on in the book, but I really hadn't put the time in to really understand it. I just knew it was very good, especially against the older books that don't have the same power level.

(Sorry, forgot to get pics of the game...)

He was using a Tervigon, a Flying Tyrant, 3 scremerfexes in a squad, a dakkafex, a trygon, a Tyrant with 2 guard, a ton of gaunts, and a ton of stealers with a Broodlord. I knew the game was going to be rough... I was right. This was definitely a swing game. The first half of the game went clearly in the Tyranid's favor, the second half swinging into mine. I did get to turn a Carnifex into a spawn though! WOOHOO!

Thankfully for me, the Trygon did not come in until turn 5 and didn't do much damage. I also got lucky against the Broodlord's psychic power trying to stop my Lord of Change 3 or 4 times from attacking, but I won the roll off each time. It came down to the last second, 6 or so gaunts against my Plague Bearers. If the gaunts win out, the 'Nids win 2-1, if not a draw. It came down to 2 against 1 and he was able to wound the last remaining Plague Bearer, and he failed his save and FnP. Very close, very good game.

Here are some pics I found on my SD card from some other games in the past.

 Fun times.