Blood Angel Codex Review; Part 2

Welcome to part two of my Blood Angel's codex review. This one will focus on the HQs and Lords of War choices in the book. I will also be going over the relics a little bit more since it is with these characters that they will be going with. I will also go over the force organization chart in this part.

Blood Angels Codex Review; Part 1.

I have been waiting for this book to come out ever since the first release of the new hardback codexs, and now it has arrived! I'm going to do my utmost best to keep this review as neutral as possible and keep comparisons to the old codex to a minimum. For the sake of easy reading this review is going to be broken up into multiple parts. Today's segment will focus on the book itself; the fluff, presentation, things like that, as well as Blood Angel special rules, and psychic powers. By the Blood of Sanguinius let's start this review.

Back Into It; Thunder Wolves

The 40k Universe is a strange place to me lately, I have been out of the loop for a few months and have a lot of catching up to do. I guess it is not much of a surprise that upon falling in unfamiliar territory I look back to where I first started; Space Wolves, the sons of Russ. I'll admit that I don't have much of a clue as what is competitive or effective in this new edition of huge walkers making regular appearances on the table along side lords of war, and more objectives than I can count on two hands. I thought about what I was going to do for quite a while; would I quit playing, would I just keep what I currently have, would I go all in and start buying Titans? I decided that I would just play something that is fun, that hopefully will provide a challenge for my opponents and not get me tabled by turn three. What I plan on doing is bringing in the ultimate hunters that the Son's of Russ bring to the battlefield, Thunderwolves!

Denying the Great Devourer

Tyranids are probably my favorite 40k foe. There is not much known about the galaxies greatest threat other than its insatiable hunger to digest everything else that moves. Suns have been exploded to deny the Tyranids a whole sector worth of bio-mass that would have only fed the unstoppable horde. In this post I am going to go over what the Imperium, Imperial Guard and Space Marines, can do to to choke the great the devourer.

    

Saving the Assault Phase?

In the Emperor's name, charge! I have always been a fan of assault based armies, from my first Blood Claw heavy Space Wolf list to my current quick striking Blood Angels, the unifying theme of each army has been connecting on the charge to win the day. It is safe to say  that close combat armies have been nerfed in 6th edition. New abilities such as snap fire, an abundance of weapons that ignore cover, and even the AP system for combat weapons has made it much more difficult for a charge to carry the field. This post may sound like a lot of wish listing but I think it will provide an interesting amendment of rules for a friendly game.

 

Arms Race Continues

Games Workshop's 2014 Warrior Code is going to change a lot of things in the gaming community. Just to be clear this code is meant only for events hosted at the Warhammer World in England, but make no mistake that most other venues take their lead from the folks at WW. I'll be providing a link to the code itself as well as talking about the big changes so that you are not blindsided next time you go to play a game.

 

Battle Brother Event; List 1.

I have always been a big fan of team games with Warhammer 40k. They just feel more complex, no matter what the points level is. You are required to work with your partner to form a list that compliments each other and execute a tactical battle plan to win the game. In almost every case someone does something they aren't supposed to, shooting at the wrong target, charging early, or any number of blunders that mess up a unified battle plan. I find these games to be incredibly narrative. Anyone that has read any book by Black Library that has two factions working together is familiar with all the bickering that can happen, but is also familiar with all the amazing things that can happen as well. I find myself, for the first time, in the position to attend a Battle Brothers event hosted at the World of Battle, Games Workshop, North American Headquarters in Memphis. This post is going to cover my portion of the list, at least the first one I have come up with, and my goals for the 5 game tournament.

 

1500 Point Battle Report; Imperial Guard Vs. Blood Angels A Battle of Faith

It had been a while since I got a game in so I contacted my friend and we agreed to do a modified Relic mission at 1500 points. To make things a little bit more interesting after turn one the relic would scatter 2d6 in whichever way the arrow pointed, if it was a bullseye then the relic would move where the little arrow pointed. We also allowed custom characters to be taken but would give up a victory point if they were killed. The last thing that made this game unique was that all infantry sized models gained the deepstrike special rule, we also made a special rule called, "shunting," that every unit had which would allow a unit to scatter d6 inches in a random direction during any phase in the players turn I can assure you that this battle report is very unique and at the very least worth a laugh. It was a bitter fight to the very end with heroes arising from the most unexpected places.

