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!