WGC Vs. KMNB- The Dust Showdown

Well, here it is- my report on the super showdown of super showdowns.

Terrain was chosen by another gamer at the store. I am awful with names, so if you're reading this I apologize. There was a mix if all kinds of terrain, leading to a varied table. No advantage there.

First we exchanged army lists. This was my army:

Faction: Allies ( 299 / 300 )

--- Combat Platoon (142)
Upgrade: Additional Resources (10)
Command Section: "The Boss" Ranger Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "Grim Reapers" Heavy Ranger Attack Squad (30)
3rd Section: "Death Dealers" Ranger Weapon Squad (20)
+ M9-D Bazookas (1)
4th Section: "Death Dealers" Ranger Weapon Squad (20)
+ M9-D Bazookas (1)
Support: MCW M3-D "Cobra" (35)

--- Assault Platoon (157)
Upgrade: Air Drop (5)
Command Section: "Hell Boys" Ranger Attack Squad (25)
1st Section: "BBQ Squad" Assault Ranger Squad (21)
3rd Section: "The Gunners" Combat Ranger Squad [Upgrade] (20)
+ M9-D Bazookas (1)
Support: HAW M6-B "Fireball" (85)
Demitra's army was as follows:

Faction: Axis ( 300 / 300 )

---  Sturmgrenadiere Platoon (189)
Command Section: Kommandotrupp (25)
1st Section: Battle Grenadiers [Upgrade] (20)
2nd Section: Battle Grenadiers [Upgrade] (20)
3rd Section: Recon Grenadiers (17)
Support: MPW III-A "Wotan" [Upgrade] (55)
Support: MPW II-D "Lothar" (40)
Support: Sniper Grenadier Team (12)

---  Schwer Platoon (111)
Command Section: Heavy Kommandotrupp (35)
1st Section: Heavy Flak Grenadiers (26)
2nd Section: Heavy Flak Grenadiers (26)
Support: Beobachter Team (8)
    + Pinpoint Observation (4)
Support: Sniper Grenadier Team (12)

Lots of Grenadiers and my old nemesis the Wotan. It's a supreme tank killer, and I was fielding a supreme tank. This would be interesting. Due to the fits Fireballs had been giving Demitra, The perceived advantage went to the Allies. There really was very little advantage there.

Demitra and I rolled a die to determine which scenario table we would use. On a 1-3 we would use the tournament table, on a 4-6 we would use the standard mission table. with the cube of destiny coming up a 5, the standard table was chosen. We alternated placing scenario points, ending up with the following mission:

Key Positions, Advancing Lines, Off Target Shelling.

This meant the increased number of Axis units could shrug off my return fire, and my squads could easily be pinned down. The objective meant the Axis forces could sit tight in their deployment zone, while my shorter ranged fire would have to move into the teeth of his army where he could react en masse. In retrospect I should have spent both of my points on deployment, forcing Demitra to choose weather he wanted to advance his army or switch to a more advantageous objective. He would also have to decide weather defense or suppression would be a bigger boon to his forces. I'll learn the nuances of scenario generation in practice one day, for now however the advantage lay firmly in the Axis force's hands.

Terrain layout

Terrain was laid out in the usual manner, alternating placing pieces until we had this board. For some reason I thought we were playing a Force Collision mission, and therefore I set up the buildings I laid out at an angle. They should have been with their wide sides facing the long edges of the table in order to screen my advance, knowing the enemy firepower could easily tear me to shreds.

It should be noted that there was a LOT of terrain, to the point that we had trouble maintaining the required 4" gap between items. This should have been a massive advantage to the Allies, but my oopsie in placing the buildings opened up lots of fire lanes to the enemy forces, leading to a big advantage for the Axis. (See where this is going?)

Deployment

Deployment led to Demitra's forces setting up on my right flank. I deployed more or less in the center, with my Grim Reapers left stranded to the right. Again, I don't know what I was thinking when I did this, only that I did, and it would return to haunt me later. I set up the Cobra in a manner that hopefully would allow it to outflank the Axis line, I planned to apply pressure to the left end of the Axis line and hopefully roll it up with the Fireball once I neutralized the Wotan with my five M9-D bazookas, more that capable of tearing the walker to shreds. I figured that with the off-target shelling I could at least suppress, if not destroy, the Axis forces with my Long Tom. The pounding my command section could rain down should have made the Axis forces hunker down in their DZ.

