The Command Center: Death from the Sky: Blood Angels 2k

Hello and happy Sunday! Well like I said, this will be a new series of posts I will try to make every Sunday, where I cover different kinds of armies that can be built with all codex's. Today I present an army list for the Blood Angels, which I hope will soon be the next force in my collection. Before I get into specifics about the armies tactics, I shall present the list:

-HQ-
Chapter Master Gabriel Seth

Honor Guard

• Blood Champion
• Power Weapon
• Power Fist
• Drop Pod

-Elites-

Furioso Dread

• Drop Pod

-Troops-

Assault Squad(10)

• Power Weapon
• Flamer
• Meltagun

Assault Squad(10)

• Power Weapon
• Flamer
• Meltagun

Assault Squad(10)

• Power Weapon
• Flamer
• Meltagun

Assault Squad(10)

• Power Weapon
• Flamer
• Meltagun

Death Company(10)

• Drop Pod
• 2 Power Weapons

Death Company Dread w/ Blood Talons

• Drop Pod

-Fast Attack-

Vanguard Vets(5) w/ Jump Packs

This list is made for simply deep-striking and punching face. I may change this to incorporate an armored fire-base that can shoot but still stay mobile. As a gamer that believes troops win battles, I made sure to bring more than enough, considering a lack of heavy support means the enemy can bring more fire to bear down on my infantry. So 40 marines should be enough be enough to overrun and take objectives(I say 40 because the 10 DC are not scoring. Just in case ya didn't know). My anti-tank will come in the form of the meltaguns in my assault squads and the Furioso, which can also stop an Ork mob and maybe kill some MC's. Seth and his guard will drop down together and probably go after other elite units, as long as Feel no Pain is enough protection to get the job done. For any nasty units that can mow down marines(Dark Reapers come to mind), my Vanguard will come down and hopefully tie them up to protect the rest of my force while they wait to assault next turn.

To close, I will make sure my Burna Boy project stays updated, expect a quick update on what I've done so far in the next hour or so.

New Conversion Project: Burna Boyz! Part 1: Time to Prepare! (Now with PICTURES!)

Now that I have something interesting to talk about, I can finally bring this blog back from the dead(again)! And why not start with a good old project to work on? And I believe I will also start a weekly army list post, where I choose a random army, pick a theme(footslog, mech, etc.), and make an army list to post since I tend to waste spare time making army lists. Anyway, back to the headline story:

After looking around my gaming room I remembered there is a new box of Ork Boyz sitting right on my desk, staring at me. I began to wonder why I got them in the first place, since I love my Troops how they are(Nobz are troops due to my Warboss, 30 sloggin Slugga boyz, and 10 'ard Shootas in a trukk, all of which work very well). So after deciding it's not worth converting Stormboyz since the GW models are so awesome, I decided I might as well make Burna Boyz since I have the spare Burnas from my Burna/Loota boy box(I used them to make more Kommandos), flamers from an imperial guard box(the big 20-man box of cadians they used to have), and flamers from my Tau army(Don't use flamers with my Suits), I thought it would be more than possible.

This fire effect looks like a weapon arm from the Possessed Marine sprue, which I have, so expect to see this on my Boyz!(Pic from Dakka gallery, not my work)

Anyway, I'm still coming up with ideas in the mean-time for the individual Boys(I was thinking of the Tankbustas set where one has a rokkit on a pistol, so why not make a little hand-flamer?), so I will update my adventure next week. In the meantime, I will make sure to post an army list tomorrow, I will start with the lists I actually use that really work well for me.

Unit Debate #1 - Transports - The Humble Rhino and Razorback

Hello again, my currently non-existent readers(P.S. I'm sort of a negative person, you'll find that out pretty quickly)! Today, after looking through the Space Marine codex, I came across something that brought my attention: Everyone either seems to hate transports of love them. Now, I'm currently a huge fan of transports(even though I rarely make the investment to buy all the vehicles I need), but I decided today to take a much closer look at the concept of running mechanized lists and examine its advantages and disadvantages.

