The Human Wave

My Allied list got me thinking- what if I were to take the SSU "human wave" concept to its natural extreme. What if I were to completely remove the KV47 walkers from the picture? I'd end up with almost 60 soldiers on the table is what would happen. That's a lot of angry Russian goodness.

Here's the idea:

Faction: SSU ( 295 / 300 )

---  Heroes
Nikolaï (20)
Yakov (21)

---  Defense Platoon (137)
Upgrade: Improved Command (5)
Command Section: "The Medvedi" SSU Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "Frontoviki" SSU Battle Squad (20)
2nd Section: "Frontoviki" SSU Battle Squad (20)
3rd Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
4th Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
Commissar: "The Sumarokov" (5)
Commissar: "The Trediakovsky" (8)
Support: "Jnetzi" SSU Sniper Team (14)

---  Defense Platoon (117)
Upgrade: Improved Command (5)
Command Section: "The Medvedi" SSU Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
2nd Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
3rd Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
4th Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
Commissar: "The Derzhavin" (5)

It's my current SSU army with a couple of tweaks. First of all, no armor. Again, this is to deny my opponent's anti-tank assets. Anything that rolls a lot of dice against vehicles has a tendency (not always, but frequently) to roll a lot less dice against Infantry 2 targets. I'll still need to look out for Spray weapons, but with two more Rifle Squads the enemy will have to dump a lot more fire into my anti-tank assets to silence them. I still have my five machinegun squad, and it still cranks out 15 dice at 16". It was withering against Axis Zombies, and for units that rely on mob tactics like that it can be a game changer.

The Rifle Mob will still contain Nikolai, allowing them to hit on blanks when they sustained fire. That means hitting on blanks with re-rolls. And Armor Penetrating. Nasty. The other two Rifle Squads, as well as the Snipers will dig in and use their 30" range to discourage enemy units from advancing.

Finally, there's the two Close Combat squads. with their commissar and Yakov the mob can crank out an insane number of dice. Of course, Yakov could always join the Battle Squads, and that would mean that the mass of dice would also deny cover, which means a very dead squad. I suppose it will depend on my opponent's army and the scenario.

What does this army fear? Vehicle 7. I simply cannot stop walkers that big. The loss of my walker mounted Sulfur Throwers will really show then. That's a minor factor though. Short of an air-dropped Fireball, I should be able to shrug off the enemy's firepower.

That's it for this brainstorming session. Maybe this list will supersede my Allied list. That really depends on my financial situation, but the odds are pretty good.

Bringin' The Allied Pain

It's hard to find a good picture of Rhino, so you get this one.

After reading this article, I came to a decision- walkers are bad. Not bad in a "this model is awful and useless" sense, just bad in a "this model has no place in this army" sense. Keeping that in mind, I have revised my Allied army. I intend to start in on this army soon, as soon as I paint up my second SSU Rifle Squad and the SSU heroes that came in the mail for me a few days ago. Here's what I now plan on running:

Faction: Allies ( 293 / 300 )

---  Heroes
Ozz 117 (23)

---  Elite Platoon (150)
Upgrade: Extra Hero (5)
Command Section: Rhino (22, Hero)
1st Section: "The Hammers" Heavy Ranger Assault Squad (28)
2nd Section: "Grim Reapers" Heavy Ranger Attack Squad (30)
3rd Section: "Grim Reapers" Heavy Ranger Attack Squad (30)
4th Section: "Tank Busters" Heavy Ranger Tank Hunter Squad (35)

---  Action Jackson - British Paratroops (120)
Command Section: Action Jackson (24, Hero)
1st Section: "Red Devils" British Paratroops (32)
2nd Section: "Red Devils" British Paratroops (32)
3rd Section: "Red Devils" British Paratroops (32)

It's all Infantry 3, with no Infantry 2 or Vehicles. This army can stand up to a withering amount of fire, and it denies my opponent of all of his anti-infantry and anti-tank assets. In other words, this army has to be anticipated or else it will rob you of all of your specialized units.

Especially jarring is the no vehicles part. All those .88s will be useless. Even better, the Phasers that the Red Devils are packing will tear enemy vehicles to shreds. Up to 11 shots (22 if every unit is able to Sustained Fire) will just plain annihilate armor and Infantry alike. No armor roll=dead targets.

Obviously Action Jackson will join the Red Devils as both ablative wounds and as extra Phaser death. Equally obviously Rhino leads the Hammers in order to make them a whirlwind of death up close. Perhaps less obviously, one of the Grim Reaper squads will be commanded by Ozz 117. The hail of machinegun fire as well as the Flamethrower that Ozz sports are going to shred infantry 2 units, and can even give aircraft and Infantry 3 a scare, as they will have no cover to hide behind. I'll just have to make sure I suppress their target before I jump in, as that will prevent them from reacting to my sudden 12" jump (giving me an 18" firey machinegun death range). I've even considered sending Ozz over to a Red Devil squad, causing the unit to deny both cover and armor. Nasty.

Of course this army calls for a good sized purchase, and that will be a way out, but on paper this army just plain looks terrifying.