Forging Ahead

With the new supplements of Escalation and Stronghold Assault being 100% legal to use in regular games of Warhammer 40k there are going to be some growing pains ahead for the gaming community. I for one look forward to the changes that these supplements can bring, hell if you want to bring a Baneblade to my preferred 1500 point games I will be more than happy to let you put it on the table. There are negative Nancies all over the internet saying how these books are terrible, they will never be allowed in tournament play, and anything else that can be said to condemn these books. In this post I am going to look at the positives that these new rule sets bring to the table and why I am looking forward to the changes.

Space Marine Lovin'

Lately I have not been in much of a 40k mood, I have been struggling to think of anything to post up here and to even finish the bikers that I waited so long to get. So instead of pushing out content half heartedly I waited until I actually had a topic that had a bit of spark to it, something that I really cared about. In all honesty if I don't care about a topic I am not going to post about it. Going back to my 40k roots in this post, I am going to talk about why space marines are the best faction out there. I'm going to try really hard not to make this a space marine fan boy post because it is the faults the marines have that make them attractive to me far more than their perfect image.

Captain on Bike w/pictures.

Since I do not like to proxy models or not have models that are properly represented I knew that I had to get some non Blood Angel looking bikes to represent my White Scars allies. Here is the finished product of my captain on bike or Khandepending on what I finally decide on. I still need to get my hands on some Crimson Fist shoulder pads for him to be 100% done. Until then I am pretty pleased with the finished product.

Hammer of the Emperor: Support Units

Anyone who has fought with the Guard, or against them, knows that Guardsmen are not something to be feared when isolated from support. Ten models at Toughness 3 dealing damage at Strength 3 on a 50/50 hit ratio is laughable. A squad of guardsmen are easy prey for the roaming Warrior Brood or Assault Squad, Eldar/Tau Shooters, or Heretic/xenos Psykers. As mere mortals in the face of these threats, we in the Imperial Guard have options. Tactician Delta is back again with more insight into the Imperial Guard. As with any post with a guest author anything I say will be in this red lettering.

Salamander; Book Review

I just finished Salamander by Nick Kyme and I am happy to report that it was a pretty good book. I have to give credit to Mr. Kyme for bringing a fresh face to the adeptus astartes which can be a rather difficult task to accomplish. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Slamanders s a chapter they re probably the friendliest to regular humans. Unlike other chapters that reside in huge fortresses that seclude them from a planets populace the Salamanders live among them and have a larger appreciation for human strengths and weaknesses than any other chapter. They have black skin and red eyes which makes them one of the last things I would want to see in a dark alley. Their favored weaponry is anything that has a flame attached to it and they enjoy making the weapons they wield super fancy in the free time they have. As with any book review of mine expect spoilers to be there so if you have been looking at this book and have been waiting for a stranger to recommend it to you then you can go pick it up now since it is worth the $8.99 price tag.

Into the fires of battle! Unto the anvil of war!

Wargaming on a Budget Part 2: Local Stores/Internet

Supporting your local gaming store is a very important since what you buy from them not only helps keep them open but shows the owner what is important to the customers which in turn encourages them to support that game with special gaming sessions. However it is not always the best option to buy from the store where you go play at. The internet has tons of deals, especially for those that do not want to buy the entierty of a product but just one specific piece. I know for a very long time I wanted the narthecium for the apothecary but did not want to buy a command squad box for one piece of wargear so I turned to eBay to solve my problem.

I really try and do most of my model purchases through game stores because there are so few around me that the little bit that I can support them with, I will. A lot of stores will give a 5-10% discount on all of their products which is a huge benifit and should never be scoffed at. I know some other stores have what can be called loyalty points where the more you buy the more points you earn to get some store credit or they have a straight up loyalty program where if you sign up for it they give you a flat 5% extra off of purchases. Wargaming is an expensive hobby so don't be afraid to ask what sort of discounts are available. One of my "local" stores gives out military, teacher, and student discounts on top of their standard 10% off of GamesWorkshop products. A way to help yourself and the store generate sells is to ask them if you can run an event in there store. The daily grind of opening/closing, dealing with customers, stocking the shelves, and everything else involved in running a store can leave little time to properly run events that could generate more income for the store. This is where you come in. Ask the store manager what event you can run such as an escalation league, campaign, or tournament, and in return for you running this higher profile event that will bring more people into the store they will offer a further 5% off of game products for those that sign up for the event days and actually participate. There is a dozen things you can do along this line such as prize support, awards, or even a hug from the stores one "cute" person, these usually require a modest participation fee. Get out there and work with your friends and store owner to get more games in, money going further, and making the hobby better.

