#32: Fists of Fury...

Over the last few months, readers have asked a question again and again!

"When are you going to run an army painter challenge for 40k players?"

Well, that time has arrived. In a similar format (but not entirely the same) as Border wars, I'll be painting a set points allocation worth of models each month. While I think we were perhaps a little ambitious with Border Wars (after all, 500 points of Fantasy a month can really overload the model count), this 40k challenge will be much more achievable! The idea is this. 

Saturday 1st of August - Paint your character/Warlord

Saturday 5th of September - Paint a total of 500 points worth of your army (this will include your Warlord painted in stage 1) 

Saturday 3rd of October - Paint an additional 250 points worth of your army.

Sunday 1st of November - Paint an additonal 250 points worth of your army, bringing your total points to 1000. 

So, there is the schedule. I think it is really achievable, as most armies do not have too many models in 1000 points and there is three and a half months in which to paint them.

So, as with all of these challenges, I'd like to discuss with you my thoughts and decisions when it came to deciding what army to dedicate some attention to! And when it came down to it, I had three main options to choose between. 

Tyranids.

Tau.

Space Marines (more specifically, Crimson Fists). 

Initially, Nids were at the forefront, offering a huge diversity of models in both size and battlefield roles, and while I painted up a small unit to see how they were to paint, I quickly realised that despite the variety of models in the army, literally every single one used the same palette of colour with absolutely no exception. That was almost enough to turn me off them for good. The other factor that disheartened me was the Tyranids codex. When I invest into an army, I want it to be good on the tabletop (says the guy with 5000 points of Beastmen), and while there are certainly ways to be super powerful with Tyranids, there are very few of these ways and typically they centre on spamming a unit or type of unit to the point of redundancy overkill. I wanted a healthy blend of units, but unfortunately, all the units I wanted to use happened to be a little bit less useful that I felt they should be. Yes, Warriors. You. 

So I pushed aside the Tyranids codex and opened the Tau book. Now, Tau have always been an army that has caught my interest, but for one reason or another, I had never committed to buying an army. I own a model or two from the range purely for the joy of painting them, but for the most part, they were foreign to me. I knew, thanks to a mate of slightly murderous tendencies, that you could do terrible things with tau. I knew that their shooting phase is among the harshest in the 40k Galaxy. I also knew that they get belted around the table in combat, having the physical prowess of a balloon full of sand. But I was being drawn in. Despite this decision earning me the disgust of my fellow hobbyists (because Tau players, after all, do have a certain reputation attached to their army), I began to write lists with gusto. 

After three or four lists had been finalised, I realised something. While they were very powerful lists (at least on paper) and they had some devastating tools at their disposal, they all shared a blindingly painful flaw. They were boring. They were the same lists I had seen for the past few years, with minor tweaks here and there, but at their core, they were boring. Fire warriors, suits, broadsides and sky rays. Every single Tau army revolved around these four units, and after realising this, the army lost its appeal. I think for me, and I know that not everyone shares this view, the army would lose my interest very quickly. 

Not to mention, I would have to come to grips with becoming a Tau Player. 

So, I was left with but one option and it was by no means a bad one! The glorious, if genocidally clumsy, Crimson Fists!

I already own a huge marine army that is largely unpainted or unbuilt, for a multitude of reasons. Indecision on chapters, then wanting to integrate Forgeworld upgrades into the army but never ordering them, the delays were endless! But with the release of the most recent and most terrifying Space Marine codex, I decided it was time to give them some much needed attention! 

What is my plan? Well, my plan is actually very straight forward and hopefully quite effective! I'm structuring my 1000pt Crimson Fist army upon the Demi-Company formation, which offers some great advantages in game, as well as being the compulsory building block for the Gladius Strike Force, which this army will inevitably grow into. 

While the lighting is terrible in the photo, for which I apologise, you can see the colour scheme I am using is very loyal to the source material. This model, which was a limited edition Captain from a web store promotion, will be the standing representative of Pedro Kantor in my army. Being equiped with the exact same gear as the Fists' chapter master, he is a perfect proxy, thanks to a head swap for the crested helm from the Sternguard kit, giving him a regal, majestic visage. 