Rage of Bahamut

This entry has absolutely nothing to do with wargaming, it's just a plea into cyberspace. If you're on an iPhone or a phone with an Android OS, pick up Rage of Bahamut. It's a ton of fun, it's free, and by entering the code vvd82534 at the end of the tutorial you'll really help me out. Even better, if you stick it out to level 10, I'll get a ton more help. No pressure, just asking.

Should you decide the game is not for you, just send your rare cards to EtnasVassal (all one word) and delete the game from your device.

I'm not tagging this post, so it will disappear into the mists of obscurity soon enough. Thanks for bearing with me.

SSU Re-Do

I've been looking at my current SSU force over the last couple of days, and I've realized something; my force has no coherent battle plan. My units don't really compliment each other. They're more a hodge-podge of random stuff I bought (mostly because they actually are a hodge-podge of random stuff I bought). I've been looking especially closely at my transport helicopter. What am I going to actually transport in it? as it stands right now, I'm going to be dropping snipers into enemy territory and then using the thing to go around annoying enemy infantry with its machineguns.

I've been lurking in the Dust-War forum and reading what few threads exist on the SSU. One theme has come up- everybody seems to agree that Rifle Squads and Close Combat Squads are the way to go. I've also fallen in love with the "human wave" theme the SSU has going for it with the ability to form their squads into 11-man behemoths. This serves two purposes:

First, those squads lay down a lot of firepower when activated. I mean a lot. My double Battle Squad with "Trediakovsky" Commissar cranks out a mighty fifteen dice at Infantry 2 squads. Even a squad in cover will have to think twice about picking a fight with these boys.

Second, they decrease the size of my command dice pool. This means I'll get fewer orders, which will mean I'll get the drop on my enemies more frequently. This is a Very Good Thing. At first it may seem that I would suffer with fewer commands to go around. The reality is that I'll be activating swarms of infantry at a time whose goal is not to suppress enemy squads, but outright destroy them.

There are downsides, though. Spray weapons will be very, very scary prospects  (that Fireball dropped in my backfield may very well be a game winner). It's easier to suppress my entire force. I have very few overall units with which to grab objectives. The downsides are there, but I feel the upsides by far outweigh them.

"Quantity has a quality all its own."- Josef Stalin

The force I've planned out just drops the transport chopper in favor of Nikolai and a second Rifle Squad. The "Sumarokov" Commissar will be attached to the double Rifle Squad as well as Nikolai, creating what is more or less a sniper mob (they can't be fully supressed, there are twelve bodies, they halve their target's armor, and they hit on blanks).

Finally I'll attach a "Karamzin" Commissar to my Snipers to make a sniper rocket launcher, and form my two Close Combat Squads into one with my "Derzhavin" Commissar forming a wall of sulfur and molotovs.

For those who care, here's my revised list:

---  Heroes
Nikolaï (20)

---  Defense Platoon (153)
Upgrade: Improved Command (5)
Command Section: "The Medvedi" SSU Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "Frontoviki" SSU Battle Squad (20)
2nd Section: "Frontoviki" SSU Battle Squad (20)
3rd Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
4th Section: "Ohotniki" SSU Rifle Squad (20)
Commissar: "The Trediakovsky" (8)
Commissar: "The Sumarokov" (5)
Support: KV47-A "Nadya" (30)

---  Defense Platoon (127)
Upgrade: Political Importance (5)
Command Section: Koshka Rudinova with Grand'ma (53, Hero)
1st Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
2nd Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
Commissar: "The Derzhavin" (5)
Commissar: "The Karamzin" (8)
Support: "Jnetzi" SSU Sniper Team (14)
Now I just need to wait for FFG to release the SSU Hero Box so I can actually get my hands on Nikolai. Oh, and I need to wait for my coffers to refill since I'm going to be pre-ordering the limited edition of Dead or Alive 5...

Dark Angel Deathwing Disaster?

Well, my Deathwing Assault Squad is fully painted. How did they turn out? Keep reading to see the answer!

I of course started with a bonewhite primer (thanks Army Painter!) and built up from there. The conundrum I faced from there was how to shade them. I decided on a Dark Fleshtone dip based on Vallejo paints. I got out my chemical agent dish (a little thing I picked up from my grocery store dedicated to stuff I wouldn't want my cooking to share a dish with) and squirted some Dark Fleshtone into it. Afterward I thinned the paint out with Pledge floor wax, leaving me with this stuff:

A heavy layer across the entirety of the models left me with all the shading I needed. Sorry about a lack of a picture at this stage, but I was on a roll.

Like the rest of my Deathwing I then went over all the weapons and shields with black paint. I then picked out all of the metallic areas with Chainmail and Shining Gold. It was at this point I realized I had made a grievous error- the metal areas were not dipped! I again mixed up some Dark Fleshtone dip and set about touching up the neglected areas. Following that I went over the neglected areas with Dark Angels Green and gave the electrified plates on the Thunder Hammers a Purple Ink glaze, and came up with the following:

A quick application of the Deathwing broken sword wrapped up the endeavor.

No real flaws other than the shade not quite matching the rest of the army, but on the table you can"t really tell.

Sorry about the short article, but it was a short painting process. Until next time, seeyuh!!!