Another Quickie Post From Work

Well, looks like my Ogres will be facing off against the Lizardmen  tomorrow. I'm a little scared since I'll be facing off against a player who has a superior command of his army (I played about two games with my original Ogre army about three years ago). My plan is to stick to my plan. Form a rigid battle line, ignore as much poison as possible, and go straight for the throat. I don't have the armor or assets to piddle around with skinks, all my focus needs to be on squishing that Slann.

Magical superiority will have to be abandoned, and I'll just have to weather the inevetable hell storm of offensive magic coming my way. Bull Charges and salvoes of attacks wil be the order of the day.

That stupid Stegadon may just have to have a run-in with my Tyrant if at all possible.

Another potential issue arises with the big mass of Temple Guard surrounding the Slann. This unit will have to be combination-charged in order to be dealt with. Models with two Strength 5 attacks each are not to be trifled with.

Of course, as they say, "no plan survives contact with the enemy". We'll just have to see how things pan out.

...That reminds me! I need to bick up a pack or two of movement trays. Those big units will be too much of a bear to scoot around one ogre at a time.

Another Possible Deathwing Solution?

More tooling around with my army construction software, and I've come up with another possible army list:

Belial (Thunder Hammer / Storm Shield)
Deathwing Squad with Assault Cannon & Chainfist
Deathwing Squad with Assault Cannon & Chainfist
Deathwing Squad with Cyclone Missile Launcher
Deathwing Squad with Cyclone Missile Launcher
Deathwing Squad with 2x Thunder Hammer / Storm Shield, 2x Lightning Claws, Chainfist & Heavy Flamer
Deathwing Squad with 2x Thunder Hammer / Storm Shield, 2x Lightning Claws, Chainfist & Heavy Flamer
Ravenwing Land Speeder with Multi-Melta
Ravenwing Land Speeder with Multi-Melta
Ravenwing Land Speeder with Multi-Melta

A little more Ravenwing saturation with this list, which in all honesty the last lists needed. I'm not totally sold on an Interrigator Chaplain- the re-rolls are nice, but is he really worth his whopping 145 points? Against many armies he'll never even see combat.
The two dedicated close combat Terminator squads are for either counter-charge or objective baby-sitting duty. With their weapon loadouts they're better for wound-allocation shenanigans as well.

Perhaps one day I'll drop the two Assault Cannon squads and replace them with naked Land Raider Crusaders. That will help deliver my two hand-to-hand squads into melee, and give anti-tank assets something else to focus on as my infantry advances.
...Of course there's just that certain something about 31 pairs of feet on the ground clad in 2+ save armor.

It's a shame in a way that the new Dark Angel FAQ came out as soon as my army was completed. The new Deathwing build of choice seems to be Cyclone Missile Launcher saturation, which seeing as they're now Heavy 2 I can get behind. Unfortunately for me, however, I had just finished two squads with Assault Cannons.

I'm just baffled by this army. My Dreadnoughts will just die the turn they arrive, Land Speeders would get picked off too quickly, and the Chaplain is just so situational. I guess I'll have to keep picking at this army list.

Another Completed Army

Well, my Ogre Kingdoms army has been finished. Yes, I know their skin isn't the usual gray shown in the book, but I think the fleshtone looks much better. Shown is the full 2,250 point army. My army lists are as follows:

2,000 point army
Tyrant with The Tenderiser, Glittering Scales, the Other Trickster's Shard, & Mawseeker Big Name
Slaughtermaster
Bruiser with Battle Standard, Heavy Armor, Enchanted Shield, Talisman of Preservation
7 Bulls with Ironfist, Bellower, Standard Bearer
8 Bulls with Ironfist, Bellower, Standard Bearer
10 Ironguts with Bellower, Standard Bearer, Banner of Eternal Flame
2 Leadbelchers

2,250 point army
Tyrant with The Tenderiser, Glittering Scales, the Other Trickster's Shard, & Mawseeker Big Name
Slaughtermaster with Bloodcleaver, Wyrdstone Necklace, Ironcurse Icon, Luck Gnoblar, Tooth Gnoblar
Bruiser with Battle Standard, Cathayan Longsword, Heavy Armor, Enchanted Shield, Talisman of Preservation, Luck Gnoblar
7 Bulls with Ironfist, Light Armor, Bellower, Standard Bearer
8 Bulls with Ironfist, Light Armor, Bellower, Standard Bearer
10 Ironguts with Bellower, Standard Bearer, Banner of Eternal Flame
2 Leadbelchers with Bellower
2 Leadbelchers with Bellower

I like the compact size of the army, The Light Armor and Ironfists are usually panned on the internet, but the little bit of deflection helps against swarms of lower strength attacks, and the Ironfists give me a Parry Save in hand-to-hand combat.

The Mawseeker Big Name does make my tyrant Stupid, but with him bunkered together with the Battle Standard in the Ironguts, he should almost never fail a leadership test to shake the effects off, and it makes him Immune to Psychology, meaning he'll never be reduced to WS 1 against Terror inducing opponents. His equipment loadout makes him adept at fighting in challenges, where he'll hit at Strength 7, inflict D3 wounds per failed save, and force the re-roll of any successful ward saves. His Toughness of 6 and inflicting a -1 to-hit modifier should help see him through all but the most difficult opponents, and then he'll have his 5 wounds to fall back on.

The Slaughtermaster will buff units, and with his loadout at 2,250 points he should be able to keep himself alive by preying on rank-and-file troops. Even if the Wyrdstone necklace inflicts a wound on him before the battle, between the Bloodcleaver and being able to heal himself with Gut-Magic he should make it through any battle without a problem.

The Bruiser Battle Standard Bearer is geared up for pure survival. His Cathayan Longsword buffs his Weapon Skill, making him tougher to hit for heroes. His other equipment should be pretty straight-forward- He has the best Ward and Armor save available to him.