This army will be a labour of love and I am putting particular effort into the little details that the Space marine range offers in abundance. For example, Veteran squad leaders are meant to be grizzled warriors of a hundred or more campaigns, being legends of the chapter in and of themselves. So, I am using the Sternguard kit to make my sergeants, whose armour and weaponry is far more ornate and impressive than a regular Battle Brother of the chapter. 

Not only that, but each squad's transport vehicles (which will eventually be free!) are no exception to the detail. 

This Razorback is a prime example. I have become a big fan of the "Las-Plas" weapon load out on Razorbacks, but as there is no official sprue for such a format, it is left to the hobbyist to convert it to his or her personal taste. 

One common conversion is to trim off one of the las cannons off and simply glue two of the hand-held plasma guns together. But to me, these always seem a little underwhelming and look out of place on the model. So during my search for an alternative option in my extensive bits box, I came across a pair of Plasma Cannons from the Stormraven kit and my mind was made up! Slicing the back off the plasma cannon, I managed to replace the Lascannon with surprising ease, giving the turret a much more intimidating appearance to match its in-game impact. Aesthetically, I think the chunkier plasma cannon looks much more convincing than two plasma guns, especially on the boxy, sturdy chassis of the Space Marine vehicles, and I don't think opponents will have an issue with it looking like a cannon. It's fairly obvious what the load out is, as there is only one that even has access to plasma. 

In the next post, I will publish my intended 1000 point list for you all to read, but in the meantime, I am eagerly looking forward to hearing from you if you would like to be involved in this challenge with me! I'll be more than happy to post photos of your work, and would love to hear the stories and motivation behind it!

What army will you be focussing on? Who will lead your force? Remember, the first challenge is painting your Warlord, so get your brushes ready, and we shall talk soon!

Thanks for reading,

Gabriel

#31: The Bringers of Contagion

To finish an army is the holy grail of hobby. We strive for completion and so often, that is unattainable because of our insatiable thirst for power and expansion regarding any one army or combinations of armies. However, I have done such a task! I have finished painting an army in its entirety! My 'Nurgle Bus', the Bringers of Contagion. 

This has been a long working progress which started years ago as a full metal army, which included something ridiculous like eighty of the old classic Plaguebearers. I do regret that sale, but here we are. This was my fantasy tournament army for quite a while because, quite frankly, Nurgle is brutal. 

My general, the classic Great Unclean One, has had very little table time. After upgrades needed to make him (for lack of a better word) 'viable', he weighed in at a hefty 580 points!! Almost a quarter of my army tied up in one cannon-friendly model! For this reason, I would field him very rarely. I always had to fight the temptation to run him, however, as he is my only source of magic aside from level one heralds of Nurgle, who are far too expensive to be practical! This model is an impressive one though, being heavy enough to club your opponent's precious Warp Lightning Cannon to pieces should it get a lucky turn one shot and kill him outright (yes, this happened and yes, my opponent laughed for about ten minutes straight). 

He is surrounded by eighteen bases of Nurglings, which baffles me. I don't know why I have so many! They are a mix of the hilarious and characterful ones of yesteryear as well as many of the plastic ones that adorn so many of nurgle's sprues! 

No self respecting Nurgle army would be complete without Epidemus, the evil mastermind behind the brutal synergy of the list! His Tally in both Fantasy and Age of Sigmar is incredibly powerful, and my opponent is always in a mad rush to intoduce him to death. This is a converted depiction, as I neither had the cash at the time to purchase the actual model, but more importantly, I didn't feel the Epidemus model 'fit in' to the aesthetics of the newer Nurgle models! So, combining three kits, I made my own!

Drones are the most recent unit to join the ranks of Nurgle's children, and they are brilliant (albeit disgusting) models! I only have three, and while I wasn't opposed to expanding the unit, my main focus was to include at least one of each Nurgle unit, and I achieved that. 

Plaguebearers are such a solid unit! Toughness 4 (at least to begin the game) and Strength 4 is very respectable, and while initiative two is pretty pathetic, Mark of Nurgle and a convenient ward save mitigate much of the damage suffered before they swing. Not to mention, the Locus of Virulence allows them to poison on a 5, greatly increasing their chances of wounding instantly. Interestingly, thanks to a little magic, this can be increased to a 4+, meaning that against almost everything, every hit will wound! I use these solid blocks of infantry as anchors and support units in my army, forming the second wave right behind my shock troops...