My original idea was to try to tackle every army at once, but then I remembered the huge array of transports available to every race(If they even have any transports!), let alone the array of troops you can shove in them! So I am going to break it down for each race, one by one, and we are going to start with the army that most players can relate to(which I don't particularly see as a good thing): The good ol' fashioned Rhino, and its more heavily equipped cousin, the Razorback(I'm going to save Drop-Pod related transports for another day, because thats a whole new army aspect entirely in my mind).

First off, the cost: Your basic rhino will run you 35 points. Now, if you don't have transports, you're obviously going to have something else to fit the points, so lets make some comparisons:

3 Rhinos will run you the same price as a bare-bones Dreadnaught. Well that's awesome! Some of you may think, Why would I need 3 Rhinos when I can get myself a bad-ass Dreadnaught! Its got a giant fist, for pete's sake! Now don't get me wrong, I like dreads as much as the next guy, but is it worth the sacrifice? Will you even have the required Elite slot for it? You're turning 3 tanks into a single walker that only has a single additional point of armor in terms of protection. A Missile Launcher or Lascannon can still take it out easily in one shot, or at least do some good damage to hinder its effect on the battle around it. If you take the Rhinos you will have three times as many tanks roaming the battlefield. Now, although that is 3 easy kill points on the table, your enemy will need to sacrifice the power of 3 units to take a single round of firing at all of them, and in that situation you will either have units that can counter those threats that are going to continue fighting unharmed since they're not being shot at, or you're playing such a large game that 3 units is a tiny portion of the armies on the field. Plus your units are moving a consistent 12" down-field toward their objectives, or they're providing cover for the crew when they disembark. I give this point to the Rhinos.

The same thing works for all other units: 4 Rhinos gives you a Vindi with Extra armor and Dozer Blade, 3 Rhinos gives you a 5-man assault squad with melta bombs, so on and so forth. The point of the matter is that Rhinos are extremely cheap compared to other units in the codex, and only starts to make a dramatic difference when your're loading up on all 6 troop choices, with which you can save a hefty 210 points. But what are you going to get that can make up for the severe cut in mobility and protection? 5 Terminators? A small veteran squad? A single Assault squad? You can't even afford a Land Raider with those points.

Now, lets look at it the other way around: instead of figuring out the units you can fit in for the same points, lets look at how snugly it fits into in army trying to stay cheap. A nicely sized army will usually encompass a standard captain, minimum troops choices, and maybe one or 2 other units for extra power. I wanted to find an army list that a random 40k player made and posted online, but I couldn't find one that wasn't already mechanized or was a BA Assault list(Really says something, don't you think?), so I will go ahead and make one:

Captain

Power Weapon 

Company Command Squad 

·         Company Banner

·         Power Weapon

Tac Squad(10)

·         Missile Launcher

·         Flamer

Tac Squad(10)

·         Missile Launcher

·         Flamer

Scout Squad(5) 

·         Snipers

Assault Squad(5)

Dreadnaught

Predator

·         Lascannon Sponsons

Now, I consider this a very healthy army, lascannons for AT power, tac squads with very flexible wargear, and a captain and guard that will give any other combat unit that can be fielded at this points level a run for their money(unless its 1/2 of the enemy army's points). Now, I have one obvious problem with this list: I do not like its lack of mobility. I believe that a Space Marine army that can move is a deadly thing, you're dealing with Power Armored giants that are running about in metal cans and don't have the sheer number of anti-tank shots to deal with ALL of them in one turn. So, lets remove that old Dread and replace it with a few Rhinos. You're adding 2 more tanks that are running around with your squads, including a CC squad that needs to get to combat quickly.