Forces ready, I chose the house my Cobra is deployed next to as my first objective, and the house directly forward it as my second. It turned out that Demitra (unsurprisingly for an Axis gunline) chose the rocky hill as well as the ruined building the artillery walker had deployed in in his deployment area. Honestly, I should have chosen the houses in my deployment zone as my objectives, sitting there aiming for a tie and breaking it by taking out some snipers with Long Tom strikes.

Turn one

Turn one saw me rolling one command, while Demitra generated two. Using my order I moved my BBQ squad up behind the forward objective house, ready to rush any Axis squad that got too close. The other was (unsurprisingly) used to call in a Long Tom strike targeting the Lothar. I wanted artillery superiority. Unsurprisingly I failed to ding the artillery walker, but the follow-up attack managed to kill a single sniper.

Demitra's response was to fire off a sniper shot into my Gunners, killing one and suppressing them, and snapping off a second sniper shot at my Grim Reapers, felling one and handing out more suppression.

During my unit phase I used the Medic skill on the Gunners, failing to return the fallen soldier, but removing the lone suppression on them and allowing them to advance.

Turn one Axis response.

The Axis line tiptoed forward and opened up into my troops. With them going second this allowed them to come just into range and start firing on my troops. The right hand sniper's spotter was returned to play through a use of the Medic skill.



3 died in my Death Dealers squad on my left, two more Gunners went down. I lost another Grim Reaper. At this point my entire right flank had suppression on it, and with Off Target Shelling in place, none of it would go away.



Turn two

The next turn I forgot to record how many orders were generated, but I was unable to radio in a Long Tom strike. The Cobra phased a single Flak Grenadier who had wandered out of cover and just a bit too close to my walker.

Both Flak Grenadiers opened up into my Death Dealers on the right flank, dropping one.

In came the Fireball on the left flank in Demitra's DZ. This was what I had meant to do on turn one, but I totally forgot. The Cobra fired its phaser into the Flak Grenadiers, killing one.

Demitra's Wotan pivoted in place to open fire on my Fireball. It missed with both lasers.His command section used its Medic ability twice on the Flak Grenadiers I had offed, and twice he succeeded in returning his troops to play.

It was at this point I was on tilt.



The final stare-down

It came down to the next turn The Axis line surged forward confident in victory, destroying the center of my line. the Wotan sustained attacked my Fireball, inflicting seven points of damage (three hits, two saves). The shot resulted in a hull breach. As Demitra began reading off the effects of the damage I stopped him after "it may not make any armor rolls" and called the game.

 

I had inflicted no casualties on the Axis line.

 

I had inflicted no damage on the Axis walkers.

 

I had done nothing.

 

It was a total rout, and honestly the most boring game of Dust I have ever played.

 

Oh, well. There's always the tournament, right?

Best Fiancé Ever

Well, Tuesday was a good day. Fun, family food...

Best of all, my fiancé got me this- a statue of my avatar!

Oh, the battle report is coming later today from work. I need something to do during those long, lonely hours. Everything is packed up and ready to go. Prepare for batrep goodness.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and whatever your denomination, even none, good will toward men.

Most importantly, remember the reason for the season;

Winter Solstice.

It's The End Of The World As We Know It.

Oops...

If you're reading this (and you are) the world didn't end yesterday.

Today's content is what you love, an army list. I'm thinking of perhaps running a "KV47 rainbow" list. That means one of each non-aero KV47 variant, including Koshka. We'll see what Tuesday brings, but this list will both shock and apall you. It's not just aromr, but lots of armor in my SSU force. Demitra's jaw just hit the floor.