Beasts of Nurgle. The stars of every Nurgle army ever. These guys are hands down the best Special choice in the book! There, I said it. They are that good. T5, 4 wounds and regeneration make them all but impossible to shift, and their D6+1 attacks each stack up quicker than you could imagine. Not to mention, they are fast and can issue challenges, tying up units in prolonged combat where they probably don't want to be. Having no flank or rear also helps when it comes to instability. And before you say it, yes. I admit I did a pretty cheap job of converting them. I would have loved to have twelve of the actual Beast models, but they are single pose, and incredibly expensive in bulk and at the time, I simply could not afford it. They are not conversions I am particularly proud of, but I think they fulfil the role with appropriate size and appearance of strength, towering above the surrounding models. Well, not ALL the surrounding models...

Lastly, and definitely most significantly, is this big dog! I really wanted an excuse to use this guy, and so he often fills the role of my Nurgle Soul Grinder, being roughly the same size and definitely imposing enough! This guy was a joy to paint, and makes for an impressive centrepiece for the army!

Do you have an army that you would like showcased? Hit me up on Facebook! 

I hope you enjoyed this display and I look forward to seeing your work as well, regardless of game or genre. 

Thanks for reading, 

Gabriel 

#30: Update on the Magnificent Host...

I am on annual leave currently, and all my days have blurred into one, so I apologise, dear reader, as I realise today is Tuesday instead of the normal Monday. But I shall not let that stop me!

So, what's been happening? Wll, the new Age of Sigmar starter kit dropped in all of its glory. Following the trend of the last few starter kits that GW has released (regardless of game), it is absolutely jam packed with incredible models! I'm talking high-detail figures with seriously good assembly and instructions! I have assembled the whole chaos side and not once did I bugger anything up or glue the wrong piece to the wrong other piece, as I tend to do on occasion! 

The Khorne war band is exceptional! The marauders are everything that the old marauder kit aspired to be! Dynamic, detailed, and conveniently even came with the option to make a fantastic command group! The chaos lord is one of my favourite models for the Warriors range yet. Nothing screams power and badassery like a pet Flesh Hound. 

And that Khorne battle standard bearer!!

Now, during assembly, I had one priority; to assemble and base these models in such a way that I can use them in both Age of Sigmar and my existing Warriors of Chaos army, the Magnificent Host, led by none other than the most vain, gorgeous and downright stylish Champion of Chaos ever. Sigvald the Magnificent. The marauders were easy. I simply built them on 25mm round bases so that they could still rand up on movement trays. The BSB and the one-handed slave driver had to go on squares to fit their wide stance diagonally on the base. And the Khorgorath fits perfectly on a 50mm square base to stand in as Scylla Annfingrimm. 

The lord, being on foot and being so large is a tricky one. No infantry character stands on a 50mm square (which he only just fits on) and if I put him on a 60mm round, which comes with the kit, he will have very little use in my Host. 

This left me with two possibilities. 

1: Use him as a rank filler (albeit a significantly more terrifying model than any infantry unit he might accompany), or...

2: Use him and his hound to represent a Daemon Prince of Khorne, treating the two as the destructive equivalent of a hulking brute. 

Either way, he is going on a 50mm square and I will make do. 

The next challenge was regarding colour schemes. Do I paint this Khorne war band the traditional red as Sigvald's allied contingent, or do I incorporate them into the core force with the pink and blue scheme. After a test model in each scheme, I settled on the latter, as I much prefer a uniform army! 

I have ten of these guys on my painting desk at the moment, battling with all of my other projects for attention, but I hope to have them finished in the next few days!

"What of the Stormcast Eternal?", I hear you ask. 

Well, to be honest, I was much more excited for the chaos side of things. I painted up the Stormcast that came with White Dwarf, but I honestly have not been to inspired by the golden, lightning super-soldiers. The Lord-Celestant riding the Dracoth is awesome, but until I get really motivated, I'm unsure if I will tackle that side of the kit any time soon. 