Another thing to deal with is the level of protection you're getting from these babies. Since marines are the most common army in the world, everyone will have at least one unit that is designed to take out Marines(or at least units similar to them). The thing that comes to my mind are the Eldar Dark Reapers(being an Eldar player myself, it's only natural this unit comes to mind). I love this unit, I don't ever want to start a battle without them. They may be expensive, but I have completely wiped out whole squads of marines in a single turn, including a Necron Warrior unit that was hiding behind cover(and considering they are even tougher than Marines, I take pride in this accomplishment). If they are in a Rhino, however(and mind you you're only spending 35 Points for this), my Reapers can't bring that devastation, I only have a slim chance of a single glancing hit. I need to sacrifice a whole other units power to take it down so I can take a shot at the Marines inside. I consider that a more then worthwhile investment, especially since you want to drive into combat with them, and every time I don't kill you thats another 12" you've advanced on my Reaper's position, and I need to divert a good portion of my army to make sure my precious Reapers don't get locked in. For only 35 points you turned a unit that's usually dead in the water just by looking at my Reapers into a real threat for them, and don't forget you have the option of slowing down a bit to fire that missile to pick off a Reaper a turn if there's something else you need to take care of.

So, considering that it's past midnight on a school night and my caffeine rush is starting to wear down I'm gonna call it a day. The advantage goes to the Rhino for now, I will move on and discuss another army later, most likely Eldar, or Chaos. So, until then, I bid you a good night, and happy killing!

Trying to Remove the Swooping Hawk Hate.

Now, since I have profiles on multiple 40k forums around the web, I always find plenty of tutorials on every army, the Eldar interest me most. While everyone always has a different opinion on everything, I have found one constant throughout the interwebs: people hate the Hawks. I have to one question to ask: why? I see no problems with this unit, it’s fast, it shoots, has a long range, can drop a large blast anywhere they want, and can penetrate a vehicle on a 6 in assault, with anything else but a 1 being a glance. That’s great, in my eyes.

            First off, we need to look at their brother warriors they must compete with for our Fast Attack slots. These other units are the Shining Spears, Warp Spiders, and Vypers. The first thing to note is that there are only 4 total units to choose from, so if you want a large variety of units, you would only have to leave one unit out, and you can take 1 of all the others, which is nice. Second off, I believe the hawks can stand up against these choices. Shining spears are also very good, I have a unit of my own, but their low numbers and high cost means that you need to be very careful with them, and due to their size it won’t be easy to hide multiple of them out of site from heavy weapons, so use that Turbo Boost to stay safe!

The next unit is Warp Spiders. Most people I have seen say they are the best choice, but I have multiple problems with them. They have high strength attacks that can’t go through any armor, so the best unit for this unit is Ork Boyz, since they are a cheap, high toughness horde unit. This, however, is where the danger comes in. The Death Spinner of the Warp Spiders has a 12” range, meaning you have to go straight into the assault zone of Orks, in which they will get slaughtered; their 3+ save won’t last against the amount of attacks that Orks throw out. Sure, they have a chance of getting out with their 2D6 movement in the assault phase, but this range is way too inconsistent for my liking. If you roll a low number, and those Boyz can still declare a WAAAGH!, you’re in a lot of trouble. Why wouldn’t your Ork player want to charge right into a squad like that? Your average Warp Spider squad can cost a large amount of points for even a small squad(like all other Eldar units), and rely on speed for safety, so when a unit like this fails to get out of a bad situation like this, you better bet the other player will take advantage of this opportunity. Don’t forget even if you get out of assault range, you can still catch some pistol fire, as well as automatically losing one on a double. The Hawks, however, can remain at a 24” range and safely fire away. Now let’s look at the other side of the coin for a second. Doing the math, 10 Hawk shots can take out on average 2.22 Orks, while 10 Spider shots can take out 4.63 Orks, which is a big difference, and a Sunrifled Hawk Exarch can take out 1.67 Orks alone, while the double-Death Spinner can dish out 2.31 kills by himself, which means a grand total of 3.89 for a 6 man unit of Hawks against 6.94 for a 6-man Spider squad. But considering the box only comes with 5 spiders, and most people just play with one box or a whole squad, which brings it down to 6.01 for Spiders, but the difference it still huge. The big question for this part of the argument is whether the more killing power of the Spiders is worth putting the squad into risk of being killed outright by a squad of Boyz, and losing a few to Warp Jump Generators. But, there is one more thing that we have not talked about. The Hawks can drop a large blast anywhere they want when they come in from Deep Strike(which is what you should do). In terms of the damage output of this attack, it varies greatly, but with the template only scattering D6”, it’s going to hit something. Against any horde unit, like Boyz, Gaunts, etc, it works great. Even against MeQ it can force saves. This definitely makes up for their inferior shooting attacks, and the random pie template will let you hit 2 separate targets if you want, and keep your opponent guessing at where you’re going to place it.