Faction: SSU ( 298 / 300 )

---  Defense Platoon (125)
Command Section: Koshka Rudinova with Grand'ma (53, Hero)
1st Section: "Frontoviki" SSU Battle Squad (20)
    + Rat Fighters (1)
2nd Section: "Frontoviki" SSU Battle Squad (20)
    + Rat Fighters (1)
Support: KV47-C "Natalya" (30)

---  Red Platoon (173)
Command Section: "Red Command" Red Guards Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "Red Thunder" Red Guards Antitank Squad (20)
    + Rat Fighters (1)
2nd Section: "Red Thunder" Red Guards Antitank Squad (20)
    + Rat Fighters (1)
3rd Section: KV47-B "Natasha" (40)
4th Section: KV47-A "Nadya" (30)
Commissar: "The Karamzin" (8)
Support: "Jnetzi" SSU Sniper Team (14)
Support: "Jnetzi" SSU Sniper Team (14)
It's a highly aggressive list, with all of my infantry ready to devour ground and bring all my weapons to bear. The Karamzin commissar goes in the Red Command squad upping the squad to two PTRS launchers. All of the KV47 walkers will advance swiftly into the midst of my opponent's battle line and unleash hell. This army is built to move forward. If it stalls, it dies. I wonder if the armored wall will hold up? Especially against Axis Grenadier spam. That's a lot of anti-tank weapons...

Should I get the two more KV47 walkers I need, this will get some table time for sure. Once I get my Red Guards, that is.

Fear the Dust Kan Wall!

More Hot Allied Action.

Nope, no battle report as of yet, but yet another army list.

I found out two of the things I'm getting this Christmas by accident because Amazon disappeared them from my wishlist. I found this out by accident when I went to see if the next season of "Shakugan no Shana" (Shana of Blazing Eyes) had hit the shelves yet. Turns out it has, and it also turns out I'm getting some stuff for my Allied army as well. Here's the plan as to what I'll do with my new goodies:

Faction: Allies ( 300 / 300 )

---  Combat Platoon (188)
Upgrade: Additional Resources (10)
Command Section: "The Boss" Ranger Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "Grim Reapers" Heavy Ranger Attack Squad (30)
3rd Section: "The Gunners" Combat Ranger Squad [Upgrade] (20)
    + M9-D Bazookas (1)
4th Section: "Death Dealers" Ranger Weapon Squad (20)
Support: MCW M3-D "Cobra" (35)
Support: MCW M3-D "Cobra" (35)
Support: "Crack Shots" Sniper Team (12)

---  Assault Platoon (112)
Command Section: "Hell Boys" Ranger Attack Squad (25)
    + Rat Fighters (1)
1st Section: "BBQ Squad" Assault Ranger Squad (21)
3rd Section: "The Gunners" Combat Ranger Squad [Upgrade] (20)
    + M9-D Bazookas (1)
4th Section: "Death Dealers" Ranger Weapon Squad (20)
Support: "Crack Shots" Sniper Team (12)
Support: "Crack Shots" Sniper Team (12)

Lots of dudes, lots of snipers, lots of bazookas, two Cobras. Me likey.

Maybe this horde will be the compromise between my SSU wave theory and the cold reality that you really need armor in this game. It's weird that my usual tread-head tendencies haven't come out to play. I mean I run a panzerkompanie in Flames of War, for Pete's sake. That's assuming I ever actually play Flames of War.

I'll have to see how things pan out in the future for my armies. I'll find the perfect balance of armor and infantry eventually, I know.

Next up, either a preview of "The Caverns of Roxor" for Super Dungeon Explore, or the battle report for the league championship.

The Ultimate Showdown Of Ultimate Destiny

If you don't know the above reference you need to look up the band Lemon Demon and listen to the song with the above name right now. It's okay, I'll wait.

Right now Demitra and I are probably lining up to decide once and for all (or at least until the tournament) who the foremost Dust player is at Huzzah Hobbies. I'll be putting down my fully painted Allies across from his primed (only because they come that way in the box) Axis. Yep, this is a timed post and I'm trash-talking the day before. That being said, We're working on our long discussed but un-fulfilled threat do do a cooperative battle report (provided we remembered everything).

Here's what he'll be up against:

Faction: Allies ( 299 / 300 )

---  Combat Platoon (142)
Upgrade: Additional Resources (10)
Command Section: "The Boss" Ranger Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "Grim Reapers" Heavy Ranger Attack Squad (30)
3rd Section: "Death Dealers" Ranger Weapon Squad (20)
    + M9-D Bazookas (1)
4th Section: "Death Dealers" Ranger Weapon Squad (20)
    + M9-D Bazookas (1)
Support: MCW M3-D "Cobra" (35)

---  Assault Platoon (157)
Upgrade: Air Drop (5)
Command Section: "Hell Boys" Ranger Attack Squad (25)
1st Section: "BBQ Squad" Assault Ranger Squad (21)
3rd Section: "The Gunners" Combat Ranger Squad [Upgrade] (20)
    + M9-D Bazookas (1)
Support: HAW M6-B "Fireball" (85)
I'll be grabbing the "Gunners" squad when I get to the store, so hopefully they'll perform right out of the box. So much for my "fully painted" taunt, huh?