I also finally finished painting my entire Nurgle army, the Bringers of Contagion. You may have seem the veritable carpet of Nurglings I posted up yesterday. That is but a tiny portion of this project that I can finally close the book on and give it a place of honour on my display shelves as a project finished; an achievement in itself. Later this week, I'll post a showcase of the Bringers as well as a battle report against some cheeky High Elves with THAT banner. 

I will also take a moment to talk about the closure of Border Wars, our Fantasy Army Builder challenge that has been ongoing the last few months. This has officially finished! My head hangs low as I admit that I fell well behind the timeframe (that'll show me for picking an army consisting entirely of robes), but I will be showcasing two of our participants in a battle report between Josh's Chaos Legions and Liam's tribe of Night Goblins to commemorate the journey! 

Looking to the future, there are big plans ahead. Countless people have asked if I will be doing a similar challenge for 40k and the answer is absolutely! I have every intention of running a 40k version. It will be very casual and fun, and I look forward to everyone getting involved!

Details to come! 

Thanks all again for reading and apologies again for the lateness of this post. 

Gabriel

#29: First taste of Age of Sigmar...

I originally had plans to fit my first game of this new system in on Saturday, with such ready availability to rules and Warscrolls. However, life being as busy as it is, my game got pushed back. The battle that I did play pleasantly surprised me. I won't lie, I was a little apprehensive about the new rules and unit formats, and quite uncomfortable about the distinct lack of points value (as I think most existing players were), but fortune favours the brave and I decided to give the game a red-hot go. A friend offered to throw his Ogors, as Ogre Kingdoms are now named, into the mix. While there has been a lot of talk about capping both wounds and Warscrolls in a bid to moderate the game, we decided to not bother, instead choosing to be gentlemen and not deploying anything too offensive as we learn the basics of the game. 

Deployment in itself was an unfamiliar experience, as your army selection happens as you drop units one by one, completely removing the number-crunching task of list building. 

My opponent deployed four leadbelchers on the right hand side of the board. Six Ironguts took up his centre, supported by a Butcher and a Tyrant. His only other unit was a hulking Stonehorn to hold down his other flank. 

My army was significantly larger, led by a Great Bray Shaman lurking behind the forest, shielded by ten Ungor Raiders. I placed a ravenous pack of Warhounds on my right, five severely intoxicated Centigors on my left to hopefully hinder the Stonehorn, and my centre consisted of thirty Gors with two Gor blades and a Giant (a model that I love but could never, ever justify using in 8th Edition). 

My opponent, having significantly less models than I, selected Assassinate as his sudden death objective, and I chose my Shaman. I was confident that as he fulfilled his role as a support character, that he would be safe behind my lines, and was quite confident in defending him with my numerous units. 

In my turn, the Shaman handed Inspiring Presence to the Gor herd, as well as casting Mystic Shield upon them, increasing their save to a respectable 4+ (and let's be honest, any save is respectable for Beastmen!). Having little else to do in my Hero phase, the army surged forward with enthusiasm. 

The Centigors took a wide berth, hoping to draw the Stonehorn away from the main fight, while my hounds and ungors prepared to handle the threat posed by the Leadbelchers. 

In my opponents phase, he used his Tyrant's command ability, inflicting D3 mortal wounds (wounds that bypass 'To Wound' rolls as well as saves) upon his Ironguts, in exchange for immunity against Battleshock for the rest of the game, which is incredibly powerful, especially if the unit was of overwhelming size! His Butcher's 'Maw' spell was well out of range, and we completely forgot that he had access to both Arcane Bolt and Mystic Shield. 

His Leadbelchers opened up on the Warhounds, killing two, while the riders atop the Stonehorn hurled their Chain Snare at the Giant, stripping three of its twelve wounds with impunity!

Now, I honestly didn't realise the significant reach that the Stonehorn had, but it made little effort in charging the distance into my Giant and slaying him outright. I was quite surprised how quickly wounds can disappear, but even in defeat, I had the last laugh. The Giant swayed and toppled, landing heavily upon the Stonehorn, inflicting three wounds upon him!