            Next, we’re going to look at a different kind of unit in the game: Tanks. Sure, Spiders have the ability to take out a Trukk or even the front/side of a Rhino if you’re lucky, but the ability to have an anti-infantry squad come out from deep strike and continue to use Haywire grenades to take out any armor vehicle is an element of surprise that can be invaluable. This is definitely something that Spiders can never do, unless you want to spend points on an entire HQ slot so an Autarch can use a fusion blaster to pop maybe one or two small tanks at most, anything else would be fully distracting them from the only thing they are built for. As said earlier, the Hawks can take out any tank no matter what the cost, all you need is anything but a one for the tank to start taking damage, from Trukks to Land Raiders. And with intercept, it doesn’t matter if it’s a skimmer that went at full speed, you’ll only need 4’s to hit at the most, it only gets better from there. The grenades alone turns the Hawks into decent tank hunters, able to deep strike near any tank and take it out (but I highly recommend Fire Dragons in a Serpent for dedicated tank killing, don’t make this their only job).

            All in all, Hawks are slightly cheaper, can stay at a safe range and still perform, and are more versatile and are therefore a slightly less predictable unit, which makes them all the more dangerous.

Blog #3 - Rant - How Long Until We Should Buy?

Some of you might be having a problem with this, i dont know, but right now im going through it. How long should we look over and research the new army you want to get before you start to devote money to it? I have been doing serious research in my new Doom Eagles Space Marine army, and its been weeks, and i still dont feel completely confident in what im doing. The main reason(at least for me) is making a list that is both extremely lethal, while still having every unit i could ever want from that army(or at least what i can afford at the time, which would mean expanding later, but thats for another day). The balance is sometimes hard to find, since although it would be awesome for your dream unit to have everything you can give it, it probably wont be too effective, depending on what unit it is. Since im typing this on my phone, i will need to wait and post my army list later, but i constantly feel myself getting closer to that balance.

Now comes another question we need to ask ourselves: how important is proxying your army before the buy? Do you even feel the need to proxy? This is also be a decision to make, and it mostly depends on your experiance. If, for example, you have played eldar many times over, with quite a bit of variation between the armies. You would have more knowledge of how eldar units work than if youve only played one or 2 games against them. This is where proxying would be a safe option to take, just in case you dont enjoy playing with your army on the tabletop. Play with friends mostly, since they will(most likely) be the most willing to let you. Thats not to say that anyone at your LGS wouldnt be willing to, just the opposite; i rarely meet a player that isnt really kind, a reason why i love this hobby so much.

I can tell that this is going to go on for a long time, so im gonna cut this off for now and continue later. So until then!

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Blog #2 - Rant - Tau EMP Grenades: Worth It?

Now, I started the game with Tau, so they are pretty close to my heart, and I thought I'd talk about a piece of wargear that I always found interesting: EMP grenades. With the way the Tau fight, I've always questioned why this upgrade was put in the codex in the first place. When would you need anti-tank assault grenades on your Fire Warriors or Pathfinders? I'm gonna go through some numbers and look at the possibility of fielding EMP grenades in a game.