The point is that this is a "Fireball Drop" army, a concept which has terrorized Demitra for two of his last few games, most recently our "at home" game today. My fireball looks a bit different from the one here, and you'll be seeing it for the first time in the upcoming battle report. I figure I should have something cool to show off, win or lose.

This list is a bit of a departure for me, as it has no snipers in it. I've found them to be powerful, and I'm going to find out if they're powerful enough to be rated a necessity. It also has very little in the way of heavy infantry. I'm not so sure they're going to be missed though, as I have the M9-D Bazookas rather than the standard issue ones. These (hopefully) will assist in keeping the Axis walker population under control with their increased 1/4 firepower. That means a walker can be one-shotted assuming four failed armor rolls. Not likely, but it brings a smile to my face any way. I'm hoping I won't see a Wotan across the board from me. Those lasers have been known to wreck stuff.

The Cobra is there as an insurance policy. I entrenched it in a crater today, and it held up the majority of the Axis advance pretty much by itself. Sure it was nearly wrecked by the end of turn 4 (when we called the game) but the point is that it held. That turret-mounted Phaser and the .50 cal. and .30 cal. machineguns sure did their jobs. Should the Fireball get offed the Cobra will try to step  in as my mobile firebase. It may instead simply draw a bunch of anti-tank fire, which is okay with me provided it can weather the onslaught for a couple of turns. You see, Demitra is deathly afraid of Phasers, and hopefully the Cobra's 24" threat range will garner some knee-jerk firepower. Again however, a Wotan would spoil that fun in a big hurry.

Hopefully I'll have enough warm bodies to take objectives, as I expect to be heavily outnumbered (which is not surprising given that I sunk 120 points into walkers). Thirty-three dudes seems like a lot, until you remember that they're pretty much all Infantry 2, and that makes them bullet magnets.

Time to root for the good guys.

Cake Which Is Cheesy

I'll just leave this right here. I do believe my walkers are in sudden need of maintenance. These lovely ladies will probably be purchased and added to my collection ASAP. They're $30 too, so not too horrible a price. It would be nice if you could get them unpainted, as I't love to grab two sets and paint up one as an Allied repair team, and one for the SSU. I'll be hoping that they get Dust Warfare stats as well as stats for Dust Tactics, if they get stats at all- they may very well just be display pieces, which is okay by me.

Does the little skull and crossbones in the top right corner mean anything? Could we be in waiting for mercenaries? Not too sure on that one. I'll keep rooting around and get back to you.

Personally I'm not too sure about the idea of adding mercs into Dust. If that is indeed happening, which is simply wild speculation on my part. I guess maybe some people would wander from place to place looking for a fight, but in a World War II setting, it would take some pretty darn good writing to convince me.

Any way, enough wild speculation. I'm going to go back to scouring the internet for whatever tickles my fancy. Hopefully I'll be able to keep bringing morsels like this back to you.

200 Posts Down, Who Knows How Many More To Go

Yep, I noticed today that my last post was number 200! I consider that to be a bit of a milestone. Therefore with post 201 I'm going to put up a little "Wargaming Chaos Trivia".

The #5 entry in terms of popularity is a post about Dark Eldar army construction. I don't know why people come to me for advice since I just tweak netlists to suit my playstyle. I guess I'm just lucky.

Sometimes people come to me for modeling advice. That's where post #4 comes in. My experience putting the Hell Pit Abomination together and getting it fully painted and on the table within a 24 hour period seems to have intrigued the world wide web.

The #3 entry of all time appears to show up because of the search for "Hordes of the Things" It's a shame that this little game doesn't get more love. It's a tight rules system that's very portable and doesn't require a lot of miniatures.

My #2 entry also gets hits for "1,500 point Dark Eldar Army". It's a shame that the picture I linked to has vanished, but oh well. It's nice that people come to my little blog for advice, no matter how green it may be.