For some of us just getting to a "local" game store is an event by itself and you might have enough time to try and get one game in if you are lucky and can't use that precious gaming time trying to start up a large scale event to get a sweet discount. In this case the internet is your friend and ally. Ebay offers a bunch of great deals especially when you buy in bulk. I have seen thee boxes of assault terminators for about $90 when they normally cost $150. The trouble with this is saving the correct amont and having it at the right time when what you want is actually available. The internet way is probably the best and surest way to save a few bucks but you really need to be patient to be able to find the right deal. Everyone has their own priorities of what is more important, fast shipping, free shipping, refundable, how many stars the seller has, all that sort of stuff. It's not like all the planets have to be in alignment to find a good deal but it can feel like that sometimes.

I'll admit that my purchase history is pretty erratic but I do tend to support local stores whenever possible but I have grabbed a few E-Deals in my time. I would also encourage you to support your own local store even if it is a GW store that does not offer any discounts just because it is absolutely worth having a store with friendly people to play with and good tables to play on. Naturally if your local store is full of bastards and the manager is a crazy person then don't go there. I use the internet for hard to find bits, or bits that are awesome but the rest of the kit is underwhelming and I don't want to buy the full box. Each person will buy based on their own needs almost every time though. I hope you got something out of this little post, if you have your own money saving tricks then please put them in the comments. Have an Emperor blessed day, even you Chaos worshiping scum! ;)

Hammer of the Imperium; Death Korps of Krieg Part 2

Playing Death Korps of Krieg

The Assault Brigade

               

Now on to the second post on the Death Korps of Krieg. This will be about the Assault Brigade. This is a different list and plays differently too. The Assault brigade really takes the concept of your best defense is a good offense to a new level. While with the siege list it is about your artillery, and slow advancing under their fire, this list you have to get to your enemy and you have the tools to make it advancing guard frightening. “The Death Korps of Krieg are infamously resolute and grimly determined soldiers, able to fight on where others would flee or break down in terror. They are hardened by the bleak conditions on their birth world, fortified by iron faith in the Emperor and subjected to a brutal regime of indoctrination and military training from infancy” (Fall of Orpheus page 173).

Blood Angels + White Scars VS. Black Templars 1500 Point Battle Report With Pictures.

I am really excited to be typing this battle report up because I had a great time playing the game. This is a tale of two assault oriented armies going up against each other in a chess like match that could only end with one winner. If you are tired of seeing battle reports where two armies just sit back and lob pie plates at back and forth this should provide a bit of fresh air for you.  We ended up rolling dawn of war deployment with The Emperor's Will mission type. Let's move on to the army lists and the report.

                     

Getting Battle Ready

I have got a game set up with a friend for the 15th of this month and I am very excited about it since it will pit his Black Templars against my Blood Angels/White Scars army. I have not played against his Templars in over a year when I was running around with Blood Claws. What makes me most excited about this game is that it is two assault based armies fighting against one another. For me this is very rare, 6th edition is very much a shooting friendly so a game where bolt pistols and chain swords are on the majority of models will be a breath of fresh air.

Wargaming With a Budget: Beginners

Most of us have a limited amount of money that we can put into our hobby. For those of us that have been in game for a few years we know about a lot of the traps and pit falls of buying models on a whim. I know for myself that when it come to getting new things I have very specific criteria that must be met before I go and get it. I am sure most hobbyists have something similar to what I have but meets their needs. This post is for those that are just getting into the hobby and are a little daunted by some of the big price tags that are out there.

Hammer of the Imperium; Death Korps of Krieg part 1

This post is all about playing the Death Korps of Krieg Forgeworld army. This post is written by a guest author who will go by the name Tactician Hammer. He has been playing Krieg for a few years now and has also dabbeled in Eldar, Tau, and GW standard Guard. I have played against these guys many many times and they are a thorn in my side but they provide a great army, as well as opponent, to test my own skills against. I will be interjecting my own comments into what he wrote to provide a different side of things. What I say will be in red as well as in parenthasis so feel free to skip those parts if you want to just read his overview. 

Grav Guns with Imperial Guard

First off this is complete speculation on my part, I have no clue if Imperial Guard are going to get access to Grav Weapons when their codex gets updated but for this post I am going to assume that they are. Just don't go running around saying that this is prophecy or some craziness like that. If you haven't guessed by now I am going to look at how access to grav weapons will effect IG armies.