Two large-ish units of Bulls form the mainstay of the force. Their ability in combat comes entirely from volume of attacks. Note the lack of Champions- 20 points for only a +1 attack bonus simply isn't worth it. This does cause a bit of a problem for my Slaughtermaster's bunker unit (the 7 Bulls) in that he either has to accept challenges or hide in the second rank. Luckily he won't have to retire until after the Magic Phase!

The Ironguts are sort of a Gut-Star lite. The unit isn't big enough to qualify as a true Gut-Star (in my opinion), but with the Tyrant and Bruiser in it the unit should be a fairly brutal opponent. The Banner of Eternal Flame is to deal with tough monsters like Hydras, Hell Pit Abominations, and other units with Regeneration.

The Leadbelchers serve a dual purpose. On one hand they deal with smaller threats like skirmishers and fast cavalry. On the other hand they hunt warmachines. Of course, with only a single casualty inflicting a Panic test, they are a touch fragile...

In the end, the army is theoretically sound. Next step; taking it out on the battlefield.

Random Deathwing Wishlisting

As I sit here at work, I've been considering my Deathwing now that I've finished my Thunder Hammer / Storm Shield Belial mini. As it stands now, the list looks like this:

Belial
2x Venerable Dreadnoughts with Multi-Meltas & Extra Armor in Drop Pod
2x squads of Terminators with 1x Chainfist & Assault Cannon
2x squads of Terminators with 1x Cyclone Missile Launchers
1x squad of Terminators with Chainfist, Heavy Flamer, 3x Lightning Claws, Thunder Hammer / Storm Shield

I have come to believe that the Dreadnoughts are nothing more than fire magnets, arriving one at a time just to be annhilated by heavy weapons fire. This is not okay.

So, out comes my army construction software, and I sit down to write a revised army list. The final product looks something like this:

Belial
Interrogator Chaplain in Terminator Armour
1x squad of Upgraded Terminators with 1x Chainfist, 1x Heavy Flamer, 4x Thunder Hammer / Storm Shield, Apothecary, Standard Bearer
2x squads of Terminators with 1x Chainfist & 1x Assault Cannon
2x squads of Terminators with 1x Cyclone Missile Launcher
1x squad of Terminators with 1x Chainfist, 1x Heavy Flamer, 3x Lightning Claws, 1x Thunder Hammer / Storm Shield

OR

Belial
1x squad of Upgraded Terminators with 1x Heavy Flamer, 4x Thunder Hammer / Storm Shield, Apothecary, Standard Bearer
2x squads of Terminators with 1x Chainfist & Assault Cannon
2x squads of Terminators with 1x Cyclone Missile Launchers
1x squad of Terminators with 1x Chainfist, 1x Heavy Flamer, 3x Lightning Claws, 1x Thunder Hammer / Storm Shield
2x Land Speeders with Multi-Melta & Typhoon Missile Launcher

I'm honestly torn here. The top army build has resiliance in spades. Nothing has less than a 2+ armor save, and the command is almost entirely 2+ armor / 3+ Invulnerable, plus Feel no Pain and an extra attack on the entire squad.

The second army is a bit more flexible. With a possible eight missiles a turn and two Multi-Meltas, this army will hunt armor better than the first. Of course, any half-way savvy opponent will figure this out immediately and take out the Land Speeders ASAP. Missile Launchers, being little better than any anti-infantry weapon against my infantry, will be drawn as if by magnets to the speeders, which will go down like flies unless they are cared for with the utmost caution.

In the end, the question is what do I spend my money on the next time I have some cash? I'm leaning more toward the first army, but I just can't be sure.

For Whom the Bell Screams

Today, as you may be able to tell by looking at the "On the Workbench" bar to the right, I finished most of my recovered Skaven miniatures. This post will show you how the models came together. Of course, all the miniatures were first cleaned with Simple Green, and washed under hot water with a toothbrush. That bit was already covered in a previous post. After that, it was time to re-base everything for the current Skaven army book. The Screaming Bell needed a 100mm x 60mm base, the Doomwheel a 50mm x 100mm one, and the Jezzails and Warpfire Throwers needed cavalry bases (25mm x 50mm). The Gutter Runners were based on current 20mm x 20mm bases just for good measure.

The Doomwheel was left apart at this stage so I could prime inside the wheels.

Next, I had to cover all the unsightly gaps in the cavalry bases/ This was achieves by tearing up an old receipt and gluing it down to the base using Elmer's Glue-All. This is the stuff I use for all of my basing, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Once the glue had dried, it was outside for priming. The Screaming Bell and Doomwheel got a black coat, while the Grey Seer, Bell Ringer, Jezzails, Gutter Runners, and Warpfire Throwers got a coat of Army Painter's "Army Green" primer. It's a nice dark green which goes together nicely with the dirty dark yellow I use for the rest of the uniform.

Thus primed, I set about painting the models, along with my new conversion for Captain Belial for my Deathwing. Once all the colors were laid down, I glued the Grey Seer and Bell Ringer to the Screaming Bell carriage.
Now it was dipping time. Eager to finish three armies in one go, I spent the evening, brush in hand, dipping every last Ogre, Space Marine, and every Skaven except the Warpfire Throwers. This was because I already have two painted, and have no current need for three more. Also, I was running out of steam.

Today I set about basing my Skaven. After coating the bases (including the Ogres' bases) Khemri Brown, I Then flocked all the Skaven bases, and finished them with a few clumps of static grass. Finally, into the humidity-controlled confines of my bathroom for Matt Varnish.

And thusly are my Skaven reinforcements completed. Now it's a matter of getting a 2,250 point game in to try out my two new engines of destruction. I keep hearing such great things about the Doomwheel...