My all-time most popular post by far is this one. Not because of the content it seems, but for the "sexy Dark Eldar wallpaper" caption I placed under the first picture. Thanks interwebz, you continue to improve my view of humanity...

What I do like is my hit count. As of this post I have 21,676 pageviews. That's not too shabby for my on-and-off posting style and my less than professional photos. Thank you to those who have stopped by, and an especially big thanks to those few followers I have. It's really nice to have an audience, no matter how limited.

I'll continue this blog for as long as possible, and now that finals are over and I'm in between semesters I hope to get back to a regular posting schedule. battle reports should become more regular. Most importantly that "Coming Attractions" list should be processed in a more timely manner. Don't expect those 40k minis to be up very soon though, Dust Warfare has taken over pretty strongly around my parts. Hopefully it's not just the flavor of the month and it hangs on for a good while.

Happy holidays internet, and thanks for the love, no matter how small.

Alternative SSU Army Idea

Yep, another army list post.

This time around, however, it's a "What if I took the SSU to the tournament?" post. Well, were I to do that, the army would probably look a little something like this:

Faction: SSU ( 299 / 300 )

---  Defense Platoon (95)
Command Section: "The Medvedi" SSU Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "Frontoviki" SSU Battle Squad (20)
2nd Section: "Frontoviki" SSU Battle Squad (20)
Commissar: "The Trediakovsky" (8)
Commissar: "The Karamzin" (8)
Support: "Jnetzi" SSU Sniper Team (14)

---  Red Platoon (204)
Command Section: "Red Command" Red Guards Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "Red Thunder" Red Guards Antitank Squad (20)
2nd Section: "Red Thunder" Red Guards Antitank Squad (20)
3rd Section: KV-3 K "Matrioshka" (65)
4th Section: KV47-A "Nadya" (30)
Commissar: "The Trediakovsky" (8)
Commissar: "The Karamzin" (8)
Support: "Jnetzi" SSU Sniper Team (14)
Support: "Jnetzi" SSU Sniper Team (14)

Yep, I'd be running this bad girl right here (assuming the mini is out by then). She eats tanks alive and has enough machineguns to keep infantry pinned down. Also, seeing as she's Vehicle 5, she'll be plenty capable of warding off other SSU snipers' bullets.

Also, the above list has the oodles of snipers I've come to know and love. There's really not too much wrong with this list, other than not having too many line infantry squads. I'm torn as to how I'll match up  the squads and commissars. Do I maximize the squads' effectiveness against enemy targets by giving them all PTRS launchers or machineguns? Or do I mix and match, thus making my Battle Squads have two machineguns and one PTRS, and the Red Guards Antitank Squads a pair if PTRS' and a single machinegun to keep the squads from over-specializing?

So, SSU or Allies? Stuff to ponder, indeed.

Hey Demitra-
I heard you like "Babushka" walkers, so I threw together this list. Thoughts?

Faction: SSU ( 298 / 300 )

---  Defense Platoon (132)
Command Section: "The Medvedi" SSU Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "Frontoviki" SSU Battle Squad (20)
2nd Section: "Fakyeli" SSU Close Combat Squad (21)
Commissar: "The Trediakovsky" (8)
Commissar: "The Karamzin" (8)
Support: KV-3 M "Babushka" (50)

---  Red Platoon (166)
Command Section: "Red Command" Red Guards Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "Red Thunder" Red Guards Antitank Squad (20)
2nd Section: "Red Thunder" Red Guards Antitank Squad (20)
3rd Section: KV-3 K "Matrioshka" (65)
Commissar: "The Karamzin" (8)
Support: "Jnetzi" SSU Sniper Team (14)
Support: "Jnetzi" SSU Sniper Team (14)

The Karamzin commissars go into the Red Thunder units giving them three PTRS rocket launchers each. The Frontoviki squad has three machineguns. The Fakyeli just run around and sulfer thrower/shotgun things to death. Babushka, Matrioshka, and the snipers hang back and provide covering fire, getting commands from the SSU Command Squad, while the Red Command joins the advance and leads from the front. Lots of anti-armor, without neglecting the anti-infantry, and two Vehicle 5, 6 Damage Capacity machines. I'm not sure about the Babushka's anti-aircraft capability, so this list may suffer against helicopters. What say you, oh lord of the combined arms?

Tourney Time Ahead

That's right, it's time to make up for my lacking content.