Here is where we made our first rookie mistake of the game. At the end of the match, we discovered that we were meant to roll of each turn, to determine who goes first. Regardless, we played the game in the traditional turn sense. Inspiring Presence and Mystic Shield once again was bestowed upon my Gor herd as they prepared to tackle the very real threat of a monster stampeding straight over my Shaman on turn two. 

The Ungors loosed a few arrows to no avail, but everywhere else on the table, my army was charging everything. Gors mobbed the Stonehorn, hounds launched into the Belchers and the Centigors made a long charge into the Ironguts.

Here is where another interesting mechanic surfaced, and I think we got this right, but if not, please correct me.  Because it was my turn, I got to select one of my units to make their attacks. I chose my hounds, who achieved absolutely nothing. It then fell to my opponent to select a unit to strike with. In my mind, I had a preconceived idea that my opponent must choose a unit in the same combat. But herein lies a great deal of strategy. He chose the Stonehorn, crushing Gors underfoot and reducing the damage that he would take in return before the Gors even had a chance to swing. 

This opens up a game of wits in combat sequencing, deciding which of my units to activate first, knowing that another of my units may be crushed into oblivion with no reaction as a result.

The Centigors did very little to the Ironguts and took three wounds in return, but I did manage to slice a few wounds off the Stonehorn with the surviving Gors.

In his turn, my opponent pulled an impressive trick on me! Apparently, in Age of Sigmar, there is no rule preventing models from shooting into or out of combat. So you could understand my dread when he hurled a Chain Snare over my Gor herd at the exposed shaman. Thankfully, he missed. 

His Tyrant and Butcher charged in to support the Ironguts and easily wiped out the surviving Centigors. 

My rapidly depleting Gor herd was sticking but only because of Inspiring Presence, so my Shaman decided to lend a helping hand, blasting the Stonehorn with Arcane Bolt, leaving it with a single wound. The Ungors continued to contribute little to the war efforts, inflicting a single wound upon the Guts. 

The Leadbelchers mopped up the remaining hounds and my turn came to an abrupt end. 

My opponent, being in firm control of the game at this point, wasted no time in launching an all out assault on the remnants of my army as I tried to hide my vulnerable shaman. 

His 'Maw' spell was again out of range, but it made no difference. The Gors were cut down with frightening ease, while the Ungors proved themselves nearly useless in combat. Not that the Leadbelchers were much better...

The Bray-shaman retreated to the forest  and tried to cast Savage Dominion, summoning the Giant back to the board, but failed to reach the casting value of 9. The Ungors and Leadbelchers exchanged a wound each, and I prepared for the worst. 

The Maw tore my Ungor unit apart, leaving the Leadbelchers free to shotgun my Shaman to death in a spray of blood and scrap metal!

It was a convincing win for the Ogres and an absolutely fantastic match! 

So, after playing a game out on the table, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy Age of Sigmar. I have no doubt that some armies will walk over the top of others (Tzeentch demons are just a barrel of broken), but all in all, I think this game is designed to be fun as its first port of call. I don't know how it will transfer into competitive play without some kind of supplement or comp pack, but I don't know if that is its purpose in its current form. 

For such a simple rules set, it was surprisingly complex, tactical and strategic. You have to think a turn or two ahead, especially regarding your Hero phase and I think mastering the Hero phase will lead to a lot of victories!

I was happy to see how influential monsters and characters are upon the game, with command abilities and spells impacting gameplay in a big way! The other side of the coin, however, is that characters cannot join units, leaving them very succeptable to ending up dead. Monsters also have a great mechanic, where the more wounds they take, the less effective they are in their weakened state, adding another layer of strategy.

It's not the game we have known and loved in past years. It is different, it is new, it's not familiar. But it is fun, and after all, is that not why we got into the hobby to begin with? I'm not saying it will be to everyone's taste, but I would encourage people to be open to this new game. The rules are free, the army books are free, and the starter box is exceptional! But the starter box is a topic for another day (specifically Saturday when I get my hands on it!). 

In closing, I hope you at least play a game of Age of Sigmar. Give it a try. You might love it. I was very hesitant about the new rules, but I like them. I like them a lot. 

This was my first game of the new system, so if you noticed me or my opponent playing anything wrong, let me know! 

As always, thanks for reading!

Gabriel