The first unit this upgrade can be given to is the good old Fire Warrior. Lets start with a small squad of 6 in a basic Devilfish. Thats 168 points, and with it you have a small scoring unit in an AV12 transport. This is a unit normally designed to be anti-infantry, and to hold objectives, so to attempt to use the grenades would be putting this unit far out of its norm, and put it in pretty serious danger. Besides, even if you're only going to use it for anti-tank purposes, your only going to take out one vehicle at the most, since they are going to get assaulted or shot to death. Plus, in terms of anti-tank, you can get 2 Broadsides for about 20 Points cheaper. So that won't work.

Now, lets move on to another unit that could make more sense: Pathfinders. Despite being more expensive to start out, you do get scouts, so you can come in and take out any pesky artillery piece(a lot of IG vehicles come to mind, whirlwinds, maybe predators, other hammerheads, maybe fire prisms if you can hit it before it zooms off) you might see out on the table. Once they have done their job there, you can move on to using your invaluable markerlights. A good size squad (I'm gonna say 6, not too small, not too big for Pathfinders) with a basic Devilfish will run you 170 points. Only 2 points more than the Fire Warrior squad, and you lose scoring, but you do get markerlights which are, as I said, invaluable to your army. You still only have a 4+ save, so watch out for any heavy weapons, and stay in your transport as long as you need to. Once again, if used strictly for tank hunting, the same cautions apply as the above Fire Warriors, and Broadsides would be a better option.

So, to sum everything up, EMP grenades won't justify having anti-tank assault units, Crisis suits fitted with Fusion Blasters or Piranhas with Fusion Blasters will do better for close-range anti-tank power. If you have the spare points to just throw some into a unit, go for it, but you probably have better things to put your points into.

Blog #1 - Rant - How do You Get Over Painting Procrastination?

I might as well start my blog with something that has really been bothering me for a while: How do you stop your painting procrastination? Why do we get it in the first place?

I guess we start with the basic question: Why do we get it in the first place? If your like me, then you're not very good at painting, but you find it pretty fun. So why does the desire to paint go down in the first place? Is it simply because of being busy in real life you'd rather do something other than paint in your precious spare time? Or is it because your not completely confident in your choice of paint scheme? It's truly a strange thing to explain, but nevertheless, we still need to get rid of it.

So that brings me to the second part of this curious equation: How to stop this laziness. Well, some people probably have a lot of different ways to do it, but I'm going to start with some basic ideas. First off, try to bribe yourself. Let you get yourself something, or be able to do something. For example, maybe after you paint all of your current models(depending on how many you need to paint), you can finally use your saved up cash to start another army you've seriously been wanting to get for months. Or you can sign up for a competition that requires all your models be painted. That would really get you into it.

Or, you could look at the small details of your painting area: it could make a BIG difference. So, walk into your painting area/room/whatever, and ask yourself these questions:

• Can I get easily distracted from outside sources while working in here?
• Is the chair I sit in to paint comfortable?
• Are there any lighting/noise/etc. sources that are annoying?

After that, it's time to check out what you do when you paint. Do you have a TV on? This could be a source of either distraction or relaxation, make sure its on a channel that you find interesting, but not to the point where you have to watch it all the time, and only paint during commercials, that could make you rush, which could ruin the quality of your models, or just stop painting completely to watch your show. Second thing to ask yourself is: what am I listening to? Music can also be a large portion of your ability to focus and enjoy painting. Any rock or rap is always distracting, and whenever I listen to my favorite podcasts I always find myself focusing on listening to it instead of actually painting. The only music I find relaxing that helps me focus is Gregorian Chant. Not a lot of words to listen to, nothing insanely loud or intense to distract you, just turn it on and start painting.

That about does it for this rant, if I ever think of anything else I continue it in another post, but for now, I'm gonna find something else to talk about. Until then!