Dust-War is holding a 24-seat tourney soon. It looks pretty cool, only it has two srtikes against it. one, it's a five-and-a-half hour drive from my home.

...And the tourney starts at 10:00 am.

The other is that my FNSLGS has a tournament going the exact same day. A day I am in deep, deep trouble for agreeing to (you see, it's my fiance's birthday) and I have gotten begrudging permission to go. Leaving at 4:00 in the morning that day or spending the night at a fleabag motel the night before just doesn't sound like a good idea.

So, as you can tell, I'm getting back into tournament mode. Yes, the actual date isn't for over a month, but one can never get too prepared too early in my humble opinion.

Wrong preparation...

That theory in mind, I've been kicking around a few ideas using the Dust Warfare Force Builder. This one in particular:

Faction: Allies ( 298 / 300 )
---  Combat Platoon (178)
Upgrade: Additional Resources (10)
Command Section: "The Boss" Ranger Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "BBQ Squad" Assault Ranger Squad (21)
3rd Section: "Death Dealers" Ranger Weapon Squad (20)
4th Section: "Death Dealers" Ranger Weapon Squad (20)
Support: MCW M3-D "Cobra" (Zv) (35)
Support: MCW M3-D "Cobra" (Zv) (35)
Support: "Crack Shots" Sniper Team (12)

---  Elite Platoon (120)
Upgrade: Air Drop (5)
Command Section: Rhino (22, Hero)
1st Section: "The Hammers" Heavy Ranger Assault Squad (28)
2nd Section: "Tank Busters" Heavy Ranger Tank Hunter Squad (35)
3rd Section: "Grim Reapers" Heavy Ranger Attack Squad (30)

I see a few potential problems here. One, I may have too much anti-armor. Two, those Hammers just never seem to make it in close enough to make a difference. They are fire magnets of the highest order, and despite Rhino helping them to shake suppression (in theory) they usually spend the game hunkered down waiting for the hail of fire to pass. Finally, there's only one sniper.




Breaking up the wall o' text with... Some Etna!

Maybe this would work better:

Faction: Allies ( 296 / 300 )

---  Combat Platoon (178)
Upgrade: Additional Resources (10)
Command Section: "The Boss" Ranger Command Squad (25)
1st Section: "BBQ Squad" Assault Ranger Squad (21)
3rd Section: "Death Dealers" Ranger Weapon Squad (20)
4th Section: "Death Dealers" Ranger Weapon Squad (20)
Support: MCW M3-D "Cobra" (Zv) (35)
Support: MCW M3-D "Cobra" (Zv) (35)
Support: "Crack Shots" Sniper Team (12)

---  Elite Platoon (118)
Command Section: Ozz 117 (23, Hero)
1st Section: "Grim Reapers" Heavy Ranger Attack Squad (30)
2nd Section: "Tank Busters" Heavy Ranger Tank Hunter Squad (35)
3rd Section: "Grim Reapers" Heavy Ranger Attack Squad (30)

Still only one sniper, but with two squads of Grim Reapers I'll have increased anti-infantry capability as well as some pretty amazing anti-aircraft firepower.

...And as I found out last week, I do love shooting SSU choppers out of the sky.

I've also been kicking around the idea of dropping the BBQ Squad down to The Gunners, and giving Ozz and his Reapers Air Drop, but what those guys do to SSU blobs is just amazing.

I'll keep thinking.

And... Content!!! Dust Allies Army In Progress

Yes, as stated yesterday, I have stuff to report on!

Let's begin where I left off, shall we? I've shelved my SSU army for a bit, seeing as my infantry horde idea was, shall we say, ill advised. Lots of Vehicle 5, 6, and even 7 units have been showing up, and despite the horror on my opponents' faces when I plunk down eight snipers, they just don't cut it against heavier machines. This means I'm waiting to pick up a Red Guard platoon so I can take some vehicles to deal with these threats without dropping my sniper count too drastically. In particular the "Matrioshka" tank hunter. Since I can take it as part of a regular Red Guard platoon without eating up a support slot, it's one of the ideal walkers for dealing with heavy armored threats. I'll go into my army plans in a later army list post. For now, Allies!

First up, every army needs a good commander. With this in mind I began with a "Hell Boys" squad. They're monsters up close with two flamethrowers and three shotguns. Unfortunately they don't have a radio or a medic, so it's up to "The Boss" command squad to take up the slack. Combined with their "Long Tom" strike, these bad boys can happily lead from the rear without feeling bad at all.

Having placed a Headquarters in my army, it's time for the grunts. I traded my Axis units from the Dust Tactics starter to Demitra for his Allied units. Thus I have two units of "Death Dealers". What happens when I need to dislodge enemy units from an entrenched position though? Who ya' gonna call? Well, a "BBQ Squad", obviously. I still feel I would like to have some "Gunners" as well as some "Recon Boys" for my force, but these three squads have thus far been a good start.

While these squads are large, they can be a touch squishy. Sometimes you need a more elite unit to deal with a threat. That's where the Infantry 3 elite units come in. Hardcore firepower is provided by a squad of "Tank Busters" and "Grim Reapers". When the Grim Reapers need a touch more... "fire" power, that's when Ozz 117 shows up to play.  With his flamethrower denying enemy units cover, and the Grim Reapers' twin .30 caliber machineguns cranking out loads of shots, enemy units shouldn't last too long in the face of their withering hail of fire.

What about when the fighting gets up close and personal though? Time to call in those most hardcore of hardcore close combat units. "Red Devils" may be slow, and they may have a short range, but they sure do pack a wallop with their 3/1 or 1/3 phasers. Provided they get to do their thing, stuff goes *poof* when they unleash hell. Another tricky to use unit that also packs a punch is "The Hammers". Combined with Rhino they pretty much rule any close combat engagement. Axis Gorillas? No problem. Heavy walker got you down? Just go Berserk and pound its hull in. These dudes tend to draw a TON of fire, and for good reason, so you have to be extremely careful with them. Keep their heads down until the right moment, then go stomp some heads in!

You've got to get those Axis and SSU scumbags to keep their heads down. That's when you call on the "Crack Shots" snipers. Hitting on blanks as well as ignoring both armor and cover, you're sure to whittle down even the most elite of infantry units. They don't have the tank killing power of the SSU's snipers however, so get them into a position away from enemy armor and rain terror down on the enemy.

Now we move on to the real draw for Dust, the walkers. Since I got a "Blackhawk" in the starter box, I painted it up. I really don't have anything nice to say about this machine, so we'll move on. The "Wildfire" on the other hand just plain performs. Its quad .50 caliber machineguns rain terror down on infantry and up at flyers alike. The fact that they're Fast and have a 24" range lets them get just where they're needed and lay in suppressing (or even killing) fire without the enemy getting to react. Very important against those slippery fliers!

The only medium walker I have in my army at the moment is a "Cobra", but I'm pretty sure that's going to change soon. A 24" 5/1 or 3/2 gun that ignores armor? Yes sir.

It's kind of hard to take in the work I've done on my army in the weeks I've been away from a blog entry alone, but here's my current painted horde.

It's gotten to the point where I'm having a rough time getting them into the pistol case I use to carry them around. I'm looking for a non-GW (preferably less expensive than Battlefoam) figure case to get all these minis (plus more, including a "Fireball") into. I guess I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled.

Having an... interesting travel arrangement for my Dust dudes hasn't stopped me from getting a few games in. In fact, I'm tied with Demitra for the championship of our FNSLGS escalation league. This can only mean one thing; showdown! We've not played each other in the store yet, seeing as how we game every Tuesday, but this butting of heads was bound to happen eventually.

One of us (or maybe both) should do a battle report on the game. One thing's for sure, we're going to kick up a lot of "Dust" when Khadoran Machine Never Breaks and Wargaming Chaos go head-to-head!

Updates Forthcoming, I Swear!



As an appology, have some Etna.

Yes, I've neglected this poor blog for a month now, and I don't really have an excuse for it. I've been busy. And lazy. Busy and lazy.

 

What I HAVE been up to is a lot of painting, and a whole lot of gaming. Demitra and I have been playing copious amounts of Dust Warfare, both at home and at my FNSLGS. You see, my gaming wishes have come true. Dust is now played on Wednesday night, a night I do not work. I've stepped away from the SSU for a bit and stepped up my painting. I've really been enjoying using the Allies in Dust.

 

Any way, I've gotten away from the focus of this post (as usual). The point is, content ahead!